The Drow Pantheon

Like many of the more prominent races and cultures, the drow have a pantheon of gods who are typically depicted as being drow themselves, and whose teachings align with one of the several drow cultures. Cynics note that most, if not all, of these gods strongly resemble other gods of other racial and cultural pantheons.
Few drow pay their respects to all the gods on this list, as many of their teachings vary greatly from one another, and they come from several distinct cultural groupings.
In contrast to many other “fey” cultures, the drow origin stories and mythology don’t focus on the original creator gods and their methods, or the upper tier of faerie lords and their complicated relations with one another. Instead each drow subculture is heavily fixated on 1-3 drow gods, and meeting their expectations and/or fulfilling their obligations. As a result, drow religion is often very hierarchical and demanding, and its is common for certain city-states to have a “state religion”.
== The Drow Gods ==
=== The Spider Goddess/Spider Queen/Megwan/Lolth/Zinze/Spinner Queen ===
According to legends, she is an outsider god (or perhaps demon lord), who, upon entering this world, managed to create the drow race by winning the support of several faerie lords and using them to create a new breed of elves able to thrive underground. Given the well known ability for powerful faerie lords to modify existing races, these legends are often seen as credible by non-drow scholars. Nearly all drow acknowledge the Spider Goddess as the orchestrator of their creation, but that doesn’t mean they feel the need to respect her in any way.
Those that do follow the Spider Queen see themselves as her chosen children formed in her own image, natural born predators that can do what they wish to the lesser races, and too good for the drudgery of menial labor. Followers of the Spider Queen nearly always have slaves for work they see as beneath them, though crafting, mercantile endeavors, and artistry are seen as honored professions (assuming one is successful at them). 
Many of the Spider Queen’s followers embrace sadism for its own sake, seeing it as their right as the superior race, and as being driven by the impulses that the Spider Queen bred into them during their creation. Even when new labor slaves aren’t required, they frequently raid the communities of other races for new victims for their tortures.
Despite their biases and sadism, followers of the Spider Queen can be surprisingly tolerant of drow of other faiths and of other races, as long as such individuals are filling roles they themselves want to avoid. They are the dominant religion in nearly half the Drow City-States, and a number of other underground drow cities in the west, but followers of other drow gods can be found in nearly every region they control.
The Spider Queen’s religion is usually matriarchal, with the leading females of each noble house also filling the dual role of senior priestesses. Competition in all aspects of life is heavily encouraged, but infighting isn’t as common as popular belief suggests, as too assassination and sabotage weakens the drow race as a whole, and discredits their claims to superiority. 
Prior to the creation of the Drow City-States, most followers of the Spider Queen dwelt in underground cities throughout the west.
=== Gogotha/Gorgotha/Gogothi/Succubi Queen/Succubus Goddess/Gozzer ===
The drow know that Gogotha has followers among other races, but still often depict her as a horned drow and worship her through their own cultural lens.
The main appeal of Gogotha worship for certain drow is that they can indulge in their darkest impulses and be rewarded with power for doing so. Cults of Gogotha are rewarded with dark powers in direct proportion to the intensity of their degeneracy.
Cults are often matriarchal, but this isn’t a rule and Gogothan cults can take all sorts of forms. In a few cities, certain noble houses openly worship Gogotha, but hidden (or open) cults among a city’s merchant class, landowning class, raider class, and/or criminal class are more common.
Followers of Gogotha consider the Spider Queen to be their creator, but that following Gogotha to be the logical next step in order to fully embrace the dark desires that the Spider Queen gave to them (a viewpoint that makes a certain sense to many Spider Queen followers). As a result, followers of the Spider Queen are the most likely to get along with followers of Gogotha, though there are many instances of them fighting one another.
Due to their cruelty, unpredictable power, and lack of self control, followers of Gogotha operate in secret in many drow cities. A few cities where Gogotha becomes too powerful collapsed when they lose control of their demons and/or become to self-indulgent to maintain a functioning society. 
