The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

Having an evil Player Character is more complicated than
merely writing ‘evil’ in the alignment portion of the character
sheet, however, and this begs the question of what exactly
qualifies as evil in a roleplaying game. Most people would
agree that ransacking tombs is highly questionable, and that
invading a creature’s home to kill it and steal its wealth is
evil, but these activities are central to the lives of almost all
Player Characters. The defining point, which determines
whether these actions are good or evil, is usually assumed
to be the race and alignment of the creature whose home
the Player Characters invade and whose treasure they steal.
There are a number of arguments to be made against this,
but it is the artificial morality upon which the alignment
system is based, and it is probably best to leave it alone.
There are two major pitfalls in playing a group of evil
Player Characters which the Games Master would be wise
to address before the campaign gets started.
The first of these pitfalls is how the evil Player Characters
will behave within the confines of the party. Some players
may see an evil alignment as giving them free rein to
cheat, betray, even kill the other Player Characters. In
the social setting of the roleplaying game, this can easily
lead to hurt feelings, grudges, even players abandoning the
game. Nor is it an accurate portrayal of life within any evil
organisation. Certainly there is scheming and backstabbing
in any evil group or society, but evil people would not form
organisations if there were no benefit in doing so, such as
mutual protection or pooling of resources. The players
should be encouraged to approach the mechanics of innerparty
politics from this perspective.
The second of these pitfalls is just how far to take evil.
Games Masters should be careful to establish some
mutually accepted rules and guidelines before beginning
play in a campaign of evil Player Characters as to just what
the acceptable boundaries will be in the game. Roleplayers
tend to be unconcerned by Player Characters engaging in
robbery, extortion, even assassination. However, there are
a number of other, traditionally evil activities in which
most Player Characters do not engage, and rarely enter
a roleplaying campaign in any significant detail. These
include actions such as torture, rape and mutilation. There
is a good reason these actions are rarely detailed in a
roleplaying campaign, as they tend to make people nervous,
uncomfortable or even repulsed. When this happens, the
campaign suffers greatly, and players may well leave the
game out of disgust. If a Games Master and his players
can work out an acceptable range of activities before play
begins, he can prevent this from happening. There is
more than enough evil to be had in actions that will not be
uncomfortable to the players.
Throw Them a Curve
One of the primary purposes of The Tome of Drow Lore
is to provide Games Masters with additional options
and choices in how to present the drow in a roleplaying
campaign, as well as what role the drow themselves will
play in that campaign. After all, the drow are a numerous
people scattered throughout the regions of the Underdeep.
Combined with the highly individualistic traits found in
many drow, it only makes sense the dark elves would have
created a wide range of differing societies.
Many of these societies and cultures are presented in
this book, a number of which deviate dramatically from
the stereotypical vision of the drow most players and
most Player Characters are familiar with. Using only the
information presented in The Tome of Drow Lore, Games
Masters should have no trouble confronting the Player
Characters with all manner of exciting (though potentially
painful) surprises. There is no need, however, to colour
within the lines. A Games Master might prefer to create
additional drow cultures and sub-races or modify those
presented herein, either to better suit his campaign or merely
make sure the Player Characters never stop guessing. Here
are a few examples of how to modify the drow even further,
be it a cultural or a physical modification.
� The cult of the Dark Mother, ever chafing at the thought
of drow worshipping another deity, finally struck out at
the other faiths, igniting a religious war throughout the
lands of the drow. Games Masters may choose to have
the Player Characters become involved with the drow
while this war rages on, whether aligning themselves
with one faction or acting as agents of an outside
enemy of the dark elves, rushing to the attack now that
the drow are at each others’ throats. Alternatively, he
may prefer to involve the Player Characters only after
the war has ended, whether it be when the cult of the
Dark Mother is triumphant, or when the cult has been
all but destroyed by the wrath of the other gods and is
reduced to a tiny faith clinging to the fringes of drow
society.
� An unlikely alliance of the dark elves' enemies within
the Underdeep (the shangu, the aboleth and others)
has finally overthrown the drow. Their cities crushed
and people scattered, the drow live as ragged bands of
nomads wandering the Underdeep or hiring themselves
out to other races as skilled mercenaries. There
are rumours of a single remaining drow city hidden
somewhere in the Underdeep, the sole hope for the race
of the drow.
� Despite the rumours and stories known to everyone on
the surface of the earth, the drow are not evil but are
simply misunderstood, the victim of ancient prejudices.
Though certainly tempted to, they never succumbed to
evil as they struggled for survival in the deep places
143