Drow Gods
Lloth/Lolth
Lloth, the Spider Queen, is cruel and malicious.
The only person in her world is herself. She is constantly plotting to keep her loyal minions in a state of turmoil. This
way she can find the strongest and most cunning of her followers to serve her. Drow, being brought up under this religion,
are all but perfectly suited to this arrangement. With the drow's instinctive distrust and wit, all but the wiliest of opponents
will be thrown into disarray. Seeing that Lloth is the goddess of chaos, this seems all but fitting. The main object of affection
among Lloth worshippers is the spider. It is an offence punishable by death to kill or even maim a spider. Lloth gives unto
her most loyal henchmen a poisonous spider to aid, guard, but also to watch in their furtherance of the religion. It has been
known that a follower be killed by the so gracious gift from Lloth. Lloth is
most frequently found in the form of giant black widow spider. This form can be changed to an extremely beautiful drow female.
These two forms can also be combined to produce a giant spider with a lovely female drow head. In any form Lloth is a presence
to be feared. Instead of using her material form Lloth will more likely just show that she is watching by having a pair of
smirking female lips appear on the nearest spider seen. If her help is needed more directly then she will imbue a follower
with great fighting prowess like: always hitting first, weapons never breaking, and an improvement of armour protection. These
followers are almost always surrounded by flickering black mauve edged radiance. The
clergy of Lloth are all women. The priestesses of Lloth are the only subjects of Lloth to hold any real power in drow society.
If a priestess of any rank says to do something there better not be any hesitation. Punishment for disobedience is usually
swift and destructive. Killing is not their style, maiming is more reward for slow wits and procrastination. A priestess has
the feeling that they are the judge, jury and executioner of the society at their feet, and the power given to her by Lloth
as justification for any action that she may take. A priestess’s sole purpose in life is to weed out the weak and sanctify
the strong.
Eilistraee
Eilistraee is the goddess of the good drow. She
is the Matron goddess of all the drow that wish to return to the surface. Her trademarks are song and beauty. Not much is
known about Eilistraee except that she is quick to anger over the evil that most drow do. Eilistraee will more likely lend
aid to a creature she favours instead of appear personally. She will grant favours, small ones, which give the most practical
answers. If the situation warrants her appearance she usually will appear as a tall drow female with long glowing hair down
to her ankles. The clergy of Eilistraee are female from any race. These priestesses much further the cause of beauty and song.
They must always carry one of their goddess’s favoured instruments, the horn, flute, or harp. Their lot in life is to
persuade drow to return to the surface world and work to improve surface relations
Ergosal
This is the drow god of lies, deception &
betrayal. Ergosal's avatar appears as a noble drow male, clad in rich looking clothes, beneath which he has a drow chain mail.
His avatar usually carries spells from illusion, enchantment, alteration and abjuration, but when angry will carry spells
intended for destruction. He dwells in the caverns of Pandemonium and his palace is moved every once in a while and is cloaked
from detection and location so that no one he doesn't want will find it. He schemes a lot and has many plots both in motion
and waiting so that he always has a surprise up is sleeve and he is a very unpredictable and undependable god (even to his
priests). He is very involved in the drow life, hatching many plots and creating mayhem whenever possible. He sends omens
to his priests but they can be interpreted in 2 ways or they can be outright false, for his own amusement. Beware of dealings
with this god since he will use every thing he can to change the bargain or he will simply dismiss the bargain as non-committing.
Duties of the Priesthood
They foment the internal wars through the use
of deceptions, lies and betraying their "allies" secrets to the highest bidder. They work from behind the scenes to move events
to their will, and purpose. His priests must never cast the spell true seeing or even use it from a device lest they'll become
insane.
Forbeo
The Arch-God, Forbeo, God of Death and Law was
the creator of the world. He is worshiped by the drow as the incarnation of pure evil, and as their saviour and protector
in the war betwixt the drow and the surface elves. Worship of Forbeo usually requires the sacrifice of living souls to the
god. Forbeo is not the patron god of the drow, but is worshiped more fervently by the drow then many of the other races. Drow
will often sacrifice souls to him in order to win his favor in an upcoming battle.
Ghaunaduar
That which lurks. Ghaunaduar is even less known
than Eilistraee. His nickname is That Which Lurks. He is unpredictable. When he appears he is seen as purplish ooze with tentacles.
