Race: Duergar, Deep Gnomes
Government: Hive Council
Theme: Subterranean dominance, psionic control, ancient wyrm reverence
The Deepwyrm Enclave emerged deep beneath Andorea during the late First Era, when early dwarven and gnomish societies delved too far and encountered vast caverns ruled by ancient wyrms—beings older than most surface civilizations. Rather than destroy the intruders, the wyrms imposed a brutal choice: submission, transformation, or extinction.
Those who survived became something new. Duergar and deep gnomes of the Enclave were reshaped by psionic pressure, isolation, and proximity to ancient minds. Over generations, individuality gave way to collective purpose. The Enclave believes that the surface world is unstable, wasteful, and doomed to collapse, while the deep earth endures.
The Deepwyrm Enclave represents order through unity—a society where survival is ensured by obedience, secrecy, and the suppression of personal ambition in favor of the whole.
The Enclave is ruled through a rigid, psionically reinforced hierarchy designed to eliminate dissent.
Key elements of governance:
The Hive Council
Collective ruling body composed of the most powerful psionic leaders
Members are mentally linked through shared consciousness rituals
Decisions are unanimous by necessity—dissent is psychically resolved
The Wyrm Regents
Ancient wyrms who serve as living symbols of authority
Rarely intervene directly, but their presence underpins all legitimacy
Thought to exert subtle mental influence over the Council
Node Overseers
Regional administrators controlling major cavern complexes
Responsible for production, defense, and population management
Selected based on psionic strength, not lineage
Citizens do not vote, protest, or rebel. Order is maintained through mental cohesion rather than fear.
The Enclave’s forces are optimized for subterranean warfare and mental domination.
Heavily armored infantry trained for cavern and tunnel combat
Excel in choke-point defense and sudden overwhelming assaults
Often augmented with psionic enhancements
Elite psionic strike forces
Capable of disrupting enemy coordination and inducing fear or paralysis
Used sparingly to avoid collateral mental collapse
Fanatically loyal defenders stationed near ancient wyrm lairs
Equipped with relic weapons forged from deep-earth materials
Serve as both soldiers and sacred wardens
Internal security and counterintelligence division
Detects dissent, surface influence, and rogue thought-patterns
Enforces conformity through memory alteration or psychic severance
Allied with:
None — The Deepwyrm Enclave is strictly isolationist
At War with:
Ironhold Compact – Ongoing subterranean conflict over tunnels, resources, and territorial expansion
The Enclave does not recognize surface diplomacy as legitimate. To them, war is not declared—it is inevitable when boundaries are crossed.