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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:22:10 GMT -5
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:22:45 GMT -5
History The City of Dark Weavings is the product of six thousand years of history, an accident of geography, and a dose of luck. Sshamath was established in -4973 DR by the Lolth-worshiping drow of House Sshamath. For nearly two thousand years after the city's founding, the drow of Sshamath dwelt in accordance with the Way of Lolth. The defining event in Sshamath's history was the collapse of its most precious resource: the Underdark radiation known as faerzress. Localized appearances and disappearances of faerzress are not unheard of. These unexplained fluctuations typically mean the collapse of nearby drow city-states or the establishment of new ones, as the dark elves migrate to new sources of the radiation. By -2872 DR, five years after the problem was initially detected, Sshamath's defenders were bereft of drow magic. The city was on the brink of anarchy. Yet fate had already twisted Sshamath's future. In the three centuries before the faerzress collapse, Sshamath's matron mothers gave birth to an unusually large number of males. This imbalance led to the sizable expansion of the city's corps of skilled wizards and a decrease in the number of Lolth priestesses. Coupled with it's relative geographic isolation from hostile rivals, the abundance of wizards left Sshamath uniquely positioned to survive. As the scope of the disaster became apparent, Sshamath's wizards initiated wave after wave of expeditions to plunder Netheril, Oghrann, and other lost realms. Lesser mages repaired or duplicated every artifact acquired, and more senior sorcerers delved into research and fabrication, initiating a burst of creative output that led to countless new magical creations and incantations. After a time, the balance of power shifted completely as the events led to a quick, bloody civil war that left all the House Matriarchs dead and the House Wizards in control. As time continued to pass, the wizards' influence on society ushered schools of magic into prominence and the House system into irrelevance. Sshamath's Houses still exist today, but a drow's House is no more meaningful than his tailor -- perhaps noteworthy, but essentially unimportant. drowcampaign.roleplaynexus.com/citysshamath.htmlGovernment Sshamathan society esteems the Art above all else and is ruled by a magocracy. Aside from Lolth's clergy and Vhaeraun's temple in the Darkwoods, the populace pays only token homage to the gods. Sshamath is ruled by the Conclave of Sshamath, an oligarchy composed of masters of the ten recognized schools of wizardry. The Conclave convenes only to debate issues that do not clearly fall within one individual master's area and to resolve disputes between schools of wizardry that cannot be resolved privately. Except in rare times of danger to the whole city, Sshamath's ruling council is a roiling mosaic of alliances. As a result, the day-to-day governance of the city is left to the absolute authority of the individual masters, according to his or her school's acknowledged spheres of influence. As one might expect, the various schools are thus engaged in a subtle, ongoing struggle to extend the authority of their representatives on the Conclave of Sshamath. For example, while interment of the dead and the healing of the injured clearly fall within the purview of the master of Necromancy, control of the sale of body parts for material components is contested by most schools. Only the Conclave can officially sanction new schools of wizardry, a form of recognition it is loath to grant because doing so would diminish the power of existing schools. Originally Sshamath's Conclave sanctioned only eight schools: Abjuration, Conjuration and Summoning, Divination, Enchantment and Charm, Illusion and Phantasm, Invocation and Evocation, Necromancy, and Transmutation. The first addition was the school of Mages, for wizards whose research could not be clearly assigned to any one school. In the centuries since, the school of Mages has been severely hamstrung by those who fear it could easily grow to dominate. The tenth and most recent addition to the Conclave is the school of Elemental Magic, a four-way factionalized institution admitted mainly to undermine the power of the growing number of elementalists and to check the increasing influence of the school of Invocation and Evocation. The masters of elemental magic had hoped to be admitted as four separate schools--Air, Earth, Fire, Water--but the Conclave's maneuvering has locked them in a power struggle within the school of Elemental Magic, thus weakening them in the Conclave. Proponents of other schools continue to seek sanction, but are largely stymied by the established schools. (For example, the Master of Illusion and Phantasm blocks all membership efforts by the Vhaeraun-worshipping students of shadow magic.) The newest petitioner is the player-run school of Ancient Arcana led by Raenir Salazar. The ruling structure of each school of wizardry varies according to school traditions, although each school must name a single master to represent it on the Conclave of Sshamath. Some schools replicate the city's government structure, with a ruling council selecting a master from within it's own ranks to speak for the school. Other schools are ruled by autocrats who delegate authority only when it pleases them and brook no dissent. Themes common to all such governmental structures include the relentless, intraschool struggle for supremacy in both mastery of the Art and in assembling loyal factions who seek to elevate their leader to the position of Conclave representative. Today Sorcerers, warlocks, bards and divine spellcasters are treated as secondary citizens (but still citizens) as magic that is earned through work is much more respected than magic that comes naturally or from deference to another. |
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:24:19 GMT -5
Population
Sshamathans are both welcoming of outsiders and xenophobic. The city's culture is steeped in fear of conquest, yet Sshamath's continued existence depends on the steady flow of Underdark traders bringing in goods for its inhabitants' artifice. This conflict enables all races to visit Sshamath, even traditional drow foes, yet ensures that such visitors are only superficially welcomed and always under great, unspoken suspicion.
