About Drow House Insignias
House Insignia
All blood and ranking members of the noble drow houses customarily carry
house insignia: small magical tokens fashioned in the shape of the recognized symbol of the house. Unlawful use of a house insignia is punishable by instant death in most drow communities, for these tokens are not only symbols of the authority of the noble houses, but usefulóand sometimes quite powerfulóitems of magic. By tradition, all house insignia are crafted and enchanted by the House wizard (and any apprentices, colleagues and assistants they employ). Although the enchantment is done under the direction of House priestesses (who participate in and control all attunements), it iscommon for the House wizard to work a few little secrets and surprises into each insignia he enchants. These give the wizard an unknown, waiting ìedgeî in internal House conflicts.
The DM is encouraged to devise such hidden powers. They are activated at the
will of the House wizard (or another who knows a secret word or phrase of activation), and can be activated whenever they are within 90í of him. The wizard need not touch or see the insignia, nor speak the activation word(s) aloud, but must concentrate, foregoing any spellcasting for a round.
Hidden insignia ìtrapsî typically include the following: any being bearing or
touching it dimension doors to a place of the wizardís choosing; emitting smoke
equal in effects to a pyrotechnics spell; growing hot equal in effects to a heat
metal spell); or exploding (4d6 damage to all within 10í, 2d6 to those 11-20í distant).
Every house insignia can be traced by those who have been taught to do so
(typically the Matron Mother, the ranking High Priestess, and the House wizardó
who does the teaching). Consequently, house wizards can always cloak the insignia they wear to foil such tracing (a secret never revealed to drow females by House wizards, for their own safety).
All insignia powers function at the level of the House wizard who worked the
enchantment, typically 11-14th (10 + 1d4 levels).
All drow know that the insignia nobles bear have magical powers. In some cases,
the major power of the insignia of a House is known in its community. House
insignia are known to be harmful to unauthorized creatures who attempt to
use their powers.
All drow priestesses know more than this: to safely use insignia powers, a
being must be attuned to the insignia (see ìAttunement,î below). This attunement
spell is normally cast only on those who bear the name of the House, either
by noble blood or by currently-held rank (such as patrons). Insignia powers can only be exercised by touching the token with oneís bare flesh, and concentrating on the specific power desired. (This precludes spell- 2. protection from cantrips
casting for one round.) All attuned be- 3. knock ings, regardless of race or class, can 4. hold undead employ insignia powers that they know 5. magic mouth (previously-ìrecordedî about. Only one insignia power can be message) employed at a time, and only one power 6. charm House monsters (equivalent can be used in a round. Minor powers can to charm monster, but affects only be used as often as desired, intermediate creatures magically linked to the powers a maximum of twice each in any insignia; attuned beingsóe.g. one-turn period, and major powers only other drowóare immune) once each per turn (or, in rarer cases, a 7. hold person maximum of 9 times per day, but in any 8. cloak from undead* (attuned besuccession or timing; for example, in 9 ings only) consecutive rounds). 9. protection from normal missiles
DMs should create new and different 10. non-detection insignia powers, not just pick and choose 11. web from the tables that follow. DM selection 12. wizard lock (other holders of the is preferable to random determination, same insignia can freely pass) particularly for major powers.
In the tables below, all powers duplicate Major House Insignia Powers
spells of the same names, as given in the (Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this list)
Players Handbook. Powers marked with 1. tongues an asterisk duplicate spells described in 2. dig the FORGOTTEN REALMSÆ Adven- 3. dimension door
tures sourcebook. 4. dispel magic 5. illusionary wall
Minor House Insignia Powers 6. monster summoning (DMís choice
(Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this list) of type and number of monsters:
1. blur spell versions I through VII are
2. water breathing possible)
3. comprehend languages 7. animate dead
4. read magic 8. charm monster
5. shield 9. ironguard*
6. feather fall 10. Ilyykurís mantle*
7. spider climb 11. fire shield
8. unseen servant 12. wraithform
9. corpselight*
10. jump A note on the charm House monster
11. water walking power: it gives insignia- users absolute
12. scatterspray* control over insignia- linked house
beasts. For instance, a subterranean liz-
Intermediate House Insignia Powers ard commanded to ìawait my returnî by a
(Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this table) being flourishing an enchanted house
1. blink insignia will remain immobile, ignoring danger or ready prey, until attacked,
magically controlled to do otherwise, or it collapses from hunger.
Harmful Insignia Effects
All insignia have the power to do harm to a would-be user. The damaging effects
are normally visited only on unattuned beings who touch an insignia with bare
flesh, or attempt to awaken insignia powers. They may also, in some cases, be
activated by House wizards (at will, within 90í) or by the destruction of the
insignia itself. (Insignia are customarily AC 2, and can take 3d6 points of physical
damage before being destroyed; they typically save as metal, with a +1 bonus due to their enchantments.)