However, there are still a few Gogotha dominated underground cities below the Witch-Elven Empire. The historic ties between the two are unclear, but in modern times the two fight as often as they work together. Most Gogothan cults in the Drow City-States are believed to have in some way originated from those underground cities. In the south, a few drow worship Gozzer, who is often believed to be either Gogotha, or at least a demon associated with her.
=== Infernus/Volcano God/Infernus the Volcano ===
Worshipping Infernus appeals to the impulse some drow have to put aside self-indulgence and embrace militant racial imperialism. Drow followers have a well deserved reputation for being grim, pragmatic, and workmanlike, in contrast to the impulsive self indulgence embraced by many other drow creeds. Often their hard labor and craftsmanship is compared to the dwarves, though all but the most radically aggressive dwarven clans are dismayed by the fanaticism and win-at-all-costs mentality of the typical Infernus follower.
Infernus followers tend not to get along with other drow, and instead gather in their own cities, typically near volcanoes. However, most drow cities have a small Infernus cult, which usually directs excess followers to the nearest Infernus dominated city. Infernus also does well with serious minded spellcasters and artisans in many drow cities.
Within Infernus dominated cities, followers tend to follow the matriarchal noble house structure common to most drow. Positions in the priesthood are meritocratic, however, the nobles and the clergy generally work well together to oversee a hardworking and brutally efficient society. Although Infernus dominated cities typically use slaves, most drow in these cities also perform manual labor, which is seen as an act of devotion rather than something to be avoided. 
Much like Gogotha, Infernus can be quite generous with his/her gifts to those who express sufficient fanaticism, though Infernus prefers frequent large scale elaborate rituals and ceremonies to the wild orgies and torture sessions favored by Gogotha.
Ironically for the god/goddess whose followers are most keen to advance the power of the drow race as a whole, Infernus doesn’t seem to openly favor the drow over his/her followers of other races, like the barbarians of Volcano God Island, certain dwarven clans, or even a few civilized human cultures (for example, the Cleansing Flame of Moreelse probably has some ancient link to Infernus worship). However, the drow are the most numerous and organized of the Volcano God’s followers, and as long as he/she continues to provide power in exchange for worship, he/she will be a popular god with the drow.
One of the few areas of disagreement between Infernus Cults is what Infernus looks like. He/she is depicted as female by most subsects, but as male, or a genderless non-humanoid embodiment of raw power, in other subsects. This is not a major point of contention though as nearly all agree that Infernus himself/herself as never seen how he/she is depicted as important. 
The followers of Infernus see the followers of the other drow gods as weak or prone to infighting. However, they sometimes take it upon themselves to unify the other drow for the “advancement of the drow race”. The most notable example of this is when they speaheaded the “Drow Uprising”. Prior to the uprising, most of the Infernus followers dwelt deep beneath Scimitaria in underground cities, but there were also some other underground cities across the west, and a scattering of followers in the south.
=== Ash Goddess ===
A wild and unpredictable being that has long lorded over the ashlands of central Scimitaria. She is most likely a Faerie Lord of considerable power, but is often treated as a god by the drow and fey of the ashlands. She was sometimes a member of the Western Elven Empire and the First Elven Empire, but never did more for these alliances than granting safe passage and harassing their enemies. Like many Faerie Lords, she became increasingly disengaged from the mortal world, and by the time the dwarves and Azanese started pushing into the ashlands, she was nowhere to be seen, though some of her followers were still quite powerful and led an effective guerrilla campaign against the dwarves, Azanese, and later even the Drow Empire and its successor states. However, the Drow City-States eventually ground down her more dedicated followers and the remainder (most of whom were drow) came to an unofficial accord with the city dwellers.
The Ash Goddess’s followers are known as the ashlanders and they live a harsh, stoic life out in the ashlands. A few small (and often partially ruined) cities serve as meeting points for some of the larger ashlander tribes. Although the ashlanders typically wear heavy clothes and masks to keep out the burning volcanic ash, many are magically attuned to their homeland to such an extent that they are nearly immune to any potential ill effects to ash exposure.
Although the Ash Goddess rarely makes contact with her followers these days, the ashlanders see her as a creator figure of sorts who modified them both culturally and literally in order to better survive the ashlands. Individuals who are particularly adept at ash magic will generally also fill the role of shaman, and are expected to learn and impart the creed of the Ash Goddess, such that it is (basically just the usual might-makes-right and respect the power of nature teachings that many Faerie Lords live by).
