Drow (Old)

The drow in this world live exclusively in the underdark – a vast network of tunnels, caverns, and underground cities very deep underground, totally unknown and not understood by outsiders. Drow that leave the underdark, even those that leave it to seek a different life and reject their culture, will never speak of it to non-drow - the lessons having been beaten into them their whole lives. They will never provide details, and even if they attempted to provide a path to a drow city or settlement they will find the tunnels collapsed, the paths rerouted, and new traps laid. No one truly knows the size and depth of the underdark, not even the drow themselves. They change and reshape it constantly.

Drow are universally disliked by all other races, but they hate the elves more than any other. Drow are the only remaining of the original races of elves and therefore consider themselves superior to all others, and feel that Lolth was treated unfairly and judged too harshly for her role in organizing the Betrayal – the genocide of the avariel elves. Other elves have not forgotten this either, and the two races will rarely have anything to do with one another. Dwarves are usually unfriendly toward them as well, as many underground dwarven settlements are victims of the drow raids. The drow only surface to attack and raid other settlements, taking supplies and slaves of anyone they can carry. Slaves are used to farm, dig, and other backbreaking or menial tasks, and are often worked to death, uncared for. Drow are raised not to see their slaves as people, and to view all lesser races as inferior. This trait is hard for the dark elves to leave behind, even the few who do reject their culture find that a challenging opinion to change.

Drow culture is what most would call evil – selfish, and concerned only with amassing their own power. It is said a drow would kill their own grandmother if it meant a chance at a minuscule amount of power. All drow with money keep slaves, and torture, beatings, and humiliation are a part of everyday life. Drow children grow up learning that they are superior, and that it is acceptable to treat those beneath you with contempt - others are there to serve the drow, not the other way around. Drow children are told stories of the powerful, evil creatures called Lolth's Web, magical, ancient drow with spider powers who will come and punish naughty children.

Drow are a matriarchal society, where women are considered superior to men. Male drow do not hold high titles, own land, or have much say in the running of the society. They can marry in to power, but never truly have it for themselves. As such, male drow are even more likely to scheme and betray, and amass their own wealth in the form of jewels or other material posessions.

Few drow ever leave the underdark, and those who do are never of high rank. Some leave because they want a new life aboveground, without the constant threat of death or torment, but few of these ever make it, as they are seen as betrayers to the race. To obey, belong, and fit in with other drow is essential. Differences are not tolerated, the ideal is to maintain ancient drow traditions and ensure the superiority of the race.Tradition is the most important aspect of the culture, one that has lasted tens of thousands of years. They have kept secret rituals, cities, and stories alive since their creation by the goddess Lolth.

Drow cities and settlements are incredible feats of engineering, the cities built inside or around huge stalactites and stalagmites, or huge warrens of tunnels and caves. Space is at a premium, and so every space is used as efficiently as possible.Homes are multi-purpose, but they maintain an elven eye for beauty. While each item serves a purpose, it is also well-crafted, and homes may have a mix of styles as many items are found on raids. The wealthy and powerful show off their wealth by having large homes with empty space, or space devoted solely to aesthetic as opposed to function - an art gallery, for example.  They will also keep hideous creatures as pets and guardians of the homes, some breeding their own monstrosities.

## Religion

Drow worship Lolth, and are not permitted or encouraged to worship any other. Their faith must be unwavering, and any doubt is met with swift and merciless punishment. There have historically been small, secretive groups of drow who worship some of the dwarven gods (Dumathoin most often), but they are rare, and usually outside of the underdark. There are tales of great betrayers to Lolth - those who secretly worshipped or sympathised with Angharradh . Anyone found or suspecte of this (worshipping the dwarven gods is considered less severe) are turned to driders with the symbol of Lolth branded on their foreheads, that all may know what crime they committed. These are subjected to long and torturous lives of suffering, kept alive so they might suffer longer. The drow despise followers of Angharradh, and shrines to the goddess are a favoured target for destruction by drow.

## Hierarchy

Lolth

Head Matriarch

The Eight Countesses/Bladesingers

High Priestesses

Ladies/Torturers/Poisoners/Bounty Hunters

Merchants/Slave traders/Architects/Druids

General Populace

Men

Slaves

Driders & other abominations

The Head Matriarch is a hereditary potion, the highest any drow can achieve. The current head matriarch is of the Wasulizil family, who have ruled for a thousand years, having assassinated and deposed the Oyheral family from this position. The Eight Countesses are next in line, a council of women who make major decisions regarding their territory. The world is divided in to eight sections they are each assigned to, but only those of very high rank know what area of the world is which kingdom. The Bladesingers are an elite group of warriors, all generals of their own armies. To become a Bladesinger is a harrowing trial, and the final test is life or death - you become a Bladesinger or you die trying. They fiercely defend their positions, using their skill and wit to sabotage anyone who would come to take it from them. The High Priestesses are the heads of the temples in each of the Countess’ kingdoms, possessing great power and control over drow society as those chosen with Lolth’s power are considered blessed and well-respected. Below this are Ladies (those who have earned a title through a great deed, these titles are fleeting and difficult to maintain), Torturers (a sort of local sheriff who is responsible for ensuring crime is punished), Poisoners (alchemists with great skill in creating poisons and other potions, they must be masters with apprentices before they are considered Poisoners), and Bounty Hunters (those who leave to go to the surface to take out defectors and also spy and scout for places to raid). Further down the social status are Merchants (those who create and sell goods), Slave Traders (who buy, sell, trade, and gather slaves, usually have their own militia), Architects (respected for their cleverness in creating the drow’s strange and beautiful underground cities), and Druids (those with nature magic who grow food and other useful plants underground).

## Crime and Punishment

Drow consider traitors to the cause or to the goddess one of the greatest sins, however what constitutes treachery and how that precisely is defined remains the domain of those drow in charge of deciding. Some communities may be more lenient than others in some areas, or the rules in one area may change drastically when a new family murders their way in to power. Murder is common, and difficult to prosecute. Drow are expert poisoners and assassins, and pride themselves on their ability to remove their enemies without being caught or even implicated. These sins are punished with either execution or they are given to the torturers to be used in experiments. Drow are rarely banished, and when they are it is usually in the case of a member of a deposed family who is no threat to those in power. They are never outright told they are banished, but will find themselves increasingly unwelcome among their community, and may find paths and tunnels they used to know changed and collapsed. The deposed then either must amass enough power to become a threat, or risk leaving the Underdark, never to return.

Escapees are uncommon, and those who speak of escape or go against the drow lifestyle are swiftly punished, so those who do not care for the practice of keeping slaves or oppressing men and other races risk severe punishment for themselves and their families. Defectors usually slip away quietly, and most often it is safest to do individually. Rarely do entire families escape, as the more people involved, the more likely the plot is to be discovered.

Some drow are sent to the surface as bounty hunters, chasing down escaped drow (or simply opportunistically killing any defectors they find) or scouting sources for raids. A defected bounty hunter or anyone of a higher rank who chooses surface life will be caught and returned if possible to the underdark for severe, torturous punishments.Spies are also sent to the surface, and this serves to ensure further mistrust of drow, as their spies are more than willing to spend decades among other races earning their trust, only to open the gates to a raiding party one night out of the blue. Some drow intentionally pose as escapees and then commit crimes or lie, in an attempt to discredit any actual escapees that communities may come across. This is considered acceptable and in fact laudable, though rarely, a false defector will actually enjoy their time abovegroud and change their ways.These are punished more severely than actual defectors for not having done their job properly.