The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

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The Kanahraun nobles wield and wear weapons and
armour formed from the bones of their victims through a
necromantic process known only to the ruling class, called
boneforging. Nearly as strong as steel but much lighter,
boneforged arms and armour are often made with the bones
of undead, retaining some of the undead’s terrible abilities
and channelling them through the weapons and armour
used by the Kanahraun. More details on boneforging and
the items created with it can be found in Chapter 7, Drow
Magic and Equipment.
Though it is usually only the ruling class of the Kanahraun
who have access to a full set of boneforged regalia, the
weapons and armour used by Kanahraun barbarians are no
less horrible to the eye. Kanahraun prefer weapons such as
barbed spears or heavy, cleaving blades, and usually fight
with a buckler in one hand. They wear whatever armour
they have ransacked from the corpses of their victims, or,
failing that, leather armour made from the hide of some
Underdeep beast. Whatever kind of armour they don, the
Kanahraun festoon it with bones and cover it with the tanned
skins of their victims. The bucklers they wield usually have
the tanned and stretched face of some unfortunate sentient
covering the front.
As terrible as an assault by either class of Kanahraun
might be, the feral elves have a weapon in their arsenal still
more terrifying. These are the Reavers, Kanahraun who
have been bound together into small groups of absolute
savages who feed on one another’s strength in battle, the
survivors growing ever stronger when one of their number
is killed. Many in the Underdeep deny that the Reavers
exist, insisting the tales of Reaver attacks must be pure
fiction. In fact, there is no one outside the Kanahraun with
any understanding of the Reavers’ abilities, but those who
deny they are real are quite wrong.
Into every generation of Kanahraun are born eight male
children destined to become Reavers. In childhood, the
destiny is hidden; even the mightiest priests of the ruling
class are unable to determine which children will one day
be Reavers. Upon the advent of puberty, however, the
destiny is made plain. Following the first kill made by the
Kanahraun child after the onset of adolescence, a mark like
a white fang appears on his forehead and he begins to slip
quickly into utter madness, plagued by dreams and visions
of horror too intense for even the Kanahraun to tolerate.
The feral drow consider this a gift from Azzanoth the
Glutton.
The child is quickly taken to Gauth Sheol, to the great
temple of Azzanoth, where he is kept caged until the other
seven destined children of his generation can be gathered
there. Once they have all eight in hand, the priests of the
Glutton perform a ritual known as Dul Merzim, the Joining.
The eight children marked with the white fang are joined
together into a single group of Reavers, known as a Pact.
They remain individuals, but now also share a link of their
thoughts, sensations and impulses, allowing them to act as a
perfectly coordinated unit in battle. Maddened by bloodlust
and visions of horror beyond mortal understanding, but
made absolutely and utterly obedient to the ruling class
by the ritual of Joining, the Reavers exist only to kill and
slaughter. More information about Reavers can be found in
Chapter 8, Creatures of the Underdeep.
Culture
Bestial and primitive as they are, the Kanahraun are not
without rituals and traditions which bind the tribe together.
The most important of these is the feast. Through feasting,
they believe, they are honouring Azzanoth the Glutton, who
delivered the Kanahraun from their entombment, and they
are honouring themselves as well, for having risen above
what they were to become what they are.
The scars and brands marking the flesh of the Kanahraun
also each have their own significance and meaning. Many
are religious in nature, others denote the tribe and class
of the individual, others indicate great accomplishments
and still more are used to convey ownership. The tally of
enemies killed in battle is meticulously kept on the ears of
the Kanahraun, with a warrior receiving one notch in his
ear for every 10 enemies slain.
The Kanahraun consider themselves the superiors of every
other race, the perfect predator taking its meals from lower
life forms. This view has instilled in them an unshakable
arrogance towards all others, including other drow. While
the ruling class may covet some of the knowledge held by
other races, they consider it, like everything else, something
which is their due.
Economy
The Kanahraun have no real economy. The lower class
labours and raids to provide for all the requirements of the
tribe, and the ruling class distributes food and goods as
needed. They do not trade with any other race, nor do they
have any manner of currency. The concept of business is
alien to them. So long as a Kanahraun continues to aid the
tribe, all his needs are met.
Education
Like their society, education among the Kanahraun varies
widely depending on the class of the child. Children of
the lower class are taught simple skills and the basics of
combat by anyone willing to spend the time needed to do
so. Once the child has shown a preference or superior