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D1-3 Descent/Kuo-Toa/Drow
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<blockquote data-quote="Garnfellow" data-source="post: 2154139" data-attributes="member: 1223"><p><strong>Thoughts on converting drow clerics (and not to goodness and light)</strong></p><p></p><p>As I get ready to do up a generic female drow cleric progression, it’s clear that there are a few wrinkles to be addressed that didn’t come up when working on the other classes. The cleric class has undergone some pretty dramatic changes between 1st edition, 2nd edition, and 3e.</p><p></p><p>The clerics of the original D1-2-3 were just like any other evil clerics in 1st edition AD&D. There were no specialty priests; all clerics used the same spell list and wielded maces. </p><p></p><p>Second edition had specialty priests of Lolth with some interesting specialty powers: immunity to spider venom, a dominate person spell-like ability, detect lies, ability to transform into a spider, etc. </p><p></p><p>We also saw a growing divergence between how the Forgotten Realms and other settings handle drow, Lolth, and her priesthood. Monster Mythology and Drow of the Underdark both feature similar but different versions of Lolth and her specialty priests.</p><p></p><p>Fast forward to 3e. I understand that the Forgotten Realms version of Lolth has her domains as Darkness, Drow, and Spiders; her favored weapon is a dagger. The generic D&D version of Lolth from Deities and Demigods has her domains as Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Trickery; her favorite weapon is a whip.</p><p></p><p>Now, I hate a great many of the things done to the drow in the Forgotten Realms setting (c.f. Do'Urden, Drizzt). But there have also been some very good things done there that could be plundered for our conversion. Drow of the Underdark, if you can get past the awkward Elminister framing device, is a dang good book.</p><p></p><p>So, when converting clerics of D1-2-3 I want to keep close to the feel of the original modules while using 3e rules, and if possible I would just as soon add in newer elements from 2nd edition and 3e if it improves the overall work. The key is to have new stuff that does not contradict anything in the original.</p><p></p><p>There were no clerical domains in 1st edition, so we have a lot of freedom in choosing Lolth’s domains for the conversion. All of the domains in Deities and Demigods and Forgotten Realms make sense, and I suppose one could use all seven of them, though that seems a bit much. The Drow and Spider domains look like this:</p><p></p><p>Drow Domain</p><p>Granted Powers: Free Lightning Reflexes Feat.</p><p>Drow Domain Spells</p><p>1. Cloak of Dark Power</p><p>2. Clairvoyance</p><p>3. Suggestion</p><p>4. Discern Lies</p><p>5. Spider Form</p><p>6. Greater Dispelling</p><p>7. Word of Chaos</p><p>8. Greater Planar Ally</p><p>9. Gate</p><p></p><p>Spider Domain</p><p>Granted Powers: Rebuke or command spiders as an evil cleric rebukes or commands undead. Use this ability a number of times equal to three + your Charisma modifier.</p><p>Spider Domain Spells</p><p>1. Spider Climb</p><p>2. Summon Swarm</p><p>3. Phantom Steed*</p><p>4. Giant Vermin*</p><p>5. Insect Plague*</p><p>6. Spider Curse</p><p>7. Sone Spiders</p><p>8. Creeping Doom*</p><p>9. Spider Shapes</p><p>*Arachnids only.</p><p></p><p>I really like the Spider domain, and I sort-of-like the Drow domain, though I have no idea what that cloak of dark power spell does.</p><p></p><p>I am not a big fan of Lolth having Destruction or Trickery as her domain: they work, but both feel like a bit of a stretch. If you chuck those two out, that leaves us with Chaos, Darkness, Drow, Evil, and Spiders. If I had to drop one of those, it would probably be Chaos: I think of Lolth as more evil than chaotic, and the drow are neutral evil in 3e (even if I’m converting the Vault drow as CE). So the domains that leaves me with are Darkness, Drow, Evil, and Spiders. I’d love to hear other opinions.</p><p></p><p>The favored weapon of Lolth is a tougher question: dagger or whip? Many drow clerics in D1-2-3 have daggers as a back-up weapon along with their mace, and since a dagger is a simple weapon you don’t have to burn a feat in order to be proficient with it. Daggers also fit the back-stabbing, biting nature of Lolth.</p><p></p><p>Whips as a favored weapon for Lolth’s clerics is, I think, new to 3e. (Though I can remember a weird snake-headed whip magical item that was used by high priestesses in 2nd edition.) So it doesn’t have a lot of game history. A whip’s an exotic weapon, so a single-classed drow cleric would have to be 2nd level before she could take Exotic Weapon Proficiency and even use the darn thing. So there’s that. But the nifty entangling ability of a whip does nicely mimic Lolth’s webs, so there is a certain coolness factor to having a whip.