[D&D-5e] War of the Spider Queen

[Ysolde]

Originally Posted by BarrowB

If someone knows very little lore, would they be able to keep up with what's going on?

You would not need much lore and what you do need will be provided.

Originally Posted by delpinator

For the non arcane/martial/arcane do we pick one or any that match so that partial casters pick 2?

Just one school. Pick which your character would have preferred.

[Dukklord]

Name: Sable Platin

Race: Tiefling

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Class: Rogue(Phantom)

Family Rank: Adoptive daughter to Emerald, often placed under the watch of Magister Vern to help her learn control of her abilities. If she has blood relation that knowledge has been kept hidden.

Appearance: Sables skin is deep dark red, a clear difference from the drow around her. Her hair is a black bob with bangs, and a single large coil of hair going down either side of her face. Her horns protrude from just behind the base of the coils, her horns curl down and back in a crescent, her horn tips pointed up and ever so slightly forward. Her eyes are pure white, sitting as two nearly glowing white orbs floating in a bed of shadows. Covering her slender frame is a hooded sleeveless jacket-like robe covered in pockets. She wears black gloves with lace going up her forearm, and large ragged black boots. She also wears a necklace with a small horn similar to her own carved from bone, that she's had for as long as she can remember.

Background: Sables life started on the streets. She has no memory of her parents, but she's sure someone had been taking care of her at one point. She scrounged for survival, learning early in life ways in which to steal what she needed to survive another day. Things were rough living on the streets of the underdark, even rougher being a Tiefling on the streets of the underdark. If the way the people of the city treated her was bad enough, but she was also plagued with constant whispers, utterings, and pleas of the dead and dying. She couldn't speak to them, but she couldn't make them stop either. Even among the other street kids she was an outcast, the bullies saw the half devil child who mutters about the voices of the dead in her sleep as an easy target.

One night a group of the rougher street children had dragged Sable to the graveyard, with the intent of locking her inside of a mausoleum for the night. She kicked, and bit, and scratched, and screamed, as they dragged her to the graveyard, tears streaming down her face as she knew the voices grew stronger there. It was this commotion that drew the attention of Emerald, who happened to be passing by. Emerald came and rescued Sable from the other children, taking her away from the graveyard, and adopting the young Tiefling into the Platin house. When Sable explained to Emerald about the voices she heard, she was quickly sent to be tutored by Magister Vern. The Lich would be able to help her understand what was happening to her.

Sable would also be taught how protect herself in a fight, she would learn how to use a weapon, and adapted her old street life way of thinking into her fighting. Her time spent with Magister Vern would teach her how to tune out the whispers of the dead, even being able to isolate and learn from their mutterings. Her understanding would grow eventually allowing her to manifest trinkets out of the remnants of a dying soul. She can use these trinkets to gain information otherwise lost upon death, and so Sable found a way to make herself uniquely useful to House Platin. She couldn't want anything more than to be useful to the house that rescued her from her old life, gave her a family, and treated her with a kindness known rarely to Tieflings anywhere.

 

Background: Urchin
Personality Trait: I hide scraps of food and trinkets in my pockets.
Ideal: Community. We have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to do it.
Bond: House Platin is my home, and I'll fight to defend it.
Flaw: It's not stealing if I need it more than someone else.

The Player: Have you played with me before?
Nope! I am new to this website and have yet to play with anyone here. But I have experience with RP, both written and in person. Though the written RP was without a GM of any kind so that will be somewhat new to me.
What makes you want to play this game?
Mostly just the burning urge to do some RP through post. Although a higher level campaign also sounds like a lot of fun! Also as I started thinking of what kind of character I could do for this I got more and more invested in the idea of the campaign!
Do you really think you'll stick with this for at least a year? How about 5?
I would absolutely stick with this for a year, or five if it stays engaging and doesn't die off before then. Not a big fan of endings anyways.

