All that we know of the Drow is that there was once a time when they walked
freely among the surface dwellers with their cousin elves. But there after the
stories are mixed continuously. Many say that the fair skinned elves drove them
under ground out of jealousy. Others say that the Drow caused all the trouble.
We will never know for the Masters at the Academy warp the tales that had once
might of held the truth, but now lies spit forth. Both races outwardly hate each
other, as well as everyone else hates the Drow. No doubt. I would be careful.
You never know when that black thing you believe to be a shadow could be in fact
be a drow seeking blood. For it is also told that they do raids upon the surface
elves. And it is known that one of them has turn renegade. Sworn never to
return. Has refused Lloth all together and has venture forth to the surface.
Look for lavender eyes, and all shall be safe. For this is were the real story
begins. The tales of Drizzt Do'Urden and his companions of the Hall.
(But before those nice tales, a little touch up on your
understanding of the Drow and their black evil little hearts.)
Culture of the Drow
One of the first things that I shall explain is
the one that a lot of races do not understand. The Drow Hierarchy. The Drow
society is Matriarchal. Drow females are stronger and more powerful than the
males. Drow males are treated more as servants than people and are there to do
the bidding of the females. The highest-ranking male is still lower than the
lowest ranked female. Marriage as such does not exist. Matron Mothers often have
more than one patron. Only one is the current patron. When they are no longer
needed they are either sacrificed to Lolth or put to work within the house.
Other females may take, then discard, males when they please. Females treat
males with contempt. This is how they are taught to treat them from birth, (all
drow children can understand their own language from birth) and this tutoring
carries on within Arach Tinilith, the drow school of Lolth.
Social Structure
Social Standing and the favor of Lolth are the most important things to
understand when dealing with the Drow. In every city there are Drow noble houses
and it is the goal to become first house. This is done in many ways. However,
the most common one is through murder. The drow have laws to punish these
murders but the legal system has enough holes in it to get round the problem of
prosecution. To give you an example: - House A is ranked 22. House B is ranked
23. House B want the position of House A so plan to dispose of them. To do this
they must kill every noble in House A. If one noble survives then they have the
right of accusation. If a noble of House A survived then they could name the
house that tried to destroy them, in this case House B. House B would then be
killed off completely, leaving no surviving nobles, as punishment for their
crime. If House B managed to wipe out House A completely then they would move up
in the house rankings to 22 and all those houses beneath them would move up
accordingly. House A would then be considered to have never existed at all. Nice
eh? I know it sounds a little complicated but its simple really. The favor of
Lolth is one of the most important things in the lives of the drow. Her favor is
gained in many ways. Houses in the favor of Lolth progress through the house
rankings and their priestess’s are able to call upon certain powers of their
goddess. Most of these involve spiders and very nasty spells!
Priestess’s of Lolth carry snake headed whips that move freely and bite,
inflicting great pain on the recipient. The snakes will also instantly attack
anyone who is not a believer in Lolth. The more heads on whip, the nastier the
priestess in general. They can also summon yochlols. Yochlols are the
handmaidens of Lolth and appear in her place. They are usually summoned to aid
the house in some way but they have their price.
Positions Of Power and
Pleasure
Of all the Drow you may meet these are the ones you must show the greatest
respect to. They must always be referred to as Matron Mother. Unless you are
given permission then you must not look her in the eyes either. Matron Mothers
rule their Houses with an iron fist and know all that happens within them. They
are the closest to Lolth as well. Matron Mothers from the top 8 houses form a
council that meets secretly to make decisions on the running of the city. They
are the ones who have the most influence and can turn events in a favorable
manner. The most important thing to remember is that these women should not be
crossed. They are dangerous, even to themselves and the members of their house.
One example of this is the fact that every third male child is sacrificed to
Lolth. The females of the house carry on the family name and only the children
of the Matron Mother are nobles.
Drow have a strong affinity for arachnids. Most of them worship the spider
goddess, Lloth, whose priestesses dominate drow society. Even
among drow who do not worship Lolth, an affinity for arachnids is strong.
Drow society is strongly matriarchal, with females holding all
positions of power and responsibility in government, the military, and in the
home. Males are effective fighters, and can become priests and wizards of minor
power. Outside drow communities, they are rarely encountered without female
commanders.
Male-commanded drow groups are generally either streeakh, "suicide squads", or
are dobluth (outcasts) who have rejected the traditional authority-structure of
the drow.
Social station is the most important thing in the world of the drow. Ascension
to greater power is the ultimate goal in drow society. Assassination is the
preferred tool in this job. It must be used discreetly in the city setting, for
to openly murder or wage war (on a rival House) brings down the merciless might
of drow justice (not because of the act itself, simply as punishment for the
boorish act of fighting in public).
Outside the patrol-range of cities, however, might is right, and Houses and
merchant clans often battle each other openly in the wild Underdark.
Among Lolth-worshipping drow nobles, females can choose and discard mates
freely (sometimes merely leaving them, but usually slaying them). Among drow
commoners and drow of other faiths, marriage is still a transient thing.
