The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

the intricacy of colour and decoration so common to
other drow. Rather, the Pol’Tah use clothing simply for
protection. The only manner of fabric available to them is
na’orsuin, which is repeatedly beaten and treated to soften
it. The stifling heat of Drez Khelim makes hide too warm
to wear as clothing, relegating it to use solely as armour.
With no way or reason to be concerned with appearance
and little choice in the manner of cloth available, the deep
drow have not concerned themselves with clothing.
That is beginning to change, however. The first appearance
of cloth spun from spider silk met with great excitement
from the Pol’Tah, as it was softer and more pleasing to
the touch than any na’orsuin the deep drow could weave.
The rare trading caravan that ventures to the bottom of the
Underdeep for commerce with the Pol’Tah is now laden
exclusively with spider silk clothing and the demand among
the deep drow is only growing. The importance they place
on the feel and texture of things is at least as great as the
importance sighted races place on appearance.
The priestesses of the Dark Mother see this as a golden
opportunity to expand worship of their goddess, but have
not yet moved on it.
Combat
The Pol’Tah are ferocious in combat, striking quickly and
overwhelmingly against any foe foolish enough to venture
into the mist-choked tunnels of their home. In this place,
it is the outsiders who are truly blind, fumbling through
the choking darkness while the
Pol’Tah, able to ‘see’ everything,
cut through them like a scythe.
Despite their blindness, the
Pol’Tah are skilled weaponsmiths,
harvesting raw ore left from the
tailings of their purple worms
and forging it into an array of
weapons. They prefer light,
quick weapons in combat, with
scimitars, light picks and spiked
chains as their special favourites.
Generally speaking, the Pol’Tah
are lightly armoured, which
better serves their quick, dodging
fighting style. In addition, the heat
in the tunnels of the deep drow is
such that heavy armour would
be cripplingly hot. Breastplates
are not uncommon as armour,
but leather armour formed of the
tanned hide of one of the strange
beasts the Pol’Tah herd for food is the most prevalent. Less
common but by no means rare is worm armour, formed of
the hide of a purple worm. Light, incredibly strong and
offering a substantial protection against poison, worm
armour is the pride of any Pol’Tah who possesses it. The
deep drow are loyal to their purple worms and the hide of
one is only harvested after its death.
The hide for worm armour is hardly the most impressive
contribution these domesticated monsters make to the
Pol’Tah on the battlefield. The purple worms domesticated
by the Pol’Tah are used in several capacities in combat.
Their simplest use is merely to fight alongside the drow,
especially against larger forces. They are also used as
mounts, with a hardened and covered ‘saddle’ attached
which keeps the rider (mostly) safe from harm as the worm
tunnels through rock. The position of wormrider is among
the most revered ranks a soldier of the Pol’Tah can obtain.
The rarest use of purple worms by the Pol’Tah is also the
most terrifying and disorienting for a foe, but because
of the danger to the deep drow involved, it is only done
when a lightning-quick strike against a very powerful foe
is needed. Millennia of training, breeding and magical
experimentation have altered these purple worms somewhat
from the base creature, enlarging the throat and stomach in
front of the gizzard to allow the worms to swallow more
matter, be it garbage or ore that needs refining. Coating
themselves in a special alchemical substance called simply
burnshield oil that protects the deep drow from the acid
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