Changes

{{Unreferenced}}Canon Creature|image=|caption=|name= Drow|alignment= [[Chaotic Evil]] or [[Neutral Evil]]|type= [[Image:Jarlaxle_3.jpgHumanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)|thumbHumanoid]] or fey humanoid|leftsubtype= [[Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|JarlaxleElf]]|source= ''[[Image:DnD-Drow.jpgof the Underdark]]''|thumbfirst= [[Against the Giants|leftG3 Hall of the Fire Giant King]](1977)|mythical= [[ImageSvartálfar|Dark elf]], Drow|based=|wizards_image_URL= http:104486//www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG103.jpg|thumbwizards_stats_URL=}}The '''drow''' (pronounced either rhyming with "now",<ref>[[Williams, Skip]]. "Sage Advice" ''[[Dragon (magazine)|clericDragon]]'' #142 (TSR, 1989)</ref><ref name="D&Dfaq">{{cite web| url = http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_FAQ.asp| title = ''Dungeons & Dragons'' FAQ| accessdate = 2008-10-03| publisher = [[ImageWizards of the Coast]]| archiveurl = http:250px//www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wizards.com%2Fdnd%2FDnDArchives_FAQ.asp&date=2008-10-03| archivedate = 2008-10-Drow03}}</ref> or rhyming with "throw," per Mentzer, 1985<ref>[[Mentzer, Frank]]. "Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd.jpg|thumb" ''[[Dragon (magazine)|female fighterDragon]]Drow '' #93 (TSR, 1985)</ref>) or '''dark elves''' are infamous subterranean race a generally evil, dark-skinned subrace of [[Elf|elves]]. Cruel, greedy and ambitious, drow fight against each other in their the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' [[fantasy]] [[underdarkroleplaying game]] cities.<ref name="MM2003" />

==Publication history==The name word "drow originally derived " is from the Scottish mythological creature called Orcadian and Shetlandic dialects of [[Wikipedia:Scots language|Scots]],<ref>http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=11075&startset=44442733&query=TROW&fhit=trowe&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit</ref> an alternative form of "[[Wikipedia:Trow (and sometimes Drowfolklore)|trow]]" (both of which come from the Nordic ''dökkálfar'') ,<ref name="Dark Warrior Rising" /> which where in contrast is a cognate for "troll". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives no entry for "drow", but two of the citations under "trow" name it as an alternative form of the word. Trow/drow was used to refer to a wide variety of evil sprites. Except for the basic concept of "dark elves", everything else about the ''Dungeons & Dragon'' drow was invented by [[Gary Gygax]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20091027151422/http://geocities.com/rgfdfaq/sources.html Literary Sources of TrollsD&D, compiled by Aardy R.DeVarque]</ref>

''Dungeons & Dragons'' co-creator Gary Gygax stated that "Drow are mentioned in [[Wikipedia:Thomas Keightley (historian)|Keightley]]'s ''The Fairy Mythology'', as I recall (it might have been ''The Secret Commonwealth''--neither book is before me, and it is not all that important anyway), and as Dark Elves of evil nature, they served as an ideal basis for the creation of a unique new mythos designed especially for the AD&D game."<ref>"Books Are Books, Games Are Games" in ''Dragon Magazine'', Nov. 1979, #31</ref> The form "drow" can be found in neither work.<ref>dev/culture. (2011). On source material. http://natpoor.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-source-material.html</ref> Gygax later stated that he took the term from a "listing in the ''Funk & Wagnall's Unexpurgated Dictionary'', and no other source at all. I wanted a most unusual race as the main power in the Underdark, so used the reference to "dark elves" from the dictionary to create the Drow."<ref>http://www.enworld.org/forum/3813928-post34.html</ref> There seems to be no work with this title. However, the following entry can be found in abridged editions of Funk & Wagnall's ''Standard Dictionary of the English Language'', such as ''The Desk Standard Dictionary of the English Language'': "[Scot.] In folk-lore, one of a race of underground elves represented as skilful workers in metal. Compare TROLL. [Variant of TROLL.] '''trow'''" ===Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)===The drow were first mentioned in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game in the [[Editions of Dungeons & Dragons|1st Edition]] 1977 ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ''[[Monster Manual]]'' under the "Elf" entry, where it is stated that "The 'Black Elves,' or drow, are only legend." No statistics are given for the drow in this book, apart from the statistics for normal elves, and only a single paragraph is written about them. The drow are described here as purportedly dwelling deep beneath the surface world, in strange subterranean realms. They are said to be evil, "as dark as faeries are bright", and pictured in tales as poor [[fighter]]s but strong [[Wizard|magic-users]].<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Monster Manual (1e)}}</ref> It is hinted in G1 ''Steading of the Hill Giant Chief'' (TSR, 1978) that there is a "secret force, some motivational power behind this unusual banding of different races of giants." G2 ''The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl'' (TSR, 1978) mentions this guiding force again in its introduction. The third module in the series, G3 ''[[Against the Giants|Hall of the Fire Giant King]]'', again mentions the party's need to find out whatever is behind the giants' alliance, and this time mentions the drow specifically by name. In the adventure, the [[player character]]s can discover the first hint of drow involvement in the fire giant king's council room, on a scroll which promises "powerful help from the Drow", signed by [[Eclavdra]]. Actual drow can be encountered starting on level #2 of the king's hall, beginning with a group of drow priests, and then other drow later.<ref name="G3">Gygax, Gary. ''[[Hall of the Fire Giant King]]'' (TSR, 1978)</ref> Having discovered that the drow instigated the alliance between the races of giants and its warfare against mankind, in ''D1 [[Descent into the Depths of the Earth]]'' the party follows the fleeing drow into the tunnels leading northwest and deep into the earth, to eliminate the threat they pose. Examining a golden spider pin found on one of the drow priestesses, the party can discover runes in the drow language reading "[[Lolth]], Death Queen Mother".