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OOC:
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Also when we're in combat, please put your total modifiers to hit, along with your potential damage as well.
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That's +15 to hit with my longsword and 1d8+9 damage.
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Also put anything else of OOC relevance down there as well, though save the questions and comments for the OOC thread.
And now, the story...
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Some of you have lived in darkness all your life. Some have only come here a few years ago. But however you've come to be here, you know certain things, rules, laws, customs, and all their purposes. Some have direct experience with the dragon's laws, the rest have had them seared into memory by vivid recitations from those rescued in Cagebreaks.
The Laws of the Dragons
To touch a dragon in anger or hate is death
To disobey the will of a dragon is death
A dragon holds the power of life and death over all other races
To plot against dragons is death
No one of the lesser races shall be taught magic, the penalty for doing so it death
No one of the lesser races shall be taught the use of weapons of war, aside from the few judged trustworthy [These "trustworthy" generally are arena slaves or monster hunters.]
To steal from a dragon is death
To seek the power from the dead gods is death
~~~
The laws are simple and brutal, and few have escaped from under the dragon's claws. It was the Underdark and the Underwave that remain the least conquered and most organized, and it is here, in the living darkness that you have all made your stand. There are ample reasons to hate the dragons, for stealing your freedom, homes, or very lives. Long ago the races of the Underdark lived in eternal strife and cruelty, but no more. Their cruelty reserved for dragonkind, their strife turned toward their captors and "masters," the Underdark kin have become a force to be reckoned with. Here too there were laws, but for most they are the kinds of laws that anyone wanting revenge would readily follow.
The Laws of the Underdark
We seek the downfall of the dragons and will use any way to do it
All that come to us seeking the downfall of the dragons with honest intent are welcomed
Those that succor our dragon captors will be treated the same as them
Each shall work according to their skills, for there are no idle hands in this war
~~~
The laws are simple, allowing for a great deal of personal freedom. While there are still remnants of the shattered nobility, most leaders nowadays are those that have been tested in the Dragonwar. However, some pieces of the old culture still survive.
When the gods died, their bodies fell to earth in the form of stone. While the matriarchal, priestess-dominated backbone of the drow culture was shattered, after a while some of the priestess found the pieces of body of Lolth and were able to regain a measure of their power. While they no longer dominate the drow culture, they are some of the few that hold any divine magic. Thus their power today is far more based on their own powers and abilities than tradition and tyranny.
You now all reside in the "city" of Tarsendak. While not numbering above a thousand and not having a single permanent building, it is considered the capital of the Underdark resistance. Some of the most powerful wizards reside here, as well as many of the most experience Cagebreaker teams.
Shadowman, you've been called up by Dessa, the senior Cagebreaker. A duegar woman with an outlook almost as grim as your own, she books no nonsense in any of her team. Not typically, she starts heading for the tent you know contains most of the drow priestess. Normally the Cagebreakers don't get a lot of support from the priestess, as they're too rare to risk in the dangerous Cagebreaks.
Elaugaugein, you and Ishamael were called before Kialarakrey, Lolth's High Priestess, not more than an hour ago. While Ishmael is a relative newcomer, he has proved his desire many times over to get revenge on the dragons. Another came with him, an orc by the name of Gortag, a former arena slave whose great strength has been a welcome addition to the resistance. A messenger came for the orc not ten minutes ago, directing him to the priestess' tent.
Durlp, while you don't often partake of the amenities offered by the resistance's cities, you do often do work for them. A message left in the usual place requests your presence for a job. Curiously enough, it is the priestess who wants a meeting, not the Cagebreakers.
Inside the priestess' tent is a very different world. Hung with spiderweb tapestries and carpeted by woven mats, it shows a much higher degree of luxury than nearly any other place in the city. As you all enter, one of the acolytes fetches pillows for you to sit on and passes around goblets and a light, spicy drink called vul. Wine and beer both require either large set-ups or a great deal of time to age properly, and vul requires neither. Slightly alcoholic, it is an acquired taste but one that most drink with enthusiasm.
A large black spider sits in a spun web in the corner. You all know better than to touch it; while its bite might not be fatal, it would be uncomfortable and bring the wrath of the priestesses down on your head. As you sit and sip, Dessa pulls a map out of her map case and spreads it out on the floor, speaking half to herself she points to several places.
"I heard rumor going around that there was going to be a Cagebreak soon. The Darkstone mines are about to break to a new lower level so it's a good time to hit the upper levels. They always are expecting attacks at the lower levels so this will shake them up quite a bit. Only reason I can think that the priestess wants all of you here is that she's had some divine information that our spies haven't gotten yet. I hope that's the case, I hate to be surprised," she mutters.
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