The population of Sshamath can be divided into three groups:
Citizens: All Drow living in the city.
Non-Citizens: The Duergar, Svirfneblin, Humans and other races that live in or are visiting the city but aren't slaves.
Slaves: Everyone else.
Citizens
All resident drow are counted as Citizens of the city and are afforded more rights (and have a higher rank) than non-citizens. As a Citizen it is much easier to prevail in any dispute with a non-citizen or visitor, usually only taking a word or declaration from the Citizen for the non-citizen to be declared the loser in the eyes of the city establishment. All non-drow would be wise to keep this in mind, even the lowliest shebali drow Citizen could cause big problems for a non-citizen.
Non-Citizens
While the drow of Sshamath hold themselves above all other races, they do cede a modicum of respect to races capable of true wizardry. As such, slaves include only those races deemed incapable of manipulating wizardly magic, such as chitines, goblins, grimlocks, minotaurs, and ogres. Members of these and similar races who can use arcane magic are seen as anomalies or trick ponies rather than indications of wizardly ability for the race. Notable races excluded from slavery (except as slaves of visitors) include elves, humans, svirfneblin, and deep Imaskari. Constructs, conjured creatures, and controlled undead are considered objects, even when capable of wizardry, and have no rights. Races capable of wizardry who reach Sshamath of their own accord as free-willed beings have the right to remain within the city for as long as they obey its laws and conduct ongoing business with residents. Actual citizenship is never granted to nondrow, though permanent residency is allowed so long as business is conducted as mentioned above. This second-class 'ghetto' of humans and Deep Imaskari is never allowed to grow large, but the city recognizes the value of these noncitizens as scapegoats or sacrificial lambs.
NOTE: Bards, sorcerers, and the practioners of divine magic are also considered to be of second-class status, though drow of these classes may be actual citizens within the City of Dark Weavings all the same. The dark elves of Sshamath view power that occurs naturally or because of service to another creature as inferior to power won through personal achievement.
Duergar in Sshamath
Most Duergar are to be found in the Darkspires area of town where the metal-work and smithing occurs although some Duergar have trading relationships with the Conclave that permit them to maintain premises in the Dark Weavings Bazaar. Whereas all other non-citizen races are confined to the Darkwoods ghetto the Duergar live where they work for the most part, in the Darkspires.
In general Drow are inherently racist so they ALWAYS look down their noses at every other race (well except for some Drow that worship Ellistrae and Vhaeraun but those are special cases). The Duergar would not be tolerated in a Lolthian city as they are even more racist than the rest of the Drow population (and that's saying something). However Sshamath is ruled by a Conclave of wizards and they REALLY want those shiny magic items which the Duergar are unparalleled at making so as long as the Duergar keep turning them out the wizards will be quite happy. The Duergar (and all other races) will never garner full citizenship in the city however this is not necessarily a big setback as they would make their own alliances both within their race, between other races (svirf etc) and to whichever school of magic holds the most power. Being evil and insanely avaricious Duergar keep working for Sshamath (as opposed to their own Duergar towns) for the potential to make more money than they could at home. Indeed a large percentage of the Duergar in Sshamath have been sold into indentured service to other Duergar by their own families, such is the avaricious nature of the grey dwarves.
In theory the Conclave could just one day wake up and say "we want the Darkspires back all Duergar must leave the city" but in practice as long as the Duergar remain relatively neutral (i.e. not as a group ally themselves to single school of magic) the Conclave will keep them around for the benefits they bring to the city.
Svirneblin in Sshamath
Svirfnbelin (or deep gnomes) are traditionally very shy and secretive as a race and mortal enemies of the Drow so at first glance it seems odd that they would have such a presence in the city. As has been stated above Sshamath treats slavery rather differently than other Drow enclaves and this coupled with the deep gnomes natural propensity for Illusion magic confers the status of "free" if not "citizen" upon them. In general the Drow population views them even less favorably than the resident Duergar going out of their way to belittle, put-down and generally demean them at every turn. Despited this some Svirneblin still choose to live in Sshamath for the opportunity it brings to trade in some of the rarest gems and minerals in Faeraun.
Most of the deep gnome population resides in the Darkwoods ghetto along with the rest of the free non-citizens of the city although some do reside elsewhere either as retainers to one of the schools of magic or as the occasional merchant in the Dark Weavings bazaar.
