On dwarves and duergar

There are several dwarvish kingdoms in far northern Drau-Mura; these are quite isolated from
the human realms. Some dwarves and halflings have lived in human realms for generations,
through immigration, exile or displacement through war. Dwarvish clans and kingdoms
frequently quarrel over natural resources and rights to rulership, and many a family has decided
such violence is not preferable to running away to live among a foreign race of tall folk.

As might be expected, these pewter dwarves and halflings face numerous

complications with being incorporated into the societies of humans. Most of them have ended up
funneled into the rural, agricultural, landless underclass of serfs and villeins. Others migrate to
hinterlands and hills, hoping to create small communities of their own. Such communities,
however, often turn to the protection (or protection) of a local human lord, once they realize
bandits are quite eager to prey on migrant families. (It is still a common belief that most
dwarvish families are hiding some kind of fabulous jeweled heirloom, and are simply too proud
to sell it for more useful goods.) Of course, other dwarves and halflings do quite well, bringing
wealth or useful skills with them into human society.

The most feared dwarvish kingdom/society is that of the gray dwarves, who call
themselves the duergar. They dislike sunlight and are responsible for much of dwarvish
societys expansion into the subterranean world. Unlike other dwarves, they believe the dwarvish
ancestors to be fearsome, unpleasant spirits who must be propitiated. (Their cleric's magic is
pretty much the same as normal dwarvish clerics', though.)

Throughout much of human history (including some places in the present), it was
acceptable to enslave dwarves, especially if they were duergar. (Since duergar practice slavery
too, it was considered only just that their criminals be enslaved by humans.) Naturally, this has
caused the word duergar simply to become synonymous with any kind of badly behaved dwarf
whom it would be acceptable to enslave.

Sometimes, a dwarvish master craftsman becomes divinely inspired through her

ancestors, though such inspiration is indistinguishable from obsessive madness. We call such a
state gwarheim. She becomes able to forge one magical item, ever. Such a process can take
years, and under gwarheim one may well fail to realize one is creating a magical item. Such
craftsmen are often deceived or enslaved, their magical item taken from them when complete,
though they may be richly reimbursed afterwards.