| Category | Races |
| Type | degenerate dwarves |
| Creation | 10 Bloom 237 GE |
| Language | Dwarven |
| Native | Bal-Kriav |
The initial derro was created by an astral deva named Polyxo. While experimenting with soul energy at Quelmollendë, she aimed to engineer a variant of the dwarves more accustomed to the deeper reaches of the Underdark. Her experiments using soul energy to spawn new life forms were only partially successful. This was because the souls she utilized were destined for the Abyss. Ordinarily, these souls would be the chattel of the demon lords, fated to recommence as a pitiful mane. Polyxo repurposed these chaotic evil souls, employing them to create new life forms. For the majority of those produced in this manner, the outcome was something degenerate, mutated, distorted, or prone to insanity. The derro were one such creation.
Polyxo released the majority of her creations into the Underdark, including those tainted by dark energies. She asserts this will restore equilibrium. However, I believe these derro are malevolent entities in human guise.
Naraz-Nâru, from his renowned work Gulun Barkûn - "Polyxo's Tainted Creations"
Naraz-Nâru's pronouncements hold truth, for the derro have grown increasingly vicious and brutal over time. They now overwhelmingly embody a chaotic evil alignment. When engaging with other societies, if the derro possess the upper hand, they will swiftly eliminate their neighbors and subjugate them. Should they prove unable to vanquish their foes in open combat, they will resort to horrific atrocities such as genocide, poisoning water and food supplies, and unleashing disease against their adversaries.
Depraved derro individuals can be discovered residing within their own tyrannical city-states, functioning as soldiers for some malevolent overlord, or confined within penitentiaries maintained by those too merciful to eliminate them. They seldom dwell in egalitarian communities, for the innate compulsion to subjugate others courses through their very veins - they either toil in servitude until amassing sufficient strength to revolt, or are the ones issuing ruthless commands.
When the derro departed Quelmollendë, they dispersed into smaller factions and radiated outward from Kazgon before infiltrating other realms within the Underdark. Akin to certain other subterranean species, they have established remote settlements across the domain through the Earth Seam.
Many derro possess psionic abilities. This typically occurs by chance when they encounter deep rocks. Exposure to these mutative rocks doubles their normal chances of acquiring wild talents. One of Polyxo's books at Quelmollendë explains the materials used in creating the first derro. It states that Polyxo utilized ground-up rocks matching the description of deep rocks in all her experiments with soul energy. Most derro psionicists follow the path of the wilder.
As a degenerate and highly mutable species, derro have spawned a number of offshoots, including derro mutants, multi-armed derro mutants, Grimlock-derro conjoins, and derro with eye-stalks.
| Trait | Description |
|---|---|
| Glow Blood | when exposed for more than a week to deep rocks, derro have a 5% chance + 1%/day thereafter of acquiring 1-3 wild talents. Once they have wild talents, they cannot get any more in this manner. |
| Racial | as derro |
| Lifespan | 75 years |