Eilistraee.com

Shortly after I joined this site I began going through my old sourcebooks in order to get more up to date with the Forgotten Realms and the drow so I would be better prepared to add to discussions and eventually RP's. I recently stumbled upon two drow sourcebooks published under the Open Game License & my copy of the Eberron Campaign Setting. All these books have somewhat different takes on the drow and their gods.

Lolth appears in the Forgotten Relams & Greyhawk pantheons, while, to my knowledge, the other drow deities only appear in the Realms. But, [i:iiby1htr]Plot & Poison[/i:iiby1htr](from Green Ronin Publishing) also has a "Spider Queen", and [i:iiby1htr]The Quintessential Drow[/i:iiby1htr](from Mongoose Publishing) has an "Empress of the Web". While these two deities have obviously borrowed from Lolth, the other deities in each of these books are mostly different from those found in the Realms. While in Eberron, the drow do not worship a Spider Queen, but a Scorpion King.

So, I thought I would try to open a discussion about these other gods. Are there any of you familiar with these publications? What are your thoughts on the non-Forgotten Realms drow pantheons?

Well these "borrowings" are in a way strange. I can say from my point of view as a amateur story writter that I had a lot of problems to get all the drow images out of my head while writting my stories. That's becouse I simply love the drow.
Never have met any of these publicashions, probably becouse I've been focusing on my 'native writters' and what has been written here lately. I have mixed feelings towards taking the gods of one and placing them in another setting so to say. It's like creating an alternative reality. In FR we've got Eilistraee for the god drow, and in Greayhawk the drow don't have a chance on beeing free like her. It smells 'what would happen if...' and I guess those other books you've mentioned are set alike. Different worlds, with different history. I'll bet that any time soon another setting will thought up 'what would happen should the drow win the Crown War?'. Ever think of that? Imagine, the drow live on the surfuce, Vhaeraun and that G-whateveryoucallhim are main drow deities, Eilistraee and Lolth are in retreat. That would be fun. And a large Empire on the surfuce, led by mails, fight other elves, and in time with mankind. Or man would have been their slaves from the beginning.
I suppose there could the hundreds of variations like these. A little too much for me, couse it gives an impulse to thinking "this reality sucks, couse my heroes are low; time to shift realities" and this even umong fantasy worlds. It's no longer the question wheather real life or fantasy. There are hundreds of fantasies...
Ok enough. I overreacted. Sory.
I love drow, and the FR setting, couse it gave a chance to meet all of you guys.

Okay. Let's try this:

Why would Lolth, or any diety, give up on a world?

In [i:3gk4w6lk]Expedition to the Demonweb Pits [/i:3gk4w6lk]under the Envoy of Lolth entry it states: [quote:3gk4w6lk]Lolth does not play a significant role in the Eberron cosomology because she absented herself from that world early on and has not returned.[/quote:3gk4w6lk]


Why don't the rest of the drow gods have influence in the core/Greyhawk and Eberron settings? Eilistraee and the others are mentioned neither in the [i:3gk4w6lk]Player's Handbook[/i:3gk4w6lk]nor the recently released [i:3gk4w6lk]Drow of the Underdark[/i:3gk4w6lk]sourcebook.

Is it a limitation to the deities' powers?

The real answer is it is how WotC wants it to be.

A metaphysis in game reason is far more complex. The quick answer here is two parts having worshippers in the world and able to obtain a portfolio in the world (deity oposing deity).