HARP: The World of Tarn

The Races of Tarn: Duergars

Special Note: Treat Duergars as Dwarves in HARP.

Summary:

The following are accepted truths about duergars:

• Duergar are evil.
• Duergar are grumpy and unfriendly, distrusting all, even other evil beings.
• Duergar are fairly smart, but usually not cunning, preferring direct action.
• Duergar enjoy striving for power and destruction, flaunting their successes.
• Duergar hate and degrade almost all other races, especially dwarves.
• Read, understand and accept the following help file.

History: Duergars, otherwise known as dark dwarves, are those that turned away from their ancestors, many hundreds of years ago. In fact, duergars were outcast from dwarven civilization, primarily for their interest in magic. There were a few dwarves, when duergars first branched off, that had a propensity for the magical arts, and in particular the dark arts. These dwarves found they had more interest in magic and power than being stonecutters and miners. And so, they were outcast, and eventually fled to the underground of Labyria. There they have lived for many years, cultivating their magical prowess and dark natures. They remain fervent enemies of the dwarves and have grown to hating most creatures that walk in the path of Light.

Description: Duergars look very similar to dwarves, being relatively strong and stocky creatures. They also share the same resistance to disease and poison as the dwarves. Over the years, they have evolved into being slightly smarter but less strong than their dwarven counterparts, for their emphasis has been on the skills of magic as opposed to the hardy skills of blacksmiths and miners. Duergars do remain well muscled and are proportionally the same as dwarves. Many duergars retain their beards, although they are less accustomed to doing so than the dwarves. Duergars do not maintain the same link with the past customs and traditions of their ancestors, so whether they wear a beard or not is primarily a personal preference. Duergars will also often shave their heads bald in a gesture of hatred towards the dwarves. Their hair is typically dark in color, ranging from a rusty red to a dark brown or black. They have a range of skin colors, from a pale, creamy color to deep, bronze hues. Duergars have somewhat beady eyes that are most often brown or black. Duergars tend to be fairly dirty creatures, living underground, and have little interest in their own personal appearance. In fact, the more frightful they look towards other races, especially those of the Light, the better.

A sample image: A Duergar Male

Personality: Duergars are for the most part, unpleasant, hateful creatures. They walk the path of Darkness. More often than not, their disposition, similar to that of dwarves, is grumpy and unfriendly. They tend to distrust everyone, even those that walk in the path of Darkness, and are particularly distrusting of the Light races. Having been outcast and thrown out into the world to survive on their own, duergars are very close-minded, having racial biases against almost every other race. They can appreciate the plight of the llaiadains, since it so closely paralleled their own.

Duergars tend to enjoy striving for power and destruction. They are fairly smart, but not necessarily cunning like drow or llaiadains. Their approach, similar to that of the dwarves, tends to be more direct and blunt. Duergars feel a definite superiority to the dwarves, given their innate talents with magic. Although they rarely become exceptional mages, for they lack the discipline and facilities for such arduous research and work, duergars feel that their abilities with magic make them distinct and clearly better than the dwarves.

Duergars, although quite secretive and close-knit by nature, have little difficulty flaunting their successes and degrading others. They quite enjoy verbally assaulting their enemies and generally treating most people like sub-par ingrates. And, given their somewhat aggressive nature, they are quick to judge, react and fight when need be.