The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

When the discussions have ground to a halt or the
Player Characters have been expelled, Archimandrus
apologises for their stubborn refusal to be of any use:
‘I am sorry. I thought that having you there might
change their minds. I should have known better. Those
who have ruled for centuries do not change. Melmoth
forgive me for saying it, but they are blind old fools!
They think they can sit here in splendid isolation while
the rest of the world devolves into chaos around them!
Come – let me take you to people who are not afraid to
fight.’
With that, he attempts to escort them to the Conclave
(see below).
Conclusion: The official stance of the High Council is
that the Starborn are the elves’ contribution to the war
effort. They set the magical events in motion that led
to the Player Characters being gifted in the way that
they are, with their signature weapons and power to
return from the dead. Since they have already given
so much, the elves are not under any obligation to do
more. This is not their fight and they will not be joining
any coalition. Their day is done and the humans must
now stand against the darkness without the elves to hold
their hands.
This attitude, as the Player Characters may well notice,
is brazen hypocrisy. The elves know very well that they
are responsible for the drow problem. Their own chief
deity created the mother of all drow in a cowardly act
of self-mutilation, by refusing to face his own dark side.
The elven race has been in collective denial ever since.
Shaming the Council: The Player Characters may be
unwilling to accept this neutral, uninvolved stance. If
they confront the Council and make a speech that, in
the Games Master’s opinion, exposes the Council’s
avoidance tactics for what they are, then the Council
may relent and agree to send troops to help the humans.
A spectacular Diplomacy check (DC 30) is needed to
achieve this, and the Player Characters also have to find
some way to address the Council, which probably means
teleporting into the city hall or some such tactic.
The Player Characters may have other ideas, such as a
public rally or mass protest. The Games Master should
judge any such approach by the amount of effort and
dedication the Player Characters put into it rather than
by dice rolls. Whatever they do, it must have the effect
of making the Council ashamed of its own neutrality in
order to be effective.
Even if the Council does relent, it should not appear
to at first. A good cinematic way to reward the Player
Characters’ effort is to have the elven troops arrive
to help attack Jehannum just as the assault is about
to begin. This is even more effective if the Player
Characters are about to make the assault with far fewer
troops than they need!
Information: The Real History of
Jehannum
All of the members of the High Council know this
information, as do the members of the Conclave. They
are not happy to discuss it, but the Conclave will at least
explain it, if the Player Characters press them.
At the end of the last Equinox of Heroes, the drow were
soundly defeated. Many drow women and children
were left above ground, with their menfolk dead and
no way to return home. In a spirit of compassion,
the people of Jehannum allowed them to have a few
settlements above the ground, on the understanding that
there would be no aggression so long as the humans
were left in peace. The drow had originally occupied
the tunnels below Jehannum long before humans had
ever arrived there and many of them viewed the place
as their homeland, so being allowed to stay was a great
comfort.
The drow did not adapt well to their surface existence,
but coped with it as best they could. Several generations
passed and the settlements began to prosper, isolated
though they were. Many humans still loathed the drow
and there were many beatings and lynchings. The
authorities turned a blind eye and the drow endured
their treatment with silent patience.
The drow communities in Jehannum were finally
destroyed when the elves of Xoth Sarandi offered the
humans a massive shipment of tribute if they would
withdraw their protection from the drow. The humans
not only cancelled the drow’s right to live in their
kingdom but also went hunting and killing them in
return for bounties paid by the elves. Though this ‘scalp
price’ was not part of the official arrangement, so many
elves were willing to offer it (and so many humans were
willing to take it) that the government of Jehannum
took no notice. The drow fled the country with what
possessions they could carry, taking to the sea and to the
mountains, promising that one day a reckoning would
come. Evidently, that day has arrived.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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