The Priesthood of Eilistraee

Eilistraee (Lady of the Dance, The Dark Maiden, Dancing Maid of the North, Lady Silverhair)
Lesser Power of the Prime Material Plane, CG

Portfolio: Good aligned drow, song, dance, swordwork, hunting(by good drow or other goodly aligned
beings) Aliases: None Domain Name: Prime Material Plane/Faerun, Faerun’s Savage North Superior:
None Allies: Mystra, Oghma, Milil, Selune, Mielikki, and Sune. Foes: Lolth, Vhaeraun Symbol: Silver
long sword outlined against a silver moon, with silvery filaments(Eilistraee’s hair). Wor. Align.: any
good

Eilistraee(pronounced "eel-ISS-tray-ee") is a drow goddess of good alignment who is worshiped by
good aligned drow and other non-evil races. Her worshipers celebrate her through singing and dancing,
preferably on the surface of Faerun, under the canopy of brightly lit stars. When drow who wish for a
life other than that of evil, they sometimes head for the surface world. These rare drow sometimes find
the worship of Eilistraee among the moonlight nights of Faerun, similar to what their surface dwelling
kin have been experiencing for thousands of years. Eilistraee often takes a direct hand in the affairs of
her faithful. This often means appearing to her followers during their ceremonies, watching from a
moonlit hilltop. Eilistraee has many followers of humans, elves, half-elves and halflings. She views the
Harpers with kindness and her followers will always help a Harper in need.

No one knows exactly when the worship of Eilistraee started. Many sages disagree as the origins of
Eilistraee herself. It is speculated that Eilistraee was a former priestess of Lolth many centuries ago,
and fed up with Lolth’s evil teachings, directly challenged the Spider Queen in combat on her home
plane. Eilistraee managed to wrest a portion of Lolth’s power for herself, then fled back to the Prime to
start a new life and aid those drow who longed for a life of peace. Of course, no record of this even
shows up in the teachings of Lolth’s, and any mention of this to a drow priestess will result in the
offender being eaten form the inside by spiders or any other brutal torture that the drow can think of.
Other sages say Eilistraee is a recent goddess, arriving from another crystal sphere. Whatever the
story, Eilistraee herself isn’t saying.

The Church Clergy: Clerics, Speciality Priests, Bards Clergy’s Alignment: Any Good Turn Undead: C:
yes; SP: Yes; B: No Cmnd. Undead: C: No; SP: No; B: No

The clergy of Eilistraee are females of any race. They must have a love for music, beauty, making
musical instruments and song wherever they may find it, aid trappers and hunters, and aid others in
need and do acts of kindness whenever they can.

Priestesses of Eilistraee must be able to play at least one of the Dark Maiden’s favorite
instruments-horn, flute, or harp. Priestesses must also be able to sing adequately and dance with grace
and style. They are often charged to find obscure songs and gather them for the express purpose of
celebration and merriment. Priestesses must be able to use a sword, and drow should be trained to fight
two-handed whenever possible. 

Priestesses of Eilistraee must also try to encourage Underdark dwelling drow to return to the surface
and take up the cause of good. They are constantly working to improve relations between goodly drow
and the other surface dwelling races who hold drow in fear and may not be aware of the existance of
non-evil drow. 

Priestesses of Eilistraee are often found wandering the North, aiding communities and seeking out drow
who are newly come to the surface and indoctrinate them in the ways of Eilistraee.

The church is very loosely organized, with relations between the various clergy and the specialty
priests, called Dark Songtress(es), are very good. Most priestesses of Eilistraee are called Dark
Maids(acolytes) or Dark Ladies, and local high priestesses are called Twilight Ladies.

All priestesses(specialty too) can cast moonfire. It is somewhat similar to faerie fire. For more info,
check Dragon Magazine #176, "If You Need Help-Ask the Drow" by Ed Greenwood and Steven
Schend.

Dogma: Followers of Eilistraee are charged to: "Aid those not able to fend for themselves, those that
are strong, those who are both grateful and ungrateful, and bring wrath upon those who do evil. Go
forth abroad Faerun to promote goodness and kindness in those you meet and entertain with song and
dance."

Day-to-Day Activities: Daily worship for the majority of Eilistraee’s followers consists of prayers to the
goddess which are sung. Higher ranking priestesses often lead the clergy whenever they can. These
ceremonies are beautiful to behold, causing many non-worshipers to weep with tears of joy upon
hearing the songs of praise.

Once a week, followers of Eilistraee gather together to hunt, followed by a feast and a celebration
marked by dancing. This is followed by a "Circle of Song", in which the followers sit in a circle, each
leading a song, in succession. This is usually held outdoors under moonlight.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Midsummer Night is the most holy of times for the faith of Eilistraee,
which is marked by night long revels of dancing and singing. All members of the clergy often participate
in the celebration, including temple guards, lay worshippers and others. 

Major Centers of Worship: Without a doubt, the Promenade Temple under Waterdeep is the largest
concentration of worshippers of Eilistraee. Quile Veladorn and her faithful are rebuilding a long
abandoned ruin into a marvelous house of worship. The dangers of Skullport and Undermountain
necessitate the need for a capable defense, and the temple’s soldiery is skilled in warfare and is
bolstered by nearly a score of drow youths who were recently saved from slavery by the temple
forces. These drow males are undergoing battle training to improve their already deadly skills for the
defense of the Promenade.