These effects vary, according to the spells used by the House wizard in the
creation of the insignia. They have been known to include:
user afflicted by blindness lasting 4d4 rounds user feebleminded for 25 rounds,
minus 1 round per point of intelligence over 15 user suffers a minor curse (DMís
choice of effect) user burned for 5d4 damage (resists magical healing; restored only through rest and time) user loses voice for 2d4 days user wracked by debilitating pain for 2d4 rounds: suffers initial loss of1d6 hit points, and is penalized by -3 on all attack rolls and by 4 points on Armor Class during this time.
XP Value of an Insignia: 400 per power instilled (includes secret powers) Suggested GP Value: 1,000 to 1,500, if insignia has a known, useful major power, or a wizard has devised and cast spells to give it ìopen attunement;î i.e. anyone can use it. (These items are battle-booty, sold from one non-drow to another; drow never sell such items, even those of hated rivals.)
Attunement
A ritual in which chosen drow (nobles and officers of a House) are attuned to the
insignia and defenses of the House. This ritual is traditionally conducted under
the eye of the matron and patron of the House, and is conducted by the highest
ranking priestess (after the matron) and wizard (usually the House wizard) of the
House.
The person to be attuned holds an enchanted insignia while the wizard casts a bestow curse on him or her. If the being ever knowingly gives the insignia
to an enemy of the House, or willfully damages or destroys it, the curse will take
effect.
A typical curse is a continual light (harmful to most drow), centered on the traitorís body. Unaffected by a dispel magic, it is transferred to any being casting remove curse to remove it.
Wish and limited wish spells will end the curse, and it wears off after 1 day per level of the caster. Continual light effects on drow are detailed in the Monstrous Compendium drow entry (in MC2, under ìElf, Drowî).
Summarized, they are: a -2 dexterity and attack. penalty, plus an additional
1-point attack penalty against targets that are also in the lit area (i.e. a ìlitî drow
attacking a ìlitî creature does so at -3).
Targets save against the magical attacks of lit drow at +2 (+3 if the target is also
lit). Drow in the radius of a light or continual light spell are 90% likely to be seen; in this case, the spell on the drowmakes it 100% detectable.
The presiding priestess then casts attunement on the being, who keeps hold of the insignia as he or she prays to Lolth.
When the prayer is concluded, the presiding wizard takes the attuned being to a private place for instruction, and then a feast is held. The attunement spell is detailed in the chapter on ìDrow Spells.î
All blood and ranking members of the noble drow houses customarily carry
house insignia: small magical tokens fashioned in the shape of the recognized symbol of the house. Unlawful use of a house insignia is punishable by instant death in most drow communities, for these tokens are not only symbols of the authority of the noble houses, but usefulóand sometimes quite powerfulóitems of magic. By tradition, all house insignia are crafted and enchanted by the House wizard (and any apprentices, colleagues and assistants they employ). Although the enchantment is done under the direction of House priestesses (who participate in and control all attunements), it iscommon for the House wizard to work a few little secrets and surprises into each insignia he enchants. These give the wizard an unknown, waiting ìedgeî in internal House conflicts.
The DM is encouraged to devise such hidden powers. They are activated at the
will of the House wizard (or another who knows a secret word or phrase of activation), and can be activated whenever they are within 90í of him. The wizard need not touch or see the insignia, nor speak the activation word(s) aloud, but must concentrate, foregoing any spellcasting for a round.
Hidden insignia ìtrapsî typically include the following: any being bearing or
touching it dimension doors to a place of the wizardís choosing; emitting smoke
equal in effects to a pyrotechnics spell; growing hot equal in effects to a heat
metal spell); or exploding (4d6 damage to all within 10í, 2d6 to those 11-20í distant).
Every house insignia can be traced by those who have been taught to do so
(typically the Matron Mother, the ranking High Priestess, and the House wizardó
who does the teaching). Consequently, house wizards can always cloak the insignia they wear to foil such tracing (a secret never revealed to drow females by House wizards, for their own safety).
All insignia powers function at the level of the House wizard who worked the
enchantment, typically 11-14th (10 + 1d4 levels).
All drow know that the insignia nobles bear have magical powers. In some cases,
the major power of the insignia of a House is known in its community. House
insignia are known to be harmful to unauthorized creatures who attempt to
use their powers.