<ref>Gygax, Gary. ''[[Descent into the Depths of the Earth]]'' (TSR, 1978)</ref> The party continues to pursue the drow in D2 ''Shrine of the Kuo-Toa'', meeting the [[kuo-toa]] and the '''deep gnomes''' (also known as the '''[[svirfneblin]]'''). As the party travels, signs of the drow are noted all around; the drow clearly freely pass through these subterranean areas, even though they are hated and feared by the other local intelligent races. The drow and kuo-toa trade with each other openly, but the kuo-toa hate and fear the drow, resulting in frequent skirmishes between the two peoples.<ref>[[Gary Gygax|Gygax, Gary]]. ''[[Shrine of the Kuo-Toa]]'' (TSR, 1978)</ref> In ''D3 [[Vault of the Drow]]'' the adventurers follow one of two subterranean passages leading out from the kuo-toan temple to come upon the Vault of the Drow, "a hemispherical cyst in the crust of the earth, an incredibly huge domed fault over 6 miles long and nearly as broad." The party eventually makes it to Erelhei-Cinlu, the vast subterranean city of the drow, which is thoroughly described in the module. The characters may freely enter the city and spend time there, unless they attempt to organize any escaped slave groups for open warfare against the drow; the threat of a slave uprising will bring the chaotic drow into full cooperation. An extensive overview of the drow power structure is given for the purpose of creating any number of mini-campaigns or adventures taking place inside the drow capital. The House of Eilservs, led by Eclavdra, turned from worship of Lolth to the [[Tharizdun|Elder Elemental God]] when the city's other noble houses allied against them after proclaiming that their mistress should be the Queen of All Drow. Eilservs attempted to establish a power base through a puppet kingdom in the surface world dedicated to the worship of their new deity, so that their demands of supreme power in the Vault can no longer be denied, but this scheme was recently ruined. The characters travel on to the Egg of Lolth, where they must enter the dungeon level and fight the demoness herself. The players may discover an astral gate leading to the plane of the [[Abyss]], which sets them up for module Q1. The statistics and information for drow are reprinted from ''Hall of the Fire Giant King'' in the back of this module, along with statistics for Lolth herself.<ref>Gygax, Gary. ''[[Vault of the Drow]]'' (TSR, 1978)</ref> The story concludes in module ''Q1 [[Queen of the Demonweb Pits]]''. The astral gate from D3 leads to the Abyssal realm of Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, goddess of the drow elves, and architect of the sinister plot described in the two previous series of modules. Her realm, the 66th layer of the Abyss, is referred to as the [[Demonweb Pits]]. The Q1 module offers a glimpse into the Abyss itself, home to the ''D&D'' race of [[Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)|demons]], where time and space stretch and twist in bizarre ways, and there are many portals that allow passage into entirely different worlds. At the very end of the module, the players face a final confrontation with Lolth, an exceptionally difficult challenge.<ref>[[David C. Sutherland|Sutherland III, David C]], and [[Gygax, Gary]]. ''Queen of the Demonweb Pits'' (TSR, 1980)</ref> The G1-G3 modules were later published together in 1981 as a single combined module as ''G1-2-3 Against the Giants'',<ref>Gygax, Gary. ''[[Against the Giants]]'' (TSR, 1981)</ref> and the entire series of modules in which the drow originally appeared were later published together in ''[[Queen of the Spiders]]'' (1986).<ref name="Dark Warrior Rising">{{cite book|last=Greenwood|first=Ed|title=Dark Warrior Rising: A Novel of Niflheim|publisher=Macmillan|year=2007|pages=297–298|chapter=Afterword|isbn=9780765317650}}</ref><ref>Gygax, Gary. ''[[Queen of the Spiders]]'' (TSR, 1986)</ref> The first hardcover ''D&D'' rulebook featuring statistical information on the drow was the original ''[[Publication:Fiend Folio (1e)|Fiend Folio]]''. Gygax wrote this entry, listed under "Elf, Drow", according to the book's credits section. The text is a slightly abridged version of that found originally found in modules G3 and D3. Likewise, Lolth's description from module D3 is reprinted in the ''Fiend Folio'' under the "Demon" heading.<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Fiend Folio (1e)}}</ref> The drow are first presented as a [[player character]] race in ''[[Unearthed Arcana]]'' (1985), also written by Gygax. Several elven sub-races are described in the book, including gray elves, wood elves, wild elves, and valley elves; the dark elves are described as the most divergent sub-race, and dark elf player characters are considered outcasts from their homeland, either by choice, differing from the standard chaotic evil alignment of the race, or having lost in some family-wide power struggle.<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Unearthed Arcana (1e)}}</ref> ===Novels===<!--In between Unearthed Arcana and the dawning of the drow's explosion in 2nd edition, several novels by [[Gary Gygax]] and then [[R.A. Salvatore]] featured the drow, expanding on their game information significantly.