Roleplaying a Drow

Drow, evil black skined elves.Their culture is that of a matriarchal one, meaning that the females hold all positions of power. They worship Lolth, the Spider Queen, and harming a spider is punishable by death. Some Drow worship other deities, but this would be incredibly dangerous as any Lolth worshiping Drow would kill the heretic on site. They dwell in the depths of the earth. Light is blinding to their sensitive eyes.
They are able to see perfectly in pitch black darkness. Distrustful of everything, including there own kind. This race is evil, forever plotting to gain power, prestige, and wealth. They have no sentiments for killing another being except the consequnces that can come from that. The racial name for the Drow is the Ilythiiri. The Drow virtues are those of deceit and malice. Drow look with contempt upon any non-drow, except for their occasional allies.

Physical Characteristics: Drow have white hair, ranging from stark white to grey-white.
Drow have black skin.
They commonly have very pale eyes in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink, and blue.
They tend to be smaller and thinner than most elves.
As a offshot race of elves, Drow have little to no facial or body hair.

Your Character: Generally speaking, your character will be a Drow from a defunct house seeking refuge on the surface. Or, possibly your character is a forward from some abandoned Underdark city. How long has your character been on the surface? You first job is to create a believable character using the above ideas as guides. Every Drow is evil but try to be more specific; is your character phsycologically manipulative? Does she use the threat of physical violence to get her way? Do you hoard secrets? To what degree does your character hate humans; are you willing to work with them for personal gain? Does your characters feelings get easily hurt? Give your character something to make them special.

You must be willing to follow cultural norms, remember, Drow females rule over the males. This has been slammed into the males head since birth. Males are oftentimes expendable assets. Males may rise high in ranks but they are always second-class citizens. Females can rise quick in rank, once they pass their nobility trials. Although, they will still be in a very structured hierarchy. The word of the Ilharess and Yath'tallar are law in game. Please remember that, lest you be slain for disrespect. Rising in the heirarchy can be done in two ways; ingratiating yourself with your superiors and assassination. Your character can buy her way into power by offering gifts, accepting dangerous missions and succeeding, or through an overflow of shallow compliments. This can be accomplished fairly well in game. Assassinations can be made against a superior. This should be cleared with a leader and the member. Failure, however, carries a horrible price.

Drow of the Underdark: Even among the wicked races of the Underdark, the vast underground tunnels beneath the surface, the drow are the pinacle of such depravity. These dark elves shun light itself, and the surface with all its lushness. The Spider Queen Lolth is their goddess, a cruel and capricious diety, who values only her own power. The Females of the society rule and places of importance, and the Temple of Lolth rules all things. Among the drow, treachery is common, assassination a tool, and love and pity are things best left for humans. Honor is only for the weak; poison is a great tool. The Drow seek ever to expand the will of their Dark Goddess.

Description: Drow vary in shape, features, as greatly as humans do. The only exception to this rule is their uniformly jet-black skin. The majority of drow have snow-white hair from birth, yellowing (if female) or graying (if male) and thinning with great age. Rare drow have naturally silver or copper-hued hair, although there are those who deliberately dye their hair silver. Most drow have red eyes. Others have green, brown, or black. Various shades of gray, even amber and rose-hued eyes are not unknown. All drow eyes tend to grow redder when they are angry or upset. Yellow eyes usually denote illness, disease, poisoning, or the presence of certain detrimental magics. Blue and purple (and all the tints thereof) are the most unusual eye colors, and usually denote human or surface elven blood somewhere in the drow's ancestry. Drow females tend to be bigger and stronger than males. Both sexes tend to be little, slim, and graceful in build, features, and movements, much as other elves appear to human eyes.

