Laduguer
Encyclopedia
In many campaign setting
s for the fantasy
role-playing game
Dungeons & Dragons
, Laduguer is the evil deity of the duergar
, the Underdark
-dwelling cousins of dwarves
. He is a strict and unforgiving god. His holy symbol is a shield with a broken crossbow bolt motif.
for Monster Mythology
(1992). Before then, duergar were said to worship Abbathor
.
The origin of the word Laduguer may be traced back to Norse
or Germanic
mythology
. The Germanic word, "laguz" or the Old English, "lagu" is the ancient rune for flowing water, the source of life. The word "duer" is simply a shortened form of the Norse word for dwarf, "duergar" or "dvergar."
(1992), including details about his priesthood. His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground
(1996). He received a very detailed description for his role in the Forgotten Realms
in Demihuman Deities
(1998).
Laduguer's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
(2002).
pantheon, but he exiled himself over a point of honor. His only ally is Grumbar
, the Boss of the Earth Elementals. His list of enemies, on the other hand, is long, including Blibdoolpoolp
, the Blood Queen, Callarduran Smoothhands
, Diinkarazan
, Diirinka
, the Great Mother
, Gzemnid
, Ilsensine
, Ilxendren, Laogzed
, Maanzecorian
(dead), Orcus
, Psilofyr
, Urdlen
, the drow pantheon, and every member of the dwarven pantheon, except for Dugmaren Brightmantle
.
He was briefly allied with Lolth
, and from this alliance he gained the knowledge that provided his people with their giant spider mounts, the steeders. As the drow and duergar fought for resources and territory, however, the alliance shattered, and Lolth and Laduguer became foes.
. There, he keeps a hall called Forgegloom, its walls made of armor, shields, weapons, and other martial debris. It has no doors or windows unless Laduguer wills it.
Clerics of Laduguer, called thuldors, wear heavy armor and gray, hooded mantles. The symbol of Laduguer is branded on their foreheads. Their favored weapon is the warhammer. They are often the rulers of their people. It is their job to protect (often with traps) and maintain order in their communities. They keep the duergar cities free from other races. They tend to be skilled craftsmen, especially the older and frailer ones.
, the duergar observe the ceremony of Grimtidings. They lay down their tools and gather to hear stories of their voluntary exile and the decadence of other dwarves. Laduguer is praised for his great skill, and the duergar swear vengeance against those who have insulted their god and their people.
One prideful dwarf, however, sought to elevate himself above his fellows. Known as the Lone Craftsman, he worked in secret to create life, with the result being ugly, gangling things. These, in fact, were all the other races of the world: elves, giants, humans, kobolds, orcs, and more. The Lone Craftsman threw them from his forge in disgust, for try as he might he could not equal Laduguer's original creation. Finally, after years of effort, he succeeded in creating a being like a duergar, but with skin of bronze and eyes like precious gems, the ancestor of the hill and mountain dwarves. Laduguer discovered this blasphemous attempt at improving on his own creation and, in punishment, afflicted the Lone Craftsman with madness so that he could never create again. Thus, the Lone Craftsman became the first of the derro
.
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
s for the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, Laduguer is the evil deity of the duergar
Duergar (Dungeons & Dragons)
In Dungeons & Dragons fantasy, the duergar, or gray dwarves are a cruel and evil subrace of dwarves.-Publication history:The duergar are named after the dvergar of Norse mythology, who were the builders of Gleipnir...
, the Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
-dwelling cousins of dwarves
Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
. He is a strict and unforgiving god. His holy symbol is a shield with a broken crossbow bolt motif.
Creative origins
Laduguer was created by Carl SargentCarl Sargent
Carl L. Sargent is a British author of several roleplaying game-based products and novels.-Early career:...
for Monster Mythology
Monster Mythology
Monster Mythology is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Released by TSR in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent, with interior illustrations by Terry Dykstra, John and Laura Lakey, and Keith Parkinson, Monster Mythology was released as a companion volume for...
(1992). Before then, duergar were said to worship Abbathor
Abbathor
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Abbathor is the dwarven deity of greed. His holy symbol is a jeweled dagger.-Publication history:...
.
The origin of the word Laduguer may be traced back to Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
or Germanic
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. The Germanic word, "laguz" or the Old English, "lagu" is the ancient rune for flowing water, the source of life. The word "duer" is simply a shortened form of the Norse word for dwarf, "duergar" or "dvergar."
