Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Underdark

Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:20 pm Underdark

Gooday

I feel Duergar are often neglected in the underdark compared to their Drow rivals. Also most of the canon Greyhawk stuff I can find is based in the South West. So the idea below addresses both problems.

Thoughts, critcisms, comments welcome as always.

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Myrkrinnan
- Duergar city beneath Nyrond.

Forts connected by portals under Albor Alz, Flinty Hills and Rift Canyon.

Various Devils are allied to the Duergar and vy for power of the city and its portals.

Many of the Duergar worship Hextor, and war against Humanoids of Bone March, Demons of Iuz, Serpentfolk/Yuan Ti beneath Ahlissa and Lamia of Albor Alz.

Records exist amoungst the Duergar caverns and tunnels of wars against Elves in Celadon Forest and Serpentfolk/Yuan-ti in Adri Forest.

Myrkrinnan would be a huge threat to the region if they were not so busy with interal vying for power and fighting the other evils of the surface lands.

Potential allies in Myrkrinnan - Captured Demons and Gnome slaves.

Tie ins to areas - Elves from Celadon or Gnomes from Flinty Hills need those kidnapped by the Duergar to be rescued.

Another option is an Elemental Lord feels the earth is corrupted by the Hextor shrines and Devils within the earth and wants it cleansed.

Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:27 am

You offer some interesting adventure seeds there, Blakeryan. Smile

SirXaris

Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:23 pm

Another good post blakeryan,

I have used the Duergar and Derro as my prominent underdark race. Like I said before IMC Drow are not a subrace of elves. Although I have Duergar which worship Moradin and wish to unite the race of dwarves. However they believe Dwarves need to become the masters of the lesser races some of these duergar even welcome the accursed Derro others believe Derro are an aberration which needs to be eliminated.

Illithid's are another race I enjoy for the underdark or any place really orc's, goblin's, troll's and more all at your favorite under dark store.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:01 pm

Hey there blakeryan;

Not sure if you are aware of it; but the 2nd edition sourcebook; "Rary the Traitor" has a clan of Duergar with a Beholder ally/leader going by the name of "Father Eye" in the Bright Dessert/Abbor Alz region.

Also, though not Duergar; the Derro do pop up in several places in official GH products/cannon....

I do indeed like many of your ideas as I've often found LE opponents to be much more compelling than CE ones!

Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:16 pm

The Gord the Rogue books put Derro below the Sea of Dust. In fact, I believe those books suggest that the Derro are degenerate descendants of the Suel survivors of the Rain of Colorless Fire.

SirXaris

Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:43 pm

Roger E. Moore's treatment of the derro of Oerth in Dragon #241 also had the derro thriving and originating beneath what is now the Sea of Dust, with a big colony beneath the Forgotten City where Gary Gygax's Sea of Death put them, though Moore explained that they were human/dwarf hybrids the ancient Suel created as slaves to work their mines. According to Moore, though, they've since spread as far as the Thillonrian Peninsula.

There are also duergar beneath Blackthorn.

I wrote about a duergar kingdom called Machthorin (or my own invention) here.

Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:30 am

Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:11 am

Rasgon, great article.

Your Shloostanz section reminds of Cthulhu tales by H.P Lovecraft.

As for Derro - well i've been playing and running games since 89 and i've never come across them in a game yet.

Might be time arrange an introduction in my current eastern Greyhawk game...

Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:38 am

Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:38 pm

There's also the "Honeycombed Halls of the Diirinken" from From the Ashes, which I always thought were fascinating. Dungeon #89 included a tribe of Orcus-worshiping derro in the Crystalmist Mountains.

Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:13 pm

Not canon but some folks here have discussed in a couple of threads, placing UK 4 "When A Star Falls", also chock-full-o-derro, into GH. Most seemed to put it in the Sea Princes, in Berghof if I recall, but someone else mentioned that Rob Vest placed it in the Drachensgrabs. Good module, although I've never run it.