Duergar in Orben

Through their long history, after their exile from Gwathia, Dwarves have faced only one grave threat to their existence. This came two thousand years ago when the first Drow attempted to recruit Dwarves in order to build cities for themselves in the Underdark. Although generally friendly to any offers of trade or opportunities to build, this became a divisive controversy. The history from that point comes mostly from legend, for there is little reliable record of the event besides that initial split. On the one side, the legend says, were all but one of the Dwarf clans, heeding the clerics of the Dwarf-god Moradin, who refused to tolerate cooperation with the Drow. On the other side were those who followed the patriarch of Clan Duergar, Laduguer, who had lived long in the shadow of the other clans, and saw this offer as an opportunity to claim great power for himself. At the behest of Laduguer, his clan followed him into the Underdark—the Dwarves barred them from returning.

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The Duergar soon realized their folly, as the Drow enslaved them and put them to ceaseless and merciless toil, until they started to fall dead from the strain. Laduguer was content so long as Lolth, the god of the Drow, strung him along with morsels of deific power, but eventually he realized that he was only losing his clan, and came to terms with the fact that he had been betrayed. Bitterly, he used his demi-god powers to intervene and liberate the Duergar from slavery, but as they were banned from the Dwarven cities they were forced to eke out an existence in the Underdark. Since then they have constantly assaulted the Dwarven cities, trying to reclaim their homelands by force since they are not permitted to return from the Underdark in peace, and have had little success. Over many years this turned their skin gray and caused their hair to fall out, and transformed their culture into the doppelganger of Dwarven society it is today.

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Duergar Society and Culture

Duergar culture tends to have a grim and bitter outlook, pessimistic of the future and deeply cynical regarding the motives of others. In a dark inversion of the strong family bonds typical of their Dwarven kin, Duergar tend to view their kin and clan as adversaries set on holding them back, an expectation that often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a result, Duergar have become much like their former Drow masters, showing no mercy to their foes and taking great pleasure in inflicting pain on others, a welcome relief from what many of them believe is a meaningless life that ends with betrayal.

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As the worshipers of Laduguer, the Duergar have a long tradition of crafting that goes back to their days as Dwarves. Because of this, Duergar are fine craftsmen with an eye for detail, though they are often pragmatic enough to eschew the ostentatious decorations of their kin, which they felt were not only wasteful, but could potentially give away their presence when treading the Underdark. Additionally, Duergar art, unlike that of their brethren, was notable for its veneration of blood and cruelty, with scenes of brutal warfare and torture prominent as a common theme.

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Duergar tend to feel that other races are out to get them, whether from the Underdark or the surface world. In spite of this, they are usually willing to trade with outside races, particularly from the surface world, for the sake of profit and the relations between Duergar and their sometime-enemies, sometime-friends Drow. However, the Duergar had absolutely no love in their heart for their closest of kin, the Dwarves, who the duergar felt abandoned them. Since then, the Duergar have often been at the forefront of nearly every Underdark invasion of Dwarven cities, and for this purpose alone tolerate to ally with Drow.

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Duergar in Mhirdrun

Few Humans in Mhirdrun could name a Duergar, much less distinguish one from a gray-skinned Dwarf or Halfling. For this reason they are unwittingly tolerated as often as not, and of all the Darkling races from the Underdark, Duergar are least hated and feared. The few Dwarves of Mhirdrun tend to feel strongly to the contrary, however, and only respect for the law keeps their own hatred in check.

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