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As long as I've been paying attention to drow and drow RP (which was probably a year before I started in the UD) it's always been safe to bow to any unknown female because if she's someone important ... you might get iced without knowing it! That said there are some exceptions, like how Zrae doesn't like being addressed as Ul'ath'tallar and such when not on Nec'perya (or when around strangers when in the UD itself); she'd rather people just be respectful as they should to a noble female when on the Surface cause she likes the idea of no one knowing who she is. Makes it easier for her to spy on people haha.

But yeah the current climate of Nec'perya at least, which is how we've cultivated it since leaving Edonil, is that you should be respectful to all females, increasingly so as said female goes up the hierarchy. Flat out refusing to bow to a female of good standing without reason is a really silly thing to do in most cases (again there's exceptions, like if you can make sure she can't tell anyone about your refusal after, muwahaha).

edit: Killed is a little much, unless there's more too it than the simple refusal. A beating/whipping sounds right, though.

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Whomst've'll'd'mn't I play:
Salema Nefahri :: A penny for your thots
Zrae'a'stra'fryn :: That which nightmares are made of
Khasir :: From the East a storm is coming

Drow societies where the church of loth is dominant, are usually very keen on making sure the faith and female gender rules supreme. If examples need to be made, then examples will be made, be they 'just' or not. I think in the case for Nec'perya, it is what we make it to be. But that does not mean it can not be changed.

My character is certainly interrested in making sure the matriarchy and faith rule absolute. Your character could be plotting to make certain that does not happen. For all we know, the city might turn out to become a dominant male society where wizards rule. There is no ooc railroading, but of course there are ic consequences.

It seems best described as an unwritten, unique Amian Culture. Kind of homebrew, justified with tid bit trappings of actual lore.

Over the years you guys have deviated from 'lore' in some areas and grown closer to 'lore' in others, but all the while it is just how you as a community have chosen to shape yourselves. This makes Amian Drow unique as you have your own cultural mannerisms. If anything I think of it as 'Authentic to us!'

You guys are inspired by the novels and derive RP ideas from them, but, honestly the most 'Lore' I enforce that is Drow-centric comes straight out of FRCS: Underdark or Drow of the Underdark. They are the 2 primary source materials that 'casual' or 'interested' players can most easily access on the web.

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Eli Hodgewall <{/,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X
Sven <=={o===========>
Qeelak \ | / ,

Actually it not about which gender is in charge, it's the chaotic nature of the drow species.

How exactly does a society made up of selfish, ambitious people survive without falling into anarchy? For the Drow, this is accomplished by rules and power in a similar fashion to historic feudal Japan. There is a ruling caste, which is largely female, but in some cases not. This caste survives by being seen to have all the power, rules only really affect the day to day interactions and are wholly dependent upon being caught breaking them.

For a member of the ruling class to have someone question their power over others, they must contend with either doing nothing and losing that power in the eyes of others. Or, doing something to be seen to have every right to the power of their station. For example, showing respect to a female in a Lolthite community is the norm and expected. While one might get away with not doing so outside that community, but not showing respect in public with others witnessing the fact would make the female in question either loose face to her peers, or lay down the law in a very painful way in order to keep her station. Thus, getting whipped in public for dissing a female is the IC consequence of challenging the power structure in a chaotic society.

I've found that even players of females rarely understand this concept as well. Many just see it as their due because they are of noble blood or female, and totally miss the fact that every single drow PC is of noble blood. For more experienced drow players, a female not making others conform in public is a sign of weakness to be exploited later as suits ones own ambitions, such is the politics of drow.

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Thine taste in horrid footwear not withstanding, I did not say that thou were in fact an idiot, I merely implied that such things were self evident.

-Krrja

Well put, and agreed.

Yup, what Bravo said. Which isn't to say that it must be females holding the power, those mages have managed to grab power in Drow cities too (ie. Sshamath).

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2015 Mr. AMIA with the Fabulous Estara ~ 2015 Best Developed SOB Character: Rith'tar

Drow matriarchy is not exaggerated on Amia. If anything, I've noted that female drow PCs are usually more lenient than they would be in normal canon settings. It's very easy for a male drow to avoid stepping on female toes if they put even a fair amount of thought into their words and actions.

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a.k.a. Audrey Zinata

I agree with Bravo. And at the end of the day, it's not about what's "lore-correct" - it's about what powerhungry characters can get away with. The only standard to judge whether some behavior is appropriate is whether it is successful IC.

That goes both ways, really. If you get shit for doing something, whether it's too much leniency or too strict discipline, you just have to deal with your miscalculation. Evaluating the lore-correctedness of it really doesn't factor in.

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