Slaves
Sshamath is as close to a free city as you will get from the drow, designed to encourage trade so the Conclave can accumulate as much magical power as possible. A much larger variety of races live and work together as free people, if not citizens, in Sshamath than do in Menzo. Slavery is critical to the functioning of any drow city as compared to other humanoids they are not numerous, they reproduce slower, and require much more resources to raise to adulthood. Much as nazi germany depended upon slaves to fuel their production during the war so do drow rely upon slaves to do most of the day-to-day farming and production associated with a functional society.
That being said Sshamath treats slavery differently than in other drow cities. Whereas in other cities anyone who is weak enough will undoubtedly become a slave, in Sshamath races considered capable of wizardry such as humans, elves, svirfneblin and deep imaskari are never kept as slaves by citizens. However they are permitted as the slaves of visitors. The slaves of Sshamath are largely resigned to their fate. In addition to the liberal use of charm magic, the conclave permits visitors to bring in small groups of their own slaves and to occasionally purchase slaves from other cities. These practices ensure that Sshamath slaves are aware that their life here is not nearly as bad as elsewhere.
Creatures who demonstrate an aptitude for wizardry are considered free in the eyes of Sshamath law and are allowed to live albeit in a ghetto, the Darkwoods, that is prevented from getting too big. This ghetto is populated by a host of shebali (commoner) drow, rivvil (humans), svirfneblin and many other non-citizens of Sshamath.
The Duergar are the exception to this has they have forged a direct relationship with the Conclave, they maintain their own quarters in the place they work, the Darkspires.
Here is the makeup of the population by race:
Free Races: 50,000 total
Drow: 80%
Duergar: 10%
Svirfneblin: 5%
Darthiir (all surface elves): 1%
Human: 1%
Deep Imaskari: 1%
Other: 2% (all other races combined)
Slave Races: 50,000 total
Goblin 39%
Grimlock 19%
Orc 12%
Ogre 10%
Minotaur 9%
Human 6%
Outsider 5%
Note 1: for game purposes the ratios of "free citizens" are adjusted to reflect player-ratios better.
Note 2: If you decide to play a half-orc you will most likely start out as a slave of someone or an escaped slave that someone else (most likely a drow) will lay claim to. This can be it's own fun rp if done right so i wouldn't let that stop you from playing one. A drow city would never permit an orc or goblinoid to obtain citizenship so you're most likely outta luck there.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:26:48 GMT -5
"Laws".
Every place where large numbers of intelligent beings congregate will eventually build up a body of common law that ensures the smooth functioning of day-to-day life and usually ensures that those in power remain in power (they write the laws after all).
This is no different in Sshamath or any other drow city.
As in any drow society the number one rule is "power".
Whoever has the most power whether through force of arms, alliances, rank or other means is usually right. That being said the ruling powers in Sshamath are the Conclave as noted and they will enforce their will upon the city as they fit. One thing that is critical to the functioning of any society is the rule of "law". In this instance it means doing what the ruling Conclave deems a law.
Consider the needs of the conclave:
They wish to run a profitable and fairly open city (compared to your typical drow city) that allows for them to accumulate knowledge, power and money as quickly as possible while restricting it's access by other non-conclave members. As such the social hierarchy would revolve around the individual's relationship to or membership in one of the ruling schools of magic with a seat on the conclave. Wishing to protect the status-quo (doesn't everyone holding power wish to hold onto it?) the conclave would have "laws" that ensure the smooth functioning of the city.
Towards this end as a visitor to the city or citizen you should keep in mind three basic "Laws":
1). No carrying weapons in public (keep it in a sheathe or on your back, not in your hand).
Someone seen drawing a weapon or holding it ready would be deemed about to engage in an attack by the city guard and dealt with accordingly. usually a warning which if ignored or flouted would be followed up with a trip to a detention cell or ejection from the city.
2). No attacking people openly. i.e. no murder in the middle of the street. if you can get away with it murder in a dark alley or hidden room with no witnessess sure, no-one's likely to come looking for you. However they can't have people getting cut down randomly in the street, it's bad for business and would greatly reduce trade and knowledge flow into the city. You can assume that if you attack someone in public you will be caught, the Conclave's school of divination is legendary. The opposite is not true however, if you attack someone in private you may still be caught. It just depends if anyone powerful enough misses him/her or has reason to find them. A quick divination by a member of the school of divination will find you. So best keep your sneak-killing to non-wizards or otherwise unimportant members of society.
3). No wandering around town in balor form, treant form or other overpowering idiot monster form. Same goes for no wandering around town with a summons or animal companion in tow. Why? Because the carnage and damage they can wreak on the populace is simply to great. It's bad for business and would scare people away.
Anyone breaking those 3 basic "laws" would be dealt with harshly by the city guard. Even if you think your super uber epic toon could kill all the city guard by himself (I doubt it these are drow we are talking about) I would suggest you consider this: there is a first level spell that allows someone to send their voice to another. Do you think the sergeant of that guard group you are about to slaughter would refrain from "sending" to high placed Conclave member to warn them? And as soon as the conclave turns it's attention to you you may as well stab yourself in the face because they will do a lot worse. They are drow after all.
