The Industry of Death

Underworld by Dragos Jineau

(based on an idea of duergar being dwarves that dug too far down into the earth, breaking into the underworld and being claimed by death's domain. Also heavily influenced by listening to Hadestown a lot recently.)

Death's job used to be easy. Few things died in the old days, and the passage of those souls was a short duration. Many of the first children of the gods were made without an end of life in mind. For Death, existence was simple.

Then the mortals turned up.

A mortal soul lasts longer post-mortem than that of a worm or tree. Throughout life their soul accumulates debris- quirks, habits, tastes, personality, uniqueness. This keeps it tethered to its last life, and makes their souls restless.

To solve this, Death gave the souls purpose. Death gave the souls work to be done.

The underworld is an expansive factory of subterranean bridges and workhouses. Oil, steam, and work are the currency of this land, where the restless dead toil away at the Great Machine.

The Great Machine has many components, many functions, many forms. If asked, no one knows what the true purpose or end goal of the Great Machine is, only that it will eventually be done and that it will be done sooner if they work harder. The passages of the underworld echo with the work chants of the dead, all focused on the continuation of the Great Machine.

Those that enter the underworld come to find it technologically more advanced than the surface world. Thousands of souls all working towards one goal have achieved much through plundering the earth's core resources and putting them to work. Adventurers may seek to bring these technologies to the land of the living, but Death guards them fiercely.

Death has few guards in the underworld. There are wardens that ensure the work is done and that the workers do as they're told, but few warriors. Instead, adventurers face the opposition of Death themselves. Death chooses the slain and cannot themselves die- few require this to be explained to them before they realise the fight is already lost.