SPECIAL REVEALS/ADD-ONS ONLY AVAILABLE TO BACKERS ON KICKSTARTER NOW! 50 MINUTES LEFT!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 02:41:37 PM

• ALL FACTION DICE SETS INCREASED TO 10!
• UNDERWORLD RACES & CLASSES FOR FANTASY GROUNDS ADDED $19 (MSRP 29.99)
• 1-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO ADVENTUREAWEEK.COM ADDED $79 (MSRP $120)
• JOIN A FACTION AND BE INVITED TO AN EXCLUSIVE FANTASY GROUNDS GAME! (FREE!) 
• MORE SPECIAL REVEALS, JOIN US IN THE COMMENTS SECTION NOW!

ONLY 50 MINUTES LEFT, JOIN US NOW AND SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!

CHARACTER REVEAL: Maelef
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 10:46:54 AM

KICKSTARTER COUNTDOWN: 2 HOURS LEFT!

Maelef 

Maelef, Eldest Daughter of House Gullion

Maelora's eldest daughter has always been something of an enigma to the Matron Mother; at this point in time, Naraneus appears to have decided not to bless Maelef, so that rather than excel in the divine arts, she continually demonstrates arcane abilities that have frustrated the drow noble (and her mother).

While she certainly doesn't lack a talent for intrigue or guile, Maelef has found other avenues of interest now it is clear her Matron Mother isn't going to support her as the next leader of House Gullion. When Matron Maelora began to show a desire to enslave any lands she could, and the Upperworld in particular, Maelef decided to use her position as the eldest daughter of Holoth’s First House to obtain and read hundreds of books from the surface. She continues to search for more, and remains a key part of the duplicity of the Underworld city through the knowledge gained via every scrap of literature she can find from exotic lands.

As most members of House Gullion know she isn't heir to Maelora's throne, Maelef commands relatively little power compared to her sisters. For now she is happy not to overly engage in the city’s politics, but does keep a mental record of every comment and action made against her; she won't suffer much more of this, and senses Maelora will turn to her at some point during current events. Maelef remains a cunning and dangerous individual, and greatly values her “free” life and information above all else. If it comes to a straightforward choice of either dying pointlessly for House Gullion or taking a chance in the Upperworld in order to save her knowledge, there is no contest, for written words speak louder than suicidal actions.

*DOZENS OF INCREDIBLE GOALS HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED THIS MORNING!*

CLICK HERE TO TELEPORT TO THE UNDERDARK NOW!

MEET US ONLINE IN THE MORNING TO SAY FAREWELL! * Milestone Bonus Unlocked & Voting Results! * Character Reveal: Maylorin Obsidianaxe * NPC Gallery Expansion * Backer Goal Unlocked: New Gale Force Nine Battlemap!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 12:20:38 AM

Meet us online to say farewell in the morning!

Tomorrow morning, this awesome Kickstarter finally comes to an end. While I'm ecstatic at how it has brought us all together, I am saddened by the closing of this chapter. I've really enjoyed spending time with all of you both in the Kickstarter itself and on the Discord channels via the Clash of the Factions mini-game.

Tomorrow morning at 10:19 am PST you are invited to join me and the others responsible for this book in the main Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition Kickstarter COMMENTS section. I hope to see all the factions representing by wearing their badges and look forward to visiting and sharing exciting news and reveals during the final hour of the Kickstarter which comes to a close at 11:19 am PST tomorrow morning. 

I hope to see you there! 

Your friend,

~Jonathan

Milestone Goals / Voting Results

We just unlocked another Milestone Goal but first, I'd like to reveal some of the voting results for this book. They are listed from the earliest revealed goals down to the most recent to give you a bit of suspense. This book is destined to be the best product we've ever created both in content and quality and it is all thanks to you!

• Head/Tail Bands color = PURPLE!
• First Ribbon Bookmark color = PURPLE!
• Second Ribbon Bookmark color = SILVER!
• Metallic Endpapers color = PURPLE (42%), SILVER (34%), BLACK (23%)
• Tier 1 Paper & Ink added! (the BEST!)
• Rubberized Polyurethane cover texture added!

Character Reveal: Maylorin Obsidianaxe

Maylorin Obsidianaxe is the head of the Merchant Circle and responsible for maintaining stable communication between the circle and the populace whilst including the mayor in all thing. He is an elder dwarf and has been involved in trading and politics for nearly a century. He sees the drow threat as very real but is confident there are ways and means to resolve such matters. 

