Drow Capital - Underground
so like. menzoberranzan and drow culture as a whole is usually really simplified and stereotyped down to being full of evil backstabbers and everyone hating each other. which is kind of true? but its sooo much more complicated than that
i hope ur ok with a long message because this is one of my fav things abt drow
their entire framework is based around checks and balances without any formal authority to control it. its entirely self-sufficient within its districts and cities despite the absence of laws or government. i think thats so cool
the priestesses hold the final word on most things because of their closeness to lolth, but because all of them need to agree on decisions, they cant abuse that power and need to rely on the noble houses or military to enact their will. many priestesses ARE matriarchs so theres more overlap there. the houses, so as to not cause conflict with each other, will ask the curch for aid in settling conflicts - in turn owing a favor to the church. on the same hand, despite some houses being even more powerful than the church, to attack the church directly would be an insult to lolth -- and would get you the ire of other houses. drow do not have a formal military - instead, private militia that belong to the houses or church who at times gain significant power or status if either of the other two institutions rely on combat or military power
the way houses work .... generally their power comes from how much influence they can have! which is how EVERYYYYTHING in menzo works. they dont have laws or government, they have social hierarchy and power! the more influence you have over people -- whether thats because people owe you a lot of favors, you have skills others dont, etc etc -- the more power you have
the baenres are the highest house in menzoberranzan for a lot of reasons. they have resources, they have some of the best spellcasters and priestesses, and they have -- allegedly -- the favor of lolth
ofc lolth plays a lot into EVERYTHING in menzoberranzan
so this is why i think your guy could be very high profile. knowing about people -- how to ruin them, their weaknesses, their dirty secrets -- means SOO much! it makes you dangerous, which makes you influencial, which makes you POWERFUL and a BIG target for everyone else at the same time. he has people dying to please him, and also destroy him
You find the notion of a com- munitywide police force or city guard a foreign one, as well as the notion that certain activities are “illegal.” You think in terms of whether a particular individual has the power to seek vengeance if you wrong him, and you often forget (at least at first) that a community itself might seek to punish you for transgressions against a specific person.
You assume that, with the
exception of military rank, females hold all true positions of
authority. When addressing a mixed group of nobles, priests,
or similar powerful individuals, you instinctively direct your
words and attention to any females present, and you are always
startled when a social or political leader turns out to be male.
You normally assume that any military force is, if not indepen-
dent, loyal to a church or a bloodline; you’re certainly aware
that other cultures have armies devoted to cities or nations,
but it still strikes you as odd when you encounter it.