PDA

View Full Version : [3.5] Running a Drow Noble Campaign



tahu88810
2010-04-19, 02:58 PM
So, my D&D group has decided that once the current campaign (the one we just started) is finished, we'd like to play a campaign as Drow Nobles. Partly because two of us have just finished reading the Legend of Drizzt series and thought "The machinations of drow nobles are cool!"
I figure I'll start looking into it now, and maybe run a campaign online as well.
So, I was wondering if anyone has ever done this before and if so, how did it go? And what sort of plot hooks did they make use of? What went wrong? And what went over well? If you haven't run this sort of campaign before, or have run something similar (Maybe political intrigue, but not with drow), what worked for you or what would you do if you did run it? In what ways should I go about showing Lolth's favor (or disfavor)?
Similarly, what books might I find the most useful for this sort of thing? I'm using Drow of the Underdark, that's a no brainer. And it will most certainly be set in the Forgotten Realms.

I know to expect PvP as people try to move up in station, and I think that a good place to start would be to have them all be in the same house, and to have another house begin to covertly move against them.

Foryn Gilnith
2010-04-19, 04:33 PM
Get co-GMs, or be ready to do a lot of work. I got involved in two of these; they collapsed as the machinations and webs became too much for the GM to juggle.

Saint GoH
2010-04-19, 05:45 PM
Drow of the Underdark is clutch, and Forgotten Realms: Underdark is also very good.

I ran a Drow only campaign, and it was disastrous. I was under the impression (read as: was explicitly told) that the party was familiar with Drow and their hierarchy and social structure etc etc. First session; Fighter/Ranger runs up and calls the High Priestess some naughty names. His defense? "She called me worthless..." My response? "Grats, yer a male." It was a very short session.

Make sure yer party isn't a group of COMPLETE idiots.

arguskos
2010-04-19, 05:47 PM
I ran a Drow only campaign, and it was disastrous. I was under the impression (read as: was explicitly told) that the party was familiar with Drow and their hierarchy and social structure etc etc. First session; Fighter/Ranger runs up and calls the High Priestess some naughty names. His defense? "She called me worthless..." My response? "Grats, yer a male." It was a very short session.
...WOOOOOOOOW. Either they're clueless, or wanted to die and play something else. :smallsigh:

Necrus Philius
2010-04-19, 06:51 PM
The drizzt series alone isn't enough to get a feel for it, I'd recommend if they REALLY wanted to then read the War of the Spider Queen series. It will allow them a greater range of drow nobles and how the hierarchy works.

Hell an illithid fits in with Drow too, or other races as long as one was "Subservient" to one of the drow, preferably female. Make sure they're a tank class as good RP will use them as fodder even if they're a wizard.

tahu88810
2010-04-19, 07:02 PM
Most of the players have already read those, actually. The fact that two of the group are currently reading the series is what prompted the whole of us to get the idea, because they were talking about it before a session. I'm fairly confident that they all know enough about Drow to not do something stupid.

Anyways, a Co-GM won't be an option, so I'll need to take copious notes on my player's actions. there are only four players, it shouldn't be that bad. I expect a Xanatos Pileup, and fast, though.

Zephyros
2010-04-20, 07:43 AM
I have a piece of advice on how to avoid unwanted strife between the players.

1. Make known the status-quo in drow society. The whole hype. (priestesses, houses, merchant clans, the academy, the high council, where each one of them stands, etc etc.)

2. Try to convince your players to either run their PCs as they descend from the same house (subservience will be a bit annoying with priestesses always on the top) or a party formed by Academy members/merchant clan-mates.

3. Run the campaign in their city as little as possible. The more they stay on their motherland the more you 'll have to handle private agendas and individuals than a party.

tahu88810
2010-04-20, 09:42 PM
I think may players are already aware of the status quo, but I'll be certain to let them know once more before the campaign begins.

My plan has been to keep them within the same house, so that will certainly happen. It's the only way I could imagine keeping them all in one place and on the same basic goal for any length of time in this sort of campaign.

I think scheming would be the main point of the game, but I certainly understand what you mean. Perhaps I'll have a lot of patrols into the underdark