Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

80


The outer
edges of the stronghold are
honeycombed

with mining
operations. The duergar
wrest rock from

the cavern
walls and process the chunks
in search of

useful ore, pulverizing
them with powerful mechanical

devices and sorting
out the metals, minerals, and
gems.

Between the mines
and the workshops stands a
ring

of
fortresses, each ruled by a nobl
e and occupied by the

noble's followers. The stronghold
's king commands the

largest edifice, five times the size
of the next biggest.

The priests
of Deep Duerra reside in the second
la rg-

est fortress, wh
ich houses the duergar army.
The priests

organize pat
rols and guard duty and oversee
the settle-

ment's armory.

Steeders, spiders that a re used
as mounts and war

beasts by the duergar, are
housed in stables that stand

between
the workshops and the fortresses

. Each enclo-


sure is virtually
an individual prison, s ince
the violent

creatures must be kept
apart lest they tear into each

other or wreak havo
c in some other way. Only careful

supervis ion and brutal
discipline keep them in line

when
they a re out of their cages. Ea
ch noble is responsi-

ble
for maintaining a set of steeder
pens, and a squad of

duergar
are assigned to train and
supervise the beasts.

POWER OF
THE MIND

THE MIND IS BUT ANOTHER
MATERIAL, SET BEFORE US
TO

shape into
a weapon.

-Gargosa Ironmind


During their period of s lave ry
under the mind flayers,

the duergar were the subjects
of a variety of bizarre ex-

periments that endowed th
em with psionic abilities.

CHAPTER
3 I DWARVES ANO DUERGAR

Every
duergar is born with some amo
unt of psionic

talent.
The typical warrior can turn invisible
or increase

in size,
and some duergar take up a more
formal study

of ps ionics to enhance
or augment their capabilities.

These individuals push
their abilities beyond the
normal

limits, using what
they learn to create new talents
that

they
can then teach to others.

Despite these efforts, duergar
s till have a limited

understanding of the true extent
of their psionic capa-

bilities. From
the perspective of most other
creatures,

such abilities
are seen as merely another flavor
of magic.

After all, they
reason, what does it matter
if a duergar

turns invisible by using magic
or a psionic ability? The

outcome is the same eith
er way.

Those duergar who delve into
psionic research de-

scribe
the process as accessing a dimensional
space

in whi
ch they can tap into the energy
exerted by living

minds.
Using this power source, a small
number of du-

ergar can alter their bodies
and those of other crea
tures ,

tap into thoughts
and bend them as they see fit, a nd

impart a spark of
locomotion and even basic intellige
nce

into
objects. Duergar of truly exceptional
skill can move

DUERCAR AND
ALE

Unlike their dwarv
en kin, duergar drink alcohol only
in

moderation and
avoid overindulgence. The duergar
have

learned from
bitter experience that those who
drink too

much risk
awakening deep racial memories
of their an-

cestors'
cruel treatment at the hands of
the mind flayers.

The psychic agony that
these memories evoke manifests

in a severe flight-or
-fi ght response. An intoxicated du
ergar

might flee in panic
and search for a safe place to hide

until the effect
wears off. A d ifferent one might
respond by

brawling
with anyone in the vicinity, venting
the rage the

duergar harbor against their
former masters.
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