Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

might. Tremendous amounts of treasure were also
lost in the destruction of Rauglothgor’s lair, and the
Cult has taken to raiding Zhentarim caravans and
small strongholds in order to replenish its monetary
reserves.
It is known that Piergeiron, one of the Lords of
Waterdeep, recently destroyed the dracolich Kistarianth
the Red. The Cult had restored the beast to life
after it was originally killed by Piergeiron’s father,
only to be slain by the same blade that had killed it
once before.
A dracolich of the Cult also has been active recently
in the Elversult area. Both the Harpers and
emissaries of the Shou Lung Empire in Kara-Tur
have become involved in the fight against it.
Leaders/Important NPCs: The members of the Purple
(at the time of the spellfire incident) were known
to be: Malark the Mighty, archmage (dead); Zilvreen,
master thief; Salvarad, priest of Talos; and the
Cult’s warrior lord and leader, Naergoth Bladelord.
It’s also likely that the Shadowsil played some role in
the Purple at the time of her death. A Dargoth of
Peldar and six other “warrior-merchants” filled the
ranks of the Purple at that time. All named individual
above are (or were) at least 16th level in their respective
classes, and the others were not less than
12th level.
The Shadowsil (human female 18th-level
mage), AC 6; MV 12; hp 36; THAC0 15; #AT 1;
Dmg by spell; MR Nil; SZ M; ML 18; AL NE; XP
12,000.
S 9, D 16, C 14, I 18, W 15, Ch 15.
Spells: 5/5/5/5/5/3/3/2/1.
Special Equipment: Ring of dragons*, ring of protection
+2, rope of entanglement, wand of fire.
Description: Tall, slim, and cruel, The Shadowsil was
likely a Cult enforcer or high-level operative of some
kind. She wore purple robes and was a former apprentice
and paramour of Elminster before she
turned to cruelty and evil. She died in his arms, proclaiming
her love for him and her regret over their
lost love.
Sources: Spellfire, The Veiled Dragon, M ONSTROUS
MANUAL tome (dracoliches), DRAGON® Magazine,
issue #110.
The Drow of
Menzoberranzan
Enemies from the Underdark
Organization: Menzoberranzan is a medium-sized
drow city (about 20,000) one week’s travel from the
surface of Toril. The city is ruled by a council of the
eight largest and most powerful noble houses. At the
time of record, the eight houses were Baenre, Barrison
Del’Armgo, Oblodra, Faen Tlabbar, Agrach
Dyrr, Mizzrym, and Fey-Branche. Another notable
house is Do’Urden, also known as Daermon
N’a’shezbaernon. See the Heroes’ Lorebook for a history
of that house and its most famous member,
Drizzt Do’Urden. Select other members of the
Do’Urden clan are presented below. The council itself
is ruled by Matron Mother Baenre, matriarch of
the most powerful noble house in the city.
While the nobles live lives filled with intrigue,
treachery, and death, the common drow of the city
do most of the work. They perform manual labor, act
as house-servants, and fill the ranks of the noble
houses’ soldierly contingents. While no drow is ever
a “slave” to another, most common drow are beholden
to the noble house they serve. The drow do
keep slaves, but only of other, inferior races. These
slaves perform the most dangerous tasks in the city
since they’re expendable.
The Spider Queen, Lolth, dominates religion in
the city (hence its matriarchal nature). Lolth also
encourages a warped and wicked version of “survival
of the fittest.” The houses are all encouraged to deal
in intrigue, treachery, and assassination to advance
themselves. Those houses which do these things
well (especially using inventive or ingenious ways)
gain the favor of the Spider Goddess, a highly coveted,
but very fickle, blessing from Lolth. This fascination
with machinations is the primary factor responsible
for keeping the population of Menzoberranzan
from growing. Enough young drow are killed
or assassinated before they become parents to prevent
any rapid expansion.
This stagnation extends itself to the entirety of
drow society. Without the need to expand the city
because of rising population (thus forcing the drow
to look beyond their petty squabbles), the drow of
Menzoberranzan lose themselves in plot and counterplot,
assassination and revenge, cross and double-
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