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Forum locked This topic is locked, you cannot edit posts or make further replies.  [ 15 posts ] 
NaturesNinja
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 6:50 AM 

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Hi, I'm a returning player of a non-drow character who was considering making a drow character before I had to stop playing due to RL issues. Now that I have time again I was thinking of making that drow finally and joining you all, but I had some questions that I'm hoping you could address for me.

I've done research on drow in general so I'm fairly competent (at least I think I am) on the race and how their society works, but I'm not up to date on what changes to the general drow knowledge is common in-game, meaning if there have been changes to things to make drow more player friendly without altering the core concept of the race too much. I also don't know how you all handle house affiliations with new characters. Is there a list of houses that I can see with general aims and goals, beyond beating all other houses, that I get to choose from, or do I start the game as an unaligned character and I have to petition to join one of the established houses in-game?

From my admittedly limited research, whatever I could find online and fragmented knowledge in various topics on these forums hidden between arguments, I take it in general drow society a character (and a male no less, which is what I'll be playing) that doesn't have a house to back them and protect them is not going to do well, unless there are some sort of rules changing that here that aren't easy to find (or I've missed somethig obvious). I have other questions but most of them stem from these and getting the answers to these questions would go a long way to answering the others. Thank you for your time and any light you could shine on these for me.


 
      
Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 8:44 AM 

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The Golden Rule for males, play nice to the girls and play extra nice to the holy girl. Fortunately you don't really need to be a lore wizard to RP successfully for drow.

All UD drow characters made are assumed to be of noble standing unless you specifically request a drow of commoner standing. (And yes, your drow will be assumed to be of noble standing even if they aren't part of a House from what I understand)

Houseless drow males can do just fine here though being part of a House does of course bring its advantages, and you can join whichever PC House you want as long as you cosy up to them with the appropriate roleplay.

The Drow House scene isn't really a vibrant one right now, I think there's a few Matron PCs trying to start one up but there's only one active PC House in the drow city of Nec'perya. There is a NPC drow house in L'Obsul but I don't think you really have good chances of joining that without a lot of roleplay. :P

That said, there's plenty of opportunity for your character to break into the drow scene.

I hope that helps!

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Zanthair
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 12:11 PM 

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Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Location: [st]Ultrinnan[/st] [st]Edonil[/st] Nec'perya

number one thing you have to remember about drow rp is that we are (mostly) friendly behind the screen, even if our characters are sadistic torturous asses.

and as for noble status/ commoner status, this stems from the fact that in pnp noble drow are able to case faerie fire, and on amia all drow are able to request the ability to cast faerie fire. (unless, as stated, you request a commoner). In practice, houseless drow are considered a step above the common rabble because they theoretically have noble blood, but they wouldn't carry the same innate respect someone in a noble house does.

and of course, if you have an questions about drowiness, just ask! We wont bite make fun of you

_________________
Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words


 
      
Naivatkal
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 14:27 PM 

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Pretty much what they said! General rule of thumb:

Male or female - Be cautious around drow you don't know and be respectful of your betters, whether they are male or female because higher-ranked males can get you in trouble as well.
Male - Be extra courteous to any female, even moreso high ranking ones.
Female - You can 'get away' with more, you still need to respect your superiors (males to a smaller extent, still need to be careful of them), and all males should show you the proper respect.

So yeah, everyone has to watch their manners unless you are way up on top of the dogpile (but even then, it's not smart to piss off the people under you!)

_________________
Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming


 
      
NaturesNinja
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 19:09 PM 

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Is there a specific forum here anywhere where I can read up on what is common knowledge of houses that are in-game? I'm cool starting as a currently houseless noble male but I'd like to become aligned with a house eventually, and I want to be dedicated to the temple in a more martial capacity (i.e. guard/secret police sort). I want to have the conflict of trying to elevate my house while also being true to the temple and see what kind of demands are put upon the character from both sides.