--> [[Gary Gygax]]'s 1986 novel for [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]]'s "Greyhawk Adventures" series, ''Artifact of Evil'', was the first novel to feature the drow prominently. Gygax's subsequent ''[[Gord the Rogue]]'' novels, published by New Intinities, Inc., continued the story and the drow's involvement, in the novels ''Sea of Death'' (1987), ''Come Endless Darkness'' (1988), and ''Dance of Demons'' (1988). [[R. A. Salvatore]]'s 1988-1990 ''[[The Icewind Dale Trilogy]]'' featured the unlikely hero [[Drizzt Do'Urden]] as one of the protagonists, and the 1990-1991 followup ''[[The Dark Elf Trilogy]]'' focused on Drizzt and the drow of the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting. Salvatore continued the story of Drizzt and the drow in his subsequent series ''[[Legacy of the Drow]]'' (1992–1996), ''[[Paths of Darkness]]'' (1998–2001), and ''[[The Hunter's Blades Trilogy]]'' (2002–2004). Other works continuing the story of the drow in the Forgotten Realms include [[Elaine Cunningham]]'s ''[[Starlight and Shadows]]'' series (1995–1996, 2003), the ''[[War of the Spider Queen]]'' series (2002–2005, various authors), and [[Lisa Smedman]]'s ''[[The Lady Penitent]]'' series (2007–2008). [[Keith Baker]]'s ''The Dreaming Dark'' trilogy (2005–2006), overseen by R.A. Salvatore, featured the story of the drow in Baker's world of [[Eberron]]. ===Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)===The drow appear first for this edition in the ''[[Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]]'' (1989), which expands the information on drow society. Also included in the entry for drow is a description and statistics for the [[drider]].<ref name="MC2">{{Cite_Pub|Monstrous Compendium Volume Two}}</ref> This entry is reprinted with some minor modifications in the ''[[Monstrous Manual]]'' (1993).<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Monstrous Manual}}</ref> Drow society, religion, history, magic, craftwork, and language for the [[Forgotten Realms]] [[campaign setting]] is detailed significantly in ''[[The Drow of the Underdark]]'' (1991), by [[Ed Greenwood]]. Greenwood appears in the book's introduction as a narrator, explaining how he came across the information in the book: a discussion with [[Elminster]], and chance encounter with a former apprentice of Elminster - the drow lady, Susprina Arkhenneld - as the two explain the drow of the world to the narrator.<ref name="DotU2E">[[Ed Greenwood|Greenwood, Ed]]. ''[[The Drow of the Underdark]]'' (TSR, 1991)</ref> The drow are presented as a player character race for 2nd edition in ''The Complete Book of Elves'' (1992).<ref name="CBoE">[[Colin McComb|McComb, Colin]]. ''[[The Complete Book of Elves]]'' (TSR, 1992)</ref> Drow deities Lolth, [[Kiaransalee]], [[Vhaeraun]], and [[Zinzerena]] are described in ''[[Monster Mythology]]'' (1992).<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Monster Mythology}}</ref> The drow are later presented as a playable character race again in ''[[Player's Option: Skills & Powers]]'' (1995).<ref>[[Douglas Niles|Niles, Douglas]] and Dale Donovan. ''[[Player's Option: Skills & Powers]]'' (TSR, 1995)</ref> ===Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)===The drow appears in the ''[[Publication:Monster Manual (3e)|Monster Manual]]'' for this edition (2000).<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Monster Manual (3e)}}</ref> The drow of the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting appear in the hardcover ''[[Publication:Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e)|Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting]]'' (2001),<ref name="FRCS">{{Cite_Pub|Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e)}}</ref> and in ''[[Races of Faerûn]]'' (2003).<ref name="Races" /> The drow also appears in the revised ''[[Monster Manual]]'' for this edition (2003).<ref name="MM2003">{{Cite_Pub|Monster Manual (3.5e)}}</ref> The ''[[Publication:Underdark|Underdark]]'' hardcover for the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting (2003) features the drow yet again as a player character race,<ref name="Underdark">{{Cite_Pub|Underdark}}</ref> as does the ''[[Player's Guide to Faerûn]]'' (2004).<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Player's Guide to Faerûn}}</ref> ''[[Lost Empires of Faerûn]]'' describes the '''drow werebat''' (2005).<ref name="Lost" /> The '''drow paragon''' 3-level class appears in ''[[Unearthed Arcana]]'' (2004).<ref>[[Andy Collins|Collins, Andy]], [[Jesse Decker]], [[David Noonan]], and Rich Redman. ''[[Unearthed Arcana]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], 2004).</ref> The '''umbragen''' for the [[Eberron]] campaign setting appeared as a player character race in ''Dragon'' #330 (April 2005). The '''arcane guard drow''', the '''dark sniper drow''', the '''drow priestess''', the '''Lolth's sting''', and the '''Lolth-touched drow ranger''' appear in ''[[Monster Manual IV]]'' (2006).<ref name="MM4">{{Cite_Pub|Monster Manual IV}}</ref> The '''deepwyrm drow''' is presented as a player character race in ''[[Dragon Magic]]'' (2006).<ref>Stephens, Own K.C. and [[Rodney Thompson]]; ''[[Dragon Magic]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], 2006).</ref> The drow are presented as a player character race for 3rd edition in ''[[Expedition to the Demonweb Pits]]'' (2007)<ref>{{Cite_Pub|Expedition to the Demonweb Pits}}</ref> and ''[[Drow of the Underdark]]'' (2007).<ref name="DROW">[[Ari Marmell]], [[Anthony Pryor]], [[Robert J. Schwalb]], and [[Greg A. Vaughan]]. ''[[Drow of the Underdark]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], 2007).</ref> ''Drow of the Underdark'' also features the arcane guards, the '''drow assassin''', the '''house captain''', the '''house wizard''', the '''drow inquisitor''', the '''favored consort''', the '''arcane guard''', the '''drow priestess''', the '''drow slaver''', the '''spider sentinel''', the '''albino drow (szarkai)''', the '''szarkai fighters''', the '''szarkai druids''', and the '''drow warrior''', along with numerous prestige classes and other monsters related to drow.<ref name="DROW" /> ===Open gaming===The release of the [[Open Game License]] and the [[System Reference Document]]'s [[SRD:Drow|inclusion of the drow race]] also led to a number of books related to drow being published by companies not affiliated with [[Wizards of the Coast]] or TSR, such as ''[[The Quintessential Drow]]'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Witt|first=Sam|title=[[The Quintessential Drow]]|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2003|series=Collector series|volume=18|isbn=9781904577195}}</ref> ''[[The Complete Guide to Drow]]'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Quinn|first=Jeffrey|title=[[The Complete Guide to Drow]]|publisher=[[Goodman Games]]|date=April 1, 2006|isbn=9781904577195}}</ref> and ''[[Encyclopaedia Arcane: Drow Magic]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Younts|first=Patrick|title=[[Encyclopaedia Arcane: Drow Magic]]|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|date=April 22, 2004|series=Encyclopaedia Arcane|isbn=978-1904854012}}</ref> ===Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)===The drow appear in the ''[[Publication:Monster Manual (4e)|Monster Manual]]'' for this edition (2008), including the '''drow warrior''', the '''drow archanomancer''', the '''drow blademaster''', and the '''drow priest'''.