Now as far as in-game goes there is not going to be a dm around most often so i would suggest if someone who sees some dolt doing this (after a warning telling them to desist) shouts GUARDS! at the top of their lungs and take a screen shot and forward to a dm for punishment of the offender.
Easy.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:29:20 GMT -5
Geography
Ways In and Out
Despite its role as an Underdark trading center, Sshamath is surprisingly hard to reach from the surface. While a few routes shorter than hundreds of miles connect Sshamath to the surface, the most common way to reach the city from the surface is teleportation magic, a consequence of the complete absence of faerzress near Sshamath. However, teleport requires the wizard to either visit the target location or scry it first. The first restraint is self-limiting, while the second is made difficult by the near total lack on the surface as to even the general location of the city. In addition, teleportation restricts the volume of trade goods that can be ferried into or out of the city. As a result, Sshamath has very little commerce with the Realms Above.
The most important and direct route from the surface is Varalla's Passage. Completed by the Lich Queen at the behest of the Conclave of Sshamath, this route promises to one day open the legendary markets of Sshamath to the Realms Above. Sememmon discovered Varalla's Passage in the Year of the Griffon (1312 DR), but kept it secret from all but his most trusted apprentices. Within days of the destruction of Zhentil Keep, Sememmon dispatched emissaries to negotiate a trade accord between the drow wizards of Sshamath and the Zhentarim of Darkhold. Negotiations continue slowly; Sememmon's fears tipped his hand to Manshoon, and the conservative elements of Sshamath's ruling council feared revealing themselves to hordes of surface dwellers.
Sshamath can also be reached through the tunnels of the fallen dwarven realm Oghrann. The most direct route from the surface begins within the dwarven mines of the Far Hills, and eventually winds down into the middle Underdark via a circuitous and treacherous route. This route is unlikely to ever rival Varalla's Passage, due both to the hostile shield dwarves of Oghranni descent at the beginning of the route and the small hive of beholder-kin that dominates the Gauth Grottoes along the way.
Note: this will be expanded later.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:30:18 GMT -5
Power in Sshamath -what every drow should know
Drow Houses (Quellars) and their importance (or rather lack thereof) in Sshamath.
"As time continued to pass, the wizards' influence on society ushered schools of magic into prominence and the House system into irrelevance. Sshamath's Houses still exist today, but a drow's House is no more meaningful than his tailor -- perhaps noteworthy, but essentially unimportant."
It's worth noting this and detailing it a little more as most Drow rp people are familiar with (rightly) revolves around a Drow's rank, the most important aspect of which is whether the drow is an unhoused rogue (shebali) or a member of a noble house (quellar).
Sshamath's rulers, the Conclave, has superseded and displaced the typical drow quellar rank system with a new one; the individual's relationship to one or another of the recognized schools of magic that have a seat on the Conclave.
This doesn't mean that drow quellars do not exist but rather that they pale in importance as it relates to power and rank (which is pretty much everything to a drow).
Given this sort of atmosphere drow quellar's would be much smaller, poorer and less important than in other drow settings.
So while you would absolutely expect a quellar in menzo to have a small noble-by-birth population and a much more numerous (by at least a factor of 10, much more in the larger quellars) retinue of house retainers (shebali drow inducted into the quellar for the purposes of the house, slaves, etc) in Sshamath this would not be the case.
The poorer, less important houses in Sshamath would be much smaller than typical drow quellars and consequently have much fewer retainers.
It would be closer to the landed gentry in post-industrial england where you have a family of direct relatives with a similar number of servants or retainers on hand. Perhaps numbering at most in the 20-40 range for the ENTIRE HOUSE.
Another possibility for a drow quellar in Sshamath would be a non-native quellar.
i.e. a quellar from menzobaranzan sets up an outpost in Sshamath to look after their interests in the city. In this instance there would be no "matron" or "patron" per se but rather a locally appointed leader with a small retinue of retainers and perhaps some other nobles seconded to the city. In all liklihood this would be viewed as punishment by the nobles in question as they would be cut off from the dealing back home where the real power lies. They would, in effect, be sidelined from most of the machinations of the quellar back in the home city.
A third possibility for drow quellar is that of a trading house.
Some drow quellars short on influence and power in their home city respond by becoming a trade house focussed on the flow of goods and services across the UD. These trading quellars retain little or no political power (as they have no direct military means of exerting power) except as it pertains to their alliances. As a result they often become adept at making these type of alliances in such a way that it benefits them most. Again we're looking at a local Sshamath quellar with 10-50 drow or so.
None of these quellars would come anywhere near the size and power of a more typical quellar in menzo (i.e. 10-20 nobles with retainers numbering in the 1000s), the Conclave would simply not permit it.
This does offer some interesting possibilities for drow rp in Sshamath.
