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Drow tend to sleep naked, or (males) in sleepshorts, or (females of rank and standing, such as all priestesses) open jackets, like a real-world “bolero” or “shrug” fur overjacket, that conceal nothing and are used for ornamentation and to denote personal importance. Drow pull on “house boots” (higher-than-the-knee dark, soft-soled boots) when up and about from their beds, indoors.
Ed Greenwood (via Greenwood's Grotto) 11/04/2025
New to the plot? Check out this post
“I’m gonna need an extra hour from you today, Jimmy,” said the blond boy, whose thin gaze behind the tinted glasses looked away from the other kid he was talking to.
Said kid, who was shoving a stash into his backpack, held a small leather sack by his gold-braced teeth.
His gaze turned sharp in each eye, but they couldn’t agree where to point to, with his eyepatch resting on his forehead.
His good eye was currently the one staring with angered annoyance at Nathan.
“An extra h-hour? B-bullshit! I did what you a- I did what you— I did what you a—…”
In the moment of silence, Jimmy shook his head and scolded himself.
“I-I’m done for t-today.”
Nathan rolls his eyes,
“What better things do you have to do than make money with me, lil’ Valmer?”
“N-none of your g-g-g-goddamn b-beeswax,” he takes the bag out from between his teeth, shoving it deep into the backpack and closing the straps. With careful balance, he braces himself and pulls it up onto his arched back. Having to remove the crutch of the other arm for a moment to properly secure the damn thing.
It gave plenty of time for Nathan’s disapproving gaze to say what Jimmy didn’t want to hear,
“Gonna lick the boots of that rich pretty boy again?“
and for the boy to respond in a sharp tone,
“I’m not licking his f-f-fucking b-boots!”
Another boy, one who rode a wheelchair worth more than the mortgage of some of his friends back home, and wore squeaky clean clothes that looked like something Jimmy only saw in glass windows when shopping with his mother.
Nathan answered clearly, condescending,
“Why are you lying? Nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a good method, if you want to stay on the floor eating his dirt all your life,”
All set now, Jimmy places his eyepatch back on the good eye, and the other moves to glare at Nathan instead,
“Only dirt I’ll b— I’ll be eating is from your p-plate, n-Nathan.”
He turns away to walk to the courtyard, already seeing his friend in the distance under their favorite tree. Before his crutches began their rhythmic clanking, however, he gave the other kid a final word,
“And I w-won’t need to l-lick a-anyone’s boots for t-that t-to happen.”
Bellona, Goddess of War
When Rome was young, Bellona ran with her armies, conquered her enemies, made her strong. As Rome aged and began to crumble, she fought only with her strongest and most cunning of worshippers, Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
Sulla rose through the ranks by accomplishing impossible deeds of heroism and ruthless prowess. His enemies feared him, his soldiers loved him, and everywhere he went, Bellona rode with him. Together they quelled the Germanic hordes, they broke the Social War, they sacked Athens. Sulla was utterly undefeatable, and it was the Goddess of War that made him so.
During Sulla's reign, Bellona was worshipped for the Goddess she was. But Sulla had grown old. His wars were over. Bellona moved on, and Rome forgot. But the forgotten are not gone. Gods clash in titanic conflict. It is in war she thrives. No one will forget Bellona the Goddess of War this time.
He stays indoors in gloomy chambers by day, and is out on the streets only by night, because bright sunlight hurts his eyes. He had a drow mother (an escaped slave, not a matron of Lolth) and a moon elf father. His vision problems (and a “skin wasting” or cracking and shriveling of the dermis that we in the modern real world would call a skin cancer, that afflicts many drow crossbreeds who are forced into frequent contact with full sunlight) are prevalent enough to be genetic disorders to any real-world observer who could see enough of the Realms to form any proper judgment. Yet general acceptance of an outcome can be just that: general acceptance of it, rather than goading anyone into a search for “cures” or treatments. Often this is bolstered by cultural or religious disapproval (“That’s what the gods do to fools who breed with drow” or “That there is Lolth’s curse on anyone trying to breed their way out of her clutches.”
Ed Greenwood (via Candlekeep) 12/30/2013, regarding the merchant Murlaerlath Jethurrla of Scornubel and part of a larger answer about congenital disorders in people with mixed-species heritage (such as half-drow).
