Drow Magic. Sorcery Of Endless Night.pdf - RoseRed

The corruption ceremony utterly and permanently
transforms a surface elf into that which he fears and
loathes the most, a drow. The corruption ceremony is
only performed when the drow wish to bring a mighty
surface elf hero low or bring ruin and catastrophe to
surface elf society. Dark weavers have, in the past,
used this ceremony to spark wars between surface
elf kingdoms, to end elven crusades which came too
near their cities or, in one memorable instance, to
lead a noble elven paladin-king to slaughter his entire
family and all their servants and friends. Despite the
corruption ceremonies power, drow are very judicious
in its use; the good elven gods do not look kindly on
the involuntary corruption of their followers and have
on more than one occasion sent avatars to annihilate
those dark weavers who perform this ceremony.
The corruption ceremony is long and involved, requiring
the sacrifice of a drow who possesses personal power
equivalent to that of the intended victim. The sacrificial
victim need not volunteer for the duty and in fact, most
dark weavers prefer to sacrifice their rivals whenever
they can. During the corruption ceremony, all the
participants, save the victim, must indulge themselves
in all manner of vice; they must mate, despoil and
desecrate objects sacred to the surface elves, all while
shrieking the praises of the Dark Mother of Spiders.
Death Rite
Black ceremony
Effect: Dismissal (DC 40)
Materials: 10 participants (DC +/-0), Average materials
(DC +/-0), DC 30 Knowledge (religion) sub-check (DC
-15), specific location (DC -10)
Completion Time: 1 day (DC +/-0), exacting
commitment (DC -15)
Range: Short (within 5 miles) (DC +5)
Target: All within range (DC +10)
Duration: Permanent (DC +40)
Final DC Check: 55
The black ceremony death rite is used to ensure that
the slain enemies of the drow cannot return to plague
them again. The death rite is typically performed in
the aftermath of a major battle or slaughter, the better
to effect as many souls as possible. The death rite
permanently banishes the spirits of the recently slain,
relegating them to a place in whatever shadowy afterlife
their deeds bound them to. Only a magical ceremony
of equal or greater strength can release the souls from
their prison and permit them to be raised or resurrected
again as normal.
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BLACK CEREMONIES
The death rite affects all recently dead within its range,
even drow, so cautious and wealthy drow warriors make
a practice of hiring retainers to remove their bodies a
safe distance from the battlefield should they be slain,
lest they be banished as well. Of course, not all retainers
can be trusted to perform this duty, but that is simply an
expected hazard of the warrior’s profession.
The death rite involves the slow, methodical
dismemberment of at least one recently slain corpse.
Once the body has been fully butchered and dressed,
it is fed by hand to a fiendish monstrous spider of at
least Large size. The bloated spider is then burned on
a pyre of greasy black flames, it’s spirit set as an eternal
guardian against the souls of the recently dead.
Though the death rite can be performed by anyone of
sufficient skill, it is considered blasphemy, punishable
by painful death, for anyone but the priestesses of the
Dark Mother of Spiders or the dark weavers to perform
it. Despite the thread of agonising death, many drow
matrons perform the ceremony to ensure that those
family enemies who fall prey to ‘unfortunate’ accidents
never receive another chance at life.
Feasting
Black ceremony
Effect: Bolstering (DC 45), summoning (DC 40)
Materials: 50 participants (DC -20), expensive
materials (DC -10), winter season only (DC -15), DC
20 Perform (dance) sub-check (DC -10)
Completion Time: 1 day (DC +/-0), lax commitment
(DC +10)
Range: Medium (within 50 miles) (DC +10)
Target: All plants and animals within range (DC
+20)
Duration: 1 season (DC +/-0)
Final DC Check: 70
The drow use the black ceremony feasting to ensure
that they can survive the harsh winter months in the
Dark Beneath. Though many believe that this place
knows no seasons, that it remains unchanged regardless
of the turning of time and tide, this is not really true.
In the late months of the year, when the gods of the
harvest retire and the world is shrouded in white, the
strange plants which fill the vast, hidden halls of the
Dark Beneath fall dormant and the rodents and the
great herd beasts which feast upon them hibernate. It
is then that the drow perform the black ceremony of
feasting.
The feasting awakens the vital energy of the Dark
Beneath, it causes plants to grow anew and wakes