The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

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of the dark elves. The details of these deviations from the
drow ‘norms’ can be found in the description for each of
the Houses listed below.
Many of these changes may be passed on even to drow
outside the House. In any drow city, the culture and society
are dominated by the Houses that rule, particularly in those
cities under the control of a single House. Drow from
outside the House are naturally inclined to emulate their
betters, practicing as well as they may the same crafts and
habits of the drow of the House.
The role the Houses play in drow society is complex and
governed by a wide variety of circumstances specific to any
given culture or city. Several Houses, notably Arras’zur,
Narrishtah and Zhakhun, are quite large and exist as powers
in multiple drow cities, while others confine their operations
to a single location on which they maintain a fierce grip. In
some situations, the Houses will sometimes act as proxies
for the temples, while in others the temples will grudgingly
do the bidding of the Houses. The dominant social force
varies from city to city and Games Masters have free rein
to set the power levels of the temples and Houses as best
fits the campaign.
The Noble Houses and the cults of the drow share power
unwillingly and just as there is conflict among the churches,
so too is there conflict among the Houses. Over the years,
this internecine warfare of the Houses has come to be called
the Game of Bones, or the Sheathed War, and it is a mark of
just how much enmity exists between the Houses that they
cannot even agree on the name of the conflict that endlessly
divides them. Complete rules and a full description of this
ongoing and eternal struggle can be found on page 88.
Though some of Noble Houses are quite old, proudly tracing
their roots back to the time of the Sundering and before,
this is not always the case. Other Houses are quite young,
having risen to supplant older Houses that had grown weak
and careless in their decadence. There is always resistance
from the surviving older Houses to the acceptance of such
upstarts into their ranks, but provided the new House has
the power necessary to hold its newly acquired position
and continues to be successful at the Game of Bones,
acceptance will eventually come.
Listed below are ten of the most powerful Noble Houses of
the drow. At the end of each description is a list of House
features, skills and abilities.
House Features: This lists the natural bonuses and
penalties that accrue to any drow of that House. These cost
the drow character nothing, they are merely the effects of
growing up in the culture of that particular House. These
features are in addition to normal drow traits, though in
some cases they may enhance or negate a specific drow
trait. As well as these features, it is worth noting that
membership of a House brings other benefits and penalties,
from the network of resources and contacts provided to the
often inconvenient or dangerous demands placed on a drow
in the service of their House.
House Skills: These are the prevalent skills learned and
practiced by drow of that House. A drow character of the
House always treats these skills as class skills.
Favoured Class: This is the most common character class
to be found in that House of the drow and replaces the
default favoured drow class of wizard or cleric.
Predominant Alignment: This is the alignment adhered to
by the majority of drow of that House.
Predominant Religion: This is the god most commonly
worshipped by drow of that House.
House Arras’zur and House
Narrishtah
House Arras’zur and House Narrishtah are perhaps more
responsible than any other drow for the reputation of
the dark elves on the surface world, as well as the many
misperceptions those in the sunlit lands hold regarding the
drow.
Background
Two of the largest Houses at the time of the Sundering,
House Arras’zur and House Narrishtah managed to escape
the hosts of shangu and vengeful surface elves by fighting
a slow retreat through the unknown passages of the
Underdeep, rather than simply fleeing as did so many of
the dark elves. So deadly were the shangu and so wrathful
were the surface elves however, that even the combined
forces of House Arras’zur and House Narrishtah could not
stand against them.
Fortunately for the drow, they were able to slip out from
between the two hosts of enemies, retreating away through
the Underdeep while leaving just enough forces in combat
to keep the enemies coming from both sides, ensuring that
the hated cousins who betrayed them would run headlong
into the alien menace marching up out of the depths of the
world. This ploy cost the two Houses many of their finest
warriors, but it was successful. In the trackless paths of the
Underdeep, the betrayers of the surface met the shangu, the
scaled abomination of the depths, and were forced to flee
back to the lands of the sun.
In an attempt to cut off any pursuit by their enemies, the
drow worked their most powerful magics and collapsed
tunnels and caverns in their wake, filling the air around them