Shadow drow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Shadow drow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dark_Rhapsody
07-09-07, 12:52 AM I was just looking at another thread...and I was just curious if anyone could give me any info on the Umbragen (or, I believe that is what they are called). All I know is that they practice shadow magic, worship a being called the Umbra, and they live in Khyber. I just found it very interesting.
Rerecros
07-09-07, 01:08 AM there is a subgroup called the umbragen, or shadow elves, who worship the Mockery in the form of a scorpion god and Khyber or the Umbra, the Consuming Shadow, for whom the umbragen are named; the umbragen dwell underground beneath Xen'drik and are noted for producing many warlocks and soulknives.

The Umbragen
The Umbragen are rumored to be the remnants of a race of elves that inhabited the ancient city Qalatesh. Qalatesh was destroyed and sank into Khyber after an apocalyptic shard storm, and some survivors fled into Khyber. To survive against the horrors of Khyber, these elves harnessed Khyber's dark energies and integrated them into their culture, becoming the Umbragen. Led by the evil wizard Satros, their goal is to drain the Heart of its power and use it to unlock the secrets of the ruins of Qalatesh. The Umbragen has dark shadow creatures, flying demons, knights of darkness, and many more horrific creatures under their disposal to drain the power from the Heart of Syberys at all cost.

The Umbragen. The ancestors of these dark elves survived the fall of the giants by fleeing into the underdark of Khyber. There they found themselves battling aberrations and other horrors; casting about for a defense against these terrible foes, they forged a bond with a mysterious force of shadows. In contrast to the tribes of Vulkoor, the umbragen are a sophisticated culture with magic and metal-working skills on par with the smiths of the Five Nations. And like the sulatar, the full numbers of the umbragen are left to the DM; there mayonly be one community of these dark elves, or there could be a nation hidden in the underdark. The umbragen appear in Secrets of Xen'drik and the computer game Dragonshard, but the primary source is the article in Dragon 330.

Q: In the article from Dragon Magazine it states that the Umbragen are exactly like the Drow, except for a few adjustments. In the "Child of Vulkoor" article it states: "Drow are detailed in the Monster Manual. Drows have a +1 level adjustment and are considered 2nd-level characters at the campaign start..."

But in the Monster Manual it states that they have a +2 level adjustment and a CR of character level +1. I am slightly confused, is the level adjustment for such a character +1 or +2?
--Erick

A: The standard level adjustment for drow is +2. We are reducing the level adjustment in the Xen’drik Expeditions campaign for increased playability, and because you need an actual campaign card to play it (which makes the race fairly rare). That article is not meant to change the game rules, but only to introduce a campaign deviation for the upcoming RPGA program based on our particular play realities.
--Stephen Radney-MacFarland, RPGA Content Manager

:dancin:
Dark_Rhapsody
07-09-07, 01:14 AM Nice...I now want more info than before. I am very interested in the whole "drain the energy of Siberys" scheme of the Umbragen =) Could be interesting for a campaign arc (I need as many ideas as possible, because I haven't DMed for about a year, and I want to come back with a bang)

P.S. Rerecros...are you stalking me lol WOOT! I HAVE A D&D STALKER!
DragoonDarkfire
07-09-07, 11:05 AM I see the Umbragen as being Shadowcasters from Tome of Magic.

The way they see it, magic dominates Khorvaire and this magic comes from the ring of Siberys. Their magic, however, is Syberyses opposite. Not the magical energies of Khyber but literally the opposing side of Siberys. If they master Shadow Magic enough then they'll be able to blot out the ring of Siberys and possibly try and cover all of Khorvaire in darkness.

Of course they have much bigger problems to worry about now.
Belabras
07-09-07, 06:58 PM In practice the Dragon article has them focusing on more spontaneous classes (namely the Warlock and the Soul Knife), but it's an interesting idea Dragoon.
Teron Gorefiend
07-11-07, 09:14 PM In practice the Dragon article has them focusing on more spontaneous classes (namely the Warlock and the Soul Knife), but it's an interesting idea Dragoon.
It bears mentioning that the Umbragen use a magical variant of the soulknife class, rather the standard psionic version.

Also, Wikipedia is, as usual, wrong. The Umbragen most certainly do not worship Vulkoor, the scorpion spirit Khorvairians identify with the Mockery. They only worship the Umbra, which might be the Shadow or something even more sinister. It's the Qaltiar, one of the surface drow cultures, who worship Vulkoor.

