The Umbragen or shadow elves are a secretive culture of drow that occupy a realm of Khyber under the Ring of Storms in eastern Xen'drik.[2][3][4][1][5]
History[]
When the dragons devastated Xen'drik and brought the Age of Giants to a close, the ancestors of the Umbragen fled into the depths of Khyber. They persisted under Xen'drik for a long time against many horrible monsters. Eventually they reached their current home, which is within a ruined fortress of the ancient Qabalrin elves under the Ring of Storms.[2]
In a desperate struggle to survive, these drow established a spiritual bond with a dark force known as the Umbra. Umbra is a dark remnant left behind by the ancient Qabalrin elves. The Qabalrin resided in the Ring of Storms before their civilization was destroyed by a giant Siberys dragonshard. Ever since, the Umbragen have used its power against many dangerous monsters and have gained more power over time as they bound themselves to its magic.[2]
However, in 997 YK, a daelkyr lord created an army in the depths of Khyber below Xen'drik.[2] The Umbragen have been fighting a losing battle with the aberrant forces of Belashyrra, the Lord of Eyes, ever since.[4][1] The army includes beholders, mind flayers, and other sorts of aberrations. Since the Umbragen see that they are overmatched, they have sent many drow out from underground in order to find a weapon that will turn the tide in their war.[2][4][1][5]
Society[]
The Umbragen are an incredibly secretive culture with little contact with outsiders, and few outsiders know anything about them. Umbragen in turn know very little about the outside world.[2]
The Umbragen are no longer fully drow following their bonding with the Umbra. The Umbragen believe that all of their people who draw on this shadowy force will be doomed as the dark power consumes their soul and they become increasingly dispassionate. The Umbra bears some resemblance to the Shadow, the Sovereign of Magic and Mayhem of the Dark Six.[2]
Umbragen society is split along two paths: the Council of War and the Vault of Shadows. Those of the Council of War seek to prove themselves in battle while those in the Vault of Shadows seek to add arcane might to the Umbragen cause. Rank and promotion is earned through conflict, which in theory sounds chaotic but is a rarely invoked tradition.[2]
The Umbragen speak a dialect of Elven, and speak Undercommon after their conflict with the aberrations.[2]
The Umbragen favor becoming warlocks, which allows them to call on their bond to the Umbra. Many Umbragen drow are also soulknives.[2]
Notable Umbragen[]
- the Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard game.
Appendix[]
Background[]
Keith Baker has suggested on his website that the Umbragen are among the most advanced cultures of drow on Xen'drik. There may still be ancient eldritch machines left over from the Qabalrin civilization of elves within the domain of Khyber that the Umbragen cannot use themselves.[7] He has mentioned on the Eberron Discord server that the Umbragen campaign in the Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard video game was originally longer and included an entity known as the Blood Queen, an ancient Qabalrin vampire the Umbragen would uncover and try to use for their own purpose.[8]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 198. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Keith Baker (April 2005). “The Umbragen: Shadow Elves of Xen'drik”. Dragon #330 (Paizo Publishing), pp. 43–48.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Keith Baker, Jason Bulmahn, & Amber Scott (2006). Secrets of Xen'drik. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 52. ISBN 0-7869-3916-8.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 124. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Keith Baker, Ruty Rutenberg (2018). Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard Liquid Entertainment (September 21, 2005). Atari.
- ↑ Keith Baker (05/30/2017). Dragonmarks: Drow. Archived from the original on 09/10/2017. Retrieved on 02/16/2019.
- ↑ Keith Baker (2019-01-08). Keith Baker on the Blood Queen. Chat. Discord. Retrieved on 2022-05-05. "Just before I leave, quick note on the Umbragen and the game Dragonshard. There was an entire Umbragen campaign scripted that wasn't used in the final game, which dealt with the sacrifices they were making to fight the daelkyr. They delved into the Qabalrin ruins and recovered a number of Qabalrin undead (including the hero character the Blood Queen, an ancient vampire). So the undead units in the Umbragen forces were scavenged Qabalrin, not reflective of a strong necromantic tradition among the Umbragen."