Senses: Drow eyes can see heat patterns in air and rock thanks to their 120' range infravision. Against a dim gray 'cold' stone backdrop, progressively warmer hues show as subtle blue, purple, red, and warm yellow. The warmth comes from hot springs, magma. seeping water, and fissure-breezes. Drow learn to use the 'shadows' of these varying hues for concealment when stalking, in much the same way as a surface creature uses the shadows produced by the sun, moon, and other light sources. Like surface dwellers, drow must learn to 'read' heat-hues; the meanings of various shades and patterns become known to drow only through teaching or experience 'in the field.' Near areas of drow habitation in the Underdark, the varying heat-hues of the natural Underdark are blurred by the higher ambient heat of many gathered, living beings and their activities.
Drow cities also sport magical glows, a few actual lights (notably the sharp, foreign to-most-drow radiances of the candles of studying wizards and important rituals to Lolth), and the far more common continual faerie fire glows that highlight drow sculpture. Drow are proud of the beauty of their designs, and usually outline the most Impressive works with this spell. Drow hearing is highly developed. In the Underdark, one learns to find water by timing the echoes of dripping or running water, and to detect coming rock shifts or collapses by listening for the natural grating and groaning sounds of unshaped rock. Drow have long, slender, sensitive fingers, and a highly-developed tactile sense. In addition to their silent language of gestures, stances, and expressions, they are able to read subtle, braile-like "secret signs" left on rock walls, message stones, and other places by fellow drow. The drow sense of smell. however, is not so acute. The all-pervasive smell of the rock and damp air all around, tainted by ever-present mold and fungus spores and the scent of drow and slave bodies, is a strong background. Most drow have been exposed to strong incense and offering-burnings since infancy, which further serves to dull the olfactory sense. Drow still enjoy perfume, incense, and the like, but their smell is only about as acute as that of most humans-far less than that of many native inhabitants of the Underdark.

Assassination and status: To the Dark Elves, power and status is everything. The strong rule the society, while the weak cower at the bottom. The Spider Queen does not tolerate weakness within her kind, and all those unfit eventually find their end. The Matron Mother sits above all others as the ruler of the House, and most favored in the eyes of the Spider Queen, otherwise she would not be Matron. The Yath maintains the Matron's rule, and the unswerving faith of the Drow, towards the Spider Queen, Lolth. It is the Yath whom act as judge, jury, and executioner's within the society. To anger a Priestess, is to find your death.
Regardless of your strength, prowess, or charisma; without the favor of the Spider Queen, you are nothing. It is this, that all Drow must undergo several Tests to prove their faith to the Dark Mother. Status and power is given, by those above you. The Matron Mother can appoint, dismiss, or put to death any Drow she chooses. Proving your skill to your Elders is both a good and bad thing. Only the strongest and most devious and deserving drow will attain high ranks within the Qu'ellar. But, also, it is dangerous to give status to someone who can threaten your position.
Assassination remains an easy way to attain power and status. However, to use Assassination as a means of gaining rank, you must first have proven yourself to the Qu'ellar and Lolth. The Challenges of Lolth must have been completed. If you sucessfully slay an Elder ranking member, for means of taking their position, you must contact a member of the Yath, out of character. If you fail, however, your position is threatened. If the Elder slays you, instead, during your attempt, it is up to them, what course they wish to take. They could throw you to the feet of the Yath, for punishment for your failed attempt. Or, they could take matters into their own hands, and plot against you. Should you choose to throw them to the Yath, you will be unable to take matters into your hands, because the Yath will be watching closely. If, however, you are discovered during your attempt, most certainly you will be given to the Yath for punishment. You may only assassinate another drow one rank above you, to gain in rank. However, it is up to the Matron whether or not your coup is beneficial to the House. Sometimes, even when you prove your strength over another, it is to detremental to the House, and your work was in vain. Again, discuss with an Elder out of character, to let them know the target of your ambitions, to avoid problems.

The Tests of Faith: Devotion and loyalty to the Dark Goddess is, above all else, the most important concept of the Lolthian Drow. Waning faith in the Spider Queen means only death. With this, gruesome tests of Faith are administered to ensure unswerving loyalty too Lolth, the Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Before a drow has proven themselves before the eyes of the Yath, as a full drow, they must complete these rites to earn the favor of the Spider Queen. Only those who have completed this task will be given power and status in Qu'ellar Myrdaruk. Too be promoted on to rank three, you must complete four of the following Punishments. The Test of the Drider is given prior to beginning this process and is not included in that number. The Test of Lolth is the final test and is also not included. A Yath'abban will be required to pass in all eight tests, in order to move on as a full priestess, a Yathrin.