<ref name="MM2008">{{Cite_Pub|Monster Manual (4e)}}</ref> The drow appear as a playable race in the ''[[Forgotten Realms Player's Guide]]''.<ref>[http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lfrx/characters Living Forgotten Realms Character Creation] by Chris Tulach, 7/28/2008.</ref><ref>Heinsoo, Rob, Greg Bilsland, Logan Bonner, Eric L. Boyd, and Robert J. Schwalb. ''[[Forgotten Realms Player's Guide]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], 2008).</ref> The drow feature in a pre-written playable module called "[[Demon Queen's Enclave]]" which takes adventurers from levels 14 through 17 into the Underdark to battle the forces of Orcus and possibly ally with members of the treacherous dark elves and/or their minions.<ref>[http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/217827400] by David Noonan and Chris Sims, December 2008.</ref> ==Description==The drow made their first statistical appearance in ''Hall of the Fire Giant King'' in the Hellfurnace Mountains of the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting at the end of the module, and received a lengthy writeup. The history of the drow within the game is revealed; in ages past, the [[Elf|elves]] were torn by discord and warfare, driving out from their surface lands their selfish and cruel members, who sought safety in the [[Underdark|underworld]]. These creatures, later known as the "dark elvenfolk" or drow, grew strong in the arcane arts over the centuries and content with their gloomy fairyland beneath the earth, though they still bear enmity towards and seek revenge against their distant kin, the elves and faeries who drove them down. They are described as [[chaotic evil]] in [[alignment]], and highly intelligent. They are described as black-skinned and pale haired in appearance, around 5-feet tall and slight of build with somewhat sharp features, with large eyes and large pointed ears. Their prefered equipment (magical boots and cloaks, and fine mesh armor similar to chainmail) is black in color and described as being empowered by exposure to the strange radiations of the Drow homeland, losing this power and eventually falling apart when exposed to direct sunlight and kept from the radiation for too long. Females are inherently more powerful than males, and only females may be [[cleric]]s or [[fighter]]/clerics; male drow are commonly fighters, [[Wizard|magic-users]], or both classes at once. Drow move silently and with a graceful quickness, even when wearing their armor, and blend into shadows with ease. They carry long daggers and short swords of an adamantite alloy and small one-handed crossbows which shoot darts carrying a poison that causes unconsciousness. Drow are difficult to surprise as they are able to see very well in the dark, have an intuitive sense about their underground world similar to that of [[Dwarf|dwarves]], and can detect hidden or secret doors as easily as other elves do. Drow are highly resistant to magic, while all drow have the ability to use some inherent magical abilities even if they are not strictly spellcasters. The module also reveals that there are rumors of vast caverns housing whole cities of drow which exist somewhere deep beneath the earth, and now that the drow have dwelled in these dark labyrinthe places they dislike daylight and other forms of bright light as it hampers their abilities. They are able to communicate using a silent language composed of hand movements, and when coupled with facial and body expression, movement, and posture, this form of communication is the equal of any spoken language.<ref name="G3"/> The ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' game's second edition product ''Monstrous Compendium Volume Two'' describes the world of the drow, where violent conflict is part of everyday life, so much so that most drow encountered are ready for a fight. Their inherent magic use comes from training in magic, which all drow receive. Not long after the creation of the elves, they were torn into rival factions, one evil and one good; after a great civil war, those who followed the path of evil and chaos were driven far from the world's forests and into the bleak, lightless caverns and tunnels of the underworld. Most creatures who live on the surface have never met a drow, but those who have seen a drow city report nightmarish buildings constructed of stone and minerals, carved into weird, fantastic shapes. Drow society is fragmented into opposing noble houses and merchant families, and they base their rigid class system on the belief that the strongest should rule. Female drow tend to fill many positions of great importance, with priests of the dark goddess Lolth holding a very high place in society. Drow fighters are required to go through rigorous training in their youth, and those who fail are put to death. Drow use giant lizards as pack animals, use bugbears and troglodytes as servants, and have alliances with many of the underworld's evil inhabitants such as [[illithid|mind flayers]]. Drow constantly war with other underground neighbors such as dwarves and dark gnomes (svirfneblin), and keep slaves of all types - including allies who fail to live up to drow expectations.