The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

make their homes on dry land. Chairs, beds, tables, all are
noticeably absent, as the Sulzthul have no use for any of
them.
Every city will have several ‘dry caves’ used for everything
which simply cannot be done underwater, from cooking
to tanning thryssal to storing items like books or anything
else which cannot survive immersion. These caves are
often on the surface or very near it, connected to the air
above by a narrow chimney to carry the smoke away. As
they are commonly the most exposed area of any Sulzthul
settlement, they are not connected in any way to the
remainder of the community.
The greatest of the Sulzthul cities is Ssil, originally
founded by the descendants of Ssil na’Than after leaving
their first settlement at Uthzo Tesslath and named in his
honour. Built around a wide, fluted column of rock in the
midst of a deep lake, it is home to nearly 20,000 Sulzthul.
The pillar of stone itself is pierced with hundreds of multichambered
caves dug out of the rock by the Sulzthul for
use as homes and businesses. The city is constantly lit
by literally thousands of luminescent jellyfish of varying
colours swimming lazily along with the currents, creatures
whose dangerous sting has no effect on the peculiar skin
of the Sulzthul. Fresh air for the Sulzthul is provided by
several tiny one-way gates to the elemental plane of air
which the sorcerers of the Sulzthul constructed at the base
of the city. Air pours from these gates in a constant stream,
jetting towards the surface to be caught in the smooth,
scalloped overhangs at the entrance to the Sulzthul caves.
Ranging out from the city in all directions are the farmlands
of Ssil. The rich soil at the bottom of the lake, combined
with the light provided by the jellyfish, allow the Sulzthul
to grow and harvest a variety of underwater plants. Most of
these plants are edible, making them a valuable trade item
in the Underdeep. Others are used for everything from
dyes to healing poultices.
Entertainment
Life beneath the waves has dramatically altered the kinds of
entertainment available to the Sulzthul. Many amusements
common on dry land are either impractical or simply
impossible here. What little music they make, for example,
is limited to simple percussion instruments. The Sulzthul
can hear perfectly well underwater, but most instruments
simply will not function when wet.
Gladiatorial contests are much less common among the
Sulzthul than they are in other drow cultures. Sulzthul
warriors frequently compete against one another to hone
their abilities, but the aquatic drow do not have the same
ease of access to slaves and other unwilling combatants
other drow enjoy. Water-breathing sentient races are
comparatively few, the aboleth being the most significant in
the Underdeep, and the Sulzthul slaughter those creatures
the moment they find one, they do not bring it back to a drow
city for gladiatorial combat. Further, a water-based race is
not as easily confined as a land-bound race; while a simple
pit or ornate coliseum can contain land-bound combatants,
it is impossible to build such a structure underwater than
can prevent an unwilling combatant from fleeing.
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