Do Duergar have to be Evil?

[Redemption]

As I was mulling over different possibilities of characters for NWN2, I wondered if Good Duergar exist? I know good Drow exist, and they usually follow Eilistraee.

Thanks in advance.

[CheezPuff]

I don't think there is anything not allowing it but I have never HEARD of a good drugeur.

Why? trying to make a dreuger pally? lol.

[wandaien]

hehe... anything is possible.. evil does not lay in all hearts of a race known for evil, on forgotten realms...such as drow, orcs, lycanthorps, etc.... they most unique and fun characters to play are those that are in constant conflict, physical, mental, and/or morale... all of the races on Faerun have some form of reason and can choose his/her own path towards personal respect. :)

[cal1s]

hehe why not!
sounds quite interesting for me ...
I don't think there is anything not allowing it but I have never HEARD of a good drugeur.

Why? trying to make a dreuger pally? lol.

[arathalion]

they are usually evil, and i wouldnt alow one in a game unless they had a very good bio. if you grow up in duergar scoety, or with other duergar then you are likely to be evil.

but you should be able to do it in nwn2

[McPhearsom]

A 'good' Duergar is one who turns his back on his past, his own kind and basically opposes everything that makes them a Duergar. Possible yes but very difficult and highly unlikely. That said, a Duergar abandoned at birth 'could' be raised to be good although it might be in their nature to be evil (think Neeshka), it all depends on the background story though.

[Fletchman1313]

In an AD&D campaign, anything can happen...

I had a Neutral Lich once, who was a former Magic User who simply wanted to learn more and didn't want to die of old age. It freaked out the party at first, but eventually he became the source of lots of adventures as he'd send them looking for items...

I also had the idea of a good Vampire... but after the Lich it wasn't really going to surprise anyone so I never did it...

But as it was said earlier... if someone wanted to play a good Duergar or some other "unconventional" race/alignment, they definitely gotta have a good backstory for it...

In a computer game, it might be a bit different... since the computers generally can't deviate from established rules...

[arathalion]

We were commenting somewhere, I think it was in the alignment thread, that the more flawed characters are, the more you think about them and the more unusual they are the most fun to play

[McPhearsom]

I wouldn't consider a flawed character to be more fun. nearly every character has some sort of flaw but th idea is to balance it, good in one area, bad in another. A character with too many flaws can be frustrating to play since they are incapable of anything (like a wizard with low intelligence).

The idea is to make any character what YOU want them to be rather than what you assume they SHOULD be.

[lurchman]

Why can't you have a good Duergar? We've got Deekin in this game. And who ever heard of a good Kobold? I think the Duergar are portrayed as instictively
evil. But also, too dumb and unorganized to be of any real threat on their own. They seem to be little better than slaves. Even the Kobolds seem a worthier opponent then the Duergar. Besides, I loved kicking their butts in BG 1. :p

[arathalion]

as has been said above, they dont have to be, its just a social norm.

[Xae'an]

Duergar society as a whole is evil but an individual duergar can be of any alignment - they are not demons or devils after all. Same is true for drow. Good or neutral orcs are likely a bit less common as they are usually too stupid to question their society. Good and neutral members of these races are exiles and often adventurers, which makes them quite popular as PCs- a bit too popular for the taste of some DMs.

I don't understand why some people complain about good drow and duergar but have no problems with evil sun elves or shield dwarves. But are exceptional for their race but never the less possible.

As a DM I'd not require a player to explain their alignment in great detail, but they need to explain how they survived their escape from the Underdark. Evil PCs however, too often mean disaster and wracked campaigns.

[ball lightning]

I've seen many wierd charaters when playing D&D. Anything which has will can be good or evil and lawful or choatic.

[sirchet]

I give a resounding NO! Here is a link to a LN Cleric of Moradin who happens to be a Duergar.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rp/20020911a

And a well written bio, I might add. :)

[Fletchman1313]

Well, it IS a matter of an individual's choice. And that choice may or may not be affected by the individual's upbringing or environment. Duergar and Drow have a tendency to be evil, because they're usually born and raised a couple of miles underground, just as Palestinian children born in Gaza have a tendency to hate the Israelites.

Whether it's a Tiefling or Drow who wants to become a Paladin, or an Aasimar who becomes an Assassin or Blackguard, it all depends on that individual's choice.

Imagine if a Dwarf wanted to become a monk.

[kgambit]

Imagine if a Dwarf wanted to become a monk.

SACRILEGE! :eek: :rolleyes: :D

[D.0.a]

According to "the expanded psionics handbook"(dnd 3.5) there are a fair number of neutral duergar(who just want to be left alone) and hardly any good ones. mainly because they seem to have some sort of racial chip-on-shoulder thing going on.