The Eight Punishments of Lolth:
Chwidridera: The test of the drider - Prior to beginning your course in the tests, the Test of the Drider will be given, normally after one has entered a specific caste. Its goal is to weed out traitors or the unfaithful. A failure of such a test becomes a abomination, a Drider, a hideous half-spider half-drow creature.
Chwiakrell: The test of lies - Lies, deciet, the staple of drow culture; it would be only foolish to think that the Yath would not test for such a trait among the faithful drow. A drow seeking this path will have to prove themselves by using deceit and trickery to their benefit. Only the clever and glib of tongue have a place among Lolth's chosen.
Chwidencha: The test of sacrifice - Nothing comes before Lolth, not even a lover or friend. Proving that your will is true, and devotion unending, the drow must sacrifice something dear, too the Dark Goddess. Slaying a lover in the name of Lolth is a perfect example of such a test. Giving your child in the name of Lolth is another act of sacrifice.
Chwidevbrii: The test of betrayal - Betrayal and deciet go hand in hand. Betraying a friend or enemy to their fault and your gain is the goal of this test. A quick mind, skilled in deciet and trickery is only capable of passing. The Drow make no promises, for few are ever held-fast.
Chwihendrell: The test of domination - Torture, power, pain, all synonyms to the drow. Power is the goal of every drow within the House. Domination of another is almost always the key to such power. The whip bestows power to the wielder. Prove your strength to get what you want, through more forceful means. Torture, punishment, domination. Use another to your gain, and leave them snivelling at your feet in the process.
Chwisasshra: The test of vengeance - Revenge is almost always on the mind of any drow. Vengeance is worth more than gold; just to see your enemy suffer. Someone who has wronged you must pay. All your attention and focus must be on that single goal; vengeance.
Chwikezzar: The test of ambition - Status and power are the driving force in drow society, it would only be natural to assume that ambition ran high in all drow. Ambition can drive drow to murdering relatives, children, or even betraying friends and allies. Gaining status or power through any means will signify that you have passed this test.
Chwiloth: The test of Lolth - The final test among the Punishments of Lolth. This test will question your devotion to the Spider Queen, reading your loyalty, as well the other tenants of Lolth. The final test ends in a ritual given by the Yath, signifying a true drow in the House.

These tests are not chosen by the drow. They simple fall into place through the course of the drow's time. For each test you pass, you must seek out a Yathrin or higher member of the Yath to decide if that test was passed, or not. At the end, when you have passed all of your designated tests, you will name your tests and their outcome at the final test of Lolth. Once a full drow, you will be able to gain rank higher than rank two.

The Blooding ritual: Before a drow can be considered for the Test of Faith, and rank three, they must first perform the ritual of the Blooding. The Blooding is a rite of passage among the drow, when the subject must hunt down and slay a creature of the surface in a ritualistic hunt. The creature chosen to be slain is up to the presiding Qu'el'jabbuk. After the creature is slain, rites must be spoken to seal the drow in adulthood. With the blood of the victim, the ritual is performed, intiating the drow into Qu'ellar Myrdaruk as full proven drow. The Ilharess or Yathtallar are required to be present during the ritual, to verify the validity of the victim, and watch over the ceremony. Although, Yath'abban or Yathrin almost exclusively perform the rites. This ritual is often performed in conjunction with the Test of the Drider.

Drow in combat: Even in our very ranks heretics and traitors may lurk. We are besieged on all sides by the various slave races of Sosaria. Be prepared to fight at any moment, for even your best friend may want to strike you down. Drow do not fight fair. They take every advantage they can. We may appear quite cowardly to outsiders. Do not dissapoint our RP enemies, they are expectant of our stealthy nature. That means, use your character's natural hiding ability to lay traps, and create a advantage in combat. Always when you can, use poison on your blade. Poison is a staple of drow combat. Never let the enemy see where your attack is coming from, while defending our territory. From the shadows, check anatomy and Eval int, if you have time. Generally, strike the weakest foe around. Unless your character feels compelled otherwise, or has a longstanding hate of a RP enemy. Recall out if you are outnumbered. Always seeks a balance between saving your hide, and the glory of killing enemies.
Drow generally seek leadership from their superiors, this may be important in combat situations. Every drow should carry a rune to designated recall point, often times the guildhouse. A raid leader can use many tactics to confuse or surpise our enemies, use your imagination.
The Melee-Magthere, the Academy of the Warriors, is responsible for teaching the common battle tactics of the Drow. The Sargtlin become masters of these tactics, capable of teaching others. A progressing warrior will be tested on their ability to use these tactics in battle. All Wanre are encouraged to learn these tactics early, for when they are no longer Wanre, they are sent to the Melee-Magthere to learn under the Qu'el'saruk and the other warriors. Once they learn these tactics, they are returned to their appropriate caste. Even the Priestesses of the Yath are expected to train to use these tactics, however, none practice as much as the Sargtlin themselves.

Drow in peace: While Drow are not making war against our enemies, they spend quite a bit of time protecting their current position or increasing their status. Drow houses can tend to be chaotic. With this in mind, any internal plot should be discussed with the leaders and target of your ambitions. The Qu'ellar is all that makes a Drow a Drow. If you lose it, you are considered an outcast worthy of death. One should make every effort to support the house, provide information, attend events, and obeying the commands of guild leaders.