Since most of the dwarven warriors have been captured (along with their caravans) Maylorin sought help elsewhere, asking Miah to contact his cousin Quorron on the surface and ask for aid from the Upperworlders. With the Underworld upset by the drow play for power, no one in this realm can be fully trusted and the dwarves must, for the first time, look to an otherwise-impartial outside source. Many in Embla would see this as a sign of weakness, so Maylorin has performed this action with neither the mayor’s consent nor that of the Merchant Circle.

 

NPC Gallery Expansion

You've already unlocked expansions on numerous NPCs but there's more to go. Let's work together to reach $200k and unlock all the goals!

New Battlemap from Gale Force Nine!

The Underworld Caverns #2 Battlemap add-on was unlocked as the final Backer Goal at 1,500 backers. This map ties together with the first map we revealed. Underworld Caverns #2 is a professional vinyl battlemap and will be printed by Gale Force Nine, the same company that makes all the official Dungeons & Dragons accessories. There's even a hidden drow room on this map so you can spring a surprise on your players or create a secret meeting place for your drow characters!

Add this onto your pledge for $30!

Last Chance to Claim Add-ons

This project ends in the morning!

Increasing your pledge grants you access to add-ons whilst simultaneously increasing overall funds thereby unlocking stretch goals. We are happy and grateful for your pledge just the way it is but if you'd like to add cool Underworld goodies before this Kickstarter project closes for good, please be our guest!

To include an add-on item as part of your pledge, do the following steps:

1. Visit the Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition Kickstarter page!

2. Click on the “Manage Your Pledge” button.

3. Click the “Change Your Pledge” button.

4. Adjust the amount of your pledge by adding the funds to cover the cost of the add-on item you want to include.

5. Click on the "Continue" button after adding funds, and then click the “Confirm” button.

That’s all you need to do! When the campaign ends we will send a survey out to all backers where you will have the option to indicate which add-on item you provided additional funds to receive.

CHARACTER REVEALS: Maltorya & Maroena
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 12:20:21 AM

Maltorya

Maltorya, Middle Daughter of House Gullion

The Eyes and Ears of what cannot be Seen or Heard

Maltorya attracted attention from an early age, although not all of it was appreciated by the house matron. Maltorya seemed to have the uncanny knack of knowing just what was going on, was about to take place, or was of vital importance from the past whenever she put her young mind to it. Coupled with the occasional out-of-the-dark visitation by a respectful spectral undead, otherplanar traveler, or aged expert requesting her advice, she was quickly held in high esteem amongst the house clergy and sages.

Maltorya's insights seemed to be worth a great deal to those who begged an audience with the child, and protecting her became important, then essential, as she predicted the rise of the house and the method of its advance with unerring accuracy, years before it happened. Indeed the Matron took every word Maltorya uttered as house gospel and followed the path laid out as closely as possible. But in due course, the Matron believed that such an easy advancement didn't need to be followed exactly, began to only hear the parts which highlighted growth and her personal glory, and chose to ignore the warning notes and cryptic suggestions that all might not be well; Maltorya knew better than to come right out with the mistakes the Matron had made, even in her protected position.

Now Maltorya is charged with finding a solution to the Matron's problem by any means possible. She deliberately halted her clerical training to follow the path of a loremistress to better delve into the past, the present, and the future, and to gather as much information as possible about the house and the Fates' intentions for it. Her biggest concern is that she sees her mother’s actions as a web with every strand under great tension. Occasionally a strand snaps, and although Matron Maelora currently replaces them with further actions, Maltorya knows that unless something changes, the entire web will eventually collapse. She isn’t sure how to relate this news with her mother.

While not martial in any great way she does travel the planes at no small risk to herself, often taking a retinue of undead with her to act as distractions should the need to return prove urgent. She has learned the language of outsiders and is beginning to get a grasp of the elemental tongues without the use of magic. She’s learned Terran first, to better understand the nuances and inflections required to deal with the most ancient of texts, creatures and items. Steadily she has learned enough about the house's situation to either ensure its survival and continued dominance or to bring it to its knees; however, she also has the house's current enemies firmly in her sight.