</p><p></p><p>But on balance, having dagger as the favored weapon of Lolth probably makes for less hassles and is closest to the original text. But I can be persuaded otherwise . . .</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Garnfellow, post: 2154139, member: 1223"] [b]Thoughts on converting drow clerics (and not to goodness and light)[/b] As I get ready to do up a generic female drow cleric progression, it’s clear that there are a few wrinkles to be addressed that didn’t come up when working on the other classes. The cleric class has undergone some pretty dramatic changes between 1st edition, 2nd edition, and 3e. The clerics of the original D1-2-3 were just like any other evil clerics in 1st edition AD&D. There were no specialty priests; all clerics used the same spell list and wielded maces. Second edition had specialty priests of Lolth with some interesting specialty powers: immunity to spider venom, a dominate person spell-like ability, detect lies, ability to transform into a spider, etc. We also saw a growing divergence between how the Forgotten Realms and other settings handle drow, Lolth, and her priesthood. Monster Mythology and Drow of the Underdark both feature similar but different versions of Lolth and her specialty priests. Fast forward to 3e. I understand that the Forgotten Realms version of Lolth has her domains as Darkness, Drow, and Spiders; her favored weapon is a dagger. The generic D&D version of Lolth from Deities and Demigods has her domains as Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Trickery; her favorite weapon is a whip. Now, I hate a great many of the things done to the drow in the Forgotten Realms setting (c.f. Do'Urden, Drizzt). But there have also been some very good things done there that could be plundered for our conversion. Drow of the Underdark, if you can get past the awkward Elminister framing device, is a dang good book. So, when converting clerics of D1-2-3 I want to keep close to the feel of the original modules while using 3e rules, and if possible I would just as soon add in newer elements from 2nd edition and 3e if it improves the overall work. The key is to have new stuff that does not contradict anything in the original. There were no clerical domains in 1st edition, so we have a lot of freedom in choosing Lolth’s domains for the conversion. All of the domains in Deities and Demigods and Forgotten Realms make sense, and I suppose one could use all seven of them, though that seems a bit much. The Drow and Spider domains look like this: Drow Domain Granted Powers: Free Lightning Reflexes Feat. Drow Domain Spells 1. Cloak of Dark Power 2. Clairvoyance 3. Suggestion 4. Discern Lies 5. Spider Form 6. Greater Dispelling 7. Word of Chaos 8. Greater Planar Ally 9. Gate Spider Domain Granted Powers: Rebuke or command spiders as an evil cleric rebukes or commands undead. Use this ability a number of times equal to three + your Charisma modifier. Spider Domain Spells 1. Spider Climb 2. Summon Swarm 3. Phantom Steed* 4. Giant Vermin* 5. Insect Plague* 6. Spider Curse 7. Sone Spiders 8. Creeping Doom* 9. Spider Shapes *Arachnids only. I really like the Spider domain, and I sort-of-like the Drow domain, though I have no idea what that cloak of dark power spell does. I am not a big fan of Lolth having Destruction or Trickery as her domain: they work, but both feel like a bit of a stretch. If you chuck those two out, that leaves us with Chaos, Darkness, Drow, Evil, and Spiders. If I had to drop one of those, it would probably be Chaos: I think of Lolth as more evil than chaotic, and the drow are neutral evil in 3e (even if I’m converting the Vault drow as CE). So the domains that leaves me with are Darkness, Drow, Evil, and Spiders. I’d love to hear other opinions. The favored weapon of Lolth is a tougher question: dagger or whip? Many drow clerics in D1-2-3 have daggers as a back-up weapon along with their mace, and since a dagger is a simple weapon you don’t have to burn a feat in order to be proficient with it. Daggers also fit the back-stabbing, biting nature of Lolth. Whips as a favored weapon for Lolth’s clerics is, I think, new to 3e. (Though I can remember a weird snake-headed whip magical item that was used by high priestesses in 2nd edition.) So it doesn’t have a lot of game history. A whip’s an exotic weapon, so a single-classed drow cleric would have to be 2nd level before she could take Exotic Weapon Proficiency and even use the darn thing. So there’s that. But the nifty entangling ability of a whip does nicely mimic Lolth’s webs, so there is a certain coolness factor to having a whip. But on balance, having dagger as the favored weapon of Lolth probably makes for less hassles and is closest to the original text. But I can be persuaded otherwise . . . [/QUOTE]
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