Listed here is a set of rules and guidelines for player convenience on how best to engage with the Underdark. On Cormyr and the Dalelands, the Underdark is a harsh and inhospitable place to all but those who live there. Even those who live in the Underdark suffer through daily challenges with no guarantee that they will live to see the next day. Within the Underdark there are a variety of locations occupied by NPCs, though the two hubs within the Underdark are Sschindylryn and Maerimydra. Of the two, Sschindylryn is the one that most players reading this guide should be concerned about. Maerimydra is allowed only to drow, duergar, and those enslaved by those two groups. Should anyone else seek to visit, they will be killed on sight or enslaved. Sschindylryn is a trade city within the Underdark, once completely occupied by drow it has since fallen out of Lolth's hands and now serves as a hub for numerous competing interests. Make no mistake, however, Sschindylryn is still a city occupied by some of the most evil beings that will not hesitate to kill or enslave those who step out of line.
With that said, here are some of the rules and guidelines for the Underdark:
The Underdark is a realm inhabited by Drow, Duergar, Aberrations, and monsters of various shapes and creeds. It is a highly dangerous place to those who are not adapted to the conditions. The inhabitants by and large are not friendly, especially with regard to surface elves or even surfacers in general. Traveling in the Underdark carries the inherent risk of being attacked by the inhabitants and being killed or even potentially being taken into slavery. If a non-drow or duergar is within Maerimydra, for example, or even caught by their forces? They will either die or be sold into slavery.
On Cormyr and the Dalelands, players typically won’t be perma-killed or forced into slavery just for walking around and exploring (it isn’t that type of server). So the best way for players to represent how dangerous and frightening the Underdark is supposed to be is to avoid it entirely unless there is good reason. Your character can walk straight from Arabel to Sschindylryn with no problems mechanically, however there is the very distinct possibility that they would run into a Drow raiding party or other danger along the way and be assailed or attacked. It is meant to be dangerous and the inhabitants are boogeymen to just about every surface race, Drow especially. To best explain it, please refer to the first roleplay rule: Integrity of the Setting and Suspension of Disbelief
Some examples of ‘good’ reasons to visit the Underdark include:
Some examples of ‘bad’ reasons to visit the Underdark:
The language predominantly spoken in the Underdark is Undercommon. Realistically speaking, most of the inhabitants of the Underdark would not speak common. In more racially homogeneous areas (Such as Maerimydra or Duergar/Svirfneblin settlements), the languages would likely be the racial languages of the dominant groups (Elven, Dwarven, and Gnomish, respectively), so such languages would be understood there, however the primary form of communication is via Undercommon. So if your character wishes to engage with the Underdark for any reason, they should, at the very least, have the means of speaking and understanding Undercommon. Whether they do so via magical means such as Tongues, or learning the language itself. We point toward CD’s first roleplay rule once again: “Integrity of the Setting and Suspension of Disbelief”. If your character is unable to engage in conversation with most of the available NPCs then they would realistically not be able to avail themselves of most of the services available in the Underdark. Which would paint a target of suspicion upon themselves which could and would result in problems with the local populace.
The Underdark is not a faction, it’s not even a monolith. Underdark culture, by and large, is self-interested and evil. Even two factions who profess faith in Lolth’s matriarchy would turn on each other to ensure their own dominance. On Cormyr and the Dalelands, we have strict rules about betrayals and secret factions, of which it should be emphasized that Sschindylryn and Maerimydra are NOT secret factions. Sschindylryn especially is a trade city and does accept surfacers, which carries the inherent risk of spies from other Underdark factions or even surfacers coming down to spy. The normal rules and guidelines apply to any who are going down there for that purpose.
Now, naturally people in the Underdark are always going to be self-interested and self-serving to the extent of their goals. This guideline is not intended to prevent people from interacting down below or to exclude people from interacting specifically with suspected spies. It is written with the intent that players can interact and be properly cautioned about what they tell people in casual RP. If a character is obviously a spy, you can engage with them still by feeding them false information or possibly even by guiding them towards convenient rivals for your character.
A surface character can go into the Toybox in Sschindylryn and ask about information or even watch and observe to see what is freely discussed. It is less acceptable, however, to befriend characters under false pretenses so that you can gain information to use against them or their friends (A Shevarashi ‘befriending’ a Lolthite and outing everything about that character including their surface disguise is one such example). On the flip side, a Lolthite drow could tell someone they suspect of being a surface spy that their Eilistraean infiltration plan is going quite well. Casting aspersions on religious rivals. As always, however, what your characters choose to reveal in public is public knowledge. If you, as an Underdark player, feel that your disguise has been compromised, the best course of action is to create a new persona.
The Underdark is one of the most violent, dark, and disturbing parts of Forgotten Realms lore. As such, there is a blanket content warning for any who would seek roleplay within the Underdark for content such as: abuse, slavery, bigotry, and torture (though one should not go overboard on any of those concepts to ensure the comfort of other players). However, Rule #2 and the mature content rules of the server are still in effect. Just because the Underdark is a more evil and vile place than the rest of the Realms does not mean or imply that other mature themes, such as those explicitly not allowed on this server, are allowed to be spoken of or roleplayed.
In addition, while in-setting the inhabitants of the Underdark are known to use slurs and to berate individuals based on heritage, one should strive to avoid slurs and insults that have real-life racial connotations. This is a game with players from all across the world, you can never know as an individual what others have dealt with or do deal with. It isn't expected that each player knows every slur and insult to avoid, sometimes people make mistakes or are simply unaware of the real-life usage of some words, however if a player asks you to stop by pointing out the real-life usage of a word (some examples of such include halfbreed or mongrel), stop.
As mentioned above, Sschindylryn is a trade hub that accepts all sorts and Maerimydra is a city that only allows Drow, Duergar, and their enslaved. If a creature is sociable enough to trade within Sschindylryn then it will likely be accepted and disliked equally by the inhabitants. This includes monstrous races, devils, demons, aberrations, and other such evil beings. However, exceptions are made to those belonging to the races the people of the Underdark have historical rivalries with, such as surface Elves (or their kin) or Dwarves, who are prime targets for enslavement or sacrifice to the dark gods of the Underdark. Half-celestials or even full celestials are also hated as they represent the purest form of opposition to everything the denizens of the Underdark stand for. Any who fall under those categories should generally avoid the Underdark at all costs or risk be killed or enslaved.
While Sschindylryn is more open, it should also be noted that life in the undercity is anathema to most goodly things. The rampant cruelty, the open displays of evil, the undead walking the streets, the sacrifice and enslavement of sapient beings, all of this combined with the general inability to fight it means that extended life in the Underdark is unsuitable to those who have sworn the divine oaths of a paladin, or those who have sworn fealty to good gods. The denizens of the Underdark also have little to no tolerance for those who fundamentally oppose their way of life and would reasonably react, and probably kill, a paladin of Tyr who goes below to preach justice. Those who swear themselves to more neutral deities are more likely to be left alone and tolerated so long as their existence does not offend the denizens.
These guidelines, as written, are intended to guide and direct player interaction with the Underdark sections of the server. They are by no means complete and more may be added or removed from them in time.
Underdark Lore and Player Guides