Menzoberranzan

Menzoberranzan, or the City of Spiders, is a gigantic underground Drow city-state. It is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. Menzoberranzan is possibly the most well known drow city in Faerûn. It was the home of Drizzt Do'Urden, and many of his early adventures deal with the political intrigue and characters of the city.

The city has different factions, or houses, all of which vie for power. It is currently under the indirect rule of House Baenre which is governed by Triel, daughter of Yvonnel Baenre, also known as Old Matron Baenre. Recently there was a revolt in Menzoberranzan, which was eventually put down. However, the crisis had a significant effect on Drow society, and at this point the consequences of the revolt on the power structure of the city are unknown. The loss of one of Menzoberranzan's trade partners, the drow city of Ched Nasad, will most likely cause a huge shift in power.

Overview
The city has 32,000 inhabitants — one third drow and the rest humanoid slaves. The city trades poisons, tasty mushrooms, riding lizards, spell scrolls, wine, and water (clean water can be hard to come by in the Underdark). The worship of Lolth is prevalent, and the worship of any other deity is forbidden. The city's priestesses are trained in the spider-shaped clerical academy Arach-Tinilith. One of the branches of the city's triune academies of Tier Brieche, Arach-Tinilith is neighbored by the warrior school Melee Magthere, and Sorcere, the school in which wizardly magic is taught. The most powerful clerics, fighters and mages of Menzoberranzan pass through the academies, and the title of master/mistress of an academy is coveted. The master/mistress of an academy in Menzoberranzan is often the most powerful drow in that particular discipline.

Menzoberranzan was founded by a priestess of Lolth named Menzoberra the Kinless. It is ruled by a council of matrons from the eight greatest noble houses; the most powerful House in the city is House Baenre, which was until recently led by Matron Yvonnel Baenre — a drow priestess who was the single most powerful political figure in Menzoberranzan for a few thousand years. She was killed by Bruenor Battlehammer during the failed assault on Mithral Hall, however, and was subsequently succeeded by her daughter Triel. A separate council of mages deals with affairs of the arcane — but as its members are all male, it is wholly within the grip of the matron mothers. The most powerful male in the city is Gromph Baenre, archmage of Menzoberranzan and the eldest son of Yvonnel Baenre.

History
Menzoberra the Kinless, a powerful priestess of Lolth, founded the city that bears her name in -3917 DR. By the wishes of Lady Lolth, she led seven drow families into the Northdark from the southerly drow holdings of Great Bhaerynden. The drow families, having no immediate external enemy, fell to attacking and undermining one another, as was drow nature, to the greater glory of their evil goddess, who so loved chaos. Only fifty years after the city's founding, in -3864 DR, a great and terrible battle between the two most powerful Houses, House Nasadra and House S'sril, occurred. This battle led to the exile of House Nasadra (which later founded the city of Ched Nasad, and was the First House until the city's recent destruction) and to the rise of House Baenre as the First House of Menzoberranzan.

The city's internal machinations have continued unabated for millennia. The Houses that grow weak are destroyed, and newer Houses rise up to find Lolth's favor. The full history of each House would constitute a nearly endless logbook of treachery, spite, and unceasing ambition. Within the last century, this pattern seems to have accelerated. House Do'Urden ascended from the Tenth House to the Ninth House by destroying the Fourth House, House DeVir. It then ascended to the Eighth House with the much-needed help of Jarlaxle's mercenary band Bregan D'aerthe by destroying the Fifth House, House Hun'ett. House Do'Urden lost the favor of Lolth, however, when Matron Malice Do'Urden turned Zaknafein Do'Urden into a spirit-wraith by using Lolth's dread Zin-Carla ritual and failed to kill Drizzt Do'Urden with him. This resulted in House Baenre utterly destroying House Do'Urden.

In 1359 DR, during the Time of Troubles, House Oblodra, the Third House, aspired to be the First House of Menzoberranzan. Menzoberranzan was caught in a magic-dead zone, so magic currently did not work there. House Oblodra, however, was gifted in the rare art of psionics and seized upon this opportunity to strike at the other Houses. The matron of House Oblodra nearly reached her goal, but an avatar of Lolth answered Matron Baenre's pleas for help and came to Menzoberranzan after the Time of Troubles had ended. (The drow thought that she herself had restored all magic, but that is not true.) Although she loved chaos, she did not wish to see a House that did not whisper prayer to her to rule the city. Foreseeing her temporary loss of power due to the Time of Troubles, Lolth had asked the demon Errtu to protect her worshipers, should she herself fail to do it. In return, Lolth relinquished the hundred-year ban from the Material Plane that had been placed on Errtu when Drizzt Do'Urden had killed him and gave Wulfgar over to Errtu as a prisoner. She then opened a portal for Errtu and his host of demons to lay siege to House Oblodra. By the time the Time of Troubles had passed, Lolth was restored to full power and single-handedly crushed House Oblodra, the remains of their stronghold being pushed into a deep chasm known as the Clawrift, and Matron Oblodra's spirit went to Errtu for eternal torment. Thus the ranks of the ruling Houses changed once again. All this she said was done for her greatest high priestess (although it was really done for herself), the two thousand-year-old Matron Baenre. All Houses in the city witnessed this great miracle and knew that House Baenre was the most favored House of the goddess.