The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

Divine Petition
Seeking the favour of the divine is a longstanding drow
tradition. The cost and the benefit of this Action is
largely dependent upon the power of the specific church
in the specific drow culture. The costs and benefits listed
below represent a range of possibilities, from a mostly
secular society in which the gods are casually worshipped
to a theocratic society in which the church is life. It is
the responsibility of the Games Master to determine the
appropriate cost and benefit of the Divine Petition Action
in a specific drow city.
Influence Requirement: From 5,000 to 20,000
Power Requirement: None
Cost: 2,000 to 10,000 Influence; 500 to 5,000 gp
Time: One month
Skill DC: Bluff (DC 30)
Success Result: The clergy agrees to provide you with
divine sanction, inflicting a circumstance penalty of from
–2 to –6 on all rivals who interfere with your actions during
the next phase. Those you directly target
suffer a penalty of from –1 to –4 to all
skill checks made while defending
against your actions.
Failure Result: Your petition
fails to sway the clergy, who
instead decide to condemn your
actions. You suffer a –1 or –2
penalty to all Skill checks made
while defending against the
actions of other Houses.
Special: The Divine Petition
Action can be countered by a rival
seeking his own Divine Petition from
another church.
Extortion
Extortion is a favourite game amongst smaller combatants
in the Sheathed War, who delight in tweaking the noses
of their peers. By threatening the livelihood and health of
business owners, thugs from these combatants extract bribes
from the proprietors. Though it is rare for extortion rackets
to exist long in one area due to the risk of attracting armed
response from a local Noble House, even sporadic flareups
of this type can be damaging to a House’s finances.
Influence Requirement: 1,000
Power Requirement: 2,000
Cost: 500 gp + 200 gp per targeted area; 500 Power per
targeted area
Time: One month
Skill DC: Intimidate (DC 20). This is opposed by the
target’s Sense Motive skill.
Success Result: For every point by which the aggressor’s
skill check exceeds the skill check of the defender, the
aggressor receives five percent of the targeted area’s
income for the month. This reduces the amount of income
received by the defender in control of the target area by the
same amount.
Failure Result: The defender receives a +2 circumstance
bonus to any defensive action it takes in response to this
action, and a +5 circumstance bonus if its skill check result
exceeds the skill check result of the aggressor by ten or
more.
Force Assessment
Before charging into an area, it is wise to know what you
are likely to face when you get there. This manoeuvre
is most often used prior to an assault action, to judge the
potential danger in an area. This is also very useful if you
are attempting to discover what enemy agents are up to in
one of your own areas, or an area you intend to take for
your own.
Influence Requirement: 3,000
Power Requirement: Variable
Cost: 1,000 gp per target area; 200 Influence per
target area
Time: One week
Skill DC: Gather Information (DC 20)
Success Result: The acting Noble House learns of the
type and number of troops and agents in a given area,
as well as their approximate strength (average level
of all agents and troops in the area). If the result of this
skill check exceeds the DC by ten or more, the plans for
those troops are also discovered. This allows the spies to
know what the forces will be doing during the next week.
Failure Result: The acting Noble House learns nothing
about the disposition of troops in the area. If the skill check
total fails by ten or more, then the acting House believes
there are more or less troops in the area than are actually
present.
Frame Up
Drow law enforcement tends to be terribly corrupt. In
areas where the cult of Nazrakoth holds a dominant role,
it is slightly less so, but the priests of the Eternal Judge
know very well they cannot match the power of the Noble
Houses and thus tend to turn a blind eye to the doings of
the nobles. In areas without a significant presence of the
church of Nazrakoth, law enforcement is usually handled
privately by one or more Noble Houses, in which case
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