Page 22 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

the the Spider the Strife the Scaled
ruiner Queen emperor tyrant

followers into attacking her enemies so that the drow may commandmentS of the Strife emperor
remain safe. The only being the Spider Queen fears is the
• Fear is your ally. Conquer yours, and draw it from your foes.
Chained Oblivion; she dreads its alien mind and is furious
over what its madness is doing to her children. • Disorder and rebellion are to be punished severely.
Many icons and idols within dark elf society show the • Combat is the greatest gift, and perfecting your skills to
image of the Spider Queen, a darkly alluring woman of master it is the greatest pursuit.
dark purple skin and silver hair, her abdomen swelling
into the terrifying body of a monstrous spider. the scaled tyrant
commandmentS of the Spider Queen Alignment: Lawful Evil • Domains: Trickery, War
• It is better to be loved than feared, but you may certainly The evil queen of dragons is a fearsome god of greed,
try to be both. envy, and hoarded wealth. While chromatic dragons are
her clearest worshipers, the Scaled Tyrant accepts the
• Misdirection, slander, and shadowed steps have more func-
worship of all who love wealth over all things—except the
tion than direct conflict.
queen of dragons herself, of course. All chromatic drag-
• Death to the elves who live under the sun. Death to all ons have a reverence for their tyrannical queen, but many
their allies! dragons of near-deific power and ambition chafe under
her rule. Though the Scaled Tyrant was pleased by the
the strife emperor chaos the Chroma Conclave spread across Exandria, the
Alignment: Lawful Evil • Domain: War prideful Conclave never considered themselves subservient
to the Dragon Queen.
Blood-drenched armies of brutal warriors oft crush their
The Scaled Tyrant’s hatred for the Platinum Dragon is
foes in the name of the Strife Emperor, the evil patron of
as old as the Founding, and her cults are ever hunted by
war and conquest. To serve his will is to accept the call to
his justice. Her worship has for centuries been limited to
conflict, seeking lesser people to break and subjugate. War-
chromatic dragons by these zealous paladins, but sects
mongering nations and goblinoid tribes worship the Strife
of mortal dragon-worshipers have been appearing across
Emperor as they strike out at the world to bend it beneath
Tal’Dorei ever since the Chroma Conclave’s attack.
them. The Strife Emperor twists all living things to his iron
Most visual representations of the Scaled Tyrant exist
will, even forcing nature itself to bow to his whims.
as a warning within sanctuaries of the Platinum Dragon.
A dark reflection of the honorable warrior, the Strife
She is often shown as a drake of frightful size, massive
Emperor is often depicted as a brutish ogre-like man clad
leathery wings birthing clouds of poisonous mist with
from head to toe in jagged black armor. Heads dangle
every flight, while she shouts from five vicious dragon
from his belt, and the shadow that obscures his helmeted
heads, each head depicting a different chromatic color of
face does not hide his unblinking, piercing yellow eyes.
her evil children.
The Strife Emperor’s greatest enemy is the Wildmother,
the goddess who defeated him at Rifenmist during the commandmentS of the Scaled tyrant
Calamity. The Strife Emperor grew his armies by corrupt-
• Amass wealth, and spend little. The gold, and the power
ing noble creatures into monsters and destroying the wilds
that comes with it, is sufficient reward.
to fuel his terrible engines of conflict, and the two deities
clashed many times during the war before his defeat at • Do not forgive nor forget an indignity to yourself. Let no
Beynsfal Plateau. The emperor’s massive iron armor still affront go unpunished.
litters Beynsfal, and his massive helmet houses the capital • Take what you covet. Those without the strength to defend
city of a ruthless hobgoblin empire. their dominion are not worthy to have a dominion.
chapter 1: campaigns in tal'dorei 21