<ref name="MC2"/> ''The Complete Book of Elves'' by [[Colin McComb]] focuses some of its attention on the drow. The ''Elfwar'' is presented, an elven myth in which the elves were one people until the Spider Queen Lolth used the dissent among the elves to gain a foothold; the elves of Lolth took the name Drow to signify their new allegiance, but as they massed to conquer the other elves, [[Corellon Larethian]] and his followers drove Lolth and her people deep into the earth, where they chose to remain. The dark elves who became the drow were originally simply elves who held more with the tenets of might than those of justice, and as they quested for power they became corrupted and turned against their fairer brethren. Dark elves rarely produce [[Half-elf|half-elves]], as they would slaughter any fool who trusts them. Drow infravision is described as so intense that their eyes actually radiate heat; therefore, a character viewing a drow through infravision would see two burning eyes atop a normally glowing torso. Any elf character of good or neutral alignment, even drow, is allowed into the realm of Arvanaith where elves go upon reaching old age. The book notes that drow [[player character]]s have a large number of benefits while suffering few disadvantages, but that "the major disadvantage to being a drow ''is'' being a drow." Drow characters are extraordinarily dexterous and intelligent, but have the typically low elf constitution; also, their personalities are described as grating at best, and all other elves ''hate'' the drow which affects their reactions to a drow character.<ref name="CBoE"/> ===Forgotten Realms===1991's ''[[The Drow of the Underdark]]'', a 128-page sourcebook all about the drow, expanded the drow significantly for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition version of the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting. The first chapter explains "The Nature of Dark Elves", augmenting the information in the ''Monstrous Compendium'' entry. It describes their variable physical builds, their alert and inquisitive intelligence, their highly developed senses, the personal magic that all drow are trained in; it also details drow wizards (the most dangerous drow likely to be encountered outside the Underdark), as well as the driders, misfit drow who have failed a test of Lolth. ''Dark Elven Society'' is detailed in the second chapter. Drow society, being strongly matriarchal, allows the females to hold all positions of power in the government, and to choose and discard mates freely. Social station is the most important thing in drow society, making ascension to greater power a drow's ultimate goal. Drow have a strong affinity for arachnids, as most worship the spider goddess Lolth, and spiders dwell freely among drow communities. The third chapter details "Drow Religion" in the Forgotten Realms setting; as the majority of drow worship Lolth (or "Lloth", formerly known as Araushnee in ancient times), they simply don't speak of or recognize those who do not. Drow deities in this world include [[Eilistraee]], the "Dark Maiden", the goddess of good-aligned drow, and of song, dance, swordwork, and hunting; [[Ghaunadaur]], That Which Lurks (also known as "The Elder Elemental Eye"), a tentacled dark purple blob served by [[roper]]s and patron of [[ooze]]s and all things subterranean; Lolth; and [[Vhaeraun]], the god of thievery and the patron god of drow males in opposition to the matriarchy of drow society. "The High History of the Drow" in the Realms is revealed in the fourth chapter, detailing the descent of the Ilythiiri (the original "Dark Elves") of the southern jungles into the underground, and their dark wars as they became the drow they are today. The fifth chapter details 27 new "Drow Spells" for both wizards and priests; the sixth chapter includes dozens of "Drow [[Magic item|Magical Items]]", some of which previously appeared in first edition ''AD&D'' sources; the seventh chapter details "Drow Craftwork", discussing their unique clothing and weaponry, their poison, as well as mining and engineering, and drow artisans. The eighth chapter briefly describes "Drow Language", while the ninth chapter goes into "Drow Nomenclature" by providing example female and male given names and drow house names, and the tenth chapter provides "A Selected Glossary of Deep Drow". "Dark Elven Symbols" are described in the eleventh chapter, including drow runes such as way-marker runes, sacred glyphs, house defense glyphs; the twelfth chapter, "The Spider and the Axe: War in the Depths" details an "ideal longterm camapaign setting" involving a war between drow and dwarves; the thirteenth chapter provides a brief look at "The Underdark", but advises readers to see the ''[[Queen of the Spiders]]'' series and the ''[[Dwarves Deep]]'' sourcebook for further information. The fourteenth chapter provides game statistics for several "Monsters of the Underdark" that associate with drow, or compete with them, including the [[deep dragon]], the [[myrlochar]], the [[Rothé|deep rothe]], the [[yochlol]], and several species of spider and spider-like creatures.<ref name="DotU2E"/> According to ''The Complete Book of Elves'', drow are not welcome in [[Evermeet]] and are turned away.<ref name="CBoE"/> ==Abilities==<!--This SHOULD NOT become a gameguide. It should describe the in-game abilities of the drow from a real-world perspective and without getting into actual game mechanics. Everything should be sourced, naturally-->With the ability to resist magic and powerful [[darkvision]], drow are more powerful than many of ''Dungeons & Dragons''{{'}}s races.<ref name="PF16intro">{{cite book|last=Schneider|first=F. Wesley|coauthors=Jacobs, James|title=Pathfinder #16: Endless Night|publisher=[[Paizo Publishing]]|location=[[Bellevue, Washington]], [[United States]]|year=2008|series=Pathfinder Adventure Path|pages=4–5|chapter=Foreword: To Serve the Matron|isbn=978-1-60125-129-9}}</ref> Drow are naturally resistant to magic. They also possess darkvision superior to most other supernatural races. Drow have the ability to summon globes of darkness, outline targets in faerie fire which causes no harm but makes the target brightly visible to everyone who sees them, and create magical balls of light. They can also levitate for short periods of time. Female Drow are naturally inclined to priestly magic and males are naturally inclined towards arcane magic. Like other elves, they are more dexterous than humans, but have a weaker constitution. They live to extraordinarily long ages if not killed by violence first, over a thousand years in some cases. Their hearing and vision are better than that of a human being and they are difficult to sneak up on because of this. They also naturally excel at moving silently. ==Reception=={{Vquote|right|width=35%|...today you can hardly mention the drow in the presence of gamers without sparking an argument. Some players love playing drow characters, while other players won't play in a game that allows drow PCs. Some GMs love the concept of "renegade" drow who have turned against their sinful ways to become champions of good, while others gag and gnash their teeth over the very concept. Even the name riles up gamers-there are at least two ways to pronounce the word, and I wouldn't put it past someone to come up with a third and a fourth. No matter how vocal people get about drow, the fact remains that everyone knows them and everyone talks about them.