D&D 5E Drow motivations

[woonga]

***Possible Lost Mine of Phandelver Spoilers***

Hi all,
I'm a first-time DM currently going through the starter campaign, expecting to lead directly into Out of the Abyss. One of the things I've definitely noticed in LMoP is the weak characterization of a lot of the major enemies as written in the book. In some ways this has been great- I've heavily modified a lot of the encounters to bring some more character to the NPCs, and it's been really fun for both me and my PCs to seem them come to life. One in particular that I've had trouble with is nailing down a good motivation and characterization for Nezznar the Black Spider. I've worked him in a little bit as having been involved in some shadowy dealings in Neverwinter that tied loosely into some of the PC backstories, and have been trying to frame him as a methodical, well-prepared mastermind to strike some fear into the party, but am looking to flesh that out a bit further to deliver on it so that he doesn't come across as just generic BBEG wizard when the party finally confronts him.

Below are some things I've already established about his plot and backstory that the PCs are aware of, or that I plan to build in as the hook/transition to OotA once we wrap up the starter campaign. I'd be very interested in any feedback, specific character/plot ideas, or resources that you'd recommend to get some inspiration, specifically on fleshing him out as an evil Drow mastermind. I have the DMG, MM and Volo's as resources. Something like the background detail/motivation/character inspiration that Volo's provides, but for Drow, is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. The info about foils in the recent UA and having him be behind some downtime shenanigans to derail the PCs is also something I'm very interested in, but I'm still digesting how to best do that so any ideas are appreciated.

What the party knows:

• The Black Spider has the Rockseekers' map and is on his way, if not already in, Wave Echo Cave
• They know the full historical background of the cave, and assume that the Spider's plot has to do with controlling the Forge of Spells
• The Spider (through his network of spies, including the Dopplegangers) was responsible for infiltrating a wealthy merchant family in Neverwinter, giving him access to their trade routes/infrastructure, cash resources, and possibly protection through mercenary connections
• The Spider has, through his spy network, been trying to gain favor with powerful NPCs in the region (including the dragon at Thundertree and a Wizard I placed in the tower at Old Owl Well, which led to a magical whodunit mystery last session with the Black Spider revealed as the murderer and thief of some magic items).

Planned hooks (not known by the party yet):

• The Black Spider will have some mercenaries with him beyond the standard Bug Bears/goblins/hobgoblins if/when they confront him in Wave Echo Cave. This is a way for me to vary up the enemies a bit and increase difficulty for a large party. I have some enemy types in mind, but advice welcome on anything that may be challenging and mechanically interesting to shake things up!
• The Black Spider is being hunted down by the Drow of Velkynvele (for crimes TBD). As the main hook to OotA, a Drow/Drider raiding party will attack at some point in Wave Echo cave, leading the party into the Underdark. The specifics of how that goes down will be heavily dependent on how they handle things in the Cave, since I'd like to avoid taking away their agency but want to make it a pretty clear transition into the new campaign.

The Question:

• What can I do to tie the BBEG's motivation together into something nefarious beyond control the Forge, get magic weapons/items, be rich/powerful? What would the specific end game be for a highly intelligent, scheming Drow?

 

[Jubles]

The Question:

• What can I do to tie the BBEG's motivation together into something nefarious beyond control the Forge, get magic weapons/items, be rich/powerful? What would the specific end game be for a highly intelligent, scheming Drow?

For a first time DM you've done a great job fleshing out the story. I'm not sure if you've played before and are new to DMing or just getting into the game but you seem to have a good instinct for running the game.


I never played OoTA but I've run LMoP a few times. I won't be able to help with any specific connections to the next campaign but your question intrigues me. I think the end game depends on what his past looks like. In other words how did he come to the surface world. I imagine that would tie back to the raiding party after him.