Publication history
Laduguer was first detailed in the book Monster MythologyMonster Mythology
Monster Mythology is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Released by TSR in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent, with interior illustrations by Terry Dykstra, John and Laura Lakey, and Keith Parkinson, Monster Mythology was released as a companion volume for...
(1992), including details about his priesthood. His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground
On Hallowed Ground
On Hallowed Ground is an accessory book for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, for the Planescape campaign setting.-Contents:This book contains information about deities' planar domains from 20 separate pantheons...
(1996). He received a very detailed description for his role in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
in Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities is a Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition: Forgotten Realms campaign accessory, published by Wizards of the Coast. The book was designed by Eric L. Boyd...
(1998).
Laduguer's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons is a campaign accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons, for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.-Contents:...
(2002).
Description
Laduguer appears as a tall, gaunt duergar with skin that can change between gray and brown to match the nearby rock. He is bald and perpetually frowning. He is inclined toward evil, but this is mostly turned inward, gloomy and unforgiving over what he feels is his rejection by his kin. He is supremely lawful above all else, despising the other dwarven deities for being lazy, indolent, and feckless.Relationships
The Taskmaster was once a member of the Morndinsamman, or dwarvenDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
pantheon, but he exiled himself over a point of honor. His only ally is Grumbar
Grumbar
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Grumbar is the "Elemental Lord of the Earth."-Publication history:...
, the Boss of the Earth Elementals. His list of enemies, on the other hand, is long, including Blibdoolpoolp
Blibdoolpoolp
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Blibdoolpoolp is the deity worshipped by the kuo-toa race. She is also known as the "Sea Mother."-Publication history:...
, the Blood Queen, Callarduran Smoothhands
Callarduran Smoothhands
Callarduran Smoothhands is the gnome god of the earth in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.He is the patron deity of the svirfneblin , and is not very popular among other gnome subraces. Unlike other gods of the Underdark, he is not an outcast...
, Diinkarazan
Diinkarazan
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Diinkarazan is the derro deity of vengeance.-Publication history:Diinkarazan was first detailed in the book Monster Mythology , including details about his priesthood...
, Diirinka
Diirinka
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Diirinka is the derro deity of magic, savants, knowledge, and cruelty. His symbol is a spiral of gray, black, and white...
, the Great Mother
Great Mother (Dungeons & Dragons)
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, The Great Mother is the creator and primary racial deity of beholders, gibbering orbs, and the various races of beholder-kin. The Great Mother is the beholder deity of magic, fertility, and tyranny...
, Gzemnid
Gzemnid
Gzemnid is a fictional deity in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is a beholder deity. Gzemnid is the beholder deity of gases, fogs, obscurement, and deception.-Publication history:...
, Ilsensine
Ilsensine
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Ilsensine is the patron deity of illithids . While not the creator of illithids, Ilsensine sees mind flayers as the entities most worthy of dominating the universe...
, Ilxendren, Laogzed
Laogzed
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Laogzed is the deity worshipped by reptilian troglodyte race. Its symbol is an oozing toad-lizard, or a lizard's head. Laogzed's sacred animal is the toad.-Publishing history:...
, Maanzecorian
Maanzecorian
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Maanzecorian is the illithid deity of knowledge and philosophy. His symbol is a silver crown set with a red gem....
(dead), Orcus
Orcus (Dungeons & Dragons)
Orcus is the fictional demon prince, and lord of the undead in many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is named after Orcus of Roman mythology. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head...
, Psilofyr
Psilofyr
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Psilofyr is the myconid deity of community, healing, and philosophy...
, Urdlen
Urdlen
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Urdlen is the gnome deity of greed and blood.In many campaign settings, the gnome pantheon of gods consists of the leader Garl Glittergold, as well as Baervan Wildwanderer, Baravar Cloakshadow, Flandal Steelskin, Gaerdal Ironhand, Nebelun, Segojan...
, the drow pantheon, and every member of the dwarven pantheon, except for Dugmaren Brightmantle
Dugmaren Brightmantle
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Dugmaren Brightmantle is the dwarf deity of scholarship, discovery, and invention...
.
He was briefly allied with Lolth
Lolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
, and from this alliance he gained the knowledge that provided his people with their giant spider mounts, the steeders. As the drow and duergar fought for resources and territory, however, the alliance shattered, and Lolth and Laduguer became foes.
Realm
Laduguer's realm of Hammergrim is located on the plane of AcheronAcheron (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Acheron , also known as The Infernal Battlefield of Acheron, is a lawful neutral/lawful evil-aligned plane of existence...
