ECLAVDRA EILSERVS, QUEEN OF THE VAULT

If one was to look up a description of this important drow villain, they would find a basic description like this:

Eclavdra is the Matron Mother of House Eilsrvs. She is beautiful, cunning, and thoroughly evil and debauched. Her thirst for power is endless, and she will grab any opportunity to increase her influence, while at the same time being smart enough to flee when she knows the battle is turning against her.

There is very little here to differentiate such an important character from pretty much every OTHER Drow Matron in the history of Drow Matrons. To this end, may I present my idea of this important villain and incredibly important historical figure for my personal campaign:

ECLAVDRA EILSERVS

(Eck-LAV-draw EEL-serves)

Eclavdra Eilservs was created to be the villain of the famous modules series that later became known as “Queen of Spiders.”

This modules series included the G-Modules (Against the Giants),

the D-Modules (aka the “Drow” modules, where the heroes go into the underdark),

and finally the Q module (where the heroes go to the Abyss and battle the Demon Queen of Spiders: Lolth.

When this module series was initially released, it was presented as though Lolth was the mastermind behind all of the events of these modules. But that is absolutely not the case. Eclavdra Eilservs is the mastermind of these events, and she did it for a very specific purpose…

Eclavdra is a brilliant tactician. In the original module, she was presented as a Clr 10/Ftr 4, and a servant of not Lolth… oh no! She worshiped the Elder Elemental God! This was an ancient primordial being represented himself through eyes and tentacles (he’s basically a Cthulhu Great Old One!)

It was NOT Tharizdun!

[begin rant]

A brief aside… I got really tired of WotC and their insistence on making EVERYTHING about Tharizdun in 3rd edition. In Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, it was Tharizdun! When discussing why Eclavdra did was she did in the GDQ modules… it was Tharizdun!

No… it was NOT Tharizdun! It was the Elder Elemental God. I like to play with Tharizdun in my own campaign world and have it that Tharizdun usurped the worship of the EEG (referring to himself as the “Elder Elemental Eye”) before he was eventually imprisoned by the other gods for his transgression in creating the Abyss. 

Now, the Chained God has NO worshippers. NONE! The gods don’t allow it. If any mortal gets the idea of “Hey, I want to worship Tharizdun,” the gods SMITE that person. Ever see one of those giant weapons sticking out of the side of a mountain in the wilderness for seemingly no reason at all? Yeah… that is where some idiot started praying to Tharizdun, and the gods destroyed them before the prayer could get out.

Worship gives the gods their power. And the gods don’t want any power being channeled to the Chained God. So no… it is NEVER Tharizdun!

[end rant]

Eclavdra became the matron of House Eilservs after the death of her mother, and she saw the repeating cycle of death, murder, and revenge that her people suffered under in its infinite spiral. This was no way to live one’s life! This did nothing but feed into the hate-filled greed worship and paranoia of the demon the drow worshiped. This life served Lolth and only Lolth.

Eclavdra was having none of it! She searched the world for signs of another being to worship. The other demons were out, as they were just as destructive as Lolth. The devils could not be trusted, as manipulation was their figurative bread and butter. And the other gods would never accept a drow, thanks to their general alliance with Corellon and the Seldarine.

In the peaks of the Sunset Mountains – Eclavdra remembered when they used to be called the Yatil Mountains, as a child – Eclavdra discovered the Lost Temple of Tharizdun. Slaying a few of is nilbog inhabitants, she scoured the ruined temple and discovered the existence of the Elder Elemental God, whom Tharizdun had usurped in worship. This unnamed being was one of the first primordials to exist, born from primordial ooze, the building block of all creation. From it, the other primordials first came to be.

The EEG had not been worshiped since the Kinslayer Wars, the conflict instigated by Aurashnee against Corellon, resulting in the creation of Lolth. The EEG had attempted to aid Aurashnee, but was smote by Corellon and forced to retreat. Forgotten and without worship, the EEG has remained dormant in the hidden recesses of the Elemental Chaos.

