Jaezred Chaulssin
Dragonblooded drow who seek to help the drow throw off the yoke ofLolth's dominion.
Jaezred Chaulssin
Traits: Authoritarian, sadistic, secretive
Power: 3 II \TZ
Membership: 140 drow, dragon- blooded drow, and shadar-kai
Headquarters: House of the Hidden Masters in Chaulssin
Religious Affiliation: Before the Reckoning: Vhaeraun (weak after the Reckoning: none
Leadership: Patron Grandfather Mauzzkyl Jaezred
Allies: None
Rivals: Church of Lolth, Bregan D’aerthe
The Jaezred Chaulssin is a secretive, patriarchal order of assassins who claim descent from the ancient drow of Chaulssin and the shadow dragons that long ago enslaved them. After centuries of exile within the Shadowfell, the surviving lords of House Jaezred, reduced to a mere handful of dragon-blooded sorcer¬ers and assassins, returned to Faerun to challenge Lolth's crushing dominion over the drow. The shad¬owy city of Chaulssin (page 109), which exists in both the Shadowfell and the Underdark, serves as the base for this cadre of master assassins.
The Jaezred Chaulssin operated in the shadows, through infiltration and assassination, from the time of its return to Faerun in 1136 DR until the War of the Spider Queen in 1372 DR provided an oppor¬tunity for a more overt attack on Menzoberranzan. Throughout the period ofLolth’s silence, the Jaez¬red Chaulssin spurred revolt in drow cities across Faeriln, with some spectacular results-including the destruction of Ched Nasad. During the Spellplague, Chaulssin shuddered as the planar order shifted, and the members of the Jaezred Chaulssin found their shadow magic disrupted. The death ofVhaeraun during the Reckoning also dealt a significant blow to the order. As a result, the Jaezred Chaulssin with¬drew from active strikes against the “spider-kissers” who worship Lolth, and spent much of the next cen¬tury rebuilding their strength.
Goals
Members of the Jaezred Chaulssin believe that to save the dark elves from the madness and tyranny ofLolth, drow society must be shattered. If cities fall and thou¬sands of drow die to do so, then that fate must be borne, since misery and disaster will turn the drow away from Lolth and toward other deities. The assassins are will¬ing to risk subjecting the drow to centuries of weakness, enslavement, and suffering to remove Lolth's hold over the race and raise up the Jaezred Chaulssin as the secret head of a drow society shaped to its liking.
Sabotage Arach-Tinilith
Late in the Spellplague era, the Jaezred Chaulssin became more overt in its tactics, directly targeting
AJaezred Chaulssin infiltrator and a shadow agent
“Subject to the lash again, eh, brother? You are better than that-you knowyou are.”
Join Jaezred Chaulssin if you want to:
+ Actively oppose the Way of Lolth and its matriarchal
doctrine.
+ Play an assassin who has the drive to hunt down
your query no matter how difficult the challenge.
+ Be a drow with the blood ofshadow dragons in your
veins.
JAEZRED CHAULSSIN INFILTRATOR
Long have your dragon-blooded kin lurked upon the periphery of Menzoberranzan observing the decadent “spider kissers" and their contemptible ways. A century past, your brothers, the Jaezred Chaulssin, instigated a plan to overrun the City of Spiders with armies of duergar and tanarukk, yet fate intervened and the siege ended in failure. The sting of that debacle yet endures, but as a new generation of the Infiltrators, you seek the opportunity to remedy the missteps of your forebears.
Many evenings you have wandered Menzoberran¬zan; alternating guises as a common laborer or rakish noble as the opportunity presents. To the many disen¬franchised males in your travels, you whisper subtle sedition against the Way of Lolth, sowing seeds of doubt among commoners and noble-born alike. You have little fear of retribution, because even ifyou were exposed for spreading heresy, your mastery of shadow would allow you to quickly and silently spirit yourself to safety.
You operate primarily out of the Jaezred Chaulssin fosterage in Menzoberranzan, reporting to patriarch
Nimor lmphraezl. As an Infiltrator, you are Nimor's eyes on the street, tasked with fomenting discord and doubt at every opportunity.
Characteristics: Calculating, furtive, patient
Prerequisites: Drow
JAEZRED CHAULSSIN SHADOW AGENT
You are a child of shadow, a harbinger of doom, and a scion of death. Long eons in the Shadowfell have shaped the shadar-kai into a grim people filled with loathing and self-contempt. Both cursed and blessed by your affinity with the Shadowfell, you have mastery over the art of stealth and subterfuge, but you must constantly work to channel the darkness within you, lest it utterly consume you.