Vhaeraun's Spellcasting
The Masked Lord is also known as the Masked Mage or Lord of Shadow in locales such as Sshamath, where there is a temple to this aspect of the Lord of Night called the Tower of the Masked Mage. In the current realms (5e), this temple no longer exists due to having been destroyed after his so-called death by a civil war between his faithful that is mentioned in Lady Penitent's Storm of the Dead.
But if you look back toward his 2e depiction in Demihuman Deities, there is something that should leap off the page compared to his later depictions (which standardize him to align with other gods):
The oddness of this comes across when say, compared to his son:
As you flip through these books, you'll come to realize most (if not all) powers have some cleric levels in their stat blocks. Lolth is Cleric 33. Corellon is Cleric 25. Eilistraee is Cleric 24. This enables them to cast divine spells, mage levels allow arcane spells, and so on.
So, why is a power with no spells called the Masked Mage?
First off, there's Vhaeraun's cloak.
“...can harmlessly absorb seven spells of any level per day and also attract both magic missiles and area-of-effect spells such as fireball, completely protecting the wearer (and nearby beings who would otherwise be harmed) as if the cloak were some sort of infinitely charged special brooch of shielding.”
Most gods can foil spells directly cast at them through various means, but Vhaeraun is directly mentioned to be able to do so with his avatars and also be able to extend it to others. So, theoretically, if an enemy casts a fireball spell centered on him he can choose extend an evasion-like effect to everyone around him. No limit.
Secondly, due to those unconventional thief (later called rogue) levels he is allowed to use magical items intended for clerics and mages and bards and... Anyone. As long as they can be used by someone evil. This is not how things generally worked back in 2e. If magic items had a class restriction, they could only be used by that class.
But third (and more importantly) there is this following blurb:
“The Masked God has no spellcasting ability of his own, but in addition to his physical attacks during a round, he can duplicate any priest or wizard spell in the mind of a priest or follower of his faith who is within 180 feet, regardless of school or sphere.”
This why Red and I have referred to him as a "add fight".
Because, per description, Vhaeraun can attack at #AT 7/2 as his avatar which is "seven attacks in two rounds", with either of his swords. His spellcasting "glitch" here will allow him to supplement that already punishing melee barrage by picking from a high-level mortal caster nearby and increase his attack flow to something like this:
2 melee attacks. Finger of Death. 2 melee attacks. 3 melee attacks. Cloudkill.
But note: these spells are not expended. The priest can still cast Finger of Death, though his god has an incentive to prevent that from happening so Vhaeraun can go on to cast it again. He can choose to keep casting Cloudkill every round (but probably won't to avoid hurting his own). Even in WotSQ when he's attacking with shadowflame and black magma, you can possibly say he's picking spells like Eruption from Tzirik's mind and weaving them in to his rotation.
In a sense, this is utterly broken in comparison to another god's avatar that does have finite spells. While they have massive amounts and it may not particularly matter (how are mortals going to survive combat that long?) the point stands: as long as Vhaeraun can keep his mortal faithful alive and assure they have access to both useful and powerful spells, he will be able to outlast other powers. Especially if his faithful have unexpected new spells stored in their minds.
I think this is important to continue into, given my prior post on Vhaeraun's oddities... specifically because he has an incentive to foster spell innovation in his church since he will benefit!
That's why he gets to be the Masked Mage.
Travel Food in the Forgotten Realms
Darndarr (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): A nutty ale made in Berdusk. Useful for preserving perishables immersed in it for long periods of time, making it good to keep on hand. The ale itself keeps well, even when stored in less than optimal conditions.
Druth (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Caught in the Akanamere, druth is a brown flatfish that resembles the sole of a shoe. They're sun-dried and useful for making stews since they reconstitute easily with water. It tastes like smoked bacon but can be tough.
Hard-tack (Aurora's Whole Realms): A dry, unseasoned biscuit. A basic part of traveler's rations. Also known as sea-tack.
Journeybread (Heroes of Neverwinter): Hard biscuits originally from Helm's Hold in the northern Sword Coast. Cheap and sold in big batches. Fairly similar to the more widely known hard-tack.
Kaeth (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Better known as "coffee" on Earth. There's multiple varieties such Anaurian and Thondur, which are different kinds of beans. Each region prepares it differently, but you can grind the beans down on the road for a fresh cup.
Marruth (Sword Coast Legends): A spiced mashed vegetable blend that varies by region. This is then covered in flaky pastry, baked, and is kept good for travel by being wrapped in waxed rallow leaves. It's sometimes called "root pie" by non-elven species.