And while I'm clarifying, I may as well mention that, at least in the official version (that is, the one Keith Baker wrote for Dragon and Dungeon magazines), the Heart of Syberis is a giant dragonshard containing the trapped souls of ancient, powerful elven necromancers whose civilization it destroyed when it fell. The first Umbragen, drow who fled into Khyber to escape the dragons when they scoured Xen'drik, found these elves' ruins and learned about the Umbra from them.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dark_Rhapsody 07-09-07, 12:52 AM	I was just looking at another thread...and I was just curious if anyone could give me any info on the Umbragen (or, I believe that is what they are called). All I know is that they practice shadow magic, worship a being called the Umbra, and they live in Khyber. I just found it very interesting.
Rerecros 07-09-07, 01:08 AM	there is a subgroup called the umbragen, or shadow elves, who worship the Mockery in the form of a scorpion god and Khyber or the Umbra, the Consuming Shadow, for whom the umbragen are named; the umbragen dwell underground beneath Xen'drik and are noted for producing many warlocks and soulknives. The Umbragen The Umbragen are rumored to be the remnants of a race of elves that inhabited the ancient city Qalatesh. Qalatesh was destroyed and sank into Khyber after an apocalyptic shard storm, and some survivors fled into Khyber. To survive against the horrors of Khyber, these elves harnessed Khyber's dark energies and integrated them into their culture, becoming the Umbragen. Led by the evil wizard Satros, their goal is to drain the Heart of its power and use it to unlock the secrets of the ruins of Qalatesh. The Umbragen has dark shadow creatures, flying demons, knights of darkness, and many more horrific creatures under their disposal to drain the power from the Heart of Syberys at all cost. The Umbragen. The ancestors of these dark elves survived the fall of the giants by fleeing into the underdark of Khyber. There they found themselves battling aberrations and other horrors; casting about for a defense against these terrible foes, they forged a bond with a mysterious force of shadows. In contrast to the tribes of Vulkoor, the umbragen are a sophisticated culture with magic and metal-working skills on par with the smiths of the Five Nations. And like the sulatar, the full numbers of the umbragen are left to the DM; there mayonly be one community of these dark elves, or there could be a nation hidden in the underdark. The umbragen appear in Secrets of Xen'drik and the computer game Dragonshard, but the primary source is the article in Dragon 330. Q: In the article from Dragon Magazine it states that the Umbragen are exactly like the Drow, except for a few adjustments. In the "Child of Vulkoor" article it states: "Drow are detailed in the Monster Manual. Drows have a +1 level adjustment and are considered 2nd-level characters at the campaign start..." But in the Monster Manual it states that they have a +2 level adjustment and a CR of character level +1. I am slightly confused, is the level adjustment for such a character +1 or +2? --Erick A: The standard level adjustment for drow is +2. We are reducing the level adjustment in the Xen’drik Expeditions campaign for increased playability, and because you need an actual campaign card to play it (which makes the race fairly rare). That article is not meant to change the game rules, but only to introduce a campaign deviation for the upcoming RPGA program based on our particular play realities. --Stephen Radney-MacFarland, RPGA Content Manager :dancin:
Dark_Rhapsody 07-09-07, 01:14 AM	Nice...I now want more info than before. I am very interested in the whole "drain the energy of Siberys" scheme of the Umbragen =) Could be interesting for a campaign arc (I need as many ideas as possible, because I haven't DMed for about a year, and I want to come back with a bang) P.S. Rerecros...are you stalking me lol WOOT! I HAVE A D&D STALKER!
DragoonDarkfire 07-09-07, 11:05 AM	I see the Umbragen as being Shadowcasters from Tome of Magic. The way they see it, magic dominates Khorvaire and this magic comes from the ring of Siberys. Their magic, however, is Syberyses opposite. Not the magical energies of Khyber but literally the opposing side of Siberys. If they master Shadow Magic enough then they'll be able to blot out the ring of Siberys and possibly try and cover all of Khorvaire in darkness. Of course they have much bigger problems to worry about now.
Belabras 07-09-07, 06:58 PM	In practice the Dragon article has them focusing on more spontaneous classes (namely the Warlock and the Soul Knife), but it's an interesting idea Dragoon.
Teron Gorefiend 07-11-07, 09:14 PM	In practice the Dragon article has them focusing on more spontaneous classes (namely the Warlock and the Soul Knife), but it's an interesting idea Dragoon. It bears mentioning that the Umbragen use a magical variant of the soulknife class, rather the standard psionic version. Also, Wikipedia is, as usual, wrong. The Umbragen most certainly do not worship Vulkoor, the scorpion spirit Khorvairians identify with the Mockery. They only worship the Umbra, which might be the Shadow or something even more sinister. It's the Qaltiar, one of the surface drow cultures, who worship Vulkoor. And while I'm clarifying, I may as well mention that, at least in the official version (that is, the one Keith Baker wrote for Dragon and Dungeon magazines), the Heart of Syberis is a giant dragonshard containing the trapped souls of ancient, powerful elven necromancers whose civilization it destroyed when it fell. The first Umbragen, drow who fled into Khyber to escape the dragons when they scoured Xen'drik, found these elves' ruins and learned about the Umbra from them.