Editing Duergar (section)

==Culture==
Duergar society is a dark mirror of [[dwarf]]dom, a grim and cheerless place of ceaseless toil backed by slavery, whom the duergar will work to death without hesitation. Similarly to their [[drow]] rivals, duergar are heavily shaped by the religion of their dark god. Dragon magazine joined them with Abbathor the greed god, but he proved not Lawful enough for these slavers so the lore switched to [[Laduguer]].

The Duergar "Ecology" article had them as outright theocrats to this one. A lesser deity than Laduguer in their culture, but still very important to them, is their patron goddess, [[Deep Duerra]]. Like dwarves, they live in clan groups, but unlike dwarves, these clans compete bitterly, and will happily destroy or enslave each other for their own advancement.

Duergar are a bitter and xenophobic people, hating pretty much everyone. The one race they offer any respect towards is the [[svirfneblin]], whom they begrudgingly admit has some decent skill in craftsmanship. Their deepest enmity is towards both other dwarves and to [[illithid]]s; lore built up around 3rd edition is that duergar are former dwarves who were enslaved by the mind flayers and escaped under their own power, but who have been psychologically and culturally damaged by both their enslavement and by their belief that their former kin abandoned them to slavery. Wonder where they got [[Githyanki|that idea]].

In their "Ecology" article, it's implied that duergar hold a particular disdain, if not enmity, for the [[Derro]], as Laduguer's creation myth claims the first derro was made from a rogue duergar that tried to challenge Laduguer's skill at creation and his flawed work produced the various other races that "stain" the world today. Mind you, it's implied everybody who lives in the [[Underdark]] regards the derro with disdain, and given they're the only race who challenge the [[Kuo-toa]] for the position of "nuttiest nutbar in the Underdark", that's kind of justified.

In the [[Nentir Vale]] setting, duergar instead worship [[Asmodeus]], mostly because Laduguer felt somewhat superfluous in the face of him and [[Torog]], and because, really, it doesn't make a lot of sense that a race that fought its way ''out'' of slavery would worship a god whose faith explicitly turns them into his slaves.

5e reconciled this by stating that whilst duergar mostly worship Laduguer, Asmodeus has been known to impersonate him in order to usurp control over duergar clans and guide them towards their darker aspects, such as encouraging them to enslave other races. The subsequent "Tome of Foes" expansion would add to this by stating that Laduguer was originally a mortal duergar who bargained with Asmodeus for the power to save his people; as such the duergar are bound by their pact with Asmodeus to battle [[Lolth]] and her [[drow]] minions, and many duergar clans go so far as to worship Asmodeus for his part in freeing them.

This same sourcebook also explains further just why duergar are so bitter and spiteful; according to their histories, they were betrayed by their [[dwarf]] kin. When illithids lured the whole duergar clan into the [[Underdark]], dwarves investigated their old clanhold, but never bothered to try and find out where they went, as the priests of [[Moradin]] had denounced the duergar as heretics. Even when [[Laduguer]] led his people back to the surface and explained to the priests what had happened, they refused to apologize for their failure to try and find the duergar. Incensed by this, Laduguer and his people spat on Moradin and vowed to cast him down from his celestial throne as an unfit patron before marching back into the [[Underdark]], beginning the long war against their people.

In this 5e source, duergar society is said to revolve around the three precepts of Laduguer, who is not so much worshipped in the traditional sense as the living image of who they try to be. Those three dictats, the Three Rules of Conduct, are:

'''Our Pockets Are Never Full:''' A duergar's ambition and avarice can never be sated. Success is not celebrated, as a duergar should already begin planning for what it will achieve next, be it wealth, vengeance, or power.

'''Our Fight Is Never Done:''' Life is a battle for survival that only the fittest can win, in duergar philosophy, and it is their solemn duty as a race to prove themselves the fittest.

'''Our Resolve Is Never Shaken:''' Showing weakness of any sort is a mortal sin in duergar society, be it in the workings of the clan or in personal conduct. Duergar are prohibited from demonstrating happiness, contentedness or trust, and the abandonment of emotion and individuality is idealized in their ranks. Thus, duergar soldiers on the march wear grotesque facial masks to obscure their identity and their feelings, and are compelled to march on relentlessly.

Spoilers for Out of the Abyss: the High King Horgar Steelshadow V is also being influenced by the Demon Prince [[Graz'zt]]. The influence is subtle, replacing the king's consort with a succubus that whispers devious things to the king. Graz'zt's plan is a very long-term corruption, however. Mostly, he wants to open up diplomatic channels between the duergar and the surface. With trade and emigration comes new ideas, and with new ideas comes the hopes that at least some deep dwarves will embrace luxury and overindulgence.