=== Eili/Eilistraree/Moon Goddess ===
Eili is the drow goddess of harmony, magic, and music. She was the main drow god for surface dwellers in the west prior to the “Drow Uprising”, but also has some underground followers in the west, as well as being fairly popular in the south.
She is often seen as the most “good” of the drow gods, as her followers have often clashed with the more cruel of the drow. However, Eili’s teachings are ambiguous due to thick layers of mysticism and symbology, thus allowing Eili’s followers to commit morally grey acts when needed.
In pre-Uprising times, Eili’s followers filled a valuable niche within the Western Elven Empire by bridging the gap between the more powerful and reckless of the Faerie Lords with those who wanted a more organized civilization. Most of Eili’s followers fought against the other drow during the “Drow Uprising” and were taken as slaves or went into exile abroad. However, some of Eili’s followers sided with the invaders instead, or came up from the underground along with them.
Eili’s followers has many different subsects, reflecting that her religion evolved in different directions in the south and in the west, and on both the surface and underground. However, some traits are common to all subsects. Eili’s followers are matriarchal, with clergy often holding noble titles as well. Her creed emphasizes “cosmic stability”, which appeals to a range of individuals from mages seeking answers to existential threats, to farmers hoping for predictable weather. Her ceremonies are often ethereal and mystical, in order to encourage her followers to think belong their mundane, day-to-day concerns.
Eili has a lot in common with other moon gods like Irem and Uana, as well as certain other gods like Shiora, Aoghm, and Kagal. She is often credited with the creation of life and magic, but Eili’s followers are divided on how much of a role Eili had in making the drow themselves.
=== Vivec/Viv/Gilgam/Poet God ===
Viv is a popular hero-god among the southern drow whose worship has also spread to the western drow. He is said to be an ascended mortal from ancient times, a close comrade of the similar hero-god of Gilgemash, who some consider to be the same god.
Unlike many other drow gods, the clergy of Viv aren’t matriarchal, nor do they typically have strong ties with the noble houses. Instead the most faithful of Viv form religious orders that base themselves in temple complexes and alternate between studying sacred texts and going out into the world and trying to emulate Viv’s risk-taking lifestyle.
Viv’s sacred texts are a massive compilation of poetry he wrote as a mortal, each of which is both an adventurous tale, and a philosophical lesson. His more dedicated followers often have their own adventures which they write poetry about.
Viv’s followers aren’t very organized, and instances of Viv communicating with his followers or granting them power are very rare. Perhaps because they aren’t seen as a major threat, Viv’s followers get along with most other drow gods fairly well. Viv is most popular among lower and middle class males, as well as merchants, pirates, raiders, and freelance mercenaries. He is mostly associated with the southern drow, but is growing more popular in some coastal cities in the Drow City-States as well.
=== Asra/Star Goddess/Clan Goddess ===
Asra is a hero-goddess of the southern drow who is credited with developing much of their social structure. In some ways, her teachings are a watered down version of the Spider Goddess’s, in that they acknowledge the innate ambition and competitiveness of the drow race while providing structure to allow it to thrive despite the efforts of other races.
Asra tends to be the default goddess for the matriarchs of the southern drow, both nobles and ordinary families. Positions in the clergy are often hereditary, with nobles being advised by clergy of noble birth, and commoners led by common born clergy. Asra’s teaching tend to emphasize social stability and charity, which makes her clergy perhaps the most relatable to many human faiths.
Although Asra’s faith started in the south, it has also spread to a number of the more tolerant parts of the Drow City-States, particularly among the lower and middle classes who generally can’t afford the excess favored by some followers of Gogotha or the Spider Goddess.
There are many similarities between the creed of Eili and Azra, including an interest in astromancy and cosmic balance. However, there is some tension between the two faiths due to the widespread belief that Azra was once a follower of Eili back when she was a mortal, which essentially makes the faith of Azra a lesser offshoot of the faith of Eili. Also, depending on the region, Azra’s followers are much more tolerant to slavery, racism towards other races, and fostering competition between drow, then followers of Eili.
