Out of the Abyss

0ROW SPORE SERVANTS
These drow fell prey to Zuggtmoy's spores and were
drawn to the fungi field!:> ofDoniganen. where they now
roam as a pack. attacking intruders on sight.

ESCAPED SLAVES
A group of ld4 commo n e rs (of any race) fled their
masters when Demogorgon anacked and wok refuge
here. The characters find them hiding in the fields or a
nearby building. The slaves can provide the characters
with a detailed description of the attack. confirming that
Demogorgon was behind the destruction. The slaves are
desperate to escape from the drow and pitifully grateful
for any aid offered.

GTANTWOLF SPIDERS
These spiders lurk in burrows under the spongy grou nd,
leaping out to attack the party as it passes by. Party
members with a passive Wisdom (Percept ion) score of
17 or higher aren't surprised by the spiders.

0RC SLAVE fARMERS
The drow use orr slaves to farm their fungi fields. The
orcs pour water into carefully irrigated dung fields.
renewing and expancling the fields with wagonloads of
excrement brought in from the city proper. The orcs are
so disciplined that they can be relied upon to perform
their tasks with minimal or no supervision.
The characters encounter 3d6 ore commoners.
The orcs are chaotic evil and have dark vision out w a
range of 60 feet. but they don't attack drow or anyone
accompanied by a drow. There's a 25 percent chance
that ld4 drow gu ards are standing within 120 feet of
the orcs. quietly resenting the fact that they've been
assigned to ··watch orcs till our waste." If the orcs come
under attack, the drow rush in to proteC't them.

DUTHCLOIM
Known commonly as "Manyfolk," the area surrounding
the Bazaar and bordered by the Clawrift to the east is
home to Menzoberranzan's merchants, tradesfolk, and
crafters. Duthcloim features small inns, taprooms. and
pleasure houses catering to locals, visitors, and high-
status drow seeking distraction. P<lrts ofDuthcloim
were damaged or destroyed after Demogorgon emerged
from the Clawrift. Nevertheless, business has been
booming as drow celebrate the deaths of rivals.
If you want a random encounter to occur as the
characters make their way through the Duthcloim
district. roll a d20 and consult the Duthcloim
Encounters table. or choose an encounter that you like.
The party can avoid random encounters in Duthcloim by
succeeding on a DC 13 De xterity (Stealth) group check.

0 UTHCLOIM ENCOUNTERS

d20 Encounter

1-4

5 8

9-12

13 - 16

17-20

Bregan D'aerthe spy

Drow foot patrol

Drow priestess of Lolth

Spider nest

Statue of Lolth

THE WAY OF LOLTH

Menzoberranzan's principle law is the Way of Lolth. Its

tenets are as follows:

There 1S no god or goddess other than Lolth. Any

who follows the dictates of another entity will be slain,

preferably as a sacrifice to Lolth.

Ritual worshtp of any entity other than Lolth is

forbidden wtthin the ctty's vault. Non·drow who violate

th1s tenet are fined and expelled from the city. Second

offenders or any drow who do so are slain.

Slaves have no rights, and there are no limits to the

punishments or duties that can be set for them.

Treatment of slaves 1s the affatr of their owners. It is a

capital offense for a slave to refuse any order from a

drow of the house that owns the slave.

A commoner or student of the Academy who refuses

to obey a priestess can be punished as the offended

priestess sees fit, up to and including death. If the

offender is the property of another house and the noble

of that house is present and objects, the two must

agree on a punishment (usually flogging).

• Any drow who falsely wears the colors of another house
  or who deliberately alters his or her appearance to
  masquerade as one of a different station will be slain.


• Any non-drow who adopts the appearance of a
  particular drow, a drow of a noble rank, or a drow of a
  house other than his or her own will be slain.


• If it can be proved that two or more houses attacked
  another house, all the houses that participated in the
  attack will be destroyed jointly by the remainder.

BRECAN D'AERTHE SPY

A male drow s p y takes an interest in the characters and

begins shadowing them. attempting to remain unseen.

Characters keeping an eye out for trouble spot the drow

with a successful Wisdom (Perception) check contested

by the drow's Dexterity (Stealth) check.

The drow is a member of Bregan D'aerthe (sec

"Unexpected Allies" later in this chapter) and reveals as

much if the characters confront him. Tf the character s

reveal that they're trying to banish the demon lords back

to the Abyss. he offers Bregan D'aerthe's assistance. If

they're amenable, he leads them to a Bregan D'aerthe

safe house until a meeting with jarlaxle, the leader

of Bregan D'aerthe, can be arranged. While escorted

by the spy, the characters have no hostile random

encounters.

Development. The Bregan D'aerthe safe house is

a three-story stone tower guarded by four members

of Bregan D'aerthe (male drow elite w arriors) and

maintained by one or more freed slaves (use the

commone r statistics). While in the safe house. the

characters have no hostile encounters.

If the characters agre e to a meeting with jarlaxJe. the

Bregan o·aerthe spy tells them that a drow operative

named Krilelyn I I'Kar will fetch them when the time

comes (see "Private Meetings~). The spy then leaves the

characters alone.

DROW FOOT PATROL

This patrol consists of 2d4 dro w. Jf one or more party

members appear to be anything other than drow or

slaves in the company of its drow master, the patrol

confronts the party and starts asking questions. ff any

(,I!APTFR 15 I THF. CITY Of SPIOt:;RS

(^195)