His "followers" are mostly drow that have fallen from the grace of Lloth or sub intelligent monsters. He has been known to
aid followers that just talk highly of his eminence. The chances of his coming, when called, rise if blood has recently been
spilled. All that is required of his priesthood is a steady supply of sacrifices. Aid given by Ghaunaduar is usually in the
form of combat effectiveness and regenerative healing of harms.
J’imasro
Goddess of order
Represented by a black mist or the form of a scorpion,
her following is made of a small band of nomadic drow known as the order of shadow. Little else is known except a hatred for
Lloth and her followers.
Upon the coming of age the young drow of either
gender has the image of a scorpion within a triangle burned upon their left hand. Another interesting ceremony is known as
the cleansing of the earth, in which a priestess in service of Lloth is eaten (while still alive). This holiday falls on every
3rd new moon. Her followers are prone to inter breed with nondrows especially humans and trolls.
Kiaransalee
Mistress of Vengeance
Overlord of the undead and all of Thanatos
Swords & Sorcery
Originally the drow god of vengeance, Kiaransalee
plotted and slayed Orcus the Abyssial Lord of the Dead. Now possessing his portfolio she seeks to rival Lolth in power and
ultimately reign as the supreme drow goddess over Tenebrous, Lolth, and Eilistraee.
Lothlonglathe'
Deity to Justice, Bravery, Truth
An outcast for most Drow, this deities name is
only whispered in the Underdark, but enjoys a decent following above the caverns below. Major temples to this god exist in
Thal'katkhact and in Winterstone. An order of Holy knights serves this deity directly, upholding the virtues for which he
stands. Lothlonglathe' is a deity apart from all circles, he is not one of the seldarine and is in fact a being closely related
to the Aasimon known as Solars. Lothlonglathe' is a constant foe of the Spider queen and will readily aid those in danger
from her or her more powerful minions. Rivals include Lloth, Vhaerun, Orcus,
He has a special dislike for the undead and grants
his paladins special powers to combat them.
Lualyrr
Seeing the rise of many upstart gods in the drow
pantheon, Lolth decided it is time that she had an ally or the other gods would band together and overthrow her. She searched among her yochlols and found Lualyrr to be the most loyal. She used her power to elevate her
into a demi-goddess. Since then Lualyrr priesthood works closely with Lolth's priesthood, always on the look out for drow
who do not pay homage to Lolth, and extracting secrets from the most adamant of people. She only accepts males to her priesthood,
and they are considered to be married to her, so they cannot marry. Every time the priests get their hands on another "non-believer"
or a renegade drow, they hold a rite to their goddess, so that Lolth would see they do their work. All the gods of the drow
pantheon are sworn enemies of her, since her priests seek to kill or convert all of their believers. While cruel and mean,
the priesthood as well as their goddess, live in constant fear. They fear the other priesthoods, even while they hate them,
for they are weaker in combat when compared to them. And they especially fear Lolth and her priesthood, for the power they
have on them.
Ma'azbert
Drow goddess of disease, decay and poison
Ma'azbert's avatar looks like a decaying drow female in tattered clothes with all manner
of diseased wounds visible on her flesh the drow goddess of disease, decay and poison is a very ambitious goddess and her
plans are nothing short of becoming the head of the drow pantheon and rising to greater goddess status. She makes her home
in the abyss. The palace is in an advanced decay state and all manner of her favourite pets are present: spiders, snakes,
poisonous toads, rot grubs, rust monsters, dark weavers, retrievers and other such hideous creatures. Like the other drow
gods she wants the drow to become the masters of the Underdark and so she helps them by sending her avatars, secretly of course,
to spread diseases, to poison their enemies and to bring her decaying touch to their cities and homes. She doesn't send omens
to her priests but will send them prophetic dreams if a powerful enemy approaches a state where he must be weakened fast or
to do other such shadowy plans. They must spread diseases, decay, poisons and other weaknesses in the lines of their enemies
and of the enemies of the drow race (namely the surface elves) so that the drow could prosper and grow. Note that this is
a very violent priesthood and the priests will use whatever means available to destroy and weaken their enemies and will do
so in the cruelest way they can find and use to make an example of that enemy. Priests of Ma'azbert walk around clothed from
head to toe, with masks and a heavy scent of incense to hide their hideous look and smell due to the diseased wounds they
have on their skins (Ma'azbert's gift) but are unaffected by.