|[[James Jacobs (game designer)|James Jacobs]]|<ref name="PF13intro" />}} The drow originally created by [[Gary Gygax]] are now "essentially the drow of fantasy fiction today", according to [[Ed Greenwood]], who also stated that "After the D&D game itself, [the drow] are arguably Gary Gygax's greatest, most influential fantasy creation."<ref name="Dark Warrior Rising" /> This opinion was further reinforced by [[James Jacobs (game designer)|James Jacobs]], {{quote|There are certain monsters that can be considered "mainstream" these days—creatures that even non-gamers seem immediately to recognize on sight... Relatively few monsters who were "born" in the game have made this jump. Ask the average man on the street if he prefers ankhegs over bulletes, and you're likely just to get a weird look. The drow are different, though.|[[James Jacobs (game designer)|James Jacobs]]|<ref name="PF13intro" />}} Drow have also been proven to draw additional sales of products which feature them. While [[Paizo Publishing]] was printing ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' and ''[[Dungeon (magazine)|Dungeon]]'', covers featuring drow often sold better than other issues in the same year.<ref name="PF13intro" /> The drow, especially when used as [[player character]]s, are surrounded by much controversy, especially after the release of [[R. A. Salvatore]]'s novel, ''The Crystal Shard''.<ref name="PF13intro">{{cite book|last=Vaughan|first=Greg A.|coauthors=Jacobs, James|title=Pathfinder #13: Shadow in the Sky|publisher=[[Paizo Publishing]]|location=[[Bellevue, Washington]], [[United States]]|year=2008|series=Pathfinder Adventure Path|pages=4–5|chapter=Foreward: ...And I Feel Fine|isbn=978-1-60125-115-2}}</ref> ==Ecology=====Environment===Within the context of the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' game, the drow were forced underground in what is now known as the [[Underdark]] after the great war amongst the elves, a vast system of caverns and tunnels spanning much of the continent.<ref name="Races">{{Cite_Pub|Races of Faerûn}}</ref><ref name="Lost">Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout — ''[[Lost Empires of Faerûn]]''; [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2005 ISBN 0-7869-3654-1</ref> The drow live in city-states in the Underdark,<ref name="Underdark" /> becoming one of the most powerful races therein.<ref name="Underdark" /> The drow are well adapted to seeing in the dark, and they loathe, are terrified of, and are easily blinded by the light of the surface.<ref name="MM4" /> Some magic weapons, armor, and various other items of the drow disintegrate on contact with sunlight.<ref name="Underdark" /> ===Typical physical characteristics===Drow characters are extremely intelligent, charismatic and dexterous, but share surface elves' comparative frailty and slight frames. Females tend to be bigger and stronger than males.<ref name="DotU2E"/> Drow are characterized by white or silver hair and [[obsidian]] black skin. Their eyes are red (or rarely gray, violet, or yellow) fighterin darkness and green in normal light.<ref>From the book ''Homeland'' by [[R.A. Salvatore]].</ref> Drow have several kinds of innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their weakness in daylight. Also, drow [[weapons]] and [[armor]] (usually made of [[adamantite]] or another metal unique to the [[Underdark]]) slowly lose their magical properties if exposed to the [[sun]]. In ''[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' second edition, adamantite disintegrates upon exposure to sunlight unless specifically treated. Drow also employ the unusual hand [[crossbow]], firing small, assassinthough very lethal, roguedarts. Half-drow are the result of crossbreeding between another race and a drow, and share characteristics of both. (The term "half-drow" usually refers to one who is half drow and half human.) Half-drow are also generally evil; however, half-drow of differing alignments are more common than non-evil full drow. Drow males are commonly wizards or magefighters. Females are prodominantly almost always clerics and almost never wizards. ===Alignment===As a race, drow are usually evil. Exceptions exist, the most notable being [[Drizzt Do'Urden]], [[Jarlaxle|Jarlaxle Baenre]], and [[Liriel Baenre]], but these are highly unusual. (Note that even Liriel Baenre was arguably of evil alignment for the first portion of her life, only shifting to a good alignment after close relationships with several good-aligned characters.) Originally, drow were chaotic evil in alignment. Beginning with 3rd edition D&D, drow are usually neutral evil. There have been encounters with non-evil drow, but these are distrusted as much as their brethren, due to their reputation. The Drow followers of [[Eilistraee]] are the largest group of good Drow, as Eilistraee is the patron goddess of all Drow that have a good alignment. ==Society==Drow society is primarily [[matriarchy|matriarchal]], with priestesses of their evil spider goddess [[Lolth]] (sometimes spelled ''Lloth'') in the highest seats of power.