It would be possible for example for small, well organized quellars to infiltrate many different schools of magic and attempt to work the system such that they get drow into prime spots in multiple schools. Being drow this has undoubtedly been done many times and the heads of these schools of magic will become adept at spotting such maneuverings. This would result in the leaders of the schools ensuring that quellar-mates do not end up in positions of power across multiple schools. They would actively look for and restrict such attempts. I would expect that some drow quellars would respond to this by aligning themselves with a single school and insisting that all of their member only consider joining a single school with which they are aligned. If happen to be a mage whose speciality does not conform with your quellar's chosen school you may end up leaving your quellar to follow your own path. In a normal drow setting leavng a quellar is a death sentence (see Drizz't) and would never happen unless you were going to die anyway. In Sshamath things would be different.
However it is likely that once you join a particular school of magic you would be committed to them for life, assuming your a caster. If you're a warrior or other retainer I would think that considering your lowly status in Sshamath (close to a shebali) the school of magic would care less if you took your sword elsewhere.
Of course there are exceptions to everything!
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:31:06 GMT -5
Inter-sex relations in Sshamath
As no doubt most people are aware from the Drizz't books and drow lore women rule the vast majority of drow society, even the good drow that worship ellistrae (although they are far less domineering).
Women are generally speaking bigger, more powerful physically and more domineering by nature.
Men are trained from an early age to subject themselves to women, taking constant physical punishment from them with aplomb and jumping at their orders. By the time they reach adulthood it is hardwired into most male drow.
Sshamath is an exception to this.
In Sshamath males rule (for the most part) as a result of the deposing of the normal drow quellar power makeup and the corresponding reduction in the power of the church of Lolth.
Indeed Lolth's temple in Sshamath and its power is firmly and powerfully restricted by the Conclave.
Most of the city do not worship Lolth and indeed many worship no deity at all.
This is not to say that a priestess of Lolth is not powerful in her own right.
They have access to divine power and are powerful, mean-spirited man-haters for the most part and should treated with the respect a drow accords any powerful and dangerous personage.
The main difference is deference.
In Menzo all males show extreme deference to all females of equivalent rank (a shebali female still ranks well below and is subject to the whims of a noble male drow for example).
In Sshamath when passing a priestess of Lolth in the street a male may not bow and scrape nor avert their eyes as would be the case in Menzo.
Rather a quick nod or or no response unless engaged would be more appropriate.
However if your male is a Lolth or Selvetarm worshipper (Selvetarm, or the "spider who waits" is really just a demi-god croney of Lolth) then you would still pay respect and offer deference even though you reside in Sshamath.
How would the priestess of Lolth act differently in Sshamath than in Menzo or other Lolthian society?
Outwardly not much.
Their deity demands they demean and show spite towards all men and this is how they would continue to carry themselves.
Nonetheless they are no dummies (well most of them aren't) and so they would do whatever they have to do to get along and gather more power (like all drow do), even if that means forging alliances with various male run schools of magic etc.
Of course when out of the city whoever happens to be the most powerful (whether by actual force of arms, alliance or rank) will rule the group.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:31:51 GMT -5
On drow obsession with rank:
Drow as a race are obsessed with rank, not for rank's sake perse but because of it's connotation of power. Every fiber of a drow is built to quickly divine another's relative rank in their society (note rank is different from combat power) and they put a lot of effort into displaying rank through what they wear, who they associate with, how they talk to one another and how they carry themselves publicly.
In order to understand this better it's good to look at a typical Lolthian society.
In a traditional Lolthian society rank most often translates directly into power.
And sex confers rank (females outrank males).
So if you were to break down the typical hierarchy it would go something like this:
1). Female Priestess Noble (almost all noble females go into the clergy of lolth as it offers the most direct route to power, for a noble female to not join the clergy she must have been rejected or there must be something otherwise wrong with here and she would be viewed as such by the rest of society).
2). Female Noble.
3). Female Priestess Shebali. (it happens, it's rare but it happens).
4). Male Noble Faern (a faern is a drow wizard, most males that can join the wizardry as it is the most direct route to power for males).
5). Male Noble (all others including warriors etc).
6). Female shebali (note they are BELOW male nobles, even in lolthian societies)
7). Male shebali (the scum of the UD, really looked down on. The only thing worst that than this is being a battle-captive)
Overlaid on all of this are the various ranks one many attain within a quellar (house).
I'm not going to go into that here because house ranks aren't very relevant to sshamath and are kinda complicated.
Power is everything to drow.
Whether that power flows from sex, profession, ability, rank, alliances, wealth, knowledge OR WHATEVER.
A drow without power is nothing.
Which is why a houseless drow (shebali) is viewed as scum by nobles (members of a house).
They have no power and hence no worth.
In menzo they are hunted for sport with impunity by the nobles (that's right they get on big riding lizards and charge through the slums killing whatever unhoused shebali drow they come across).
