Duergar Adventure Help

[Astofel]

First things first, I don't think it's likely that you'll see this, but if you're a member of the White Griffon then please kindly avert your eyes now.

With that out of the way, the next leg of my long-term campaign is going to be taking place in a duergar city in the underdark, with a party of 5 9th-level characters. I've seen the duergar statblocks from OotA, but as those seem to only be CR 1-2, I'm looking for ways to make both challenging and interesting encounters that fit the theme I'm going for.

I've come up with a few ideas on my own already, such as making use of the duergar's Enlarge ability to block of corridors and prevent escape by the PCs. For a bit of background info, these duergar are notorious slavers, mostly enslaving the deep gnomes they share the underdark with, but also enslave kobolds, and some surface races, mostly wood elves and humans. They also have the aid of a powerful hag and an alhoon/ghost. The hag is aware that the players are coming, and has interacted with them before, but she doesn't want to reveal herself too soon. The duergar are also opposed by an underground rebellion, which the PCs will most likely become allied to.

If anyone has run a similar adventure, or just has an idea they want to share, I'm all ears! Thanks for your help.

[paddyfool]

I guess you have to think about where the duergar's power to enslave their neighbours comes from. Do they have high powered psions whose abilities go well beyond those generic to their race, eg extending to psiomic domination and brainwashing of slaves? Elite soldiers and smiths in the standard dwarven way with a few twists? Enslaved warbeasts? Warmachines? Golems? (The last might make slaves seem redundant, but perhaps the very fact of having golems makes the Duergar view their slaves as particularly expendable etc). A little of all the above?

Maybe look at Morrowind for a little inspiration. EDIT: or at warhammer's chaos dwarves for a version of evil, slave-owning dwarves, although likely you'd want to replace their magic with psionics.

[Unoriginal]

You can easily take the Duergar racial traits and apply them to the different NPC statblocks from the MM and the Volo's. So you'd have Duergar Veteran, Duergar Martial Art Adept, etc. There is also a couple of Duergar with midi foes statblock in TotYP's Forge of Fury.

Or you could wait for Morenkainen's Tome of Foe, which will have a whole chapter about Duergars (though shared with the Dwarves) and at least half a dozen new Duergar statblocks.


Mike Mearls talked about them in a youtube video, too. Think it was the first one about Dwarves.

[Astofel]

I guess you have to think about where the duergar's power to enslave their neighbours comes from. Do they have high powered psions whose abilities go well beyond those generic to their race, eg extending to psiomic domination and brainwashing of slaves? Elite soldiers and smiths in the standard dwarven way with a few twists? Enslaved warbeasts? Warmachines? Golems? (The last might make slaves seem redundant, but perhaps the very fact of having golems makes the Duergar view their slaves as particularly expendable etc). A little of all the above?

Maybe look at Morrowind for a little inspiration. EDIT: or at warhammer's chaos dwarves for a version of evil, slave-owning dwarves, although likely you'd want to replace their magic with psionics.

I really like the idea of the duergar having powerful psions that can brainwash slaves into reveling in their slavery, to the point they'll even fight on the duergar's behalf against PCs who are trying to free them. It'd probably be as simple as giving them either Mystic, GOOlock, or Enchanter class features. I also like the idea of golems, although they'd by no means be commonplace. Golems seem pretty expensive and difficult to create, using living slaves is much cheaper, and they're also more expendable. Plus, these duergar often like to use their slaves for more than just physical labour, so there's plenty of reason to have both.


You can easily take the Duergar racial traits and apply them to the different NPC statblocks from the MM and the Volo's. So you'd have Duergar Veteran, Duergar Martial Art Adept, etc. There is also a couple of Duergar with midi foes statblock in TotYP's Forge of Fury.

Or you could wait for Morenkainen's Tome of Foe, which will have a whole chapter about Duergars (though shared with the Dwarves) and at least half a dozen new Duergar statblocks.


Mike Mearls talked about them in a youtube video, too. Think it was the first one about Dwarves.

Using the NPC statblocks and just making them duergar is a good idea, although I'm not sure what you mean by midi foes. I can definitely re-purpose portions of the Forge of Fury, though, thanks for reminding me that it exists. As much as I'm looking forward to MToF, my players will riot if I keep them waiting too long. From what I've heard most of the 'new' duergar statblocks will be reprints from OotA anyway, so I'm not sure how useful they'd be. It'd be nice to be proven wrong about that though.

[Unoriginal]

Using the NPC statblocks and just making them duergar is a good idea

Thanks



although I'm not sure what you mean by midi foes.

My phone auto-corrected "modified". Because it hates me.


Also, keep in mind you can always buff up the CR by increasing the AC/HPs/To-hit bonus/damage output of the NPCs.



From what I've heard most of the 'new' duergar statblocks will be reprints from OotA anyway, so I'm not sure how useful they'd be. It'd be nice to be proven wrong about that though.

A few will be, but I don't think "most" is accurate.

[paddyfool]

I like the way you ran with that idea. Good luck with the adventure and hope it goes well!