War of the Spider Queen 5E

Had two ideas that I really liked, so I'll post both of them here.


Concept: Obsequious Wetworker

Name: Zauviir Silrae

Race: Drow

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (Willing to do what is necessary, not matter how ugly, to defend his house)

Class: Rogue (Soulknife)

Family Rank: Quietly adopted by House Platin, originally a lowly commoner in Menzoberranzan

Appearance: A lithe, somewhat muscular Drow. An overabundance of scars litter his body, some from childhood, some from his current line of work. Handsome enough, but not so much as to draw undue attention. He wears his hair long and appealingly styled, for when he has to charm his way forward, but otherwise keeps it pulled back and out of the way when at home. Speaking out of turn or making eye contact was beaten out of him long ago, and so acting the part of a servile, loyal male is second nature to him. Indeed, it is difficult to turn off even when he's not working.

Background: Born in the filth of the lowest strata of Menzoberranzan's streets, the youngest son in a family who paid lip service to Lolth, but in secret kept a small shrine to Eilistraee. Zauviir would have gone on to an unremarkable life, had their secret never been discovered.

Of course, it was. And when his parents and older siblings were dragged before the altar, he as the youngest was given a chance to prove his devotion, that his family's poisonous faith had not taken root in him. And so, with his mother's eyes urging him on, he proved his loyalty with blood.

He kept his life, but little else. Numb and disaffected by what he had done, he spent years in servitude after that, bought and sold between minor houses, before fate delivered him into the fold of house Platin. Only here was he given back a taste of freedom. The memory of true faith, gone from him since childhood. House Platin has rarely had a more devoted servant.

Now he acts the part of spy, infiltrator and (when necessary) assassin for house Platin, doing all in his power to keep its secrets and uncover those of their rivals. He rarely carries weapons if it would draw attention, all he needs is in his mind.






Concept: Ruined Virtuoso

Name: Narcaere (Surname TBD)

Race: Drow-born Aasimar

Alignment: Lawful Evil (Leaning towards Lawful Neutral; she still carries a strong ruthless streak, trusts in hierarchy and holds some Drow supremacist beliefs, even as she struggles to accept that she herself is not really a Drow)

Class: Bard (Either Swords or Valour)/Sorcerer (Wild Magic)

Family Rank: Adopted into House Platin, she was originally born into another Drow house (haven't decided which yet. If there's any particular house that might be tied into the plot, that could be interesting).

Appearance: She has the base features of a drow, beautiful but harsh. Her hair shimmers between silvery white and deep indigo, her face and body is marked by flecks of unearthly metal that breaks through the surface of her gray skin. When her heritage manifests fully, her eyes grow luminous and sparks of celestial radiance dance around her.

Background: A young rising star within her house. From an early age, she was a gifted composer, dancer, duelist, schemer. And she could weave magic as adroitly as a spider with its web. Ambitious, ruthless and devoted to Lolth, Narcaere seemed destined to either ascend swiftly through the ranks, or be viciously murdered by one of her many scorned rivals.

In the end, it was not an outside force that caused her fall from grace. Ever since childhood, she had felt she was different. Talented, yes, but also unlike her siblings. Her eyes were far weaker and more dependant on light than her kin, indeed she could barely see better in the dark than a filthy surface elf. Instead of summoning darkness, her hands effortlessly conjured light. Trancing was also always difficult for her, and this only got worse the older she got, until she no longer could trance at all. When she first fell asleep, in her early adulthood, her dreams were not of the wondrous Underdark, or even the Demonweb Pits where blessed Lolth resided. Instead, she dreamt of the upper planes, the homes of the hated Seldarine. And of Eilistraee.

In tandem with this, her features slowly warped. Though still Drow-like, small traces of celestial metal began to show through her skin, her hair subtly shifting in hue. That could be managed, with make-up or illusion magic. But the doubt that had taken seed inside could not be quelled so easily. And somewhere along the way, she slowly began to internalize that she had never truly been a Drow. Whatever magic ran through her blood, it was neither of the Underdark, nor of Lolth.

And that realization broke something within her. Her magic, once so easily controlled, slipped through her fingers and wreaked havoc whenever she tried to wield it. She withdrew more and more from the games of intrigue she had once adored, hiding away while trying to conceal her existential crisis. In doing so, she lost the favor of her house, its protections. Sensing weakness in what had once been a formidable opponent, it was not long before assassins were at her door. The first was sent by her mother.

She rarely thinks of how she ended up adopted by house Platin. It's enough to remember how humiliating it was to throw herself at the mercy of so lowly a house. She still carries bitterness over her ruined ambitions. Drinks a lot, curses her disobedient sorcery. Adapting to house Platin is a struggle, and she's not certain she ever fully will. Even so, she has slowly grown to fiercely respect the Lady Platin, without whom she would certainly be dead by now.






Have you played with me before?

I don't believe so, I have only been on this site since March this year.


What makes you want to play this game?

The Underdark is one of my favourite parts of the D&D setting, and the scheming of Drow houses in particular. So getting a chance to play a game centered on these elements? Sign me up! Most Campaigns I've been part of before have tended to wrap up shortly after getting into double-digit levels, so getting a chance to try out some high-level play is also a big draw.


Do you really think you'll stick with this for at least a year? How about 5?

