Duergar Quartermaster

Duergar Quartermaster (CR 16)

Lawful Evil - Medium - Humanoid (Duergar)

Lore:	Know (Local)
34		49
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

27

Perception:
37	+27
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 120 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

39

Man Def

39

Monster Health
475	237	31
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+18
Refl:	+13
Will:	+18

Strong Against:

• ER 31/fire (energy, common)

• ER 31/psychic (energy, uncommon)
• Reduce any forced movement by two squares.

Weak Against:

• Any spell or effect which successfully targets the Duergar and has the Light descriptor inflicts the Dazzled condition on the Duergar for 1 minute.

• Duergars are also Dazzled if they are in an area with natural daylight.

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+24

Man Off

+27

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Heavy Heart Mace +24 (4d8+19/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Heavy Heart Mace +24 (3d8+18/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Heavy Heart Kinetic Blast +24 (3d8+18/19-20 x2)
  as psychic (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 300 ft.; Max Range: 300 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

19

STR

17

DEX

20

CON

14

INT

25

WIS

18

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 27
• Diplomacy: 27
• Perception: 27
• Sense Motive: 29
• All other skills: 22 (no ranks)

Languages: Undercommon, Fuligin

Feats:

• Glorious Heat (EFFECT: When you cast a divine spell with the correct damage type, you also heal an ally)

Special Abilities

Channel Righteousness (Su) Standard Action 1/Enc

Once per encounter as a standard action, the Duergar Quartermaster can Channel Righteousness upon all creatures within 30 feet of the Duergar. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Enemy creatures (those who do not believe in the Book of Silence) suffer 3d8+18 points of fire (energy, common) damage, but may make a Will save, DC 27, for half. Those who are believers in the Book of Silence are instead Healed for 4d10+23 points of damage. This is done as a single damage roll, with the results applied as either damage or healing to all creatures in the area.

Scourge (Su) Immediate Action 1/Enc

Once per encounter as an immediate action, a Duergar Quartermaster may proclaim a scourge on an ally within 50 feet of himself, or even upon himself. That ally has a single status condition immediately removed. If more than one status condition is present on the target, the Duergar Quartermaster may choose which condition is removed by Scourge.

Catharsis (Sp) Standard Action

Concentration: 1d20 + 19 vs. a DC of 31 (12 needed on the die) As a standard action, the Duergar can cast Catharsis on a 20-foot diameter area (4x4 squares) within 150 feet. Creatures in the area take 3d8+18 points of Fire (energy, common) damage and become Shaken until the end of the encounter. The target creatures may make a Reflex save, DC 27, to reduce the damage by half and avoid the Shaken condition. Note that this ability is subject to their Glorious Heat feat, and they will use it with that knowledge in their minds.

Hush (Sp) Standard Action

Concentration: 1d20 + 19 vs. a DC of 31 (12 needed on the die) As a standard action, the Duergar may choose a non-believer in the Book of Silence to whom they have line of sight and line of effect, and who is within 1000 feet. The target of Hush must make a Will saving throw against a DC of 27 or suffer 3d8+18 points of Stilling (energy, uncommon) damage and become unable to speak until the end of the encounter, or until they receive the effects of a Remove Curse, a Restoration spell (or Greater Restoration), a paladin's Cleanse, or an ability which mimics one of these effects.. If the save is made, the damage is halved, and the target of Hush is unable to speak until the beginning of the Duergar's next turn, when the effect ends. While Hushed, spellcasting of any spell with a verbal component is disallowed, as is any verbal communication, or speaking any command words to activate magic items. Hush is not magical Silence, as the spell, and confers no immunity to Sonic attacks and confers no benefits to Stealth rolls. A Bard struck by Hush, for example, could still use their instrument to play and maintain their Bard songs, as long as their Perform skill uses an actual instrument and not their voice.

Duergar Quartermaster

Duergar would tell you that they are the first Dwarves, and the race calling itself Dwarves are actually a heretical offshoot which is so inbred and simple-minded that it will willingly leave the dark comforts of the earth and venture into the Void (where the sky is). Clearly, this is textbook madness. Duergar suffer no such dementia, and never wander above ground for any reason whatsoever. In fact, venturing into the Void is considered so sinful as to permanently render a Duergar unclean and unfit to interact with other Duergar without Divine Intervention to cleanse the taint of the Void off them. As a result of this xenophobic agoraphobia, any Duergar you encounter above ground is not going to be in a good mood, and is only there for Something Important.

