The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

the fulfilment of their mission. Thus far however, these
voices are in the minority.
Seekers have little trust for anyone, even those inside their
own ranks, given that attempts to advance in rank sometimes
involve assassinations (see Leadership below). Those
outside the organisation however, are the true subjects of
suspicion. Information is a priceless commodity to the
Noble Houses and temples and there have been many
attempts (some successful) to kill or capture a member of
the Seekers. The agents of the Seekers keep to the shadows
and remain hidden, careful never to reveal who they truly
are. A drow who identifies himself as a Seeker is almost
certainly lying.
As a result of the work they do to carry out Drem na’Koth’s
vision, Seekers tend to believe they know what is best for
the drow and what must be done to achieve it.
The dominant alignments among the Seekers are chaotic
evil and neutral evil.
Leadership
The Seekers of na’Koth are a large organisation, the exact
workings of which are privy only to a few. It is led by a
single drow known as the Seer, who fills the role Drem
na’Koth himself played in the Seekers. The title of Seer
however, was invented by Drem’s successor Brezthal
na’Orrn; Drem himself never took a title.
Below the Seer are the Eyes of na’Koth, a group of seven
drow responsible for maintaining the Seekers’ huge store of
knowledge and directing the activities of the other Seekers.
Next rank the Hidden Blades, those Seekers who are tasked
with carrying out the orders of the Eyes and of the Seer,
be it meeting with a potential client or investigating some
strange rumour in the wilds of the Underdeep. Lastly, there
are the Ears of na’Koth, paid informants stationed in every
city of the drow, whose function it is to learn whatever
they can and pass on any information to one of the Hidden
Blades. Frequently, contact with a single Hidden Blade is
the only contact one of the Ears has with the Seekers and
even they rarely know the Blade’s true identity.
It is virtually impossible for one of the Ears of na’Koth
to ever achieve a higher ranking within the organisation;
they are rarely even considered to be truly a part of the
Seekers. From time to time, an Ear of na’Koth who has
truly distinguished himself in some way may be tested as
a Hidden Blade, but it is a rarity. The Hidden Blades are
usually recruited carefully from the population of the drow,
with special attention given those accomplished thieves and
assassins who have not pledged themselves to Mu’Ushket.
Additionally, drow of a high social ranking make a prime
prospect for recruitment.
From the Hidden Blades come the Eyes of na’Koth, a
prestigious position only made available when one of the
Eyes dies. Likewise, advancement to the position of Seer
is only possible for the seven Eyes of na’Koth. As all posts
within the organisation, with the exception of the Ears, are
held for life, advancement can be agonisingly slow for the
ambitious.
Assassination is a perfectly acceptable form of advancement
among the Seekers, whether moving from Hidden Blade to
Eye or even Eye to Seer. The Seekers consider any of their
members unable to discover and thwart an assassination
attempt to be unworthy members, given that the sole
stated purpose of the organisation is the gathering of
information. However, most Seekers are indeed worthy of
their membership in the order, which makes assassination
attempts an extremely risky business, considering the
consequences of failure are generally death or enslavement.
Failing assassination, a drow holds a post in the Seekers
until he resigns it, a very rare occurrence, or until he dies.
Place in Drow Society
The most common function of the Seekers in drow society
is their role as information brokers. To the temples and
Noble Houses involved in the Sheathed War (see page
88), the Seekers are an invaluable but hideously expensive
resource through which they may be able to discover the
deepest secrets of their rivals. In the minds of most drow,
that is where the role of the Seekers begins and ends.
However, the Seekers have deeper aims, goals the entire
organisation is dedicated to fulfilling. To serve those ends,
the Seekers sometimes become involved in the Sheathed
War on their own, often acting through proxies to aid or
hinder one of the other combatants, using the group’s
tremendous influence to manipulate events from behind the
scenes, always with an eye towards the ultimate fulfilment
of Drem na’Koth’s vision.
The Cabal
To most drow, the Cabal exist only in rumour, a small
band of powerful, renegade mages determined to force
their rulership upon the entire race of drow. As much of
a simplification as that may be, it strikes uncomfortably
close to the truth.
Background
The Cabal is relatively new among the powers of the drow,
a group that has only been in existence for a little more than
81