. There, he keeps a hall called Forgegloom, its walls made of armor, shields, weapons, and other martial debris. It has no doors or windows unless Laduguer wills it.
Dogma
The duergar teach that superiors must be strictly and promptly obeyed. They teach the importance of dedication to one's craft and endless toil to achieve wealth, security, and power. They view life as a harsh existence in which nothing is easy; this is the proper, honorable way to live, as reward without effort is sin. Laduguer teaches his people to suffer stoically and remain aloof from other dwarven peoples, who are lazy and weak. The weak are undeserving, and adversity is Laduguer's forge.Worshippers
Although primarily the patron of the duergar, Laduguer still occasionally answers the prayers of other dwarves.Clergy
Prospective clerics of the Gray Protector engage in many hours of repetitive prayer, punctuated by hard labor and other tests of endurance. The cumulation of their trials involves being trapped between two heavy stone blocks and left there for a week. If they manage to obdurately continue to the satisfaction of their superiors, they are initiated into the priesthood in a ceremony involving branding and torture and permitted to subject new prospects to similarly mind-numbing exercises.Clerics of Laduguer, called thuldors, wear heavy armor and gray, hooded mantles. The symbol of Laduguer is branded on their foreheads. Their favored weapon is the warhammer. They are often the rulers of their people. It is their job to protect (often with traps) and maintain order in their communities. They keep the duergar cities free from other races. They tend to be skilled craftsmen, especially the older and frailer ones.
Temples
Laduguer's temples are simple and undecorated. Many contain torture chambers, prison cells, and battle arenas.Rituals
Laduguer's quests involve attempting to awake and control long-buried evils. His prayers are simple constructions of one or two sentences, repeated over and over. Laduguer has few formal rites, as he believes they get in the way of honest work.Holy days
One day a year, on the Winter SolsticeWinter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
, the duergar observe the ceremony of Grimtidings. They lay down their tools and gather to hear stories of their voluntary exile and the decadence of other dwarves. Laduguer is praised for his great skill, and the duergar swear vengeance against those who have insulted their god and their people.
The Creator
According to duergar legend, the time before time was chill nothingness that hungered for creation. That hunger took the form of a gray-skinned dwarf: it became Laduguer the Creator, who forged the world. Duergar theologians say that Laduguer created himself, forging his flesh from the raw desire to create. Then Laduguer populated the world with the first race, the duergar. The duergar dwelled in peace, creating beautiful things to please their god.One prideful dwarf, however, sought to elevate himself above his fellows. Known as the Lone Craftsman, he worked in secret to create life, with the result being ugly, gangling things. These, in fact, were all the other races of the world: elves, giants, humans, kobolds, orcs, and more. The Lone Craftsman threw them from his forge in disgust, for try as he might he could not equal Laduguer's original creation. Finally, after years of effort, he succeeded in creating a being like a duergar, but with skin of bronze and eyes like precious gems, the ancestor of the hill and mountain dwarves. Laduguer discovered this blasphemous attempt at improving on his own creation and, in punishment, afflicted the Lone Craftsman with madness so that he could never create again. Thus, the Lone Craftsman became the first of the derro
Derro (Dungeons & Dragons)
The derro are a fictional species of monstrous humanoids in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They were first devised for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition adventure Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth...
.
The Exile
The duergar claim that the other gods of the dwarves divided their spheres of influence among themselves, leaving nothing for Laduguer to claim. Without a place in the pantheon, Laduguer left it. The duergar were honorable and faithful and would not abandon their god, following him into exile.Additional reading
- Baker, Richard, Travis Stout, and James Wyatt. Player's Guide to Faerun. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Noonan, DavidDavid Noonan (game designer)David Noonan is an author of several products and articles for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from Wizards of the Coast.-Role-playing games:...
, Jesse DeckerJesse Decker-Biography:Decker began playing Dungeons & Dragons in 1983 during recess at his elementary school. During the summer of 1996, he began doing "temp work" for Wizards of the Coast, before returning to finish college that fall. After finishing college, he returned to Wizards of the Coast, where he...
, and Michelle Lyons. Races of Stone. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004. - Oppen, Eric. "Servants of the Jeweled Dagger." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#152. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989. - Redman, Rich and James Wyatt. Defenders of the Faith (Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
, 2000). - Scott, Amber. "The Ecology of the Duergar." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#325. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2004.