#derro

You know how a lot of the western world says Russians never smile? I feel like the Underdark has a similar situation, where smiling for no reason is seen as rude and non-professional, almost mocking - and as a result the surface, where smiling is polite, thinks they must be joyless and depressed

(worldbuilding rant incoming)

(art by lordstevie1 on DeviantArt)

Gaining power from a corrupting source is a long-running trope in fiction, particularly anime, but it’s actually somewhat uncommon in ttrpgs except as a flavor and fluff thing.

Today’s subject is a bit of an exception in that while it is mostly fluff in how it affects the character, being up to the GM and player in how that affects their character arc, there are mechanical changes as well.

And that’s where we begin talking about the Black Blood of Orv. Welling up from the Orvian vault known as the Well of Black Blood (as well as a rare few cases where it reaches the surface, mostly in the icy Crown of the World. This goopy black substance saps the heat from most life forms, but aberrant creatures are seemingly immune, and the undead are often empowered by it.

While the exact origin and purpose of the black blood is not known as of yet, it’s taint can be felt, lingering in the lineage of those exposed for generations, only to manifest later in those that have the potential for magic in their blood. Alternatively, those already possessing the spark might be surprised to find the blood seeks them out when they get close enough, absorbing and changing them as well.

This implies that the black blood is or at least behaves as if it were alive, and seeks out magical hosts, though it is unclear for what purpose.

In divine casters, this typically manifests as oracles who are marked by the black blood, still gaining their power from the divine, but with the foul substance twisting it’s nature slightly. Is it a parasite leeching off of magical and divine energy, or some sort of symbiote empowering the host to better spread itself? Who can say.

What can be said is that these mystics sports some unnerving powers they can leverage in and out of combat, but which make themselves feel unnatural to others.

While the oracle retains their mystery, all marked by the black blood manifest the same curse, which is the taint of the black blood itself. With it, their bodies respond to positive and negative energy as if undead, limiting how they can heal themselves. Furthermore, their lower body temperature makes them somewhat clumsy with tasks that require fine motor skills. In exchange however, they are totally immune to the black blood itself, and also gain a natural resistance to cold that grows with them until finally they become totally immune.

They also get a trio of new revelations they can choose to take, the first one causing them to reflexively spray black blood when wounded with a cutting or piercing weapon, coating either the attacker or another nearby foe with the icy blood as it saps the life from them.

Another allows them to draw upon the power of the black blood to potentially resist various debilitating effects that the undead are normally immune to.

Finally, some become adapted to the dark, their eyes able to see in the darkness.

Ultimately, this archetype is a fairly simple one, replacing the curse and giving a short list of revelations you might consider incorporating into your build. The curse will alter how you play the character though, requiring positive-aligned oracles to also take inflict spells to be able to heal themselves, mirroring the challenges often faced by dhampir and the like.

How these characters deal with the taint of the black blood can vary a lot, and in turn help define their character. Do they worry about the split influence between the divine and this substance? Do they come to think of it as also divine as well?

Not all black blood is cold. The tribal Chokeburners are a clan ruled by fire oracles that bathe daily in the tainted sludge of the tar pits, said to be the black blood of Cuvas Gurrut, demon lord of volcanoes. Their demands for virgin sacrifices to their foul god are often met by raids on neighboring tribes, as their mastery of poison, fire, and smoke are feared just as much as the threats of their god’s wrath.

There is one tower of the royal palace of Alfiin, land of the elves, that remains under constant guard, with only blind servants being allowed inside. No one will say why this is, but certain heretical accounts refer to the king having a daughter who was never seen again after she began weeping black tears at her mother’s funeral procession.

Wyll: What's wrong – is the plant getting to you? You look sicker than a drunk derro.

About Derros

So this line threw me for a SIX the first time I heard it, because "derro" is NOT a nice word in Australia.

... And then I read the lore on derros in Forgotten Realms, and was like:

Chidi: Okay, but that's worse. I mean, you, you get how that's worse, right?

According to the duergar, the derro are descended from dwarves of a clan that was left behind when the others escaped the mind flayers' rule. They eventually also got away, but not before becoming demented and contorted. The derro tell their own story of flight and survival in the Underdark, and the mind flayers aren't always the enemy. Laduguer and Deep Duerra don't feature in their mythic history. Instead they tell of two brothers, Diirinka and Diinkarazan, and of how Diirinka cleverly betrayed his sibling so that he could steal magical power from the evil they escaped.

Derro and Duergar

Art for Monstrous Manual 2e