Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Clergy<br />
<strong>The</strong> priests and priestesses<br />
of Thraud are soldiers, warriors<br />
and mercenaries who have<br />
devoted their lives to the Pitiless<br />
Blade and to the defence of the<br />
drow. Though they can come from any<br />
social rank, it is most common for them to<br />
be recruited from among the ranks of the<br />
officers of a drow army, or from an officer’s<br />
children. It is exceptionally rare to find a<br />
scion of a Noble House as a priest of Thraud,<br />
just as it is rare to find the children of the lowest classes<br />
among the clergy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> priests of Thraud are charged primarily with preparing<br />
the drow for battle and doing all that can be done to assure<br />
victory. Though they are skilled at healing, it is seen only<br />
as a tool to get a drow soldier back on his<br />
feet and back to the fighting.<br />
<strong>The</strong> clergy of Thraud wear vestments that<br />
look as if they were designed to be worn<br />
into battle, which is indeed the case. <strong>The</strong><br />
ceremonial garb of a priest of the Pitiless<br />
Blade consists of a burnished breastplate<br />
emblazoned with the cleft shield emblem<br />
of Thraud, a steel cap and a longsword.<br />
Among most drow, the priesthood of<br />
Thraud is open to both males and females.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Lorgreln, unsurprisingly, restrict the priesthood to men<br />
only.<br />
Worshippers<br />
<strong>The</strong> vast majority of worshippers of Thraud are soldiers,<br />
mercenaries, guards and others who make their living<br />
with the edge of their blade. This accounts for a<br />
significant percentage of the drow population, making<br />
the Pitiless Blade one of the most popularly worshipped<br />
gods among the drow.<br />
Though Thraud has no specific interest in the ins and outs<br />
of the Game of Bones or the Sheathed War (see page 88),<br />
an increasing number of players in that game have begun<br />
to seek the blessings of the Pitiless Blade upon their<br />
endeavours.<br />
Ydrillia (She of the Veil)<br />
Symbol: An open book, its spine turned towards the viewer<br />
so the contents of the pages are hidden.<br />
Alignment: Neutral evil<br />
Governs: Knowledge, learning, magic, wisdom<br />
Domains: Knowledge, Magic<br />
Favoured Weapons: Quarterstaff, hand crossbow<br />
Requirements for Priesthood: Must have at least four<br />
ranks each in Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft.<br />
Background<br />
Magic is an essential part of the drow, reflected in everything<br />
from the innate spell abilities with which they are born to<br />
the affinity they have for mastering magics both arcane and<br />
divine.<br />
Ydrillia is the goddess of knowledge and magic in drow<br />
society, two things widely regarded as the most powerful<br />
weapons a dark elf may have at his side. It is thought in<br />
the cult of Ydrillia that She of the Veil is responsible for<br />
gifting the drow with their tremendous abilities and talents<br />
for magic.<br />
Ydrillia is devoted to furthering the<br />
knowledge and magical ability of the drow,<br />
but not through any additional gifts granted<br />
without effort on the part of the dark elves.<br />
As evidenced by her symbol, of an open<br />
book with its spine turned towards the<br />
viewer to hide whatever is on the pages,<br />
She of the Veil makes the knowledge<br />
available, but the drow must work to learn<br />
it. Spurred on by the twin drives to further<br />
their knowledge and please their goddess,<br />
45