Followers of Azra tend to get along well with followers of Viv and the Cog God, which makes sense as they developed alongside one another in the south. They also get along better than expected with followers of the Spider Queen and Caijin, due to similar creeds of self-reliance.
=== The Cog God/Nchua Ei ===
The Cog God is the third of the southern hero-gods who is said to ascended to godhood in ancient times. A scholar and inventor, his creed has appeal to a small but select group of elite craftsmen, mages, and inventors.
Particularly devout followers of the Cog God tend to organize themselves into secretive orders dedicated to furthering a particular type of knowledge, but most followers simply pay their respects to him in a manner of their own choosing.
The Cog God is mostly popular in the south, where his worship has also spread to a number of non-drow races, but he also has some popularity in the Drow City-States. His followers in the Drow City-States have a somewhat cursed reputation, as anytime they try and establish their own city where they can research in peace, it somehow gets ruined or raided under unlikely circumstances. The Cog God’s followers don’t get along well with many of followers of the other drow gods, but can get along with nearly anyone who is interested in the pursuit of knowledge.
=== Vhar/The Exile God ===
An obscure hero-god from Scimitarian. The circumstances of his alleged ascension are unknown, and much of his origin and creed are forgotten or shrouded in mystery. Despite this, his worship has cropped up periodically throughout recorded history among drow who were exiled or voluntarily left their birth culture. In modern times, his main followers are drow (and some sea elves) living in exile in northern Scimitaria and a few other parts of the west. They tend to be a secretive group. Some still fear retribution from their homeland, others have an extensive criminal record from when they were still adjusting to the differences between Azanese influenced human cultures, and the more violent of the drow cultures.
=== The Sea Slug God/Caijin ===
It is unclear whether Caijin is an outsider god, an unusual (and unusually powerful) Faerie Lord, or something else entirely. But what is known is that he has long taken a strong interest in the drow race. Said to have once been mostly concerned with little known aquatic races in the northwest, he carved out a niche among the ancient surface drow as the patron of sailors and oceanic raiders. Over time, his most devout followers in northeast Scimitaria became their own race (the exact mechanisms by which this occurred are unclear), but scattered clans of drow pirates and sailors continued to worship him. 
Caijin’s creed has similar traits to many of the other drow gods including self-reliance and hostility to outsiders, though they don’t take things to quite the same extremes as followers of Infernus of Gogotha. Although most of Caijin’s followers are sea elves, drow and sea elves are seen as essentially the same in the eyes of Caijin.
Within the Drow City-States, followers of Caijin tend to get along best with those of Viv, the Spider Goddess, and the more violent of Eili’s followers. Some of Caijin’s more civilized followers also get along well with Azra’s followers.
Caijin’s followers tend to follow the same matriarchal noble structure of most drow, but positions in the clergy are almost exclusively male.
Several small drow coastal cities and towns in Scimitaria affiliated with Caijin have survived by repeatedly shifting their allegiances between the Western Elven Empire, the Azanese, and the Drow Empire/Second Elven Empire when needed, but remain independent cities at heart, where freelance raiding and seaborne trading form the backbone of the local economies. Caijin also does well with any drow who rely on the sea, such as merchant sailors, pirates, and fishermen, regardless of who the dominant gods are in their home city.
=== Faerie Lords ===
Some drow still follow the “old ways”, worshipping the gods indirectly through one of many Faerie Lords. Many of these Faerie Lords have ties to the Spider Queen, Gogotha, or Eili, but drow can sometimes be found among the followers of nearly any type of Faerie Lord, from unseelie to naturalist to enlightened to pacifist.
Some scholars believed that large numbers of drow dwelt within the underground portions of the Fairy Realm, and that they provided large armies in support of the “Drow Uprising”, but little evidence of this theory has ever been found, and it is now mostly seen as an excuse for military failures during the invasion.
=== Miscellaneous ===
Some drow worship a wide range of other gods, including the Azanese Faith in the west, or animal spirits in the south.
Category:Religion
Category:Drow
Category:Divinity