mordenkainens tome of foes

everyone on the street

or in an audience chamber to see

that their drow master

owns and s ubjugates powerful

enemies. As s uch,

the creatures are commonly used as

litter bearers, banner carriers, servers,

and footstools.

Slaves without appreciable valu

e as status symbols

are used for

strenuous or dangerous jobs such as tend

• 
  

ing farms,

h auling cargo, or hollowing out giant sta-

lagmites

and stalactites to make new dwellin g spaces.

When they become too weak

or dispirited to work, they

might be staked out as bait

during a hunt, fed to the s pi-

ders, or sacrificed to Lolth

(and then fed to the spide rs).

Although

all slaves are at the bottom of the

dark elves'

social

hierarchy, the lowest-ranking drow are

consid-

ered

little better than slaves themselves. A

weak house

that doesn't ally itse lf with

a protector will be preyed

on and victimized into

extinction. If it does swear alle-

giance to a more

powerful house, it avoids being perse-

cuted by other houses but becomes effectively

a clan of

indentured servants. Only the most

exceptional females

in such a clan

have any chance of rising above their low

station, and

those who do advance e nd up hurting rath

er

than helpin

g their families because they are adopted

into the mor

e prestigious house, leaving their origi na l

house even weaker than befor

e.

THE

DARK SELDARINE

Lolth demands

the lion's share of worship from the

drow, according

to her wishes and by the command

of

her priestesses

. T he Spider Queen isn't, however,
the

only entity

venerated by drow. They revere a host

of di-

vine entities, which they r

efer to as the Dark Seldarine

in mockery of the surface

elves' deities. The Dark

Seldarine

are mighty, immortal beings, s urvivor

s from

the original group of primal elves who revolted

against

Corellon to remain at Lolth's side.

The Drow Deities

table lists the members of the Dark

Seldarine. For each

god, the table notes a lignment, prov-

ince (the god's

main areas of inte rest and responsibility),

suggested domains for clerics who

serve the god, and

a common symbol of the god. The

gods in the table are

described below.

LOLTH

Unlike

Corellon, who asks very little of his follow

ers,

Lolth is a demanding mistress.

What s he demands most

of all are sacrifices of
treasure and blood. Time and time

DROW D EI T I ES (THE D

ARK SELDARINE}

DROW TRANCE:

ENTERING T H E VOID

Drow enter trance

just as other elves do, but they do not

experience memories

of a primal soul or of past lives. Of-

ten they recall

nothing at all, but simply dwell for a time in

darkness and silence, a respite

from the dangers of their

daily lives. When drow do dream,

whether in trance or in

sleep, they look for signs

from Lolth or others of the Dark

Seldarine. That drow

do not experience trance the way

other elves do len

ds credence to the idea that their souls

do not reincarnate.

Did Corellon forever bar the souls of

dark elves from Arvandor and change

them in some funda-

mental way? Or does Lolth somehow

weave new souls for

her followers, in the way that

Moradin forges new spirits

for dwarves? Only those entities know for certain.

again, the screams of sacrificial

victims echo through

Lolth's lightless temples

as they fall under the knives of

her

priestesses. Her altars are piled with skull

s picked

clean

of flesh by the giant spiders that lurk

in the web-

draped s talactites overhead.

In return for victims and adoration, Lolth

grants signs

of her favor, s uch

as great success during a s lave raid

on the surface,

the matron of a riva l house being struck

down by a n inexplicable illness, or

an heiress to the

house being born under propitious

omens.

GHAUNADAUR

This entity is most often referr

ed to as That Which

Lurks, because uttering it

s real name risks attracting its

attention. Its actual form

, if it even has one, is unknown;

it's mos t often represented

as an ooze-like creature with

many tentacles or a purple pupil surrounded

by black in-

stead of white. The liquid nature of Ghaunadaur

is sym-

bolic of its unpredictable nature, which

is what makes

attracting its attention

so risky. It occasionally rewards

its followe rs with

supernatural powers or wealth, but it's

equally likely to curse its faithful with

hideous torments

and afflictions. A subterranean hunter

who whis pers

Ghaunadaur's name might stumbl

e into a forgotten

treasure tr

ove, while a devoted priestess who offers

long prayers

and valuable sacrifices is consumed by

a

gelatinous cube. The e ntity's

random behavior can be an

attraction to drow who lack

status and are despe rate to

achieve it. A s mall sacrific

e and a prayer to That Which

Lurks might si mply go

unnoticed by Ghaunadaur, or it

migh

t punish the petitioner, but there is also

a chance of

receivin

g a great reward.

Deity Alignment Province

Suggested Domains

Common Symbol

Eilistraee

CG Freedom,

moonlight, song

Ghaunadaur CE Oozes,

slimes, outcasts

Keptolo CE Beauty, hedonism, fertility

Kiaransalee CE Necromancy

Malyk

CE

Chaos, rebe

llion, wild magic

Loi th CE

Primary god of drow, spiders

Selvetarm CE

Warriors, slaughter

Vhaeraun CE

Arrogance,

thieves

Zinzerena CN

Assassination

, illusion, lies

~'Appears
in Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Life, Light, Nature

War

Nature, Trickery

Arcana,* Death

Tempest, Trickery

Trickery, War

War

Trickery, War

Trickery

Sword-wielding, dancing female drow

silhouetted against the full moon

Purple eye with black sclera

Mushroom

Drow hand wear

ing many silver rings

A flame in a tear

or a multihued vortex

Spider

Spider over crossed sword and mace

Black mask with blue glass lenses inse

t

over eyes

Shortsword draped with cloth

CHAPTER 2 I EL\'ES