Characters / War of the Spider Queen

Some of these characters have official Dungeons & Dragons statistics in Dragon issues 302, 312, and 322.

Main Party

Pharaun Mizzrym

Race: Drow

Class: Wizard

Alignment: Neutral Evil

• Badass Bookworm: He's a highly talented mage and is quite intelligent besides.
• Blue Blood: Like many Drow, he's from one of the great Houses in Menzoberanzan, specifically the fifth house, House Mizzrym.
• Bound and Gagged: When he and Ryld were captured by the alhoon's cult. Completely justified, since he's a wizard.
• Devoured by the Horde: Ultimately devoured by a horde of yugoloths, all Aliisza can find afterwards is a single finger.
• Distracted by the Sexy: When he first met Danifae, he couldn't stop staring.
• Fatal Flaw: His pride and overconfidence are partially what get him killed, particularly when threatening Jeggred and warning him that he'd have contingency spells prepared.
• Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: While the group's melee fighters are quite skilled, it's proven time and again that Pharaun is easily the most powerful member of the party. And he lets everyone know it.
• No Honor Among Thieves: Completely left Ryld for dead in Dissolution, but felt a mote of guilt about, albeit briefly. It came back to bite him.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: While he was forced into looking for Lolth by Gromph and the Matrons of Menzoberranzan, Phaeraun was mostly in the hunt for the glory, since if he came back successful, it would put him in a better position to become Archmage, should Gromph ever die.
• Pointy Ears: He's an elf. He has pointy ears.
• Rape as Backstory: He implies that he was sexually assaulted by his interrogators when he was arrested for heresy, but he's not particularly angsty about it.
  The priestesses had drugged me to prevent my resisting their attentions, then used me with considerable brutality.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the carefree and snarky red to Ryld's stoic and practical blue.
• Ring of Power: Carries two on him at all times,one that detects magic and another that holds his animated rapier.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The manly man to Ryld's sensitive guy. While their physical qualities might suggest otherwise - Pharaun is small, slender and foppish, while Ryld is big, strong and gloomy and favors practicality and battle-readiness over elegance - Pharaun isn't capable of love, compassion or loyalty, all of which Ryld was shown to feel. At least until he's briefly revived and shows that yes, he's capable of feeling such emotions, including guilt over betraying Ryld, as well as love for his son.
• Servile Snarker: Ultimately what got him killed.
• Spell Book: Has a handy haversack full of them.
• The Smart Guy: He's a highly intelligent wizard.
• Sword and Sorcerer: He's a Squishy Wizard, which pairs well with the powerful Fighter Ryld.
• Villainous Friendship: Starts the book off with an amiable acquaintance with Ryld, although their relationship sours later, as Phaurun has no problem betraying the others to suit his own interest.
• You Have Out Lived Your Usefulness: Ends up on the receiving end of this speech.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Like most Drow he has white hair and also like most Drow, Phaurun is willing to betray his own companions to get ahead if he thinks he can get away with it.
• Wrecked Weapon: Belshazu disintegrated his favorite enchanted rapier. He didn't take it well.

Ryld Argith

Race: Drow

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Lawful Evil

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Splitter. It's so sharp, it can cut through enchantments!
• Allergic to Routine: The main reason he agreed to help Pharaun to begin with.
• Converting for Love: Played with, but ultimately averted.
• Emergency Weapon: His short sword is treated as such, as he rarely uses it unless something happens to Splitter or he doesn't have room to draw it.
• Hand Signals
• In Harm's Way: Wanted more excitement in his life and got plenty.
• I Will Only Slow You Down: Attempted to use this in the Cold Fields when he and Halisstra were dying of hypothermia. She didn't let it happen.
• Meditation Powerup: Gave him the ability to concentrate on his targets and ignore his wounds while retaining his sword skills.
• Master Swordsman: He's a talented Fighter.
• Our Elves Are Different: He's extremely atypical for a Drow, showing love, compassion and loyalty throughout the series. He's also got a sense of fair play which ultimately contributes to his death.
• Pointy Ears: He's an elf. He has pointy ears.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the carefree and snarky red to Ryld's stoic and practical blue.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to Phaurun's manly man. While their physical qualities might suggest otherwise - Pharaun is small, slender and foppish, while Ryld is big, strong and gloomy and favors practicality and battle-readiness over elegance - Pharaun isn't capable of love, compassion or loyalty, all of which Ryld was shown to feel. At least until he's briefly revived and shows that yes, he's capable of feeling such emotions, including guilt over betraying Ryld, as well as love for his son.
• Smart People Play Chess: Pharaun, whose livelihood depends on his brains, has never been able to beat him at Sava.
• Sword and Sorcerer: He's a Fighter, which pairs well with Pharaun Squishy Wizard.
• Weapon Across the Shoulder: Standard for Ryld when Splitter's out, but not being put to use.
• Wrecked Weapon: Splitter got destroyed in his fight against Jeggred. It was a prelude to something a lot worse.