I'm also curious to know how difficult or easy it would be for a houseless male to become affiliated with the temple in the sort of capacity mentioned above? My initial plan was that my character would elevate their house by joining the temple guard, under the similar premise that each house is expected to produce at least one priest to serve the temple, being a male he would serve the temple by protecting it/being one of it's martial weapons. But would it be just as easy to first become affiliated with the temple and then a house as his apparent value to a house would be further increased by his dedication to the temple? Or is there some rule I'm unaware of that is more or less once someone (or maybe just males) is a member temple in any capacity they are off limits to the houses?

Also, assuming I do wind up being a houseless noble, what are valid reasons for being a houseless male that don't put too much strain on my character's credibility? I assume the easiest method would have been to abandon a disgraced house, but that would mean that his nobility would be disgraced as well and I'd have to overcome that. I'm all for making things difficult, but I'm already shooting for some rough times for my character, I'd rather not pile on too much more if I could avoid it.


 
      
Naivatkal
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 19:26 PM 

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Well months back TDR and I were trying to keep the Amia Wiki updated with stuff, but that died down. Besides, Vilrath is inactive so that wouldn't be helpful haha. Gremin runs the current house, Lolarox, though.

As for the Temple, right now it's all NPCs in the Spider Guard but PCs could get into it down the line (aka with RP/time).

In the past, far as I know, being part of the Temple didn't restrict you from being in a House (for males, obviously females have been in both). Zrae doesn't have any plans to say anything like that, either. She's always been houseless, though, even back in Edonil for her own reasons. Which worked nice, considering the position she attained. So yeah you could definitely be in a House and join the Temple's Spider Guard. Or you could just be in the Spider Guard; you'd still get respect for that and in a way it's a House in itself. But you wouldn't be restricted to one or the other.

As for suitable background, you could just say you left your old house in another city for whatever reason. and that you ar elooking to do your duty and such in a new city. Or something like that, just remember you can be from a different city in the UD as well :3 Hell you could say that because of your pact and calling you left to prove yourself in the wilds of the UD or something. Such possibilities, so long as you make it sounds good, believable, and noble :D

_________________
Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming


 
      
NaturesNinja
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 19:57 PM 

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Quote:
Hell you could say that because of your pact and calling you left to prove yourself in the wilds of the UD or something. Such possibilities, so long as you make it sounds good, believable, and noble :D


I actually want to RP the entire aspect of becoming a blackguard in-game. Which means when I get to my Blackguard levels I won't be taking them until after I have appealed to the temple for a request of rites and rituals to ask Lolth for her favor in becoming a blackguard. I realize that this isn't necessary on the server, but my goal for this character is to be a true drow and a true blackguard, in my mind this means that I work to elevate my own standing, work to elevate the standing of my house, and I'm a devout follower of Lolth until such time as I am given sufficient reason not to be. It also means that I don't just wake up one day after having fought enough creatures and suddenly I have blackguard powers, I need to work to get them not just by improving my characters abilities through training but by proving my character's worth to the temple and arranging to meet with a power that can grant me a blackguard's contract.

I do realize that this will put a strain on my character's levels (on top of an XP penalty), making it difficult to level up in blackguard levels until I have adequate RP with both player characters in positions of power within the temple and a fair amount of NPC interactions that will be subject to DM availability, but I feel that in the end the difficulty in attaining the desired blackguard status will be worth it. As I said before, I'm all for making things difficult for myself, I'm going out of my way to make things harder than they need to be, but I think after all is said and done the extra difficulty I put myself through will not only make the character more rewarding to play, but will further legitimize his standing with others. If the leaders of the temple see how much effort I put into becoming a blackguard, and are present for each step (I believe that being a male and not a priest I'll be accompanied by at least one priestess every time I have to perform a ritual in the temple) that would dramatically increase his credibility in claiming being in the service to Lolth than simply coming out of the dark wilderness one day claiming power has been granted him from Lolth to do her bidding.


 
      
Naivatkal
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 20:02 PM 

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Hey that's fine with me :3

And my response was wrong, actually. For some reason my brain disconnected and I forgot we were talking about a BG... even though I distinctly remember that I wrote it knowing it was not a cleric. Hah!

