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Thieran
Learned Scribe
Germany
293 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Apr 2012 : 15:28:52
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Dear scribes,
I would like to ask whether any of you know the names and/or glyphs of any Maerimydran drow houses. In particular, do we know the glyph of House Dhuurniv?
Regarding the names, I do know those implied or mentioned in City of the Spider Queen.
Regarding the glyphs, I am already aware of the chart hosted here in the 'keep (http://www.candlekeep.com/downloads/drow-glyph.gif), but those seem to include no Maerimydran houses.
Thank you in advance!
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2012 : 18:14:16
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As far as I know there were no glyphs created for House Dhuurniv and there have been no other mentions of houses other than what you implied for references. If you need inspiration for naming some new houses, check out the key on the Menzoberranzan boxed set map. Lots of little known house names to use or you can mish and mash names together to make new houses.
Check out Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land for some tidbits on House Dhuurniv. It has info on the goals of the house, a few NPCs etc.
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Eli the Tanner
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
149 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 19:14:31
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Hello Thieran,
The glyphs do not seem to directly correlate to the name of the house (Do'Urden for instance means 'walkers in darkness', which the glyph doesn't appear to represent.)...or not that I can see anyway. So I say feel free to be creative with your glyphs, I imagine the glyphs are born out of some aspect of the House's identity or history but may well be cursive script or an arcane symbol.
With regards to House names I would suggest using those surnames of the named characters in the City. Names such as Wharreil, Nelinderra, T'sarran, Dhuuniv, Chumavh belong most likely to Noble Drow Houses. The wandering half-dragon Sshumath Daerindra may well be an outcast of one of the Noble house but I can't be sure of that. Even names from Szith Morcane would not be uncommon (as it was an outpost of Marimydra), especially as some drow may still be older than Szith Morcane's founding.
From the map of Maermydra, the Noble plateau has 8 compounds, not including The Courtyard of Lolth (the temple), which implies at least 8 Noble houses...plus a shadow or ruling High house that would reside in Castle Maerimydra (House Chumavh was the top house before Maerimydar's fall). I imagine this would form a similar ruling council of 8 houses as Menzoberranzan...but where the ruling house Chumavh might serve as a shadow house that can swing deadlocks (4v4) one way or another.
Finally I'll direct you to the City of the Spider Queen web enhancement for more Drow Names that would appear in the city (some of which may be noble also). It's still free to download on wizards http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020907a.
Remember there will still be trading and mixing between other cities too so Eilserus' suggestion of using other House names (or a hybrid therof) is quite valid...it will also add a little intrigue and an interconnected feel of the place.
Hope this helps. I'm currently running a City of the Spider Queen campaign so I tend to gobble up any lore on this topic.
-Eli |
Moderator of /r/Forgotten_Realms |
Edited by - Eli the Tanner on 06 Apr 2012 19:16:58 |
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Thieran
Learned Scribe
Germany
293 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 20:17:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Eli the Tanner
Hello Thieran,
The glyphs do not seem to directly correlate to the name of the house (Do'Urden for instance means 'walkers in darkness', which the glyph doesn't appear to represent.)...or not that I can see anyway. So I say feel free to be creative with your glyphs, I imagine the glyphs are born out of some aspect of the House's identity or history but may well be cursive script or an arcane symbol.
These are great suggestions, thanks!
quote:
With regards to House names I would suggest using those surnames of the named characters in the City. Names such as Wharreil, Nelinderra, T'sarran, Dhuuniv, Chumavh belong most likely to Noble Drow Houses. The wandering half-dragon Sshumath Daerindra may well be an outcast of one of the Noble house but I can't be sure of that. Even names from Szith Morcane would not be uncommon (as it was an outpost of Marimydra), especially as some drow may still be older than Szith Morcane's founding.
I agree; that is what I actually meant with "implied", though I did not think of Sshumath Daerindra - good call!
quote:
From the map of Maermydra, the Noble plateau has 8 compounds, not including The Courtyard of Lolth (the temple), which implies at least 8 Noble houses...plus a shadow or ruling High house that would reside in Castle Maerimydra (House Chumavh was the top house before Maerimydar's fall). I imagine this would form a similar ruling council of 8 houses as Menzoberranzan...but where the ruling house Chumavh might serve as a shadow house that can swing deadlocks (4v4) one way or another.
Another excellent bit of reasoning!
quote:
Finally I'll direct you to the City of the Spider Queen web enhancement for more Drow Names that would appear in the city (some of which may be noble also). It's still free to download on wizards http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020907a.
I actually read the Web Enhancement, though that was a long time ago now, and I forgot about the names mentioned there - cheers!
quote:
Remember there will still be trading and mixing between other cities too so Eilserus' suggestion of using other House names (or a hybrid therof) is quite valid...it will also add a little intrigue and an interconnected feel of the place.
Hope this helps. I'm currently running a City of the Spider Queen campaign so I tend to gobble up any lore on this topic.
-Eli
I am very grateful for your suggestions! - I am actually also running a CotSQ campaign at the moment (as you might have guessed); if you are interested in an exchange between DMs, please drop me a PM!
Another thanks goes to Eilserus for his earlier reply! |
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Maerimydran Drow Houses and their glyphs