To further the cause of the Jaezred Chaulssin, you have permitted yourself to be taken as a slave and sold to a noble house within Menzoberranzan. Your exotic, tattooed skin and comely appearance have served you well. The matron of your adopted house has taken a special liking to you and set you on the path to power and prestige. Little does the foolish matron know that you foment dissent in her house with your every breath.
Before accepting this sleeper assignment, the anointed blade personally tasked you with a second¬ary objective in utmost confidence. As the opportunity presents itself, you are to encourage the matron mother to ally with House Nurindyn, whereupon you are to spy on Nimor lmphraezl and report his activities back to the anointed blade.
Characteristics: Charismatic, duplicitous, vindictive
Prerequisites: Shadar-kai (half drow)
high priestesses ofLolth for assassination. InMenzo- berranzan, the organization has its sights set squarely )n the mistresses of Arach-Tinilith.
In the Year ofSplendors Burning (1469 DR),Jaez- red Chaulssin sleeper agents posing as students at :he Academy successfully disrupted the Ceremony )f Graduation, unleashing a horde of demons within <\rach-Tinilith’s walls. Before the demonic host was expelled, the Academy temple suffered severe damage, ■esulting in heavy casualties. With the success of this issault, the Jaezred Chaulssin has become embold¬ened to attempt even grander attacks in the future.
Foment Insurrection
The open attack on Arach-Tinilith aside, the Jaezred =haulssin’s primary methods are subtle and decep- :ive, designed to redirect suspicion toward a third )arty, if possible. At every opportunity, the Jaezred =haulssin seeks to foment cynicism and bitterness in \1enzoberranzan’s male population. The organiza- ion’s ultimate aim is to ratchet up so much animosity
toward the city’s priestesses that it triggers a city-wide uprising. The Jaezred Chaulssin is already well posi-tioned, with opposition groups within Sorcere and Melee-Magthere. All it need to do now is to drum up popular support among the commoners and the lesser houses, believing that insurrection will then be all but assured.
Organization
The Jaezred Chaulssin is ruled by a council of eight patron fathers, led by the order's founder, Patron Grand-father Mauzzkyl Jaezred. These leaders are all shadow dragons whose mastery of shadow magic allows them to take on humanoid form and move unnoticed among the drow. Each of the seven patron fathers commands a minor noble house in a different drow city.
Reporting directly to the patron grandfather is the anointed blade, who technically stands higher among the Jaezred Chaulssin than any of the other patron fathers. The anointed blade does not have a i : i a ■ in
over a fosterage, but acts as an independent agent to carry out the will of the council-typically through infiltration, espionage, and assassination.
Beneath the anointed blade are several ranks of blades, from first blades to eighth blades. The number of operatives at each tier is limited, and advancing from a lower rank to a higher requires defeating a higher-ranking rival. No more than three first blades exist at one time, five second blades, seven third blades, and so on down to the fifteen seventh blades. The number of eighth blades is unlimited, but even the ranks of the seventh blades are not always full.
Dragon blood runs through many of the drow agents of the Jaezred Chaulssin, from the full-blooded shadow dragons who form the ruling council of patron fathers to a scattering ofhalf-dragon drow in the upper ranks of the blades. Lower-ranking blades often claim draconic blood, but rarely have anything to show for it beyond an aptitude for shadow magic.
Notable Personages
When dealing with the Jaezred Chaulssin, appear¬ances are most certainly deceiving.
Antrysn Barriath: Antrysn held the rank of anointed blade of the Jaezred Chaulssin for many years before he was murdered by an ambitious rival, Nimor Imphraezl. Patron Father Xorthaul of Jhachalkhyn resurrected Antrysn, but kept his return to life a secret from the rest of the Jaezred Chaulssin. Following Nimor’s demotion, Antrysn emerged from the shadows to reclaim the rank of anointed blade, much to Nimor’s dismay. The two rivals continue to seek advantage over the other, and battle between them is inevitable. Antrysn is a half-dragon drow, the son of Patron Father Xorthaul ofJhachalkhyn, with a nasty temper and a sadistic streak. He appears as a muscular, hairless drow male with dark-scaled skin that is heavily scarred with arcane runes. He favors blood red robes without ornamentation.
Mauzzkyl Jaezred: The patron grandfather of Chaulssin, Mauzzkyl cannot tolerate any person, organization, or even deity who would claim author¬ity over him. This rebellious streak formed the basis ofhis hatred for the shadow dragons of Clan Jaezred, accounts for his differences with the patriarchs of the Church ofVhaeraun, and forms the core ofhis hatred ofthe Spider Queen. The patron grandfather is wholly committed to the ideals of the Jaezred Chaulssin, and he views House Jaezred as the living extension ofhis will. Mauzzkyl is an incredibly ancient shadow dragon, but he uses his drow form most of the time. In that form, he is a hale old dark elf with broad shoulders, a wide chest, and thinning hair forming a widow’s peak.