<ref name="Dark Warrior Rising" /> Males are considered inferior to females within drow society, and while some males may be respected if they are powerful wizards (notably exemplified by [[Gromph Baenre]]), they are never allowed to rule. The drow sometimes use their dark arts to turn humanoid slaves into living sculptures. However in the original world of Greyhawk campaign setting created by Gary Gygax, Drow rank structure was based much more on personal experience level and proven personal abilities rather than on gender. Males were almost as likely to have positions of authority over both males and females, and the tradition of Matriarchy, where the highest ranking member was always a female, was not a special directive of the Demon Queen Lolth but rather had been a reality in Drow society since the earliest times attributed naturally to a few ability scores by the male gender being on average inferior, and particularly due to the 'wisdom' ability rating being on average quite inferior to the females. The vast majority of Drow Elves both male and female in the original campaign setting of Greyhawk have no authority or fightersranking at all and live an idle and degenerate life in the great city of the Drow. Drow society is based upon violence, murder, cunning, and the philosophy that only the strong survive (though in Drow tongue, a quirk of the language creates a reversal of cause-and-effect; more correctly, it can be translated as "those who survive are strong"). Hence, most Drow plot endlessly to murder or otherwise incapacitate their rivals and enemy Drow using deceit and betrayal. Drow, particularly in higher positions, are constantly wary of assassins and the like. One of the quirks of this constant infighting is the relatively short lifespan of the average Drow. While being slightly larger just as long lived as their surface cousins, living as long as a thousand years; you are very unlikely to meet an elderly Drow. Consequently, they are the only race of Elves that matches the fertility of 'lesser' races, such as humans. Their society, as a whole, is seemingly nonviable. The only reason they do not murder themselves to extinction is by the will of Lolth, working primarily through her clergy. Lolth does not tolerate any Drow that threaten to bring down her society, and the clergy make certain that perpetrators cease their destructive actions by either threatening or killing them, depending on her mood and how likely it is to be a successful deterrent. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. Some communities of drow worship other gods (like [[Vhaeraun]] or [[Eilistraee]]), and thus, their hierarchy changes, reverses the roles of males and females, or (such as in the case of Eilastree) even approaching something like a workable, progressive society. Most drow societies hate surface elves, but will wage war with almost any surface race and other subterranean races, such as [[Illithid|mind flayers]], [[svirfneblin]], [[duergar]], [[kuo-toa]], dwarves, and [[orc]]s, for spoils and territory. ==Drow in various campaign settings=====Drow in ''Eberron''===Inhabiting the jungles and stronger Underdark in the continental isle of [[Xen'drik]], the drow in [[Eberron]] have a much more tribalistic culture than their other ''Dungeons & Dragons'' counterparts. They are not an offshoot of the elven race like in many other worlds but rather a separate, if similar, race. Instead of the spider goddess Lolth most tribes worship a male scorpion deity known as Vulkoor, though exceptions are common. It is believed that Vulkoor is actually one of the forms of [[Religions of Eberron#Dark Six|the Mockery]]. The tribes are often [[xenophobia|xenophobic]], and the social structure varies from tribe to tribe. It is known that the drow mastered elemental binding before gnomes did- including a cultural group of fire-elemental binders called the Sulatar. There is also a subgroup called the ''umbragen'', or shadow elves, who worship the Mockery in the form of a scorpion god and [[Cults of the Dragon Below|Khyber]] or the Umbra, the Consuming Shadow, for whom the umbragen are named; the umbragen dwell underground beneath Xen'drik and are noted for producing many [[warlock]]s and [[Soulknife|soulknives]]. Drow in Eberron run the gamut from almost feral in nature to being fully civilized and on par with the cultural level of [[Khorvaire]], varying from tribe to tribe. ===Drow in the ''Forgotten Realms''===In the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'', the dark elves were once ancient tribes of [[Ilythiir]] and Miyeritar. They were transformed into drow by the [[Seldarine]] and were cast down and driven underground by the light-skinned elves because of the Ilythiirian's savagery during the [[Crown Wars]]. The drow had fallen under the influence of Araushnee, who was transformed into [[Lolth]] and was cast down into the [[Demonweb Pits]] along with her son [[Vhaeraun]] by the elven god [[Corellon Larethian]] because of Lolth's and Vhaeraun's attempt to take control of the elven pantheon (which included Araushnee's seduction of Corellon Larethian).Prior to the Spellplague descendants of the Miyeritar dark elves later succeed in reversing their transformation and are recreated as a distinct dark elf race.<ref name="ascend">Lisa Smedman — «Ascendancy of the Last»; [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2008 ISBN 978-0786948642</ref> The largest drow civilization is the subterranean city of [[Llurth Dreier]] (population 400,000). However, [[Menzoberranzan]] is featured most prominently in the novels. Previously drow could also worship [[Ghaunadaur]], [[Kiaransalee]], [[Selvetarm]] or [[Vhaeraun]]. A special case is [[Eilistraee]], the only drow goddess who is chaotic good instead of chaotic evil; she wants the drow to return to the light. All of these alternative deities (except perhaps Ghaunadaur) were however killed or forgotten in the last years before the Spellplague.