Dark deeds in very dark places BACKGROUND NOTES

[EvilGinger]

Drow Nomenclature

Drow use personal names family names and house names but how they do depends on social class.

1 House less Drow only have a personal name
E.g.  John or Sue

2 Middle class Drow have a family name it’s typically a Matonimic
E.g. John son of Mary or Sue daughter of Mary in Drow Elvish that's ni or Ni respectively

3 Minor house Drow use a Matronymic as above but may also use the name of the current house matron instead and some have family surnames if the house is big enough to have several distinct family's they also especially the more self important ones use a house name liked the great houses do but its prefixed s'

E.g. Jon son of Mary Road of minor house Street

4 Great house Drow have personal names almost never use a Matronnymic unless their mother is the current House Matron have family names as there are typically several distinct family's in the house very large houses my have double barrelled surnames if the individual family's are large enough  and a house name prefixed S'

E.g. Jon Street of great house Road

Drow also use shortened forms particularly amongst friends or intimates on the other hand there is a great etiquette of when and where it is appropriate inappropriate of frankly fighting talk to do so.

hope that helps

[EvilGinger]

The Spire of X'androth

In more detail the fortress consists of two parts the main works which no one has been into for about a Drow generation at least which consists of accommodation for a thousand warriors and there full support infrastructure, stables for cavalry lizards forges armouries’ an enchanters laboratory and the like.

The exact layout of this part is unknown to the garrison of the fortress as though they where left plans for it when the bulk of the garrison was withdrawn and it was sealed, and these plans should have been handed from one garrison commander to the next it is common knowledge that these plans are no longer in the care of the current commander. A copy may be archived in the palace archives but that is a long way away and the ruling house’s archivists brook questions if any things less willingly than the matron mother of the ruling house itself. Not to mention that the current ruling house was not the ruling house when the lower works where sealed off and transitions of power are never good for the archives.

The part which is in use is the keep which consists of three floors and is at the peak of the spire inside the hard glassy rock of the stalagmite the bottom layer of the keep is three hundred feet above the top layer of the lower works and is further separated from it by a belt of enchanted rock called the coffer dam which is reckoned to be impervious to all but the most potent magic. From the gates to the main works a path leads up to the gates to the keep which is steep and zigzags under the gaze of the firing points at the front of the keep the path is only wide enough for two to walk abreast and is so built that a right handed warrior as most are cannot easily use their shield to protect themselves from the fire form the keep.

The lowest layer of the keep is the accommodation for the Keeps garrison at present a mere two under strength platoons of Hobgoblin infantry  but originally a full strength company with a further platoon of goblin scouts   as well as the keeps store rooms magical well and a basic armoury . Along the front wall of this lower level are firing points for forty crossbow men and stands for two lightning bows. Above that is the accommodation for the whole garrison’s officers most of which is now empty, offices for those officers like the quartermaster who needed them and the garrisons archive . A teleporter which used to be used to transfer people in and out of the lower works and which was deactivated by the coffer dam. Above that is the ward room a small armoury and the commander’s personal accommodation the armoury has firing points for  six and the stand for a further lightning bow though this like the ones on the lower level have long since been removed.

The layers of the keep are separated by floors forty feet thick of solid rock paved with cut stone slabs and the walls and ceilings have been rendered with mortar. On the lower level this mortar is just white washed but in the officer’s quarter’s level and the commander’s level this has been painted and Drow decoration has been applied. The fortress is lit throughout by enchanted panels which provide enough light for a creature  with low light vision to see normally. These panels can not be switched off in common areas but in personal quarters they respond to voice command delivered in Drow Elvish.

I hope that helps get you in the picture