Player Character's Guide: So you want to play in the Underdark?

So you want to play in the Underdark?

Drow are Evil in our setting. There are no "good" Drow, with the exception of NPCs and the occasional daring eilistraeen. If your intention was to come here and play toward a good aligned Drow elf, then I'm sorry you've come to the wrong place.

It is strongly recommended that you research Drow culture, Society and Traditions as written by various contributors to this guide. If you ever have questions regarding a topic, never hesitate to ask one of our players in game or send a Personal Message by forum to the acting Underdark Dungeon Master (DM_FOE)


Dalelands Beyond Setting

Background Story

Welcome to the Deep Wastes!

First thing you need to know is, that this server setting is not placed on the Sword Coast, and that the underdark beneath that area (called the Northdark) is very, very far away from the server location setting.  If you are coming from another server and have played in an underdark setting before it is key to understand that those settings (including the one a certain drow ranger appears in) are not the same place as the underdark of this server. That underdark (Northdark) is more than two underdark lands (continents) away from this setting.  The underdark of Dalelands Beyond is the "Deep Wastes" underdark.

In -2600 DR the Matron mothers of Maerimydra commissioned the building of the Twisted Tower as a beachhead in the Realms Above. Despite repeated attacks and attempts to stop them by the elves, the drow completed the Twisted Tower in –2549 DR and claimed the surrounding surface territory, which became known as the Land Under Shadow.

Lolthite drow ruled the Land Under Shadow for 2,880 years, which included the southern portion of the Cormanthor forest and the Shadowdale valley.  The farm lands of modern day Shadowdale were once forested until the Cormanthor forest was burnt (Spiders Fires in -2,439 DR) by the drow clearing the land south of the Tesh river (now known as the Ashaba river, the southern and western border line of elven Cormanthyr).

In -331 DR the Lolthite drow were briefly driven back into the underdark by the combined forces of the two elven nations of Cormanthyr and Rystall.  Followers of Eilistraee were given the Twisted Tower, only to lose it again in -194 DR when the Lolthite drow re-surged from the underdark, killing all of the moon dancers and reestablishing the Lands Under Shadow a second time.

In 906 DR, some 192 years after the fall of Myth Drannor, the human army of Cormyr attacked the Lands Under Shadow laying siege to the Twisted Tower.  In 907 DR the Lolthite drow were driven from the surface and the area was renamed "Shadowdale". Since that time the drow of the Deep Wastes underdark have not maintained a strong presence on the surface.

When the Silence of Lolth began in 1372 on 28 Elesias, it caused growing unrest among the Drow, until the city's archmage, Duneth Wharreil, used the confusion to launch a coup on the remaining houses. On 23 Eleint, the city was sacked by the half-fiend Kurgoth Hellspawn and his army of goblins, ogres, fire giants and demons. Most of the drow inhabitants of the city were killed or enslaved, with some escaping into the surrounding Deep Wastes. The single drow house to survive with any assets was House Dhuurniv, because most of them lay outside Maerimydra.

While the mage and Kurgoth's army were destroying the city's strongholds the local cult of Kiaransalee took over Castle Maerimydra, the home of House Chûmavh which, at the time was the ruling house. The leader of the cult, an albino drow named Irae T'sarran, killed Duneth and, under her god's direction summoned Kiaransalee's Undying Temple to the Prime Material Plane. She then focused on using the temple's negative energy to research a new spell that would raise all of the corpses in and around the city simultaneously as a singular horde of powerful undead, all under her command.

A few small bands of Drow refugees fled the sacking of the city. One party managed to travel the 100's of miles to Szith Morcane, an old outpost of Maerimydra rebuilt into a small city. This is where you will begin and is the central area of our setting and where you will spawn many times from the OOC room. The former drow refugee camp is now in the hands of a Duergar clan, the Grimfell.  

On 28 Ches 1373 DR Lloth's Silence ended, and she pulled her Demon Web Pits out of the Abyss, creating her own outer plane and becoming a Greater God.  All of the Dark Seldarine (Vhaeraun, Selvetarm, Ghaunadaur, Kiaransalee and Eilistraee) were moved to Lloth's new outer plane and allowed realms of their own as members of Lloth's court.  It is worth noting that all of Lolth's court, the Dark Seldarine, hate their Queen for their own reasons and that Lloth desires it that way, believing that their hate makes her, and her people stronger from the conflicts.

This all occurred three years before the server went live, in 1375 DR.  From that point on, the Dalelands Beyond history deviates from the official WotC published history and novels to a time line created and influenced by the Role-Play actions of the player character on the server.

Be sure to read over all server rules before embarking upon your journey. This is a complex and dynamic world we play in with many rules and policies in place to give balance and direction. The sooner you learn the basics regarding this, is the sooner you will be able to enjoy the true essence of our persistent world. Lloth zudar dos!

Character Creation Guide

Effective Character Level

Also known as ECL is a measurement we use to determine the adjusted level strength of a character. ECL is only applied to certain races, Drow being one of them. For the purpose of this guide Drow are considered ECL +2 (Seen in character creation as Level Adjustment +2). Simply put, a character with an ECL+2 at level 1 is equivalent to Level 3. The table below displays the progression. Its important to note that as a drow getting to level 2 can be a bit tedious. Don't be discouraged! It is well worth the wait and you'll find that after level 1 things tend to get easier.

The reasoning behind the differential is due to the abilities and powers an ECL+ character gains opposed to a generic (though not necessarily inferior) race. Drow are considered ECL +2. So above you can see that as a Drow character it will take you slightly more XP to reach equivalent levels compared to non-ECL races. Don’t be discouraged by this, because Drow are truly powerful and the adjustment is compensated for early and later on, when your inherit abilities can provide an added edge.

