The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

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to maintain its slaves, mercenaries, guards and servants.
Hugely expensive and ridiculously over-protected, the
fortress homes also serve as a balance to the threats of the
Game of Bones. By holing up in such a sanctuary, a House
can keep its members safe and out of harms way, though
their influence will certainly wane if they remain too long
out of touch.
Drow Noble Houses are the primary combatants in
the Sheathed War. Their wealth, numerous agents and
traditional role in drow society make them the most powerful
organisations in any city of dark elves. Even in those cities
with a single faith predominant, such as the web-strewn
cities in the grip of the Dark Mother, the church would not
dare move openly against a Noble House.
Other Organisations
While the drow nobles are easily the most powerful in
drow society, they are not the only organisations with
political clout. Merchant guilds, criminal conglomerates,
temples, philosophical sects, information brokers such as
the Seekers of na’Koth and even hidden revolutionaries all
band together to play the Game of Bones, amassing power
and influence in an effort to earn themselves a place in the
brutal pecking order of a drow city. If a group can muster
the Influence and Power (for a combined rank of at least
1,000) they are able to enter the Game.
Fighting the Sheathed War
The Sheathed War is a combination of political strategy and
brutal combat, with its mood shifting rapidly depending
on the whims and desires of its combatants. In some
cities, it is fought almost entirely in the back alleys and
hidden meeting rooms as cabals spread damaging rumours
about their rivals and draw upon the services of spies and
informers to discover the secrets of their foes. In others,
assassins launch brutal strikes against the members of
Noble Houses and armed conflicts between entourages of
enemy Houses are not uncommon, giving the name ‘The
Sheathed War’ a brutal irony the drow appreciate. Though
none of the combatants wish to see their cities plunged into
unending warfare and chaos, they dance uncomfortably
close to the edge from time to time.
In play terms, the Game of Bones is carried out in monthlong
phases and each Player in the Game is able to make a
number of actions during each phase, based on their rank,
available resources and number of available lieutenants.
The most powerful Noble House in a city is helpless to act
if all its local leaders have been assassinated or otherwise
rendered incapacitated and, likewise, a House with
many leaders but little gold is going to have a hard time
Aggressors, Defenders and Target Areas
Throughout this section, you will see references to
aggressors, defenders and target areas. The aggressor
in the action is always the Noble House (or other
organisation) who takes the action during the phase. The
defender, naturally, is the Noble House that is the target of
the action.
Target areas are typically city districts or other holdings
that provide influence, power and money to the controlling
Noble House.
mobilising any sort of serious effort in the Game of Bones.
Maintaining a balance of things is difficult, but there is no
other way to rise in prominence in drow society.
Lieutenants
A Noble House or other organisation normally has a leader,
but it must also have a number of lieutenants in order for
the House to use its Power and Influence effectively. For
Noble Houses, this is normally a matter of the family being
involved in the action – while drow families are often
rife with internecine struggles, it is generally accepted
wisdom that members of the same Noble House will work
together to further the interests of the House, an extension
of the drow mentality that allows the fractious race to bind
together to fight outside aggressors.
Organisations other than Noble Houses tend to recruit their
lieutenants from the friends and trusted allies of the leader.
Wherever they come from, an organisation must have at
least one lieutenant for every action it takes after the first
in any given month. This lieutenant must possess levels or
Hit Dice equal to or more than the House or organisation’s
Rank minus five. It is the lieutenant’s skill which is used
when an action is taken.
Taking Action
The rank of a Noble House (a combination of its Power and
Influence) is a rough measure of its ability to get what it
wants in the Game of Bones. More powerful Houses (those
with a higher rank) are able to act more frequently within
the Game, separating their vast resources to further their
own plots or deal with the transgressions of their enemies.
Smaller organisations must instead focus their meagre
resources on fewer possible actions, because they lack the
manpower to do otherwise.