All drow priestesses know more than this: to safely use insignia powers, a
being must be attuned to the insignia (see ìAttunement,î below). This attunement
spell is normally cast only on those who bear the name of the House, either
by noble blood or by currently-held rank (such as patrons). Insignia powers can only be exercised by touching the token with oneís bare flesh, and concentrating on the specific power desired. (This precludes spell- 2. protection from cantrips
casting for one round.) All attuned be- 3. knock ings, regardless of race or class, can 4. hold undead employ insignia powers that they know 5. magic mouth (previously-ìrecordedî about. Only one insignia power can be message) employed at a time, and only one power 6. charm House monsters (equivalent can be used in a round. Minor powers can to charm monster, but affects only be used as often as desired, intermediate creatures magically linked to the powers a maximum of twice each in any insignia; attuned beingsóe.g. one-turn period, and major powers only other drowóare immune) once each per turn (or, in rarer cases, a 7. hold person maximum of 9 times per day, but in any 8. cloak from undead* (attuned besuccession or timing; for example, in 9 ings only) consecutive rounds). 9. protection from normal missiles
DMs should create new and different 10. non-detection insignia powers, not just pick and choose 11. web from the tables that follow. DM selection 12. wizard lock (other holders of the is preferable to random determination, same insignia can freely pass) particularly for major powers.
In the tables below, all powers duplicate Major House Insignia Powers
spells of the same names, as given in the (Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this list)
Players Handbook. Powers marked with 1. tongues an asterisk duplicate spells described in 2. dig the FORGOTTEN REALMSÆ Adven- 3. dimension door
tures sourcebook. 4. dispel magic 5. illusionary wall
Minor House Insignia Powers 6. monster summoning (DMís choice
(Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this list) of type and number of monsters:
1. blur spell versions I through VII are
2. water breathing possible)
3. comprehend languages 7. animate dead
4. read magic 8. charm monster
5. shield 9. ironguard*
6. feather fall 10. Ilyykurís mantle*
7. spider climb 11. fire shield
8. unseen servant 12. wraithform
9. corpselight*
10. jump A note on the charm House monster
11. water walking power: it gives insignia- users absolute
12. scatterspray* control over insignia- linked house
beasts. For instance, a subterranean liz-
Intermediate House Insignia Powers ard commanded to ìawait my returnî by a
(Roll 1d12 4 times, referring to this table) being flourishing an enchanted house
1. blink insignia will remain immobile, ignoring danger or ready prey, until attacked,
magically controlled to do otherwise, or it collapses from hunger.
Harmful Insignia Effects
All insignia have the power to do harm to a would-be user. The damaging effects
are normally visited only on unattuned beings who touch an insignia with bare
flesh, or attempt to awaken insignia powers. They may also, in some cases, be
activated by House wizards (at will, within 90í) or by the destruction of the
insignia itself. (Insignia are customarily AC 2, and can take 3d6 points of physical
damage before being destroyed; they typically save as metal, with a +1 bonus due to their enchantments.)
These effects vary, according to the spells used by the House wizard in the
creation of the insignia. They have been known to include:
user afflicted by blindness lasting 4d4 rounds user feebleminded for 25 rounds,
minus 1 round per point of intelligence over 15 user suffers a minor curse (DMís
choice of effect) user burned for 5d4 damage (resists magical healing; restored only through rest and time) user loses voice for 2d4 days user wracked by debilitating pain for 2d4 rounds: suffers initial loss of1d6 hit points, and is penalized by -3 on all attack rolls and by 4 points on Armor Class during this time.
XP Value of an Insignia: 400 per power instilled (includes secret powers) Suggested GP Value: 1,000 to 1,500, if insignia has a known, useful major power, or a wizard has devised and cast spells to give it ìopen attunement;î i.e. anyone can use it. (These items are battle-booty, sold from one non-drow to another; drow never sell such items, even those of hated rivals.)
Attunement
A ritual in which chosen drow (nobles and officers of a House) are attuned to the
insignia and defenses of the House. This ritual is traditionally conducted under
the eye of the matron and patron of the House, and is conducted by the highest
ranking priestess (after the matron) and wizard (usually the House wizard) of the
House.
The person to be attuned holds an enchanted insignia while the wizard casts a bestow curse on him or her. If the being ever knowingly gives the insignia
to an enemy of the House, or willfully damages or destroys it, the curse will take
effect.
A typical curse is a continual light (harmful to most drow), centered on the traitorís body. Unaffected by a dispel magic, it is transferred to any being casting remove curse to remove it.
Wish and limited wish spells will end the curse, and it wears off after 1 day per level of the caster. Continual light effects on drow are detailed in the Monstrous Compendium drow entry (in MC2, under ìElf, Drowî).
Summarized, they are: a -2 dexterity and attack. penalty, plus an additional
1-point attack penalty against targets that are also in the lit area (i.e. a ìlitî drow
attacking a ìlitî creature does so at -3).
Targets save against the magical attacks of lit drow at +2 (+3 if the target is also
lit). Drow in the radius of a light or continual light spell are 90% likely to be seen; in this case, the spell on the drowmakes it 100% detectable.
The presiding priestess then casts attunement on the being, who keeps hold of the insignia as he or she prays to Lolth.
When the prayer is concluded, the presiding wizard takes the attuned being to a private place for instruction, and then a feast is held. The attunement spell is detailed in the chapter on ìDrow Spells.î
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