Neeloc
Raye
God of Death and Law
When a drow draws some particular interest from
the Lady of Chaos and is due to come of age, the Queen of Spiders often sends her sister to give the right of passage test. This nefarious apostle is Neeloc Raye. While
generally she is a behind the scenes presence, like her sibling she is a demigod and she holds a scattered following of her
own. More often, however, another deity shares her follower's devotion. Lloth
imprisoned Neeloc Raye for eons in the statuesque form of a silver spider with about a 1-2" diameter, because she was jealous
of her hair. She was released merely a millennium or so ago upon two conditions. First, that she swore her loyalty to Lloth, and second, that her head remain bald
for all time. To further remind Neeloc Raye of her life pledge, her colour remained
the same and so did the extra sets of arms. Her skin is as silver as polished steel, clear and smooth. Her entire body is free of any blemish or hair and she has six arms and silver covered eyes. Looking like a perfected, though hairless, metal sculpture, she is unclothed and unadorned. In this form she is mysteriously attractive, however, Neeloc Raye's favoured form on the Prime Material
Plane is the "Silver Spider" shape that she held for so long. Because the drow dislike everyone, and moreover are utterly
paranoid, it is surprising that they hold such the strong will for dominance over each other and that of other beings alike. It might be suggested that this be due to a matter of greed and of vengeance. These are the ideals that Neeloc Raye proliferates.
Most often referred to as "The Silver Spider," Neeloc Raye has her hands deep in the mix that makes up the drow psyche.
All followers must have a tattoo of a small, web-less, silver spider on their right shoulder and must be shoeless while within
her temple. Piety must also be hairless and wear sleeveless, silver-clothed frocks.
Although betrayal is one of the more common factors in drow society, it is unaccepted within the priesthood of the silver
spider. Upon joining these ranks, a drow is a member until death...there is no
turning back. "...Lest the spider bite!" The Abbot, as both males and females
are referred to, is an equal among his peers and wants for nothing. Abbots are
not restricted to the temple and may roam freely, as they see fit. As they do
the bidding of their goddess and hold her favour, too, they hold the favour of Lloth.
Nocticula
Drow Goddess of Pleasure in Pain
Nocticula is a Demon Drow Goddess. She is the
Mistress of Pleasure through the Giving and receiving of Pain. Her symbol is
a barbed whip. No specific holidays but the night of the full moon is considered sacred, Lolth is her main rival. She has the belief that the Drow are destined to one again take the surface world and is actively attempting
to reunite her Drow followers with any evil Surface elves
Sestihaculus Shadalun
The Grandfather
Sestihaculus (Grandfather) Shadalun was originally
one of the greatest practitioners of High Magic in the realm of Miyeritar on the prime-material world of Aber-Toril. Just
before its destruction during the Crown Wars, Miyeritar was the Elven centre of Arts and High Magic. Sestihaculus, witnessing
the ultimate fate of his dark and green elven brethren, used his vast powers of magic to travel backwards in time to the point
just before the Dark Disaster. Then, in concert with the greatest practitioners
of High Magic at time, he proceeded to cast a High Magic version of the spell Estate Transference. An immense portion of the
original Miyeritar was then transported to the Ethereal Plane, leaving behind nothing but a vast smoking crater. Returning
through time, Sestihaculus spent the next thousand years gathering the crushed remnants of his people. In what was later referred
to as the Passage of Sorrows, Grandfather Shadalun spent another three hundred years leading his people across the planes
to their new home N'Miyeritar. In the days following the Dark Disaster, most of the surviving Miyeritarii had turned to the
worship of the Spider Queen Lolth, who offered guidance and the power to survive in the dangerous Underdark in a time of upheaval
and weakness. With this worship inevitably came the chaos, violence, and domination of the priestesses that are the hallmark
of the Spider Queen. The refugees settling in N'Miyeritar immediately began to feud amongst themselves in petty bids for power
over their fellows. Seeing this, and realizing the need for enforced stability if his people were to survive, Sestihaculus
dubbed his people the Phaer Tel'Quessir and himself the High King of the Phaer. He then proceeded to ban the worship of both
the Seldarine (who were seen to have deserted the Miyeritarii in their time of greatest need) and the "Great Deceiver" Lolth.
