The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

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create an impression of softness and roundness. Commonly,
these temples are located in an area of a drow city sure to
draw the greatest amount of foot traffic, though certainly
well outside the domains of the poorer drow.
Inside, there is a single large sanctuary appointed with
everything the drow might need or desire during the long
worship services to their goddess. This ranges from floors
strewn with cushions on one end to various devices and
implements of pain on the other. There is no central altar,
though there are icons of Belishtim everywhere in the
room. The interior of these houses of worship is so atypical
of what is found in other temples that adherents to the other
deities of the drow pantheon commonly say the temples
of Belishtim are more reminiscent of a slave brothel than
anything else.
Clergy
The priests and priestesses of Belishtim are uniformly
beautiful. While there may indeed be no such thing as a
drow born ugly, the clergy of the Dark Seducer are culled
from the most attractive of the race. This is done for two
simple reasons. First, Belishtim finds physical ugliness
revolting and wishes to be served only by the most beautiful
of drow. Second, it is mere common sense that an ugly or
misshapen priest of Belishtim will have a more difficult
time doing his goddess’ work, namely that of seduction.
Some of the acolytes found in a temple
of Belishtim are merely young drow
in training for priesthood, but there
are others with a more complicated
story. The clergy of the Dark Seducer
make it their practice to lure priests
and priestesses away from other faiths,
slowly weaning them from the teachings
of one god to introduce them completely
to worship of Belishtim. This is difficult
to accomplish, for obvious reasons, but
the clergy of the Dark Seducer would
not continue the practice were it never
successful. Once the drow priest of another
god has renounced his vows, usually in the throes of passion,
he is hurriedly taken to the temple of the Belishtim, where
he becomes an acolyte in the church of the Dark Seducer.
He also becomes a prisoner in the temple, though this is
as much for his own protection as anything else, for the
followers of his forsaken god would surely kill him for his
betrayal.
Worshippers
The worshippers of Belishtim the Dark Seducer come from
all levels of drow society, from the Noble Houses to the
lower classes. Ambition, desire and lust are nearly universal
preoccupations with the passionate and chaotic dark elves.
Younger drow in particular are ardent worshippers of
Belishtim, though many become involved simply for the
promise of partaking in the infamously depraved orgies
which constitute the Dark Seducer’s worship ceremonies.
Kez’Skul (The Trickster, The
Deceiver)
Symbol: A single flame flanked by two opposing and
intricate symbols which seem reversed images of each
other. These often take the form of intricate knotwork with
no beginning or end.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (with evil tendencies)
Governs: Fire, humour, trickery
Domains: Chaos, Fire, Trickery
Favoured Weapons: Dagger, sap, sling
Requirements for Priesthood: At least two ranks each in
Bluff and Sense Motive.
Background
In many pantheons, the deity fulfilling the role of the
Trickster is barely tolerated, an unwelcome presence
lurking on the fringes. Not so among the drow. Kez’Skul,
the Trickster and Deceiver, is an important god to the drow,
a race of beings for whom trickery and
deceit are more commonly virtues to be
applauded than faults to be shunned.
Kez’Skul is a Trickster in the truest vein
of drow culture and society. He is not a
jester or a fool; he is not a fun-loving,
lighthearted deity like the Trickster of
the surface elves. His provenance lies
in deceit and spite, in lies and innuendo,
in cruel jokes and manipulations. This
is not to say Kez’Skul is without a sense
of humour, but it is one that few races
outside the drow would find amusing.
The drow conceive of the Trickster as a being of utter
chaos, of constant change unbound by rules. It is this
aspect of Kez’Skul that has given him governance over fire
- dangerous, unpredictable and ever-changing.
Kez’Skul is, by turns, extremely possessive and extremely
dismissive of his worshippers, dependent upon his whims.
He shares the common desire of the drow pantheon to help
his worshippers exact vengeance upon the surface races, but
finds the concept of great clashes of arms boring and stale.
He would prefer his worshippers devise a more interesting
(and obviously, deceitful) plan.