Marriages usually last from summer to summer, or for a decade, always with
possibility for renewal.
In drow merchant clans, security demands that mates be of the same clan, or
that an outsider be taken into the clan, if a relationship develops. This clan
induction is forever; death usually comes if the outsider decides to leave. In
noble families, the honor of the House demands the family name be given (if only
temporarily) to mates of other families, or of common blood.
Child-rearing is the responsibility of the whole family (House, or clan), not
merely of the direct parents. A long-lived female drow, choosing to have
children only after an active career, normally gives birth to ten children
before her fertility wanes.
Drow rarely live past their seventh century. Rare individuals (usually
those who are subjected to the least hardship, such as the matron mothers of
powerful Houses) may live more than a thousand years, becoming withered
and worn. Drow do not show their age until after their six hundredth year.
Limited space prohibits any outline of the long, twisted High History of the
Drow here, from the Dawning Days to their present widespread control of the
Underdark, great wealth, and mastery of magic.
Instead, a handful of useful customs are given here. For instance, a drow
gesture of surrender is dropping to one knee, letting fall any weapons, before
the being one submits to (usually performed by male drow to female drow).
Drow enjoy magic, and exult in wielding
its unleashed power. New spells and effects fascinate them.
Drow love beauty - the beauty of sculpture and made items (especially weapons)
and the beauty of the body. Drow of both sexes are proud of displaying their
physiques - and all children exhibiting any physical deficiency are slain.
Drow communities celebrate several annual festivals. There is always a
wild feast when wizards, fighters, and priestesses graduate
from their decade-long training (during which they taste all three branches of
drow expertise: wizardry, clerical teachings, and weapons training), involving
the worship of Lloth and the summoning of denizens who serve her.
Many drow communities also observe "The Blooding", a rite of passage into
adulthood for both sexes, during which the young participants must kill an
intelligent or dangerous surface creature of some sort (e.g. a human warrior or
wizard). If the community is not near the surface, merchant clans provide
captives (for high fees) who are let loose with weapons for the young
drow to hunt.
Drow communities near links to the surface world usually hold "The
Running" instead: a hunt and revel on the surface in which all who walk
participate, once in a few decades. The blades of many drow rivals seem to
accidentally find each other during the raids on surface communities. Young drow
participating in their first Running are expected to carry out The Blooding.
Drow communities tend to vary the timing of this annual event slightly, to
prevent surface communities from hiring and readying strong guard contingents to
await them.
It should be noted that drow can, through training, experience, and
repeated exposure, become accustomed to light, and use both normal sight and
infrared vision. This process takes about ten years. The only encountered drow
likely to be immune to the detrimental effects of light are veteran
surface-raiders and wizards (who traditionally study by candlelight).
There are two major social groupings among the
drow. These are the relatively unimportant merchant clans, and the staid,
monolithic noble houses. In truth, both establishments are vital to the survival
of the drow.
Merchants
Merchant clans vary in
organization. They are usually headed by an "inner ring" or council of the most
experienced and/or wealthy merchant members, and hence are usually led by males
(the "demeaning" and dangerous occupation of trading with outsiders is an almost
exclusively male one).
The membership of an inner ring of a given merchant clan consists primarily of
male wizards who have either passed or evaded The Test. Removed as they are from
drow society at large, the merchant clans have no compunction about dealing with
the surface world. In fact, a great number of the "second ring", or managers,
are non-drow of various races.
The lowest ranks in the merchant clan, the
“assets”, are nearly all non-drow. These are the laborers and soldiery of the
merchant house. Together, the merchant clans form the trade links with the
outside world that enables the Noble Houses to survive.
Noble Houses
A matron mother, the senior
female priestess, leads noble Houses. In Lolth-worshipping drow communities, her
rule is absolute, enforced by the priestesses beneath her (usually her
daughters). All females of the mother's blood, in order of their age, follow in
rank, although they wield no authority until they are trained and of age (past
puberty).
Below the daughters come
the male officers of the House; the weapons master (leader of the fighters),
(chief) House wizard, and the patron (current consort of the matron mother).
These ranks may be combined, and even held by the traditional next rank down in
the hierarchy: the male heirs of the House.
Male heirs are also ranked by age: elder boy, second boy, third boy, and so on.
They are not allowed to look at the faces of other drow, or speak unless spoken
to or bidden. This treatment teaches them their subordinate place in drow
society.
Below them are the "war-leaders" of the
House (veteran warriors, who lead House patrols, attack squads, and guards,
under the command of the weapons master), and the House mages (under the command
of the House wizard).
Beneath these "blood" members and officials of the
House rank its common warriors, its craftspeople, its servants, and its slaves.
All ranks are decreed, and can be changed at the whim of, the matron mother. Her
position changes at death - often at the hands of her eldest daughter.
