Droviz's page

It just seemed like a good idea at the time. That was always Droviz' problem; thinking something was a good idea, rolling with it, and discovering after the fact that it was, in fact, a horribly bad idea.

Growing up in the Darklands, Droviz had been a source of disappointment to his commoner-born parents in several ways. He wasn't a girl; he showed no inclination for the priesthood or wizardry; and worst of all, once his spell-like abilities came in, it became clear that Droviz was manifesting some distant link to the nobility. Not very auspicious - for a male.

Joining the military had seemed like a good idea; it would get him out of the family house while allowing him to earn his own meals, and Droviz did not think soldiers would mind if he had some additional powers. Except being a soldier turned out to be all about discipline and hard training - and not getting killed by an endless supplies of enemies, or by the boss if you failed to win battles for them.

Volunteering to escort a group of merchants sponsored by the boss seemed like a good idea. Merchants did more trading than fighting, right? Except then in turned out that the merchants got their stock by raiding the surface and then selling their loot back in the Darklands. Droviz had never even thought about going Above; that stuff was fine for demon-kissing fanatics, but he found the Above bewildering and frightening. He spent too much time looking up instead of watching his feet, and he kind of... tripped and fell down a mountain.

By the time he regained consciousness, the merchants and the rest of the escort had moved on without him, and he couldn't find the way back Down. He probably should have made a serious effort of finding the way home, but he found an orchard. The idea of food hanging out in the open, where anyone could take it, was amazing. While he ate, sheltering his eyes against the glare of the day, Droviz had his worst idea yet: maybe living Above wasn't so bad. There was free food everywhere, everyone Below kept going on about how inferior the creatures Above were, so maybe he was staring Opportunity right in the face! A trained Drow fighter with Noble ancestry from somewhere -- although Droviz preferred not to dwell too long on where that might be -- could probably be king before the year was out!

Yeah. That really was the worst idea ever.

Droviz learned to acclimatize to the bright light, but arrows were not so easy to get used to. Being a Drow in the Above was apparently an invitation to every light-cursed Elf or Dwarf to try to shoot you or smash you with hammers. Humans kept giving him looks and fingering weapons, and they were about the friendliest creatures Droviz met during his first year on the surface.
Droviz learned to hide his identity by wearing gloves and masks, and things were a little easier after that. He got into mercenary work, which was basically the same as being a Drow soldier, except most employers didn't try to chase you down and sacrifice you to demons if you ran away from a losing fight, and Droviz rather liked the boozing, gambling and wenching after payday.
It might have been alright if that one tavern wench in Riddleport hadn't turned the lights back on when Droviz banged his knee into the side of the bed and started to scream when she saw his exposed face. Droviz was still not sure what set her off that badly, but suddenly he was running for his life to get out of town, and then he had to keep running because there were people after him for some nonsense to do with 'Starfall'. He had no idea what that was about...*

It seemed like a good idea to go somewhere no-one knew his name, a place most humans seemed to think was scary. Droviz didn't mind scary that much, and he supposed he could always put on some extra clothes against the chill of Irrisen. Yeah, he must have struck on a good idea this time. Right?

* As a common soldier, Droviz was not privy to the events surrounding the Second Darkness AP. ;)

Droviz is a typical Drow, appearance-wise. He has the dark skin, the white hair, the solid white eyes, the Elven features. What he completely lacks is the chilly arrogance; for a Drow, Droviz is laid-back and casual.
His clothing reflects his lifestyle and attitude; he buys items not for the sake of appearance, but for how useful they are to him. He wears two different boots on the basis that each one fits its respective foot perfectly, but its original counterpart pinched or chafed his other foot. His attire is made of long-lasting materials, and he is content if his equipment is serviceable; it does not need to be pretty. He constantly wears a mask and gloves to hide his Drow heritage, unless he is in company that he feels he can trust -- a rarity among the Drow, to be sure.
Droviz never found an alcoholic beverage he didn't enjoy, be it a dark ale or a sparkling wine, and he is always happy to play a game. Whether this is a game of strategy like chess or simply rolling dice is immaterial; the thing is to play, to laugh and have an enjoyable time. Smoking a pipe is just one of the vices he has picked up on the surface. If his happy-go-lucky attitude were not underpinned by a healthy sense of paranoia, Droviz might have looked into even more recreational substances, but he absolutely dreads dulling his edge at a time when he might need it to survive the next attack.
This paranoia is especially powerful when Droviz is around surface Elves or Dwarves, who he views with the same kind of bowel-knotting terror most people reserve for rampaging Orcs.

Greater Drow Nobility - Noble Spell Resistance - Umbral Scion