Maroena

Maroena, Elder Daughter of House Gullion

Maroena is the truest daughter of Maelora; a cunning, serious woman, she goes to whatever lengths are necessary to achieve her goals, just like her mother. The pressure of being the most talented offspring of the Matron Mother weighs heavily on her slender shoulders, and while her divine studies haven't suffered at all, the condition of her mental state is another matter entirely. Maroena has received visions from Naraneus since childhood and now actively pursues more prophetic experiences with reckless abandon. She uses a specialized drug, the mildly venomous “Lucid Mother”, to induce deep hallucinatory trances.

Relatively recent reveries revealed a future where she becomes one of the few drow to bear triplets, along with the promise that her offspring will lead an epic journey to establish an important city deep in the Underworld. Despite her considerable loathing of the opposite gender, Maroena is trying to conceive. But it isn’t clear who – or what – is the father, and she gains no pleasure from the process of trying to find out. More than one male drow has ended up as a humiliated failure, sent packing with the knowledge that his standing in the city is forever ruined and that as a “fallen” he has the choice to leave or become a sacrifice to Naraneus. The occasional arrogant devil or cruel demon that demands an opportunity to prove its worth finds the divine energy contained within the Spider Goddess’s Chosen powerful enough to regress it back to being an imp or lemure, and then banish it to lowly insignificance. As it happens, it will take a “traveler sent to destroy a city” to father the triplets destined to create a new one, but this is something the Spider Priestesses are yet to openly acknowledge in both their obsession to fulfill the fate Naraneus has bestowed upon Maroena and fear of what Maelora’s response would be to the news.

Drow nobility are ever at the throats of their kin and desperate to assume more power; Maroena is both prepared and eager to assume the mantle of Matron Mother, but knows that her death will be swift should Maelora detect anything but the most devout subservience from her daughter. Then there is the threat presented by Makinnga, a matter that must be dealt with using the utmost delicacy. Should she ascend to her mother's station, Maroena's wits will be tested as surely as her will and patience.

Visit the Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition Kickstarter!

16 HOURS LEFT BEFORE THIS KICKSTARTER ENDS FOREVER!

CHARACTER REVEAL: Mathorn & Mol
about 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 20, 2019 at 08:16:11 PM

Mathorn, Younger Daughter of House Gullion

Mathorn was a rarity among the drow: a happy child, relatively untouched by the hatred and political jockeying of the dark elves.

As a potential heir to the title of Matron, she was given everything she could want. The Matriarch and Mathorn's tutors tried to groom her into a Priestess of the Spider Goddess, but Mathorn did not feel the calling she was supposed to. Instead, she studied the ways of combat with her brother Gal. She took to the teachings well, but some of her divine tutor's lessons had sunk in; rather than standing face-to-face with her enemies, she learned how to use her natural abilities to strike from hiding.

During an expedition to the surface world, Mathorn's party was attacked by a group of adventurers. A human killed Mathorn's favorite tutor, Mol, even though she didn't defend herself. The young drow was devastated - no tutor after that was good enough because they simply were not Mol. Mathorn sank into a depression.

As she grew older, she finally felt the calling of the Spider Goddess, but not in the way a priestess should. She heeded the path of shadows and embraced their darkness, learning to harness them and make herself even more deadly. She found that not only was she good at killing, she enjoyed it. It was only when she wrapped herself in the gloom that she realized that Mol was still with her as a shadow.

The Matron noticed and used the abilities and skills her daughter had built up to mold Mathorn into a spy for the family. Maelora used her to gather information on rival houses (which Mathorn was very good at) but didn't count on her daughter using those same skills to gather secrets about her own family members, including her mother.

Mathorn now spends her days mostly by herself, keeping tabs on the various major houses of Holoth (both her own and rivals). She is usually found atop one of the spires of the palace maintaining watch, keeping both her wits and her blades sharp while Mol rests nearby.

Mol, Former Tutor to Mathorn of House Gullion

The former tutor of the younger daughter of House Gullion, the drow scholar used herself as a selfless barrier to save Mathorn when their expedition to the surface was attacked by adventurers, dying in the process.

Mathorn's desire for her former teacher was so great that her spirit lingered on, drawn to the heir to Holoth like a moth to a flame. After several years her former student finally heeded Mol's teachings; as a result, the divine instructor's essence manifested as a shadow. The only times she is not with the young mistress of secrets is when Mathorn sends the ethereal spirit out to spy on members of House Gullion or the rival estates in Holoth.

Visit the Rise of the Drow: Collector's Edition Kickstarter page!