In due course, he hunted down and destroyed all clerics of these faiths instead encouraging the worship of the most ancient
Fairy Queen and her Seelie Court (with this worship naturally came the insidious worship of the Queen of Air and Darkness
and her Unseelie Court). N'Miyeritar, by this time, had become a full-fledged Demi-Plane of the Ethereal. In order to maintain
the stability of the plane, Sestihaculus merged a large portion of his already ancient spirit with the substance of the plane
itself. While this feat of High Magic grants him immortality, it also binds him to the plane (similar to the magic involved
in the creation of a Shade) Sestihaculus Shadalun may leave N'Miyeritar only 11 days out of each millennium, else the plane
itself will dissolve into ethereal protomatter. Sestihaculus is not a god in the sense that he is not dependent on worship
for power and the fact that those who revere him do not gain priestly spells. In the event that Grandfather Shadalun was ever
to perish, his rise to godhood would be assured by the adoration of the Phaer. ,
Any appearance of The Grandfather is seen as cause for great celebration by the Phaer Tel'Quessir. His last appearance was
recorded 111 years past.
Skiasca
The Night Bringer, Sun Stealer, Bringer of Darkness,
Lady of Night
Skiasca (ski-AHS-ka), as most deities in this
sphere, were originally mortals, or monsters in Skiasca's case. She was one of the greatest human champions for evil during
the time before the Great Cataclysm. When the lands of Orphidia were in their peak, there arose three great champions, each
representing the great philosophies Good, Neutrality, and Evil. For each philosophy, there were mortals who not only lived
their beliefs, but also had the capacity to take that belief to a higher level. Many people followed Skiasca into war after
war. As the body count and the number of worshippers grew, so did her powers. Eventually, the three sides clashed in a titanic
battle. So great were the powers that were used during the fight, which all three champions transcended into immortality.
When that happened, the Great Cataclysm occurred which changed the face of world. Once life started to reach some semblance
of normality, Skiasca sent her avatar to the surface to find her new audience. She was warmly received in the Underworld,
which was created during The Cataclysm. The Goblin Hordes worshipped her with such fervour and abandon, that she was the first
deity to reach the status of Greater Power. Because of that, her specialty priests and special worshippers are effectively
immortal. Their physical bodies can be destroyed, but they will return after a time to a form that is equivalent to their
power. Since the last Underworld Invasion, Skiasca and the other evil deities have changed their preparations for the next
Invasion. They've been slowly subverting the powerful and the influential among Angorian society. So far, a lot of the rich,
idle youth have embraced some of the belief of Skiasca, but very few have made their way into the true faith. Skiasca’s
greatest following is among the races of the Underground. The Orcs, Trolls, Drow, and most other intelligent evil races venerate
her to some degree. Some just give her lip service while other go so far as to worship her above racial deities. Skiasca teaches
her followers that murder and chaos are a natural part of life. They are told that to truly venerate her is to commit murder
and other vile unspeakable acts. Skiasca tells her followers, "To cause death
to others is the greatest joy one can feel. Each act of violence brings you closer to me. Do what you can to put out the light
and sway the masses to the darkness. There, my caress falls upon those who would follow me." Today, most sacred spaces are
deep underground in special temples built by the Underground races. In the largest Drow cities, there can be found several
temples and shrines dedicated to her. Also, among the Illithid, several large
temples are known to exist. Her priests among the Illithid are known to possess mental powers far beyond those normally known
to their kind.
Vhaerun
Thievery, Territory, Drow males
Vhaerun is the god of thievery and the furthering
of drow power on the surface world. He is also the patron deity of drow males,
teaching a heresy (according to Lloth) that drow males are the equals of drow females. Vhaerun is haughty and proud, like
all drow deities. He favours underhanded means and treachery to achieve his goals. His priesthood is exclusively male, and
priests usually hide their true vocation in drow communities. Vhaerun has hair and eyes that change colour with his emotional
state (red when angry, blue when amused, gold when triumphant, etc.) Vhaerun is passively opposed to Lloth. He knows he is not powerful enough to oppose her directly... Yet.
Vhaerun wishes to re-unite the elven people. He considers all elves to be superior
to all other races, however, and wishes only to have elves dominate all other races. Vhaerun's loyalty is to all elves, but
primarily the drow race. He would like to see the surface elves serving as the
enforcers of the "true masters", the drow, who would rule from the depths of the earth.