Duergar are much swarthier than traditional dwarves, though they carry the same solid, wide frames, and stout, but not tall, statures. Their skin tones vary from a ruddy maroon-brown into bluish greys and even a chalky black. Their eyes are frequently pale pastels of nearly any color, and keen observers would notice that their irises have only a pinprick dot of a pupil. Duergar, like dwarves, tend to be hirsute, and prize long braids, bushy beards, and untamed pates. Their language is harsh-sounding and full of consonants, and the Duergar dialect demands that most things be said with great emphasis, almost like they are angry all the time, contrary to the way other denizens of the Unterwelt would speak the tongue.

Duergar are perhaps most famous for their religious zealotry, and their penchant for forcible conversion, proselytizing, and the wildly creative tortures they employ against non-believers. Duergar appear to adhere to a rigorous religious code, but those who interact with them are seldom convinced the race shares any ethical values. Despite being devout adherents to their Book of Silence, a holy book that every Duergar carries with them at all times, all Duergar tend to be rapaciously cruel, even during diplomatic conversations. They will take every opportunity to verbally abuse non-believers they are forced to interact with, and then, only if they can't get away with physically torturing or slowly killing the unbelievers on the spot.

The Duergar Quartermaster is a high-ranking member of the Duergar Prelate, and is responsible for ensuring that the many required daily rituals of the Ecclesiasts are properly performed and attended. The Quartermaster is a leadership position, giving him authority over many of the lesser adherents, as well as responsibility for those in his charge. As with any Duergar, groups of Quartermasters can often be found together, both because they have formed a sort of sadistic kinship with their peers, and to spy and keep tabs on those peers to look for opportunities to rise further in the Prelate. Quartermasters are experienced politicians and spies, and will often employ subterfuge, trickery and diversions, before deigning to engage an opponent directly.

Combat Tactics

Duergar Quartermasters prefer not to dirty their hands in a straight-up fight, preferring instead to lead their enemies into other enemies to wear themselves down, or into traps or other obstacles. However, this does not mean that the Quartermasters are poor fighters. Indeed, they are quite powerful opponents when pressed, their Heavy Heart maces doing terrible damage in melee and they can also hurl deadly bolts of psychic energy through them to surprisingly good range, and with great accuracy.

If a Duergar is at range, he will usually make use of Catharsis. His Glorious Heat feat means he won't be very careful about hitting allies, either, since one lucky ally gets a small heal in the bargain! However, the combat casting Caster Check is too difficult to ever try using this spell while threatened. In this case, the Duergar will either use his mace to melee or hurl psychic bolts, or if he and his allies have started to take damage, he will use Channel Righteousness.

Quartermasters tend to prefer Catharsis over the use of Hush, they are not strong spell casters and they like big, messy battles, but if an unbeliever spellcaster is hanging back to cast spells, at least one of them will use Hush, seeking to 'shut them down'. If that spell caster hanging back is a vile creature using 'magic' from an unclean God not mentioned in the Book of Silence, it is probable that at least a few Quartermasters will seek to Hush them as soon as they become aware of their presence. Indeed, a volley of Hush can pile enough Stilling damage onto a single unbeliever Cleric to silence them abruptly and forever, and such a fate is meet and just.

The Duergar can use Scourge on himself or an ally to immediately clear a status condition, but only once per encounter. This makes the Duergar Quartermaster surprisingly resilient to attacks that might otherwise disable him.

Duergar will flee a fight they clearly cannot win, but only if they believe doing so will not be observed by Duergar more highly placed in the Prelate. "Death is merely a feather, while honor is an anvil." If only other Quartermasters or lower ranked Duergar are present, the Quartermaster will strive for self-preservation. Even better, if he can do so by putting one of his fellow Quartermasters in the way, he'll eagerly do so.

Out of Combat

Duergar are surprisingly common above ground, considering how much they hate it. Duergar above ground are universally filled with loathing (even more than usual) and will take out their spite on anyone they can get away with. Duergar above ground are always in a hurry to finish their odious business and get back into the warm embrace of the Earth.

Rewards

XP: 76,800

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 43,125 gp.

Weight: 160 lbs.     Volume: 6.4 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)