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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6046413" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 298: August 2002part 4/10The bestiary: Our bestiary this month is more an article, with a few incidental monster stats tacked on. It's not just Driders that are created when people <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> up Lolth's tests, they're just the most famous stage. There's also Arachnoloths, the low level spider hybrids formed by random spot checks on your ego. And that's just the start. In order, the various tests are: A test of ambition, which failing doesn't result in transformation, just cursing. A test of dishonesty, which removes your ability to lie if you fail. A test of sacrifice, which you have to do the opposite of the previous ones to pass, just to be arbitrary, and if you fail you get transformed into a giant mass of writhing spider legs. A test of betrayal, which will end in death for one of the two chosen individuals for sure. A test of dominance, which will see you transformed into an endlessly spawning Brood Mother queen spider if you fail. A test of Vengeance, which once again pits Drow against Drow, TO THE DEATH!!! Only a few ever get to rule, and you will not be amongst them, starscream. And finally, if you do all that, you get to personally fight a proxy of Lolth, once again to the death. If you pass that, and continue to be a correctly bad Drow, you might get to be a proxy yourself. It's all more than a little over the top, just like the previous article, and seems likely to send their population into terminal decline if applied strictly. Course, given her chaotic nature, that's unlikely to be the case, but it's still not really that usable unless you play scheming Drow in a city campaign, and doesn't quite work for me as worldbuilding. Needs more care in straddling the line between evil and EEEEEeeeevil.</blockquote>

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