Quenthel Baenre

Race: Drow

Class: Cleric

Alignment: Neutral Evil

• Blue Blood: She's from House Baenre, the first ranked House in Menzoberanzan.
• Break the Haughty: When Faeryl turned on her and got her captured, she was stripped and tortured. Her normal personality faded quickly.
• Empathic Weapon: Her five-headed snake whip. Each head contains the intelligence of an imp, and they often give her advice throughout the series.
• Mistress and Servant Boy: With Jeggred, primarily, but tries to treat every male she comes across as this.
• More Deadly Than the Male: Typical for Drow, she is extremely powerful, brutal and sadistic, far more-so than the males in the party.
• Pointy Ears: She's an elf. She has pointy ears.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's essentially a princess and sets out on a quest to find Lolth.
• Whip of Dominance: As expected from a priestess of Lolth, she is a domineering, haughty, and sadistic drow who wields the famed Snake Whip that is a status symbol among the clergy. Hers is a bit more special, as it has the essence of five imps attached to each of the snake heads, making it an Empathic Weapon that she can communicate with.

Jeggred Baenre

Race: Draegloth

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

• And Show It to You: How he made sure Ryld was dead after axing him in the chest.
• Bodyguard Betrayal: Semi-subverted in that the only person that dies as a result of his betrayal is himself.
• Human-Demon Hybrid: Or rather "elf"-demon hybrid. His mother was one of Quenthel and Gromph's sisters and his father was a four-armed demon called a Glabrezu.
• Human Sacrifice: His aunt sacrifices him to Lolth as punishment for his betrayal.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Has no qualms about eating sapient creatures, even eating multiple drow including Ryld.
• Natural Weapon: Will usually claw someone to death with his bare hands, only using a weapon once in the series to kill Ryld.
• Mistress and Servant Boy: With Triel and Quenthel. Later Danifae.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He's got four arms and he is extremely deadly.

Valas Hune

Race: Drow

Class: Rogue/Scout

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

• Cluster F-Bomb: When he nearly got knocked off some webbing in the old Demonweb Pits, he "cursed in several different languages all at once."
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Kinda hard to tell which side of that fence he's on.
• Kukris Are Kool: His weapon is a pair of kukris.
• Opt Out: Bowed out prior to the group entering the new Demonweb Pits because he knew things were only going to get worse from there.
• Pointy Ears: He's an elf. He has pointy ears.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: To practically every female he encounters.

Faeryl Zauvirr

Race: Drow

Class: Cleric

Alignment: Neutral Evil

• Blue Blood: She's from a minor drow house in Ched Nasad.
• The Dog Bites Back: Got a measure of revenge against Quenthel before she got killed herself.
• Humiliation Conga: Just as she was getting her revenge on Quenthel, the rest of the party showed up and turned the tables completely upside-down. It didn't end well for her.
• Pointy Ears: She's an elf. She has pointy ears.