This is also one reason why drow are so mean to one another and other races. They use this as a way of displaying rank (and hence power). Without such displays they would have no context to place themselves within. A drow on the surface in a human settlement would quickly find himself completely unable to comprehend, empathize with or understand the actions and motivations of those around him. In Sshamath things are different to the lolthian system described above (i.e. males are equal to or outrank females) but the general principles hold.
For drow it's all about power, however you get it.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:33:36 GMT -5
On levitation, house badges/insignia & piwafis
In drow lore every member of a quellar carries a house insignia or badge and almost every noble drow wears a piwafi.
The Piwafi is effectively a very small cloak type garment that cinches at the neck and covers the shoulders and upper arms of the wearer. It's kind of like a short cape. They are almost always enchanted and serve as a very distinct and obvious mark of noble status. Almost all nobles wear them as a routine, sometimes donning different ones for ceremonial occasions, infiltration attempts, patrols etc.
Being the most obvious badge of rank that a drow can display any non-noble drow (let alone non-drow) seen wearing a Piwafi would be subject to summary execution (or worse) for the transgression.
The house badge or insignia serves multiple purposes:
1). it confers the power of levitation.
2). it allows the matron of the quellar to track the owner if she uses a scrying device or other tool found in the quellar.
3). it affords it's owner access to the areas of the quellar determined by his or her rank (i.e. bypassing whichever magical wards are in place).
NOTE: house badges are NEVER given out to non-drow retainers. NEVER, EVER, NO! Every time your Duergar retainer needs to gain access to a drow quellar he works for will be escorted by a drow, end of story.
Without a house insignia it is very difficult if not impossible to enter a drow quellar that is not one's own.
a VERY powerful mage (as in an arch-mage of the Conclave) would probably be able to gain entry but in most instances even he would alert the quellar to his presence while breaking in.
As noted above in Sshamath quellars are much smaller, not as rich nor as powerful as quellars in other drow cities. So in Sshamath the insignia would most likely be issued by the school of magic that the drow is a member of or in service too. A Sshamath house would likely not have the resources to so powerfully ward it's structure nor the ability to turn out powerfully enchanted insignia. Of course a house with an outpost in Sshamath is another matter entirely as the full resources of the house would be located elsewhere and so they would certainly issue insignia to house members abroad in case the matron decides she wants to find out where they are.
In nwn2 there is no flying nor levitation so that has little relevance in-game. However the tracking and ward-bypassing features are highly relevant from a rp perspective. It would be impossible for any but the most powerful mages (like epic and above) to even consider entering a school of magic (or other properly warded structure in Sshamath) without the proper insignia or compliance of the owner.
Of course you could always kill the owner of an insignia, take it from them and use it until it's owner is discovered to be missing...
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:34:17 GMT -5
Why drow are "evil".
A lot of players like to think from the perspective of a 21st century enlightened position about people and societies and apply this to drow. Specifically that "anyone can be anything and if as a drow you decide to cast off your evil ways and become drizz't then sure, go ahead drow aren't or cannot be inherently evil. A whole race can't just be evil".
Well i am here to break it you, you relativists, that you are (for the most part) WRONG.
A little history lesson about the drow:
The drow were originally surface elves, just dark skinned ones, who lived amongst and in concert with their surface cousins waaay back. The story goes that they were corrupted by lolth (who wasn't called lolth then) the sister of corellon, the head of the elf pantheon. As a result of their corruption they warred with the other surface elves for dominance and as a result were cast out forced to leave the sun forever and turn to the depths of the earth to survive.
This is kinda true, but important nuances are left out for the benefit of the surface elves (hereafter Darthiir) own genesis story (doesnt everyone craft their history to make them seem better, george bush would like im sure).
In actual fact the power of magic that was wielded by the illythiri (drow) was coveted by the other races of elves which resulted in them demolishing many of the drows more powerful magical repositories on a trumpep up pretext. This resulted in much animosity on the part of the then dark elves (they had not become drow yet) and lolth used this to her advantage to turn them against the their cousins and corellon. What is not known (it's only revealed in lisa smedman's excellent trio of books) is that lolth secretly interbred the dark elves with a powerful balor she had bound, thereby mixing his blood with theirs and permanently and for all time corrupting them. Later on she used this now racial disposition for evil and their distrust of their surface cousins to prompt a vicious war with the darthiir that resulted in the (now drow) being outcast from the surface realms.
Just as lolth had planned.
She now had her own base of worshippers and quickly ascended to demi-godhood.
Those prominent dark elves that went with her also rather rapidly ascended to godhood (ellistrae, vhaeraun, selvetarm, ghaunadaur, kieransalee) although of a lesser status and power.