[Gaijin]

[BarrowB]

If we are certain about the training we want, can we roll for it now, to incorporate it in character application?

For example: It would be a bit awkward to describe a character as 'talkative' but unable to talk. XD

[Hal Hammerhand]

Do we still pick a school if we were adopted or freed as a non-drow?

[ArcZero]

I am very intrigued by this game and I have room for one more. A deep gnome necromancer that I came up with recently could be very appropriate here, with plenty of alteration. So before I apply, two questions: I know you said PHB+DMG+ 1 book, ideally that would be Xanathar's for the spell options. Deep Gnome is technically in Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse, but it'd be very appropriate for an Underdark setting. Would Deep Gnome with Xanathar's as the +1 break your rule?

And second, adoption is clearly allowed, but what about marrying into the family or wardship? To strengthen an alliance between a Deep Gnome city and Menzoberranzan? She's fond of necromancy and it's left her something of a pariah. She'd be content to commit to lifelong involvement with this House Platin to achieve her political goals. Maybe she'd been taken in Like Theon Greyjoy living with the Starks in Game of Thrones.as a ward by House Platin for instruction during her teen years (since her illusion-oriented family had no idea what to do with her). Now an adult, she's returned to the House, seeking marriage or full membership?

It's practically medieval adoption, but you are still a part of your old family and it's an interesting distinction to roleplay. It sounds like medieval wardship often gave the decision of who the ward marries to the lord or house and it could be someone within the house or outside for political gain. I like the idea of playing a character who's sold a good bit of her personal autonomy away for tutelage and status.

[HashtagBryn]

To be honest, I often find 5E a little uninspiring. On the other hand, I'm very interested in the idea of a not-entirely-evil game set in Menzoberranzan, that cares at least somewhat about Forgotten Realms canon. At a minimum, I'm excited to write a backstory for a character that would fit in here, even if I don't actually end up part of the game.

I do have some questions, though. Some of them have already been asked in one form or another but I wanted to put all my thoughts in one place so I don't lose track of them.

Setting Questions Do you have a canon date in mind? The prompt suggests that the Silence of Lolth is "upcoming", so I'm guessing this is set somewhere around 1372 (the canon year for the Silence of Lolth and City of the Spider Queen)? Mostly I ask so that I know what major events have or haven't happened that might be an important part of character backgrounds. At the very least, it sounds like no Spellplague or Second Sundering in this timeline, correct?

Mechanics Questions Several of these are questions about the PHB + DMG + 1 source restriction. If playing a non-drow, does the racial source book (likely MPMM) count as your +1? That feels sad, if so. On the other hand, if playing a drow, are you locked into the PHB +2 Dex / +1 Cha modifiers? Drow didn't get an MPMM update, so technically, there's no other option for them even if MPMM doesn't count as a source. If you're playing a class that got Optional Features in TCE, do those require you to select TCE as your +1 source to access? Are there "school" options for non-drow (or even just non-natives of Menzoberranzan)? Would it make sense to just pick the existing one that is thematically appropriate for the character and reskin it for a similar organization or environment related to their background?

[DiceGoblin]

@ArcZero, I'm currently working on a male Drow who's one of the Matron's children, but like 6th child so not really important. I would gladly make him the one that the Matron wants to marry off to your Deep-Gnome. Would be super fun to RP.

[Ysolde]

Originally Posted by BarrowB

If we are certain about the training we want, can we roll for it now, to incorporate it in character application?

For example: It would be a bit awkward to describe a character as 'talkative' but unable to talk. XD

Use the linked thread to roll in.

Originally Posted by Hal Hammerhand

Do we still pick a school if we were adopted or freed as a non-drow?

Only Drow get to go to the schools. You could use the charts (reskinned) as alternate upbringing if you wanted to.

@Arc Zero you can use the races from there and it sounds like a fun application. Looking forward to seeing it!