I don't suggest he is the next coming of Drizzt but perhaps he never really fit into the drow society. High intellect and scheming are pretty typical characteristics for a drow, so what makes him different? His desire to go to the surface sticks out. His intentions on the surface thus far relate to gaining wealth, influence and magical items/power. So the question is whether he is seeking those things for purposes relating to the surface or so he can return to the underdark to assassinate someone, stage a coup, plot revenge, show them a better way, prove he can do it, or whatever other motivation fits best.


From your examples I like the idea that he is an ambitious creature with high intellect and a tendency for scheming but he was born into a lower house and never had an opportunity to stretch those muscles. Drow society is cutthroat and there aren't many examples of up-and-coming males from lower houses being much more than an irritation and eventual casualty. He is still loyal to his house but the current circumstances don't offer any hope for changing the status quo any time soon. He knows if he makes his intentions known in any way he'll be quickly eliminated by a rival house or even someone within his own walls that fears he will cause trouble.

His solution is to seek a legend that could affect the power structure of his city. The Forge of Spells. He came to the surface and enjoyed how easy it was to scheme and manipulate the gullible populace. He was enthralled by the seemingly limitless wealth and power. He kept his eye on the prize and focused all his intentions on securing the forge.

The raiding party could be from a more powerful house that caught wind of his intentions. Not only are they coming to capture and eventually kill him, they will be more than happy to step in where he failed and bring the power of the Forge to their own house.


What I like about this angle is it makes the Spider an indisputable villain, but a low level one (so to speak). What I mean is it gives a somewhat humanizing story to a villain. He is still evil, and deserves his fate, but there are bigger and greater evils out there. I think a great way to raise the stakes for players, especially new ones, is to give them a villain they hate and fear and then introduce something that inspires fear in that nefarious villain.

 

[woonga]

From your examples I like the idea that he is an ambitious creature with high intellect and a tendency for scheming but he was born into a lower house and never had an opportunity to stretch those muscles. Drow society is cutthroat and there aren't many examples of up-and-coming males from lower houses being much more than an irritation and eventual casualty. He is still loyal to his house but the current circumstances don't offer any hope for changing the status quo any time soon. He knows if he makes his intentions known in any way he'll be quickly eliminated by a rival house or even someone within his own walls that fears he will cause trouble.

His solution is to seek a legend that could affect the power structure of his city. The Forge of Spells. He came to the surface and enjoyed how easy it was to scheme and manipulate the gullible populace. He was enthralled by the seemingly limitless wealth and power. He kept his eye on the prize and focused all his intentions on securing the forge.

I like the way you think! This is exactly what I was looking for.

I especially like that you highlighted that he's had things stacked against him because he's both male, and he's from a lower house. This gives him a chip on his shoulder, which will be both good motivation for the larger plot and some good meat to help roleplay when they finally run into him.

I'll try to think through how I can use the downtime foil idea to play off of that. This is good food for thought.

Do you know of any good resources on Drow culture/history? I know about the matriarchal society, worshipping Lolth, and general "badness", but not much beyond that (and unless I'm forgetting there wasn't a whole lot in the MM spread about Drow). I'd be interested in reading up a bit more to flesh it out further.

 

[Jubles]

Homeland by R.A. Salvatore is, to me at least, the ultimate source for the depiction of drow society. It's the first book in the Drizzt stories. The protagonist is a favorite of many but the way the author immerses the reader into the society of Menzoberranzan is incredible and fascinating.

 

[CydKnight]

Perhaps Nezznar is from a lesser House of Menzoberranzan and his motivation is that he is trying to make his House more relevant.

 

[woonga]

Perhaps Nezznar is from a lesser House of Menzoberranzan and his motivation is that he is trying to make his House more relevant.

This is exactly the motivation I'll be going with. And i just picked up Homeland- the first two chapters alone give me plenty to pad out the backstory with. Thanks all for the great recommendations.

Any ideas on using the BBEG as a foil with the new downtime UA? Interested to see how others are using this.

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