So the drow's penchant for evil is in their blood so to speak, to go against it is a very difficult thing for a drow to do, when combined with the treatment and conditioning they receive from birth it's nigh on impossible. Of course there exceptions to every rule but that's what they are: exceptions that prove the rule. Drizz't is a good (and very rare) example. It is also worth mentioning that a tiny fraction (like 1% or so) of drow do NOT carry the blood of this balor and so are inherently more flexible in their outlook regarding good and evil. However once again these non-corrupted drow are the exception that proves the rule.
Power is your aim, you do not want to be subject to the whims of others.
However you achieve that (through rank, prowess, alliances, wealth etc) is your choice.
Just make sure your the one on top.
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Post by adzling on Jan 16, 2009 17:34:44 GMT -5
Caveat Emptor
Of course I should make plain for all this philosophizing on drow culture as it pertains to Sshamath there is an important and powerful caveat emptor.
Namely everyone is an individual to some extent or another.
As long as you behave in a manner that is mostly acceptable to most drow you can harbor whatever private feelings, goals or emotions you deem worthy of your toon.
So you may play a follower of Selvetarm who happens to loath Lolthians, it is possible though not at all common.
You could play a self-loathing lolthian male who hates himself for not being able to kick his worship of the dark queen.
Perhaps you're a Svirneblin trader living and working amongst the drow and putting up with their racism in order to gain access to the rare gems only available here.
The sky (or more appropriately the roof of the tunnel) is the limit! It's important to remember is that outwardly you should fit in for the most part. The people that stick out in drow society tend to be the ones that attract attention of the more powerful drow and that's not usually a good thing. Now when you hit mid-epic levels and have actually rp'd your way to the top of a school of magic or head of a drow quellar that is well established in Sshamath that's the point at which your eccentricities and weirdnesses can be put out on full display with little fear of attracting attention.
But until then you better watch out....
The first law of playing a drow is stab them in the back where they can't see you.
And if you stick out they are *much* more likely to see you.
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Post by adzling on Jan 18, 2009 21:10:08 GMT -5
Most drow cities are exclusive devotees of one or another of the 6 gods that form the drow pantheon: Lolth, the Spider Queen - formerly Araushnee the Weaver, the ex-consort of Corellon. Vhaeraun, the Masked Lord - the son of Araushnee and Corellon. Eilistraee, the Dark Maiden - the daughter of Araushnee and Corellon. Ghaunadaur, he who lurks - an ancient evil that sided with Araushnee against the elves. Kiaransalee, Lady of the Dead, a lichdrow necromancer-queen from another plane. Selvetarm, the Spider that waits - the son of Vhaeraun and Sharess the elven god of hedonism. Lolth is venerated in the cities of Menzoberranzan and Ched-Nasad others follow Kieransalee or Ghaunadur or some other subset. Of the cities that worship more than one drow god none last very long, quickly falling to inter-faith warfare that ends with one god's followers coming out on top and the rest completely eradicated or reduced to hiding. The one exception to this rule is the city of Sshamath, which has lasted for over 5 millenia despite openly containing worshippers of the entire drow pantheon. Undoubtedly this is a result of the deposing of the Lolthian matrons by the Wizards who replaced the veneration of Lolth with the study of the weave. Religious orientation in Sshamath comes a distant second to whether one practice's the art and the extent of his relationship with the Conclave. As a result the worship of the entire drow pantheon occurs despite the natural antagonism between them and their worshippers. This permissive atmosphere is more due to the lack of interest of the drow citizenry in the gods than in any good feelings the Conclave has towards reilgion. This faithlessness flows from the drow's innate attention to rank and the accumulation of power. In Sshamath the Conclave rules, all power flows from them and hence any drow (i.e. all drow) that wish to accumulate power align themselves with the Conclave, to the detriment of worship. Such is the nature of drow, they worship power more than any one route to attain it. Even amongst this religious openess and relative tolerance two churches have risen above others in Sshamath, those of Lolth and her son Vhaeraun. Lolth's priestesses maintain a temple in the northern section of the city while her son retains his church in the heart of the Darkwoods, the human ghetto to the south of Sshamath. Both are continuously in opposition to one another, constantly working to undermine the other while at the same time elevating their position. an excellent resource on the drow pantheon can be found at: drowcampaign.roleplaynexus.com/drowreligion.htmlLolth is a cruel, capricious deity who is believed to be insane by many because she pits her own worshipers against each other. Malicious in her dealings with others and coldly viscious in a fight, she covets the power given to the deities worshiped by the surface races. She can be kind and aid those that she fancies, but she thrives on the death, destruction, and torture of anyone, including those of her own worshipers that have displeased her. Vhaeraun Vhaeraun is the god of thievery and the furthering of drow aims, interests, and power in the Night Above. Also being the patron of drow males, he teaches that males are as skilled and valuable as females, preaching passive opposition to