Smaller temples are found scattered throughout the caves and delves of the North, often near the
surface so as to provide easy access to the starlit sky for revels. There has been some talk of founding
a temple outside of Silverymoon, with plans for a grand, open-sky structure where all good beings may
come to worship Eilistraee. It seems Lady Alustriel has learned from past events(her friendship with
the drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden), as well as her rumored kinship to the high priestess of the
Promenade. 

Affiliated Orders: Eilistraee’s faith has a few military groups which serve the various temples as guards
and warbands. The Promenade temple is served by the Protectors of the Song, led by Elkantar Iluim.
Other temples’ forces include the Stalwart Shields near the Graypeak Mountains, the Twilight Order of
Song near Sundabar, and the Dark Hands of the Lady in the High Forest.

Priestly Vestments: For priestesses, hair is worn long and free, and clothing consists of whatever is
practical, although some priestesses wear fine gowns. During rituals such as dancing by moonlight,
priestesses wear as little as possible. In times of battle, the faithful wear armor, either of drow make or
of magical nature.

Adventuring Garb: Since priestesses are often found in forests when not at a temple, they usually wear
dark hunting leathers, armor, or magical cloaks and boots. A bow of some sort is usually slung over the
shoulder, and magical swords and daggers are belted at the waist.

Speciality Priestesses(Dark Songtress) Requirements: Dex 16 Prime Req.: Dexterity, Wisdom
Alignment: CG Weapons: Any(swords are preferred) Armor: Magical armor only Major Spheres: All,
combat, creation, elemental, guardian, healing, necromantic, protection, sun, weather. Minor Spheres:
Animal, charm, divination, plant, summoning. Magical Items: Same as clerics, and the use of wizardly
staffs, wands, and rods, and bardic items. Req. Profs.: Singing, dancing, weather sense. Bonus Profs.:
Languages; ancient, artistic ability, musical instrument. * Any elven, half-elven, drow, or human female
can become a Dark Songtress * A Dark Songtress can specialize in a weapon just like a warrior *
Dark Songtresses can be dual or multi classed * Dark Songtresses can cast moonfire, once per day for
every level of experience. * At 2nd level, a Dark Songtress can cast a light spell once/per day. * At 4th
level, a Dark Songtress can cast magic missle twice per day(4 missles per spell) * At 6th level, a Dark
Songtress can cast enchanted weapon 3 times a day, by touch, and only on bladed weapons. The spell
causes the weapon to glow with a silvery radiance, giving it a +2 bonus for 7 rounds. Not even a dispel
magic will disrupt the spell. * At 9th level, they can cast spell turning, as per the 7th level wizard spell,
three times a day.

Eilistraeean Spells: 1st level Moonfire(Alteration) Sphere: Weather Range: 90 yards Component: V
Duration: 1 round/level Casting Time: 2 Area of Effect: Self, or a 40 foot area per round(moving)
Saving Throw: None

This spell causes a faint glow to a clear light to appear. The color of the light varies from the will of the
caster, from blu-white, soft green, white or silver. It does not blind(and can’t be used to fight undead),
but instead is a way to signal to someone or to create a light to read by. Each materialization of
moonfire lasts equal to the number of levels of the caster. The caster does not need to concentrate to
cast it, but it can be ended any time by the caster or dispelled by darkness or dispel magic spells. A
darkness spell cast upon moonfire negates both spells. Moonfire typically emanates from some part of
the body of the caster, but it can move from part to part if the caster wills it. Priestesses of 4th level or
higher can cause moonfire to drift away from then(similar to dancing lights). When not in contact with
the body, the caster can cause moonfire to move as fast as 40’ per round. The physical volume of the
spell can be adjusted as per the caster, up to one cubic foot per level.

5th level Eilistraee’s Shadow Armor(Creation) Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: 10
turns/level Casting Time: 1 round Area of Efect: 1 creature Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell, the caster causes a shadowy, grey filament to appear about the recipient. This
filament coalesces into either chain or plate mail, with shin guards, hauberk, other pieces, and
helmet(optional). The armor retains it’s grey color, and appears to be made of swirling mists. However,
the suit of armor conveys powerful protections upon its wearer. The suit bestows a base AC of 2(for
chain) or AC -1(plate) upon the wearer(Dex bonuses apply). Furthermore, it grants protection from
normal missles, as per the spell, continuously. The armor does not confer any encumberance penalties,
as it is weightless.

Should the wearer lose more than 90% of their hit points, the suit will disappear and the wearer will be
unprotected. Healing spells will reverse this damage however. Sages speculate that the armor
somehow gains strength from its wearer. Damage from blows does not show upon the shadow armor.

More spells can be found in FOR2 Drow of the Underdark, by Ed Greenwood. That book also gives
insight into drow culture, and provides more detail about Eilistraee, including stats for her avatar. Also, it
is recommended that you pick up a copy of Dragon Magazine #176, which describes the Promenade
Temple near Skullport, by Ed Greenwood and Steven Schend, and the novels Daughter of the Drow
and Tangled Webs by Elaine Cunningham.