Realizing this was to be her new patron of worship, Eclavdra used the historical scrolls she recovered from the Lost Temple of Tharizdun to track down one of the forgotten temples of the EEG. She found the first in the foothills of the Sword Mountains. Long-abandoned and hidden under stone and ruin, this temple is where Eclavdra made her first prayer to the Elder Elemental God.

An eye opened, and from that eye and tentacle emerged, lashing out into the mind of the drow…

When Eclavdra awoke, she was awakened to the power and worship of the EEG. And in her hand was its gift to her: a tentacle rod! Communing with her new patron, Eclavdra began planning the conversion and conquest of the Vault of the Drow.

Eclavdra’s first convert was the exiled drow mage Vizerin Devir of Menzoberranzan. Together, they found the Fane of the Eye, where Vizerin eventually forged the four artifact weapons Windvane, Tinderstrike, Ironfang, and Drown to be used by the forthcoming prophets of the Elemental Apocalypse. 

From the Fane of the Eye, they created four elemental nodes – The Howling Caves, The Plunging Torrent, The Black Geode, and the Weeping Colossus – each of which could be traversed to reach the centerpoint of worship in the Cult of Elemental Evil: a great temple!

From each of the Elemental Nodes, a single elemental gem was taken and placed into a specially-crafted golden skull – called the Orb of Golden Death. Using this artifact, Eclavdra and Vizerin created the Temple of Elemental Evil itself! This temple would serve as the center point for worship of the EEG on the surface world.

Unfortunately, the Temple of Elemental Evil grew in power too quickly, bringing together a number of evil humanoids and wicked mages; all with their own wicked agendas and infighting. The Temple was eventually brought down by adventuring heroes of the local region.

Knowing their primordial roots, Eclavdra sought out the giants to serve as her greatest allies in the worship of the EEG. She allied with the greatest of their kind: the fire giant King Snurre Ironbelly. In his own hall, Eclavdra created another temple for the EEG. Snurre convinced his allies, the hill giant chief Nosnra and the frost giant Jarl Grugnur, to join in the worship of this “new” divine power. Eclvadra even convinced Chief Nosnra to build his stead over the first abandoned temple of the EEG she discovered, promising to eventually return and restore the temple to its former glory.

Unfortunately, Eclavdra was delayed in her continued interactions on the surface world, by having to return to the Vault of the Drow. Her long absences had been noticed by the other houses of Eierlhei-Cinlu, who attempted to assault her home on numerous occasions. After returning and consolidating her power, Eclavdra made allies with the house of Tormtor (who secretly commanded the males’ fighter academy) against the remaining Lolthite factions of the city. As these factions made alliances of their own to destroy the heretics in their midst, Eclavdra knew she needed to do something desperate to win this civil war.

To this end, Eclavdra called upon her giant allies to conduct savage raids against the humans, elves, and dwarves of the surrounding lands. She learned from the events that transpired around the Temple of Elemental Evil that raids of this sort would attract the attention of powerful adventuring heroes who would seek out its cause.

As such, Eclavdra betrayed her allies, using them as pawns to fulfill her own endgame. Leaving clue to the location of the Vault of the Drow, and that the giant raids were instigated by the Church of Lolth, Eclavdra aimed the heroes who fought through the Underdark and into the city streets of Erelhei-Cinlu at the Fane of Lolth itself. And her plan worked better than even she could have imagined! Not only did these surface world heroes slay the clerics of Lolth within the Fane – weakening their political hold on the noble houses – but they also ventured into the Demonweb Pits of the Abyss, where the heroes destroyed one of the most powerful manifestations of the Queen of Spiders! 

This was more than Eclavdra could hope for. The fane of Lolth was destroyed, and the Matron Mothers of the other noble houses only had access to the most basic of spells, thanks to the weakened power of their demon queen! Now was the time to strike! House Eilservs and Tormor gathered their armies at the male’s fighter academy and swept through the streets of Erelhei-Cinlu, conquering the city. From here, they assaulted the estates of the noble houses, one-by-one, until they either surrendered or were completely destroyed.

After years of warfare, her bloody crusade ended. On the promenade of House Eilservs, Eclavdra was crowned to shouts of “Queen of the Vault! Queen of the Drow!”