the matriarchies of Lolth in order to bring about a more egalatarian drow society. Eilistraee Eilistraee is the deity of good drow and those of that race who wish to be able to live on the surface in peace. A melancholy, moody deity, she is a lover of beauty and peace, but is not averse to striking back against those that would harm her followers. The evil of most drow causes a great anger to burn within her. Kiaransalee Kiaransalee is the drow deity of both vengeance and the undead. She is called upon by those seeking retribution, the dark arts, or to prolong life. The Lady of the Dead descended into madness long ago, but she retains enough of her twisted cunning to funnel her swift anger towards goals and schemes of ultimate revenge against all who slight her. Selvetarm Selvetarm is the Champion of Lolth and the patron of drow warriors. Cruel and malicious by nature, harboring a deep hatred for all living things, he cares only for battle and destruction, respecting nothing more than a well-honed and deadly fighting style. Ghaunadaur Ghaunadaur is a fell, amorphous deity that has plagued the darkest reaches of the Realms since the dawn of time. That Which Lurks has been venerated for eons by various creatures of the Underdark, not the least of which are outcast drow who were dissatisfied with the ways of Lolth. the above comes from: drowcampaign.roleplaynexus.com/drowreligion.html---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vhaeraun in Sshamath Vhaeraun (vay-rawn), also known as the Masked Lord and the Masked God of Night, is the drow god of thievery, drow males, and evil activity on the surface world. His worshipers include assassins, male drow and half-drow, poisoners, arcane tricksters, shadowdancers, rogues, and thieves. Vhaeraun resides in his deific domain Ellaniath on Carceri's layer of Colothys. Vhaeraun is the son of Corellon and Lolth and the brother of Eilistraee. He is allied with Mask, Shar, and Talona. He was cast out of the elven pantheon, along with his mother (Lolth or Araushnee), after his and his mother's betrayal was discovered. In Sshamath he is most widely referred to as the Masked Mage and due to the Conclave's focus on all things arcane his worshippers include arcane tricksters in larger number than his other temples. Clergy and temples The church of Vhaeraun is loosely organized, mainly due to persecution from the priestesses of Lolth who rule over the majority of the drow race. Vhaeraun's clergy is almost entirely male, and they practice a passive opposition to Lolth. Aside from that, Vhaeraun strives to reclaim the surface world from which he was forced to flee. This leads to frequent conflicts with the clerics of Eilistraee, benevolent dark elves who strive to live in peace with the surface folk and gain redemption for the evil ways of their kind. In contrast to the Lolthian cities of Menzobarran and Ched-Nassad in Sshamath his priesthood worship openly, advocating unity of the elven races in order to more easily dominate the surface world. This is most likely a softening of their dogma in response to the Conclave's liberal viewpoint on other races, most other Vhaeraunites view this as heresy. As noted previously the main church to Vhaeraun is located in the multi-racial ghetto called the Darkwoods. The Tower of the Masked Mage dangles from the roof in the Darkwoods district in the southeastern section of the city of Sshamath. Cloaked in a shifting web of shadows, this structure houses the only openly acknowledged temple of the Masked Lord. In Sshamath Vhaeraun is venerated as the Masked Mage and the Lord of Shadow, the divine patron of Shadow Magic and Spellfilchers. Vhaeraun's church consists primarily of Spellfilchers, Arcane Tricksters, and rogues, as well as a small group of drow mages who seek to found a school of Shadow Magic. The wizards of the Tower of the Masked Mage are known to fashion magical items and research spells that relate to concealment, shadow manipulation, and defeating magical wards. Examples include Boots of Balance, Chimes of Opening, Essence of Darkness, and Short Swords of Backstabbing. The Tower is built within a large, naturally formed stalactite. Unlike the incricately worked stone formations within the city proper, little modification has been done to the outside of the Tower (save for creating a number of doors and windows). Inside, however, is another story, with several levels having been carved out (one atop another), with thrice as many passageways riddled within which allow one to move via various means from one level to another; not to mention moving to or from the Tower to the Darkwoods which surround it. In addition to the large, central stalactite, there are a number of smaller stalagmites below that adjoin it via perilous bridges; these structures are the individual towers of the wizards who comprise the other major power group within the Tower. drowcampaign.roleplaynexus.com/TowerOfMaskedMage.htmlwww.freewebs.com/vhaeraun/ |
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Jiszo
Senior Member
Posts: 449
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Post by Jiszo on Jan 18, 2009 22:18:50 GMT -5
Wow, that is a lot of reading. Is it accurate for our pw though?
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raenir
Senior Member
Smooching up to the Karma Lords
Quicken Disintigrate (Smile)
Posts: 469
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Post by raenir on Jan 18, 2009 22:47:02 GMT -5
yes as the PW is in faerun/forgotten realms.
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Post by adzling on Jan 18, 2009 22:52:20 GMT -5
yar it's a lot to wade through, read the bits that interest you and come back for the rest later.
knowing about the alien race (drow) you are playing and the setting your in (sshamath) will only help your RP, have fun!
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