<ref name="ascend">Lisa Smedman — ''Ascendancy of the Last''; [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2008 ISBN 978-0786948642</ref><ref name="sacrifice">Lisa Smedman — ''Sacrifice of the Widow''; [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2007 ISBN 978-0786942503</ref><ref name="storm">Lisa Smedman — ''Storm of the Dead''; [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2007 ISBN 978-0786947010</ref> Amongst the most infamous of drow are the members of [[House Baenre]], whilst [[Abeir-Toril]] is also home to some famous benevolent drow including [[Drizzt Do'Urden]] and his deceased father [[Zaknafein]] (both of House Do' Urden), [[Liriel Baenre]] (formerly of Menzoberranzan's aforementioned House Baenre), and [[Qilué]] of [[the Seven Sisters]]. The drow [[Jarlaxle]] is also well-known, as he is one of the few malesin Menzoberranzan to obtain a position of great power. He is the founder and leader of the mercenary band [[Bregan D'aerthe]]. These characters are from ''[[The Dark Elf Trilogy]]'' (1990–1991), a series of books by [[R. A. Salvatore]] (except for Liriel Baenre and Qilue). The six drow in the ''[[War of the Spider Queen]]'' series have also gained some renown since the novels have been published. The drow also have a long-standing, mutual racial hatred with the gloamings, a rare race found in the pages of the ''[[Publication:Underdark|Underdark]]'' supplement. ===Drow in ''Greyhawk''===In the world of ''[[Greyhawk]]'', the drow were driven underground by their surface-dwelling relatives because of ideological differences. There they eventually adapted to their surroundings, especially by attracting the attention of the goddess [[Lolth]], "Queen of [[Spider]]s". The center of drow civilization is the subterranean city [[Erelhei-Cinlu]], and its surrounding Vault, commonly called the [[Vault of the Drow]].  Known drow of Greyhawk include [[Clannair Blackshadow]], [[Derken Gale]], [[Jawal Severnain]], and [[Landis Bree]] of [[Greyhawk City]]; [[Eclavdra]] of House Eilserv; and [[Edralve]] of the [[Slave Lords]]. Some drow, especially of the House of [[Eilserv]], worship a nameless [[Elder Elemental God]] (said to have ties to [[Tharizdun]]) instead of Lolth. ===Drow in other campaign settings===Different [[campaign setting]]s portray drow in various ways. In the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting, Drow do not exist; rather, "dark elves" are elves who have been cast out by the other elves for various crimes, such as worship of the evil deities. [[Dalamar]], a student of [[Raistlin Majere]], is the most notable of [[Krynn]]'s dark elves. However, over the years Drow have accidentally appeared in a few ''Dragonlance'' modules and novels. Similar mistakes have occurred with other standard AD&D races, such as [[orc]]s and [[lycanthropes]], which are not part of the Dragonlance setting. Some theories say that these rare Drow may have accidentally been sent there during a plane shifting spell or related magic, a misfire as like as not that is corrected before the respective timelines are tampered with too drastically. In the ''[[Mystara]]'' / "Known World" setting, [[shadow elves]] are a race of subterranean elves who have been mutated via magic. Aside from living underground, they have nothing in common with Drow and are not known as Dark elves. In [[Mongoose Publishing]]'s ''Drow War'' trilogy, the drow are recast as lawful evil villains and likened to the [[Nazis]]. The author of the series has stated that this was a deliberate reaction to the prevalence of renegade, non-evil drow characters. Drow appear as a playable race in [[Urban Arcana]], which is a [[d20 Modern]] setting based on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. They are shown as very fashionable, often setting new trends. The symbol for most drow is a spider, and they often take the mage or acolyte classes. A supplement book about the drow was produced by [[Green Ronin Publishing]] called ''Plot & Poison: A Guidebook to the Drow'' in 2002 and is based on the [[d20 System]]. It introduces several drow subtypes including aquatic drow and vupdrax (or winged drow) plus fleshes out drow life, such as how they treat slaves of the various fantasy types like [[Elf|elves]] and [[human]]s. [[Wizards of the Coast]], seeing the heavy sales of the GRP supplement, released their own supplement book called ''[[Drow of the Underdark]]'' in May 2007. Drow in the ''[[Pathfinder (periodicals)|Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting]]'' used to be elves but stayed on [[Golarion]] when the other elves left the world. Over time, the remaining elves turned into drow by powerful magic, and at this time any elf who is evil enough can spontaneously turn into a drow. The existence of drow in [[Golarion]] is virtually unknown to non-elves. Drow are also the main antagonists in the [[Pathfinder (periodicals)#Adventure Paths|Second Darkness Adventure Path]]. ==Related creatures==Like elves, drow have other creatures associated with them either by environment or by blood. The [[drider]] is one of the most often cited examples, but it is not the only one. ===Drider==={{Stubmain|Drider}} ===Draegloths==='''Draegloths''' are half-[[demon]], half drow monstrosities. Found in any campaign setting, they are particularly numerous in the ''Forgotten Realms''. They are created by the unholy union between an ascending high priestess of the drow goddess [[Lolth]] and a [[glabrezu]]. Draegloths are about ten feet tall and have four arms, the upper pair being much larger than the lower. They have large claws on the upper arms and they use them for hand-to-hand combat, for they usually prefer the feeling of tearing flesh and sinew under their claws and fangs. Their face is stretched so it resembles that of a dog. Their flesh is as dark as a drow's, and they are covered in a fine coat of fur; they also have a white mane. They are sacred creatures to the Lolthites and are usually treated with respect. [[House Baenre#Triel Baenre|Triel Baenre]] of [[Menzoberranzan]], in the ''Forgotten Realms'', had a draegloth son, [[House Baenre#Other members of House Baenre|Jeggred]]. V3.5 statistics for the draegloth can be found in ''[[Drow of the Underdark]]''.<ref name="DROW" /> ==See also==* [[SRD:Drow]]* [[Dark Elf]] ==References=={{reflist|2}} ==Further reading=====Game products===* Sernett, Matthew. ''Plot and Poison: A Guidebook to Drow'' (Green Ronin Publishing, 2002). ISBN 0972359923 ==External links==* [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/pg20021127x "Perilous Gateways: Dark Elf Portals"] at the official ''Forgotten Realms'' website.* [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/darkseldarine,0 The Dark Seldarine of the War of the Spider Queen]. {{Wikipedia|Drow (Dungeons & Dragons)}} [[Category:Creature]]