@HashtagBryn - 1372 is accurate. Racial source book allowed for race and cantrips only anything else and it is the +1. Optional features from TCE are your +1. You may reskin the schools as training elsewhere if you dare.

Thanks to everyone who is interested in my current insanity! My brain would not let this die and so I'm running it.



If I missed your question, please PM me!

[ArcZero]

@DiceGoblin Haha I would enjoy that if such a scenario is cool with Ysolde. My character's fate would be in her hands and whoever she decided that the Matron Mother or Amethyst Platin wants to marry me off to
@Ysolde Great, some type of ward it is then. Should be interesting to write that out.

[Hal Hammerhand]

Just tossing ideas out here:
What is the likelihood of male consorts?
Also, how dark are you casting the Underdark and how would that work with humans?

[DiceGoblin]

Almost done! I've got his backstory in my head, just gotta write it out. Unfortunately it'll have to wait until later. I've got a few things to get done first.

Application Name: Dinral Platin Race: Drow Alignment: Neutral Good Class: Monk 9 (Way of the Ascendant Dragon) Family Rank: Sixth child of the Matron and lower ranking member of the guard. Appearance: Din stands at about 5'6" with a lean build meant for speed and grace. He has long limbs and carries himself with an almost impossible level of grace, balance, and ease. Each movement almost effortlessly fluid. He spots the classic gray skin of his people, though his is a bit on the light side. His hair is long, white, and shaved on the left side. His eyes are red. Though his fingers are long and graceful, Din's hands are certainly not soft, they're rough, calloused, and scarred from years of perfecting the art of catching arrows. He keeps forearm to palm wrapped in bandages to both protect his knuckles as he strikes, and to cover the rather embarrassing scars on his palms from catching arrows by the pointy end and not the shaft. Din prefers loose fitting clothing, if it wasn't shameful to his family he'd probably just wear dresses all the time, but instead he tends to wear a very loose fitting red robe with a pair of short brown pants and bandage wrappings on his chest to protect his modest (Or his family's honor). He avoids wearing shoes as much as possible and when he does have to wear them, he tends to just wear ballet flats. His body is a canvas of scars from his gladiator days, each one of which he will proudly tell you the story of, if you have the time to listen. Background: Being the child of a matron has it's perks. But being the sixth child, and a male, makes for a strange upbringing. Din would never tell anybody he had a bad childhood, one look outside the Platin house could tell you that. He would have been a slave if he had been born to anyone else. But while he was given the creative freedom to do whatever he wanted, he was also most certainly neglected by the matron and her wives. After all, they had far more important things to worry about. Din was mostly brushed off by the adults in his life, with exception of an occasional grunt of approval when he asked for permission to do something. But he wouldn't change it for anything. Where else could he had pursued training in so many different arts? The first, and his biggest love, is dance lessons. He also learned to paint, to play the Lyre, he did a short stint in theater before dropping that. On his thirteenth birthday, the matron insisted that he add some sort of combat training to his list. He would need it to survive this harsh world they lived in. Din, reluctantly agreed. He absolutely didn't want to go to the one of the training schools for combat, he had seen and heard the horror stories of what happened there. During the last couple of years, Din has struck up a sort of friendship with one of the figures in his life. Dakon, the dragon that worked with the family. He was one of the few people who could sit and listen to the stories the dragon had to tell, and remember them later because he had paid attention. It was he who suggested martial arts to Din, as it would mesh well with his dance background. Thus began Din's journey into combat. Trained by none other, than a freaking dragon. He took to the movements well, the strikes, techniques, forms, but when it came to doing it on an actual person he struggled. He likened it too much to dance. Dakon, in his Drow form, decided to take him on a fieldtrip. The dragon brought him to a local fighting ring. They watched a few matches. Din was surprised at how showy the fighting was, there was no doubt it was a fight, but half of what was done was absolutely not necessary for a real fight. They fought for their lives, but also put on a show. Din was enamored. Dakon pat him on the back, it was good that he liked it so much, because the dragon had signed him up for a match. Din stepped into the arena for the first time, and absolutely dominated his first match. He literally danced circled around his opponent. As it turned out, the only thing he needed to be able to actually harm a person was a life or death situation. Din loved it, the cheering as he won gave him a warm, fuzzy, feeling his chest. Maybe it was because it was the first time people had really noticed what he could do. Din became a regular competitor in the arena, on top of his training with Dakon. The ability to catch arrows was an especially big focus, by Din's request. It was a skill he used a lot to various degrees of success. But he was glad for it, when a stray arrow on the training grounds nearly hit Diamond and he was able to catch it. Though no doubt she would have been able to do something about it too, it was still a really cool moment. Din spent several years training in the various arts, and mastering his dance-like fighting style in the arena, quickly rising as one of the top gladiators. Then he was approached by Dakon who told him it was time to start the next part of his training. Din doesn't remember a whole lot of the next part. He does remember sitting on the floor and being given a goblet, he remembers drinking it, after that it's just bits and pieces. He remembers all his senses working way too well, he remembers a horrible pain in his stomach and the inside of his throat itching. He thought Dakon has decided to see if he could withstand being poisoned. He woke up in his room several days later with little memory of what had happened. As it turned out, Dakon had decided to share a fraction of his power with Din. The pain and the itching was his body changing to be able to wield the elements like a dragon did. He could channel an element into his strikes and even had his own breath weapon now. The itching being the new coating of black scales to protect his delicate insides. The matron had approved of this next step to his training. Din spent a total of twelve years as a gladiator before getting bored. Nobody could stand against his anymore, it was far too easy. He made the choice to retire from the arena. Instead he joined the Platin house guard. Despite his status as a child of the matron, he is still just a low ranking member who has to earn his place. He mostly gets the boring guard duties, which is fine with him. When he's not on duty he still spends his time pursuing the arts, and even teaching dance at the same school he once trained at. The Player: I believe we've played in a couple games together. Unfortunately I don't think any of them lasted long. You ticked all the boxes of things I like, Dark, Drow, political. Combat is fun and all, but I really enjoy the dynamic between characters and their struggles to not piss off the wrong people and end up assassinated. I'm absolutely down for sticking around for next few years.

