The Upper Underdark is in chaos. Drowish Queen Meldwen VIII is dead. Her sisters are dead. Most of her children are dead. Her realm has splintered into a cacophony of heretical sects, alien powers, and petty drowish matrons all vying for control. You are one such minor noble; Confident that you can reunite the realm under your rule, or at least carve out and hold a piece of it for yourself, you have formed a retainer to handle rival military action, a harem to engage in espionage on your behalf, and claimed an estate from which to rule. May your personal demon guide you to survival and success!
Character Creation:Name: You are a female dark elf. Choose a name accordingly.Attributes:Divide 6 points between the following attributes, however you see fit.
Grace: Your ability to perform independent actions.
Will: Your ability to interact with and delegate tasks to other mortals.
Blood: Your ability to interact with demons and other great beings.
Choose One -
Socialite: You are friends with many highborn drow. You start with two additional highborn drowish underlings in addition to your normal Head of Harem and Head of Retainer (details of these NPCs determined by your other character creation choices), and positive relations with several other nearby petty matrons.
Diplomat: You have spent much of your life in the Queen's service amoung other races. You start with two additional forigen underlings in addition to your normal Head of Harem and Head of Retainer (details of these NPCs determined by your other character creation choices), and positive relations with several other nearby non-drowish powers.
Cultist: You have spent much of your life in the service of the Red Matron, leader of the drowish church. Your starting retainer consists of powerful and well equipped zealots. You have positive relations with the distant but influential Red Matron, but hostile relations with nearby heretical sects!
Student of the Arcane: You have devoted much of your life to the study and practice of Earth Magic, Hexes, and Necromancy. You start knowing powerful spells. Other Drowish Matrons, who consider arcane magic a task befitting the hired help, will look down on you.
Surviving Royal: You are a member of Queen Meldwen VIII's household who survived her downfall. You start with an extremely powerful artifact from the royal collection (details determined by your other character creation choices). Powers looking to add legitimacy to their claims will seek your favor.
Baroness: You have held your estate since long before the fall of the queen. The bonuses from your choice of estate are amplified. You start with advanced knowledge of and slightly improved relations with all neighboring powers.
Sell Out: You have sworn an oath of loyalty to a larger nearby heretical sect or alien power (determined by your other character creation choices). Your powerful master will provide you with support (until when and if you choose to betray them), but your other neighbors will dislike you.
Drow worship demons, supernatural otherworldly beings that are generally chaotic and evil. At birth, each highborn drow is assigned one of the millions of documented demons to serve as personal guardian and object of worship. Name your personal demon, and choose any three domains for it to represent.
Example - Algor-Opit, Demon of Venom, Plants, and Lust
Choose one of the options to fill each of the following roles -
Head of Harem:
Bound Commoner - A lowborn female drow magically stripped of most personality and free will and made to exist as a physical avatar of your sexuality and mystique. Low talent, high loyalty.
Appointed Lover - You place your favorite lover and spy in charge of all the others. Medium talent, medium loyalty.
Matron in Waiting - A younger highborn drowish female has agreed to accept the honor of sitting at your right hand and running your harem. High talent, low loyalty.
Head of Retainer:
Bound Commoner - A lowborn female drow magically stripped of most personality and free will and made to exist as a physical avatar of your wrath and cunning. Low talent, high loyalty.
Foreign Mercenary - A non-drow who has agreed to lead your troops in exchange for coin. Medium talent, medium loyalty.
War Matron - A younger highborn drowish female has agreed to accept the honor of sitting at your right hand and leading your troops. High talent, low loyalty.
Choose one -
Library: If your estate contains a library, it is a simple matter to research matters of history, magic, religion, and/or drowish law. From time to time, other matrons or powers may seek your favor in hopes of using the library.
Temple: Most drowish matrons keep a small shrine to their personal demon, which they may use to preform simple rituals to obtain lesser boons. With a proper temple at your estate, however, you have access to much more powerful and flexible options for unholy magic.
Fortress: By living at a Fortress, you may keep a larger retainer, and your retainer will have an easier time defending your home against attack.
Mansion: By living at a Mansion, you may keep a larger harem, and your harem will have an easier time defending you against schemes and betrayal.
Resource Extraction: Your estate produces some sort of resource (determined by your other character creation choices) which you may stockpile, sell, and/or otherwise exploit.
Landlady's Fief: Your estate comes with authority over a huge pool of peasant labor, which you may leverage to replenish your harem, retainer, or to other ends.
Choose to be in the heart of one location, or on the border between two -
The Metropolitan Center: Lots of people to rule over and wealth to collect, but also lots of potential rivals gathered in a relatively small space.
The Unholy Land: Home of the royal palace and various religious sites. A highly contested location for those competing to reunite the realm.
The Upward Grey Tunnel: Sparsely populated farm and mineland that connects the underdark to the surface domain of the often friendly goblinoids.
The Upward Pink Tunnel: A land full of rough warrior tribes and nasty slime monsters that connects to the surface domain of the often unfriendly humans and high elves.
The Sunless Coast: A land of ports, sailors, and good fishing that connects to other subterranian civilizations, both friendly and hostile, by sea.
The Downward Dinosaur Tunnel: A dangerous frontier of bandits and giant beasts that connects to other subterranian civilizations, both friendly and hostile, by land.
Lake Country: A province famed for its scholars, mages, and artists, as well as its proximity to the hostile mind flayers.
The Mines of Terror: A province full of Mithril and other supernatural riches for those brave enough to fight or negotiate the trolls and orcs who live there.