Assassination And War
In a Lloth-worshipping drow community, it is a deadly
thing to slay a matron mother who holds Lloth’s favor, so mothers may reign for
hundreds of years, kept alive by the magic of Lloth and the diligent service
they perform to get and keep it. The assassination of a matron mother is often a
punishment for losing Lloth’s good will, and marks either a new direction for
the House, or - if it is weak, and has strong rivals - the beginning of its
extinction.
If one House in the city openly wars on another, and fails to eradicate
it entirely in a single attack, the survivors of the ruined House can call down
the city's justice on the attacking House. When this occurs, all Houses combine
forces to wipe out the offending House. Houses who
send assassins and saboteurs against each other for years will be forced into an
open battle by the city's ruling council, with the same results as above.
This type of no-win scenario allows the internal strife of drow to be strictly
controlled, so that drow communities are not torn apart by continual, bloody
warfare. Most internal combat therefore takes the form of eternal maneuvering
for small advantages. Underhanded intrigue, poisoned knives in dark alleys,
vicious trade rivalries, and dirty dealings are all a part of normal drow life.
Most drow wear a magical, shielding cloak, called a "piwafwi". Under its
collar, most drow wear a neck-purse. In it, noble drow carry their house
insignia. Commoners will carry a black medal medallion denoting the house they
serve, of the merchant clan they belong to.
In the streets of a drow city, house insignia are usually displayed openly (as
adornments) only by the members and servants of the "First House" (most dominant
family) of the city. Insignia of lesser houses can be seen on the walls or gates
of their strongholds, and are often worn openly inside such strongholds.
The house insignia if nobles that the form of distinctive sculpted
images, often equipped for use as brooches. All carry several magical powers -
minor abilities known in detail only to members of the House.
(Now that your brushed up on your reading... we can continue on
with the lone Drow)
Drizzt Do'Urden was born in Menzoberranzan deep below the
deepest caves in a land called the Underdark. He was taught by his sister Vierna
until he became sixteen. Then because of Zaknafein (his real father) he was
trained to be a warrior, instead of a wizard. Drizzt, after training with Zak,
went to the Academy, Melee-Magthere, where he was to learn about the drow and to
train more in combat situations. During the Grand Melee, Drizzt teamed up with a
classmate who "killed" him right after Drizzt saved his life. It was then that
he learned just how evil the drow are. The next years that he was in the
Academy, he teamed up with none, and won. Drizzt, after Zak willingly sacrificed
his life for him, ran into the Underdark to live there. In the Underdark, Drizzt
lost all track off time, and if it wasn't for his friends Guenhwyvar, Belwar
Dissengulp, and Clacker, he would have never lasted against his family chasing
him to regain Lloth's favor. To try and escape from the drow, Drizzt went to the
surface. There he was hated by those who he tried to save. He eventually found
his way to a blind old ranger named Montolio DeBrouchee. After becoming best
friends, Montolio teaches Drizzt all about the surface world and all those in
it. He teaches Drizzt about Mielikki, the goddess of the rangers' heart. To
Drizzt she was not a goddess, but a way of life. After Montolio died, he went
around the realms, being shunned away at every city until he ended up in Icewind
Dale. He wasn't allowed in the only cities in the area, Ten-Towns, but he was
allowed on the opposite side of the only mountain, Kelvin's Cairn. Here he meets
his life long friends and his life truly begins anew. He travels with his
friends to distant places, from the icy glaciers above Icewind Dale all the way
to the hot Deserts of Calimport, and over as far as Mithril Hall and
Silverymoon. Along the way, he meets some more friends as well as some enemies.
Using the skills that he learns throughout his travels, he manages to always
land on top of the situation. As he travels with his friends he learns that none
of the places are really his home; that his home is with his friends. Drizzt is
a ranger, and follows after the heart of Mielikki. He is one of the finest
fighters in all of the realms, but has the biggest heart of them all. He is kind
to all and tries not to judge anyone. He is always there for his friends and
never lets them down if he can help it.
Breunor Battlehammer
When Breunor was a young dwarf, he and his kin had been
chased out of Mithril Hall by Shimmery Gloom. A dragon worm that had entered
through a small dimension that the Grey Dwarves had un-covered. Bruenor's father
and his father's father and about one thousand dwarves died to protect their
home. After that the rest of the kin traveled to The Ten Towns. And Breunor took
up residence in the mountain Kelvin's Cairn. Sometime later Bruenor came across
a scene where some goblins had raided and killed the humans in a caravan. They
killed all but one human, a little girl called Catti-Bri. He took her in and
raised her as if she was a dwarf child. Bruenor and his kin continued to mine
the area and also protect the outer boundaries of the Ten Towns. The years
proved to be peaceful in the time coming with a few pesky goblins to be killed
nothing much was going on. Then one day Bruenor meets one of his long time and
dearest friend, Drizzt. Together they woreded off a many foe. Including the
Barbarian march against the Ten Towns. This is where Bruenor meets Wulfgar. This
is the other adopted human child of Bruenor. Breunor helps in saving Ten Towns
with special help from Regis the Halfling.
The histories of the other companions are yet to come!! (When I
have the time to sit down in front of the screen and type away for hours on end
as I pass my life..)
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