Nimor Imphraezl: Once the most talented and deadly assassin of the Jaezred Chaulssin, Nimor suf-fered an embarrassing setback during the aborted
siege of Menzoberranzan last century. He has spent the last several decades working to regain his former glory and rank as anointed blade. Presently, Nimor is serving as patron of the Menzoberranzan foster¬age under the guise of the rakish noble Nagyon Nurindyn. In this role, he appears as a slender, almost boyish drow male of striking good looks, with the easy grace and blinding speed of a professional duel¬ist. As a half-dragon, Nimor is far stronger than he appears and has mastered many dark and deadly spells of the assassin’s trade.
RELATIONSHIPS
The Jaezred Chaulssin has courted aneclectic col¬lection of allies since its founding, but patron fathers would gladly abandon each in furtherance of their long-term goals.
Shadar-kai: Over the past two centuries, many small clans from throughout the Shadowfell have been recruited by the Jaezred Chaulssin to serve as mercenaries and spies, observing the activities of Lolth-worshipers throughout the Northdark. Most serve in teams of three or more under the command ofan individual Jaezred Chaulssin velve.
Netherese: Through the shadar-kai, the Jaezred Chaulssin has attracted the attention ofNetheril. For the time being, the two groups share an uneasy amity, though the Jaezred Chaulssin is wise enough to know that it’s only a matter of time before the Netherese try to forcibly annex the smaller organization into their empire. If the Netherese act on these desires, the patron grandfather has issued standing orders for retaliatory hits against the twelve Princes of Shade.
Church ofLolth: “Spider kisser" is a derisive epithet reserved among the Chaulssinyr for drow who worship Lolth, including pretty much anyone from Menzoberranzan. Despite numerous assassina¬tions and acts ofterror, the Church ofLolth remains largely unaware of the Jaezred Chaulssin, and the patron fathers prefer it that way.
Bregan D’aerthe: The Jaezred Chaulssin views Bregan D’aerthe as a crude tool and nothing more. Nimor placed several agents within Jarlaxle’s brother¬hood, but attempts to infiltrate the mercenary's inner circle have so far proven ineffectual. When the time comes for insurrection to rise in the streets, Jaezred Chaulssin plans to have plenty of coin on hand to pur¬chase Bregan D’aerthe’s loyalty.
Council of Spiders: During the events surround¬ing Lolth’s attempt to create a Demon Weave, a group of wizards seeking to overthrow the rule ofLolth’s priestesses have come together. Bringing Lolth’s efforts to fruition can only aid these wizards in pursuing their own goals. The leadership of the so-called Council of Spiders consists of various lesser wizards ofHouse Xor- larrin and House Barrison Del ’Armgo, but one agent of
the Jaezred Chaulssin-a dragonblooded drow named Faraen Nuryndin-is steering the council toward out¬right rejection of the Way ofLolth.
ENCOUNTERS
Greater blades (those of the first, second, or third order) are almost always encountered alone, with the majority of their victims unaware of who delivered the killing blow. Greater blades are the ultimate assassins, enjoying both the benefit of supernatural dexterity and masteryover shadow magic. Some of the half-dragons among them are aided further by shadowy wings.
Lesser blades (of the fourth order or lower) typically lead squads of three or more shadar-kai on scouting missions to spy on strongholds ofLolth. The blades require unwavering devotion and obedience from their shadar-kai agents, but they are by no means immune to the treachery so endemic in drow society.
Outside their base in Chaulssin, the Jaezred Chaulssin are most active in and around their seven fosterages.
J aezred Fosterages
To aid in their schemes, the patron fathers of the Jaezred Chaulssin.decided to establish fosterages in the guise of minor noble houses in seven drow cities ruled by the Spider Queen's followers: Ched Nasad, Eryndlyn, Karsoluthiyl,Jhachalkhyn, Maerimydra, Menzoberranzan, and Sschindylryn. Of the seven, only Menzoberranzan initially proved resistant to infiltration, so the more distant city ofDusklyngh was chosen instead as the site of the seventh fosterage.
In addition, six additional smaller fosterages were established in Underdark settlements where Lolth’s followers were a minor faction but nonetheless drow could walk openly, such as Skullport and Sshamath. With their efforts in Eryndlyn and Ched Nasad spec¬tacularly successful, the Jaezred Chaulssin tried once more to infiltrate the City ofSpiders. This time it was successful, establishing a secret fosterage in House Nurindyn (rank 48), which masquerades as a lesser house ofbounty hunters and slavers.
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