The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

34
Sacrifices are made to Alsythuth at
least twice a year by his worshippers.
Additionally, it is customary to make
a sacrifice to the Bloodied Coin before
embarking on a trading expedition or
sending forth a band of raiders. Ideally,
such sacrifices are made with a member
of the race to whom the caravan is to
travel or the raiding party is to target,
with the thought that such a soul offered
up to the Bloodied Coin will make the
expedition that much more profitable for
the drow. The victim of the sacrifice is
secured to the altar with a golden cord and
a sacrificial knife of precious metal is then
used to slowly bleed him dry.
Not all worship of Alsythuth is marked
by sacrifices, of course. Every day, the
temple sees drow come through to offer
prayers and coins that their fortunes might
thrive.
Temples
Temples to Alsythuth the Bloodied Coin
tend to be ostentatious, even gaudy affairs,
usually built as square blocks of multi-hued
marble and inlaid with gold. Inside, every
conceivable item and surface is gilded and
studded with gems. Not content to count
on the possible vengeance of Alsythuth
against thieves, temples to the Bloodied
Coin employ small armies of guards to watch over the
treasures on display.
The temples are run as though they are a business, which is
fitting for the cult of Alsythuth. Worshippers rent space to
make offerings and prayers and the priests charge a fee to
perform sacrifices. Worshippers are greeted by an acolyte
of the Bloodied Coin upon entering the temple, who asks
them what manner of worship they require for what ends
and quotes them a price. True to form for Alsythuth, the
final price is rarely the same as that quoted. The rare
foolish drow who enters a temple of the Bloodied Coin and
receives services for which he cannot pay can expect to
become a sacrifice to Alsythuth.
Clergy
The priests and priestesses of Alsythuth are generally drawn
from the wealthier merchant families of the drow, who
actively seek to place their children within the temple ranks
for the financial benefits sure to accrue to the family. In
any drow society in which the Bloodied Coin is a dominant
cult, the clergy are very active and visible. It is difficult
to miss them on the street, as they are always clad in an
array of jewels and fine cloth in an ostentatious manner
that pleases their god. The priests and priestesses of the
Bloodied Coin live very well indeed and their coffers are
constantly overflowing with coins and offerings given by
drow seeking Alsythuth’s help in their various enterprises.
Worshippers
Alsythuth the Bloodied Coin enjoys widespread worship
among the Noble Houses and the merchant classes of the
drow, who often use his temples as neutral ground to meet
and broker new trading agreements. Wealth is a cornerstone
of the power of the Noble Houses and so many House
nobles who are dedicated to another deity still devote some
measure of their worship to Alsythuth.
Though the workers on trading caravans and the warriors
of raiding parties acknowledge the role Alsythuth plays in
their livelihood, they usually reserve the majority of their
worship for Thraun, the Pitiless Blade.