If you have not looked at or spoken to the various NPC's in Szith-Morcane, you should probably do so.  There are several quests in the starting city that reward experience. One of these quests starts with the female meat vendor in the Shebali sector of the city.  To find more quest, and in game lore, visit the Academy Buildings (Melee Magthere, Sorcery and Arach Tinilith) that you are facing when you first appear in Szith from the OOC Room.

Another helpful hint, should you feel befuddled by the drow names, right click and examine the signs, objects etc and you will find English translations of the role-play language.

Class Restrictions
Due to the restrictions set by our server,  the classes below will not be legal choices for any Drow character to select. Players must send an application to one of the Underdark DMs for approval regarding unusual class selections. These include restrictions already in place by the policies of the server.

Druids are Not Allowed (Exception being Ghaunadaur followers. You'll mark yourself as a heretic if seen using key abilities)
Paladins are Not Allowed
Male Clerics of Lloth are Not Allowed

Gender

Playing a male or a female will have dramatic consequences towards your experience here. If you have researched Drow Tradition and Culture then you may discern that Females are considered vastly superior than Males. However, this is completely subjective to you or me Out Of Character. Some of the most powerful Drow in history have been males. The gender you choose will dictate how you are addressed in game, your rank and station cap and ultimately your web of influence in our setting. You are strongly encouraged to research this dynamic before assuming the typical male/female relationship applies here. Failing to do so will probably have disastrous consequences, or at least waste someone’s time.

Also, should you choose to play a female cleric of Lloth, this does not automatically make you a ruling member of the society.  Achieving the status of a full priestess (Yath'rin) is not an easy task and rarely occurs before the character reaches epic levels.  

In addition, due to the role-play authority such a position provides, not every player is well suited for the role. Players who wish to have yath'rin characters must show that they have the out of character ability to work with other players and encourage lore-based role-play across any guild, group or social status based lines. These characters are the leaders of drow society, able to call upon NPC guards, punish, jail, banish and kill other characters.  Abusing this authority, will cause it to be removed.

Alignment

Drow can be Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil, Neutral, Lawful Neutral or Chaotic Neutral. Any drow who wishes to have a life on the surface must place an application to become a surface drow (see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).  

Only evil drow are permitted her without special dispensation. Anything else including Eilistraeens must be applied for to the DM team.

OOC:

Despite the complexity and difficulty in learning everything you need to know, you should not be discouraged. The players in the Underdark and the staff are more than willing to extend a hand to you and assist you with any questions you may have regarding Lore, Server Rules and Campaign setting. Since there is an ECL on Drow, It is strongly encouraged that you plan out your character build well and can do so easily by going here

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It is frustrating enough to realize there is a critical error in your build as a non-ECL when you get up in levels. Its doubly so for a Drow who had to work extra hard to get the precious xp to gain in level.

Help in explaining the General Rules on Torture and Consent in the Underdark

The Underdark is a harsh, unforgiving and merciless place. Where acts of utter depravity and vileness happen daily by its wholly evil and despicable monstrous inhabitants.

To protect players from things getting a bit out of hand in this setting, or feeling they have to rp out a situation they would rather not, I am now clarify the situation and the consequences of not abiding by the rule.

What are limits?

Limits are types of roleplay a player does not enjoy rping and would rather not have to roleplay out the situation; I categorize them into two types:

Hard Limits:

Are situations that a player does not want their character to go through and would find it upsetting to roleplay out. Examples: Rape, Extreme Torture, Heavy Mutilation, Character Perma Death. Once someone tells you their Hard Limits you will respect them and you will adjust your roleplay to fit around those limits.

If I catch someone forcing another player to suffer through a Limit of theirs, I will stop the roleplay and take both people to one side and from the one I find to have been the aggressor, I will take 5 levels from them, you will then be reported to the Head DMs and you may be temporary banned for a week. Should you do it again, your character will get sucked into the abyss and die, and you will be Banned from the Underdark.

Also, if you cry that someone is forcing you to brake a Hard Limit of yours and it is proven you were attempting to manipulate the situation, I will take away five levels, you will then be reported too the Head DMs and you may be temporary banned for a week, should you do it again, Your character will get sucked into the abyss and die, and you will be Banned from the Underdark.

Soft Limits :

Soft limits are things a player does not want to roleplay out, but does not mind happening to their character, with these limits the play will be allowed to "Fade to Black" which basically means they pass out, it happens both players move on. Also, even with fade to black, torture and mutilation and other unpleasant rp situations will have an effect on your character, the effects should not just be thrown off in a day.

If I catch someone forcing another player to suffer through a Limit of theirs, I will stop the roleplay and take both people to one side and the one I find to have been the aggressor will lose 5 levels, you will then be reported to the Head DMs and you may be temporarily banned for a week, should you do it again, Your character will get sucked into the abyss and die, and you will be Banned from the Underdark.

Also, if you cry that someone is forcing you too break a Soft Limit of yours and it is proven you were attempting to manipulate the situation, I will take away five levels, you will then be reported to the Head DMs and you may temporarily banned for a week, should you do it again, Your character will get sucked into the abyss and die, and you will be Banned from the Underdark.

When in doubt, ask the other player in a tell.

The underdark can be fun when you play it properly, and offers a lot of enjoyment, as well as a fun setting that can only be felt and enjoyed in the Underdark, I hope to see you all down there soon.