[Kshnik]

Going to submit a goblin character . Surprise surprise. Unless Ysolde is tired of me playing a goblin. Going to base this goblin off of a Vril (goblin drow product from drow wizards over many many generations.) Cleric/Ranger combo most likely.

 

[Ysolde]

Originally Posted by Hal Hammerhand

Just tossing ideas out here:
What is the likelihood of male consorts?
Also, how dark are you casting the Underdark and how would that work with humans?

There are husbands for some of the daughters. Consort would be how they spoke of them outside the family. If you want to pick a second-generation daughter and be her husband that's fine.

The house would provide an item to see in the dark. They have the resources.

[Rylus]

 

Name:
Akordia formally O’blodra now Platin

Race:
Drow

Alignment:
Neutral

Class:
Rogue (Soul Knife)

Family Rank:
Adopted after the fall of house O’blodra by Ruby, taken as her third Daughter.

Attended school/Injury:
Melee Magthere/ Rolled 60Died and was resurrected

Appearance: Akordia stand at four feet tall and weights in at just at a hundred pounds, her platinum blond hair is kept short in a pixi-cut style. Two small earring loop tightly around the tips of her ears. Her eyes shine the normal red of most of her kin save for in the light, in which they shine a brilliant emerald green. He dark, nearly black, skin is smooth and holds no blemishes save for a single scar the side of a swords blade right above her heart.