In recent years, Eclavdra expanded trade to the surface world through the formation of the Horizon Syndicate. This group offers trade of Underdark goods in exchange for surface world goods. The faction is technically an independent trade consortium, but Eclavdra has her hand in its formation, thanks to her surface world contacts. As such, she gets a percentage of every transaction made by the Horizon Syndicate, adding to her already considerable treasury.

Meanwhile, Lolthite factions still conspire in Erelhei-Cinlu to destroy the upstart queen and restore the Queen of Spider to her rightful place. But since the worship of Lolth has been outlawed in the Vault, they have had little success in their endeavors. The Lolthites attempted to gain allies from the nearby city of Menzoberranzan, but since the events of the Darkening (see the modules “Web of the Spider Queen, Council of Spiders, and War of Everlasting Darkness”) and the resulting Rage of Demons (see “Out of the Abyss”), the City of Spiders has been turning its back on Lolthite worship as well, in favor of more stable leadership under the Council of Spiders.

Eclavdra Eilservs

Medium humanoid (drow elf) cleric 10/fighter 10, neutral evil

—

Armor Class 20 (+3 chainmail, protection fighting style)

Hit Points 180 (10d10+10d8)

Speed 30 ft.

—

Str 14 (+2) Dex 18 (+4) Con 10 (+0)

Int 18 (+4) Wis 17 (+3) Cha 18 (+4)

—

Saving Throws Wis +9, Cha +10

Skills Deception +10, Insight +9, Intimidation +10, Perception +9, Religion +10

Senses darkvision 120 ft.; passive Perception 19

Languages Abyssal, Common, Elvish, Undercommon

Challenge 10 (5,900 XP); Prof Bonus +6

—

Special Gear. Eclavdra carries a tentacle rod, a demon rod, and wears +3 chainmail. She wears a ring made of amber set with a 2,500 gp amethyst.

Action Surge (1/short rest). On her turn, Eclavdra can take one additional action on top of her regular action and a possible bonus action.

Fey Ancestry. Eclavdra has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put her to sleep.

Improved Critical. Eclavdra’s weapon attacks score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.

Innate Spellcasting. Eclavdra’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18). She can cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: dancing lights, detect magic

1/day each: darkness, dispel magic, faerie fire, levitate (self only)

Second Wind (1/short rest). Eclavdra can use her bonus action to regain 1d10+10 hit points.

Spellcasting. Eclavdra is a 10th level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). Eclavdra has the following spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): guidance, poison spray, resistance, spare the dying, thaumaturgy

Ist level (4 slots): bane, cure wounds, inflict wounds, protection from good and evil

2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, hold person, silence

3rd level (3 slots): bestow curse, protection from energy, spirit guardians

4th level (3 slots): banishment, death ward, guardian of faith

5th level (2 slots): contagion, flame strike

Sunlight Sensitivity. Eclavdra has disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight while in direct sunlight.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. Eclavdra makes two demon rod attacks then attacks with three strikes from her tentacle rod.

Demon Rod. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage, plus the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of Eclavdra for 1 round.

Tentacle Rod. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) bludgeoning damage. If the target is hit three times by the rod on one turn, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer the following effects for 1 minute: the target's speed is halved, it has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, and it can't use reactions. Moreover, on each of its turns, it can take either an action or a bonus action, but not both. At the end of each of its turns, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Demon Rod

This red and black rod is three feet long, Black barbed thorns sprout from its surface. It is warm to the touch.

The demon rod functions as a +2 mace. Good aligned creatures struck with it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for 1 round.

Three times per day, you can touch a creature and affect them as though using the cause fear spell. You do not need to concentrate to maintain the spell, as the rod concentrates for you.

While you wield the demon rod, chaotic evil fiends you summon have advantage on melee attack rolls while they are within 60 feet of you.

Once per day, you can summon a vrock, as though using the summon greater demon spell cast at 5th level. The vrock stays for up to 1 hour, or until it is destroyed or you dismiss it. You do not need to concentrate to maintain the spell, as the rod concentrates for you.