Halisstra Melarn

Race: Drow

Class: Cleric/Bard/Seeker of the Song

Alignment: Neutral Evil

• Blue Blood: She's from a noble house in Ched Nasad
• The Chosen One: Was chosen by Elistraee to destroy Lolth, but didn't go through with it.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Between her love for Ryld and her worship of Elistraee, then between her worship of Elistraee or Lolth.
• Doomed Hometown: Ched Nasad was destroyed during Lolth's Silence. It's destruction helped spark Halisstra's crisis of faith.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Played straight enough to wonder if she really remembered she was a drow, when all is said and done.
• Face Heel Door Slam: Eilistraee possesses Qilué's body to try to redeem Halisstra, only for Wedonai to trick Halisstra into thinking it was Lolth masquerading as Eilistraee. Halisstra murders Eilistraee in a fit of rage, thus fulfilling Lolth's plans
• Fate Worse than Death: Was forced to become Lolth's handservant for losing her faith.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: You could hear the hinges squeak in Resurrection.
• Magic Music: She's a Bard class, so she has access to songs with magical efects.
• Pointy Ears: She's an elf. She has pointy ears.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: According to Lolth.
• Turn Coat: To Lolth and then to Elistraee.

Danifae Yauntyrr

Race: Drow

Class: Cleric

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: In a way, she becomes the reborn Lolth.
• The Chosen One: Handpicked by Lolth to be the final piece of her rebirth.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Being such a master manipulator is probably the reason that she became Lolth's chosen vessel.
• I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: Uses her looks to try and seduce anyone she crosses paths with, and it usually works.
• Pointy Ears: She's an elf. She has pointy ears.
• The Starscream: Quickly became Quenthel's right-hand, and just as quickly started plotting against her.

Menzoberranzyr

Gromph Baenre

Race: Drow

Class: Wizard/Archmage

Alignment: Neutral Evil

• The Archmage: He's the Archmage of Menzoberanzan, and one of the most powerful D&D wizards period (Ed Greenwood rates him in the top five, behind Larloch, Halaster Blackcloak and Elminster).
• Badass Bookworm: He's a powerul and intelligent Wizard.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Pretty standard for the drow, though. His mother was a cruel tyrant, his sisters all hate him as much as he hates them, his daughter ran away to escape the city's oppression. The only family member he's even close to being ok with is Jarlaxle
• Blue Blood: He's the eldest son of House Baenre, the most influential House in Menzoberanzan.
• Crazy-Prepared: Just in case he ever got caught by a mind flayer, he prepared a time stop potion and an amnesia potion. He then programmed his own memory to forget what was in the bottles he put them in ''and'' made it so that he'd try to warn himself not to drink them just to throw the mind flayer off about what was about to happen.
• Eye Scream: Had his eyes eaten out by his familiar as part of a transplant.
• Familiar: He has a rat familiar named Kyorli.
• No One Should Survive That!: Escaped the monumental explosion of a House, but only just barely.
• Older Than They Look: Over 700, but looks young thanks to an Amulet of Eternal Youth.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Unlike most drow, his eyes were amber prior to being blinded and requiring a transplant.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Sibling Rivalry: He and Quenthel fight over Triel's ear on the throne. So much so that he tried to kill her several times.
• Spell Book: As a wizard, he's got several in his possession.
• White Hair, Black Heart: As is normal for a Drow, he's got white hair. As is also normal for a Drow, he's a giant asshole.

The Scoured Legion

Aliisza

Race: Alu-fiend

Class: Sorcerer

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

• Dark Magical Girl: She's a Sorcerer class and she's part Drow.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: She's got black demon wings.
• Human-Demon Hybrid: As an alu-fiend, she's half-succubus
• Winged Humanoid: She's got black demon wings.

Kaanyr Vhok

Race: Cambion

Class: Fighter/Rogue/Sorcerer

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

• Human-Demon Hybrid: A cambion is a half-demon

Jaezred Chaulssin

Nimor Imphraezel

Race: Half-drow/half-shadow dragon

Class: Rogue/Assassin

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

• The Gloves Come Off: When he cut ties with Dyrr, the lichdrow attempted to kill him in retaliation. Nimor put on his Game Face and fought back for a bit and set the guy—who was just as powerful as Gromph—back on his heels.
• Half-Human Hybrid: He's part Drow and part shadow dragon.
• Lie to the Beholder: His handsome drow appearance is just a spell-based disguise. His real form is more akin to the shadow dragons that make up half his heritage.