Nut Cheese (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): There's as many variations of this as there are regions of the North. These are made with crushed nuts (such as hickory, walnut, and chestnuts) added to the dairy. Some varieties add other components such mint.
Salbread (The Shining South): Bread baked in square pans and commonly flavored with orange or lemon zest. It's popular with sailors since it helps ward off scurvy and will keep for long periods of time. Originally made by the halflings of Luiren.
Sarkul (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Produced in Tantras using the same-named fish caught in the Reach. The fish are hung and smoked in sealed sheds after being dipped in honey and seasonings.
Sugar Bladder (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Candies sealed in pig bladder using tansel. Packed in pitch-sealed tins filled with edible oil. Used as an advertisement by caravan companies.
Sweetwater (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Used to improve the water you'll find on the road and often sold along trade routes. After treating water with herbs and plants to address anything harmful and the muck, you can then add floral sweetwater to taste. Not to be confused with the carbonated sweet water of Triboar or the potion of sweet water, which also uses silverbark for purification.
Taece (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Similar to sardines (and silverlings). Packed in oil in tins and sometimes turned into paste to spread on bread or crackers. Taece specifically is fished in forest streams and dried over a fire to be eaten whole.
Tea (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Travels well in tins sealed with oil or gum called "sticky-rim". Every region has their own types and they're usually made out of common wild plants. The tins are often worth more than the tea itself and the trade of it is seen as the recourse of the desperate poor trying to better their lives.
Traethe (Elminster's Forgotten Realms): Wild radish, often harvested on the move. Brownbud and scuud are other varieties.
Wealdathar (Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II): A paste made from ground-up forest roots, berries, quail meat, and smoked flesh from the Wealdath (Forest of Tethyr). Stored in pots and spread out on bread, crackers, or biscuits. Originally from Suldanessellar.
The Masked Lady sacrificed her divinity and returned as an archfey -- actually two archfey. Vhaeraun and Eilistraee lost their names in the sacrifice and only had their ancestral titles of the Mask on the Moon and the Dancing Maiden. While the archfey cannot grant spells, PCs would directly interact with the spirits that were Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. They ruled from the Grotto of SIlver [sic] and Shadow (the map was included in the map pack), which has fallen into ruin in the centuries that they were gods. So drow servants of the Lord and Lady have two great tasks -- fight the oppression of Lolth while reclaiming a feydark realm from the wilderness and evil fey such as the fomorians. ... Their followers would be far fewer than before, making every PC who serves the Lady and the Lord that much more important. Also, servants of Lolth are searching for the hidden Grotto and hunting the Lady and the Lord's followers constantly. Being a servant of the archfey would be a harrowing experience of a rebel, fighting overwhelming odds.
Regarding the "Archfey" plot that was intended to be added to Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue but cut, per E. Menge
Creating New (Divine) Spells
This is one of those posts I've kept meaning to get around to eventually, regarding parts of Vhaeraun that make him unique and show how in Greenwood and Boyd's design he's abnormal.
Today, I'll be focusing on the "issue" of divine magic.
So, back in 2021 Ed posted a long Twitter thread which has been compiled up here on an archive called "Sage Advice". There's a bit here and there relevant to my point, so I'll snip those.
“...if the deity is amenable, a “new” prayer or even an existing one offered again can result in the bestowal of a new spell...history tells us that deities rarely grant new spells, and priesthoods (the hierarchy of mortal clerics) almost always discourage maverick “freelancing” on the part of member clergy...a cleric will usually be discouraged by superiors from trying to get “the unusual”...if they please or entertain or seem very useful to a deity, new spells could well be granted.”
In this opinion, Ed tells us that generally, clergy lean toward the controlling-lawful axis and you'll end up in situations as a new member of the clergy where your mentor or the older priests will tell you to, "stop bugging god with that". While he goes on to say adventurers are often treated by a different standard and a power may also take particular notice of that and choose to grant them new spells.
Which leads us to Vhaeraun, in Demihuman Deities.
“...effective spells, poisons, and tactics devised by a priest are to be shared with the Masked Lord-and thence, all clergy.”
Rather than refuse it, it's an expectation in his church that priests be trying to devise new techniques and tactics regularly (implied by this being included in his "Day-to-Day (Church) Activities" section).
This is not a church where innovation is quashed, to, as Ed put it: "establish order and control in their lives". I believe this is one of many aspects of this power that are often overlooked, which I'll try to get into bit by bit and highlight why they're oddities worthy of note.