_________________
Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming


 
      
Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 22:12 PM 

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Joined: 22 Sep 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia [GMT +10]

I believe you can request a DM to make your PC's attainment of Blackguard-hood a more sexy and memorable event.

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Naivatkal
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 22:19 PM 

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Yep I'm sure Dusty would be glad to help with the Temple-BG stuff!

_________________
Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming


 
      
Galenson
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 22:25 PM 

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Joined: 26 May 2006
Location: Down Under, calculating your demise with blunt expressions.

To be honest, the less you know about Drow lore the better. Amia's setting has always been quite different from the norm as far as Drow are concerned: the more open minded you are when you first log in, the easier it is to understand why things are as they are instead of just waving the book and going "but the book says this!"

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"I'll think of something once Amia:EE drops."


 
      
Zanthair
 
PostPosted: Mon, Dec 16 2013, 22:29 PM 

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Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Location: [st]Ultrinnan[/st] [st]Edonil[/st] Nec'perya

Galenson wrote:
To be honest, the less you know about Drow lore the better. Amia's setting has always been quite different from the norm as far as Drow are concerned: the more open minded you are when you first log in, the easier it is to understand why things are as they are instead of just waving the book and going "but the book says this!"


as someone who hasn't read a single drow book and has played a drow on this server for what, 7 years now? I agree entirely.

It allows me to have a character with his personal faults without being black and white.

_________________
Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words


 
      
DustSpray101
 
PostPosted: Wed, Dec 18 2013, 18:10 PM 

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I'm mixed on that topic. If your toon came from the main UD, your toon may like some of their traditions. Feel free to bring them and act on them, just know that not all of them will catch on.

To give a better idea of this:

In lore, Drow behave most like a group of matriarchal, boat-less Vikings/Romans that love spiders and know full well the terror they can inflict on the surface. Drow love living it up, looking to carnal pleasures and entertainments otherwise downplayed by their surface cousins. Raids tend to act as both reminders that they are lurking below the world's feet or to make sure supplies are bountiful enough to keep the party going! Work gets done, sure, but most of it is slaves or common folks. Nobles get to play politics and live it up!

On Amia, at least in Lolthite society, the revelry part of Drow culture has taken back seat. This can be partially attributed to the fact that many of the existing societal norms have come from the Amian Underground's 'separation' from the traditional Underdark under Faerun. Nec'perya (like Edonil before it) is a town of the survivors of the Amian Underground ideaology. This has caused a slight cultural shift to the point where while it is still recognizable as primarily Lolthite, Nec'perya differs in many respects to other Drow societies found under the rest of the continent.

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Qeelak \ | / ,


 
      
Naivatkal
 
PostPosted: Wed, Dec 18 2013, 18:26 PM 

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DustSpray101 wrote:
On Amia, at least in Lolthite society, the revelry part of Drow culture has taken back seat. This can be partially attributed to the fact that many of the existing societal norms have come from the Amian Underground's 'separation' from the traditional Underdark under Faerun. Nec'perya (like Edonil before it) is a town of the survivors of the Amian Underground ideaology. This has caused a slight cultural shift to the point where while it is still recognizable as primarily Lolthite, Nec'perya differs in many respects to other Drow societies found under the rest of the continent.

Yeah it's unfortunately true. However it's mostly because we've been stuck in 'Survivor Mode' like Dusty said. We are working on evening that out so we can go back to being lazy SoBs though ;D

But seriously, I have some stuff brewing 'for the good of the city' just need to get some of the rebuilding taken care of. Plus, moar slavez.

So yeah, we're definitely different while IC trying to be as close to a 'lore Lolthite' society as possible. Definitely bring whatever you might want to into the mix, and things could change! We've worked some stuff to be more flexible to players and such, while trying to not completely turn things topsy-turvy haha.

_________________
Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming


 
      
Zanthair
 
PostPosted: Wed, Dec 18 2013, 18:48 PM 

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Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Location: [st]Ultrinnan[/st] [st]Edonil[/st] Nec'perya

isen is the perfect person to get the party started imo

_________________
Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words


 
      
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