Duergar & Derro: Use them? How much?

[Brennin Magalus]

Haven't really used either. That's one of the problems with D&D, there's too many humanoid races; what do you really do with all of them, anyway?

Amen to that. I limit the races IMC to humans, dwarves, elves and variants of those three.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I have a serious hate-on for subraces. If I want an evil Dwarven culture, I have no problem using standard Dwarves to fill it. I don't understand why good Dwarves living underground and evil Dwarves living underground have to have different statistics and abilities.

I'm even considering removing the special abilities and level adjustment from Drow and using them as mechanically-standard Elves (except replacing Low-Light Vision with Darkvision).

 

[Desdichado]

Korimyr, I'm with you there. Less mechanically separated "subraces" and more culturally separated groups within a single race is the way to go, I think.

 

[Desdichado]

(double post)

 

[demiurge1138]

I'm not too fond of the duergar, but I like derro. They've got more flavor than most other subraces (and aren't even considered a subrace anymore). I can't say that I've ever used them, but I like them, and I have some ideas for using them in the future.

Demiurge out.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Korimyr, I'm with you there. Less mechanically separated "subraces" and more culturally separated groups within a single race is the way to go, I think.

Definitely. Really, the difference between any two types of Elves shouldn't be more than a regional feat or two, or perhaps Favored Class. I only make the exception for Drow because they live in a radically different environment, and then, I'd rather limit it to better ability to see in the dark.

For similar reasons, I try to trim down the number of other humanoid races, as well. Since we have hard-and-fast rules for updating most humanoids by character class, I don't think we need to have three different kinds of goblinoids and one evil humanoid for every hit die up to the weaker giants.

 

[Dark Jezter]

I like the duergar. They make very cool underdark villains. They aren't nearly as tired and cliche as the drow have become in recent years.

 

[Gothmog]

Exactly what you have to do. Then again, at the end of the day, how different really are drow, duergar and derro as antagonists?

True, but dwarves are infinitely cooler and have more depth of character to them than elves, especially the lame drow.

Seriously, I use duergar more often than derro, though I have used both before on occasion in my 11 year campaign. The duergar are renowned smiths (even better than the dwarves), but have a reputation for being greedy, insular, and xenophobic. The party went to them and commissioned the production of a complex mechanical object for their home country, but the party had to undergo a series of dangerous missions in oder to prove their tustworthiness and gather materials for the deurgar. The duergar clanlord's son hated the group because they considered him an annoying whelp, so he tried to have it appear they had betrayed the duergar community to their enemies (in fact he did intentionally to try and remove the party). The party eventually exposed him, and he was banished into the underworld- to an unknown fate.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Duergar are D&D's answer to the angry little Norse dwarves who make good stuff but are also little rat bastards. Seriously. You can check out the diety-a-week thread for some inspiration in that (Laduguer's entry).

Derro are a bit quizical. They seem to have a lot of baggage attatched....magical dwaves that are maniacal....

And I think in general subraces and extra types are good....one can never have too many options.

 

[Wombat]

Don't like or use the Underdark, so no derro/duregar ... or drow!