She wears dark colored clothing when within her room, mostly dark blues and reds. She also wears a set of Studded leathers that look like dragon scale. The armor is a mix of dark greys and blacks to simulate shadows. Several pouches hang from her belt along with a dagger, and a rapier. The dagger is your typical small knife without any ornamentation, a straight blade and has been marred to keep light from reflecting off it. The rapier looks like it should be a training weapon save or the four small gems set around the pommel and the pommel itself, the gems being an amethyst, a diamond, a ruby, and an emerald while the pommel is a moonstone and all of them are inlaid with platinum.


Background: Akordia was born to the house O’blodra, unlike most houses in Menzoberranzan who wield the divine power of Lloth Hous O’blodra had a psionic bloodline that ran strongly through it. Akordia was no different in this aspect, she grew into psionic powers just as her mother told her she would and then at the right age she was ushered off to the dreaded drow schools to learn. She attended Melee Magthere because she couldn’t seem to manifest the powers of her bloodline as her siblings did. It was during this time she figured out that she could call a blade to her made of psionic energy at any time she needed it, but she chose to keep this a secret from everyone for as long as possible and wielded a short sword as cover. He strengths in stealth, scouting, and silently killing the enemy soon had her near the top of the scouts which drew the ire of the others. Every day was a struggle between her classmate’s constant attempts to kill her, the harsh lessons of the teachers who didn’t care if a student was hurt of even died as long as none of the blame could be laid at their feet, and a family who thought she was a lost cause.

Nearing the end of her studies in the school she found out that her own mother had placed a kill order on her head because she didn’t want the stain of a child who couldn’t continue the bloodline and might have to resort to arcane or divine methods to survive. Still knowing this only made Akordia more determined to survive and take down anyone in he way. She used her skills to sneak into a teacher’s quarters, bypassing the wards with information she had bought and stole a pendant that she knew would help her gain the upper hand on the assassins her mother had sent. It took several months but eventually the assassins caught her while on patrol as a scout and in a two verse one fight they overpowered her but not before one took a fatal wound. As she lay dying in the dark damp tunnel the assassin laughed saying that Akordia had done him a favor in killing the other one as the reward was now all his. Akordia died and the assassin took her sword as proof and hurried down the tunnels back towards the city. The pendant around Akordia’s neck began to glow as the magics took effect and breathed life back into her. It took a minuet to remember what had happened and to catch her breath but when she did, she sprinted after the assassin. Catching him just before he got to the city she attacked and drove her psionic blade through the back of his neck.

She took back her sword and disposed of the body and returned to her patrol. She knew that hiding the fact she had survived wasn’t going to work so she needed as much time as she could get to prepare for the next attempt, but that attempt would never come. The patrols often too weeks to complete and scouts were the last to return, in the three weeks she had been away her house had fallen. She was now alone with no name, after all she wasn’t a noble, so she had no right of accused or right to bring her house back. She felt numb about the whole thing, after all her house had tried to kill her and succeeded in doing so…was she supposed to feel bad when they were destroyed?

After school finished, she was approached by a female noble who she would come to know as Ruby of house Platin. She offered the young girl a home and allies in return for loyalty. Akordia figured that joining another house was better than living on the streets and it couldn’t be worse than her old house, so she accepted. It was in the Platin house that she felt wanted for the first time, she didn’t feel like everyone was out to get her and it was nice. She learned about her new house and family as time went on and grew attached to them, even loved them though no word for love exists in drow society. After years she came to the realization that she was home and would die for these people if it was needed to save even one of them.

The Player:
Have you played with me before?
I believe I have several years ago, but my memory isn’t what it used to be.
What makes you want to play this game?
I love drow society and how they are chaotic but need to pretend to be lawful to keep their civilizations from collapsing in on themselves. My second character ever was a drow psychic warrior, and this feels like a way to connect with that again.
Do you really think you'll stick with this for at least a year? How about 5?
I will last as long as the game does, since I have so much interest in this particular setting, I find it extremely unlikely that I will lose said interest even after many years. My fascination started almost twenty years ago and hasn’t waned yet…. damn just realized that I’m old as hell lol