House Baenre House Baenre was the first drow house of Menzoberranzan , and had been for centuries - - as long as anyone in the city could remember . It was the oldest ( around 5 , 000 years old ) , strongest , and most prestigious house in the city . History . The story of House Baenre ' s ascension to the premier rank in the city was not known to any living drow ; the only person who might have known the true history of the house is Yvonnel Baenre , the former Matron Mother who took power in - 7 DR . To the drow of Menzoberranzan , Baenre just was , and always had been , the First House . History showed that even during periods of strife and political change , House Baenre was always able to retain its position of power . Even with the death of Yvonnel Baenre during the failed invasion of Mithral Hall in 1358 DR , the first house ' s power could not be usurped ; Triel Baenre , the first and most powerful daughter of Yvonnel Baenre , took her mother ' s place as supreme ruler . Soon after the death of Yvonnel , House Baenre was at the weakest it had been for centuries . During the Silence of Lolth in 1372 DR and 1373 DR , particularly during the slave revolt and then siege of Menzoberranzan by the duergar , Triel struggled to secure her hold over both her house and the city . She sought allies along the other houses , particularly House Xorlarrin , and cultivated a close ally relationship with House Mizzrym . During the Siege of Menzoberranzan in 1372 - 1373 DR , there were only seven wizards of House Baenre : Gromph Baenre , Nauzhror Baenre , Julani Baenre , Grendan Baenre , Noori Baenre , Zoran Baenre , and Prath Baenre . However , Julani was killed towards the end of the siege when his lightning bolt cast through a scrying gem on Nimor Imphraezl reflected back on him . Triel was not able to hold on to power forever . In 1383 DR , Quenthel Baenre , Triel ' s younger sister , became matron mother . Activities . The main strength of House Baenre lay in clerical prowess ; Lolth favours the first house strongly , responding ( comparatively ) generously to their prayers , and the house was also able to boast 16 high priestesses , including Quenthel Baenre , who held the crucial and influential position as Matron Mistress of Arach - Tinilith . Gromph Baenre , the Archmage of Menzoberranzan , was also a member of House Baenre , which significantly increases the influence of the house both politically and militarily , as he held sway over Sorcere . The Black Claw Mercantile Company was a trade consortium in Menzoberranzan and Ched Nasad primarily owned by House Baenre and the Ched Nasadan Houses Zauvirr and Melarn until the city ' s destruction in 1372 DR . The Baenre Compound . House Baenre occupied the highest tier , a ledge called Qu ' ellarz ' orl , in the main cavern of Menzoberranzan . It was made up of twenty stalagmites and thirty stalagtites . A central stalagmite , called the Great Mound , housed the Baenre nobles and the house chapel . There was a balcony surrounding the Great Mound where stalagmites and stalactites met . The compound was roughly oval in shape , three - eighths of a mile long and a quarter mile wide , and surrounded by a magnificent and magical fence , appearing as a silvery spider ' s web around the general blue hues of the Baenre compound . This fence stood 20 feet high and acted as the house ' s main defense ; anything touching the fence would become stuck fast until the Matron Mother willed it released . It was impossible to pass through the enchanted fence without the aid of the " spider mask " , a magical item in the possession of Gromph , the Archmage of Menzoberranzan - - assuming , of course , that one was able to avoid the guards posted around the fence . The central compound housed the largest cathedral of Lolth in the city , which was large enough to seat all 2 , 600 soldiers maintained in the compound ; this was the mainstay of the Baenre army , but rumours suggested that during a crisis , the First House could double this number of troops . The house chapel was a domed shape and featured an illusion created by Gromph that switched from spider to drow female . This statue was based on Gromph ' s lover , Sosdrielle Vandree , but it once took on the appearance of Liriel Baenre as sign of Lolth ' s favor . The matron mother ' s throne was formed of an enormous adamantine spider . It was magical and contained a symbol repelling any attack . Appendix . Notes . The pronunciation for Baenre is given as " " BANE - re " ( " e " as in " then " ) . "