Monster: Dvaurgr

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Dvaurgr

A corpse of a long-dead dwarf, with desiccated skin, bleached bones, and dry, yet moldy beard. Its body is embedded with many pieces of gold and silver, stuck into skin and bones, and weaved into the strands of its beard and hair.

CR 10; XP 9,600
LE Medium Undead (dwarf)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +26

Defense
AC 24, touch 14, flat-footed 24 (+4 deflection, +10 natural)
hp 127 (15d8+60)
Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +13; +2 racial bonus against spells and spell-like abilities
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, golden-scales; DR 10/cold iron or chaotic; Immune undead traits; SR 21

Offense
Speed 15 ft.
Melee dvaurgr scepter +20/+15/+10 (1d6+9) and slam +14 (1d6+3/19–20 plus energy drain) or 2 slams +19 (1d6+7/19—20 plus energy drain)
Special Attacks create spawn, energy drain (1 level, DC 21), rotting greed
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th, concentration +19)
1/day—form of the dragon II

Statistics
Str 24, Dex 10, Con —, Int 17, Wis 19, Cha 19
Base Atk +11; CMB +18 (+20 steal); CMD 34 (36 vs. steal, 38 vs. bull-rush and trip)
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Improved Steal, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Appraise +18, Bluff +19, Craft (trapmaking) +18, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +18, Perception +26, Sense Motive +26
Language Dwarven

Ecology
Environment underground
Organization single, accompanied by cairn wights, haunts, and traps
Treasure standard (hoarded with treasure for the accompanying cairn wights, haunts, and traps)

Special Abilities

Create Spawn (Su) Creatures killed with a dvaurgr's energy drain or death throes rise as cairn wights 1d4 rounds thereafter, with additional ability to sense direction and distance toward the pieces of hoard taken away from their creator's barrow. While they are not directly controlled by the dvaurgr who created them, they are infected with his greed and obsession and will actively defend his hoard, pursue thieves, and take action to re-assemble the hoard.

Dvargr's Scepter (Su) A dvaurgr's scepter is a +2 dwarf-bane light mace formed out of fused pieces of the dvaurgr's hoard. A dvaurgr can reform his scepter in his hand as a move action if it is destroyed or stolen, as long as he is near his hoard. As a free action, he can make any pieces of his hoard within 100 feet glow with an eerie pale fluorescence that gives no actual illumination beyond making the valuables visible. Three times per day, a dvaurgr can use a standard action to touch a cairn wight of own creation with the scepter and send that creature to seek and bring valuables that could be added to the dvaurgr's hoard, as if using command undead effect (DC 21). A cairn wight on such mission gains +2 profane bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks.

Golden Scales (Su) Pieces of gold and silver stuck within a dvaurgr's body protect him by deflecting mundane and magical attacks, granting him a deflection bonus to AC equal to his Charisma bonus. When a dvaurgr is destroyed, his body explodes sending lethal rain of shrapnel within 30 ft.-radius burst, dealing 10d6 points of piercing and slashing damage and infecting damaged creatures with rotting greed. A successful Reflex saving throw (DC 21) halves the damage, while a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 21) prevents being infected with rotting greed. The saving throw DC of this ability is Charisma-based.

Rotting Greed (Su) death throes—injury; save Fort 21; onset 1 day; frequency 1 day; effect 1d3 Cha and 1 Cha drain; cure can't be cured on its own and requires successful use of remove curse followed by remove disease or combination of similar effects to be healed. Sapient creatures who are afflicted with rotting greed are suffering from growing paranoia and greed. When their Charisma damage exceeds their Charisma scores, they become obsessed with reassembling the destroyed dvaurgr's hoard instead of falling comatose. They will take every action possible to track and recover missing pieces and take them to the hoard. While in this state they recognize others in the same stage of rotting greed and cairn wights spawned by the same dvaurgr on sight and avoid interfering with each other. If at least half of the hoard is recovered and one of the cairn wights or infected is a dwarf, the dvargr is revived in the dwarven body. Otherwise, they seek to bring a suitable dwarven corpse to the barrow for the dvaurgr spirit to animate it. When a creature suffering from the final stage of rotting greed dies, it animates within 1d4 hours as a cairn wight bound to the dvaurgr's hoard. This is a curse and disease effect. The saving throw DC of this ability is Charisma-based.


Dvaurgrs are dead dwarven lords who were utterly corrupted by their greed. They live in barrows or desolated dwarven dungeons, surrounded only by their hoards, undead, and whatever remnants of dwarven craft and culture time has not unmade yet.

Dvaurgrs are quite intelligent, though greedy, envious, and obsessed with their wealth. They can be negotiated with, though they easily fall into burst of homicidal anger when their paranoia kicks in, and they are notoriously cunning—tricking intruders into unfavorable deals, suicidal missions, and getting themselves into various traps. Wherever intruder succeeds in adding to the dvaurgr's hoard, or dies trying, it's a success in the later's eyes.

Dvaurgrs detest direct sunlight, though it does no actual harm to them, being merely a psychological aversion.