I genuinely do. I haven't dropped out of any games I've joined so far, and have no intention of starting now. I miss the lengthy campaigns I used to take part in irl, so a game with ambition to go on for a long while is a feature, not a bug as far as I'm concerned.

Name: Shaojiao "Burny" Dobluth

Race: Yuan-Ti or Drow

Alignment: True Neutral, torn both ways

Class: Celestial Warlock

Family Rank: Quite low for her level and heritage. Street tough with street manners rather than being refined and learned.

Appearance: Slim and dark with one half of her head shaved and the other half worn long in a plait as well as piercings and multiple earrings on the shaven side. Inexpertly done tattoos and heavy boots complete the image.

Background: Feral street kid or unowned slave race, she isn't telling and no one has stepped up to claim her. She was living in the shadows of the city, scrounging for enough food to stay alive when she got mixed up in a confrontation between a aged priestess of House Platin and another minor house noble trying to start trouble. She will be the first to tell you she was just trying to save her own skin but she also saved the priestess's life and was brought into House Platin. Unfortunately, the priestess died after being brought back to the house and Burny thinks they blame her (and she might be right in some cases) so she has no patron in the house. So, she picks up odd jobs as extra muscle for the house.

As she reached puberty, she stole a book she had been barred from reading from a temple library. The book explained the magics of the drow and of the wielding classes, she was obsessed. But more important than the book was a note inside that gave the true name of a radiant lion, what the common masses called a foo dog or shishi. And it worked! Shishi came to her and touched her with his nose and she felt power grow inside her.

And so Burny is poised between good and evil, between missions for good from Shishi and the cynical evil advice of Yao Pu, her imp familiar. Between living by the house ideals or chasing power and desire; between her gratitude to House Platin and her anger at the world. She tries to be what she thinks she should be, she doesn't always succeed.

Have we played together? Other than a brief attempt at a Paranoia game, the last time I could find was in 2018 where you played Astrid Steelhelm so it's been a while.

What makes you want to play this game? Truth is, I went back and forth because I wasn't sure I wanted to start a character at that high a level without playing the kinks out of the personality first but in the end, the Dark Side called to me.

Do you think you'll stick with this? I've been in a lot of campaigns over the last 8 years in PbP and I've never dropped out of one yet. GMs put a lot of work into these and, as a player, there's always something to explore about a character. So yes, I'll stick.

Posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays: I am in a few campaigns here and most are everyday posting. I promised to look in at least twice every day and to post regularly.

Thank you for putting this together, I hope it's fun for you as well as your players.

Name : Silver Platin
Race: Drow
Alignment : Chaotic Good
class: Trickery Domain Cleric 10
Appearance: Very pretty but with an appearance that makes her look slightly slow-witted

Background: Despite her appearance, she is quite bright. She has long learned to appear far less capable than she really is. To all appearances, she is a fairly unambitious drow. This is all a show. She is intelligent enough to realize that it is easier to survive in drow society when you are overlooked., She appears competent enough to keep alive but not competent enough to be a threat. However, that is only when she is seen by people outside the house, People whom she trusts know how competent she really is. Officially, she is of lower mid ranking in the house, unofficially, upper middle.

Brightwill is my last addition!

Thanks everyone!

Have fun. And thank you for our chat about posting rates. It provoked some thoughts about my own games

Character Concept: Cocky Martial Champion

Name: Dro Khalazza

Race: Drow

Alignment: N/CN

Class: Fighter/Paladin

Family Rank: adopted by of one of Lady Platin's wives, apprentice man-at-arms of the household.

Appearance: soft, and too pretty, to be pegged as a someone whose life revolves around physical combat

Background: Low-born and quick-to-anger generally makes for a short life in Drow society, especially for males. Dro survived his unsubtle demeanor in part due to quick wits and charm, and in part due to the effectiveness of the violence he is prone to. The latter led to work as a hired enforcer, and an eventual spot on one of the city guards brute squads. With an out-sized ability to hang on to a grudge, even by Menzoberranzan standards, this patronage still only just managed to keep his head from the block for his brashness.

Status, and the modicum of stability it brings in moderation, eluded him until he was able to create fame out of his infamy. On one of the many feast days in Lolth's honor, Dro and other guards with attitude problems were involuntarily volunteered to pad the roster of a martial tournament. The combatants representing houses of note tore through the fodder in the early rounds, but Dro's first match proved to be a startling upset in favor of the underdog, as did his second, and third. For the most part, the houses had not sent their best, but the ease with which Dro handled all comers caused quite a deal of speculation on how he might fair even among true champions.

When houses came calling for potential adoption, Dro decided on the one he simply held the least ill will towards, house Platan. He was treated far better than he expected as a new adopted, and regards the house as an extension of himself, defending against threat and avenging slights with religious levels of zeal and fervor. His taste for settling grudges by combat has only increased, but channeled and directed by the cooler and wiser leadership of his house his life has become what passes for relative stability and safety for the city.

Questions about me:

Have you played with me before?: No

What makes me want to play this game?: I was interested in the setting, I've never done an under dark campaign and drow have been the minority in the party/setting before.

Do you really think you'll stick with this for at least a year? How about 5?: I've played a handful of PbP games that have made it past the one year mark, but never had a campaign make it to 5 online or IRL.

Posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays: These are the two weekdays that I have free time, so the schedule works well for me.