Drow
Drow, also known as dark elves, deep elves, night elves, and the Dark Ones among orcs, are a dark-skinned sub-race of elves that predominantly live in the Underdark. They are hated and feared due to their cruelty, though some non-evil and an even smaller number of good drow exist.
"Such depravity. Such terrifying cruelty. They are the vile poison that plagues all elvenkind.”
— Nelar Autumnwell, elf cleric of Corellon Larethian
Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves were divided, with those of benevolent disposition battling those that were selfish and cruel. The war among elvenkind ended when the good elves banished their malevolent kin to the subterranean depths. Here, in the lightless caverns and endless warrens of twisting passages, the dark elves — the drow — found refuge. They also found leadership in the only elven deity who had not forsaken them. At her command, the dark elves built an empire in the underworld.
Children of Lolth. The drow worship Lolth, a deity who resides in the Abyss. Known as the Spider Queen or the Demon Queen of Spiders, she is the figure around which the dark elves have built their subterranean civilization. Whatever she demands, the drow do.
The wickedest of elves, drow are seldom seen by the surface world. Though they plot to destroy the elves that banished them, they no longer see themselves as exiles. They are the destined rulers of the darkness, and when Lolth commands them to rise up and destroy their surface-dwelling kin, they will.
Creatures of Darkness. The drow have lived underground for so long that they have evolved to their surroundings and can see in the dark. However, they can no longer stand sunlight. When slaves are in short supply in the Underdark, the drow send raiding parties to the surface to capture humanoids under cover of darkness, bringing them back to their cities to be tortured into submission. Beyond those occasional excursions, the drow are content to remain in their subterranean realm, where they feel secure and in control.
Underdark Cities. The dark elves build fantastic cities in enormous caverns where food and water are abundant. Their ability to sculpt stone rivals that of the greatest dwarf artisans, yet their structures retain a decidedly elven aesthetic. Though appearing delicate, drow settlements are structurally sound and remarkably resilient. The drow like to hollow out enormous stalagmites and stalactites, creating populated spires that rise from the floors and ceilings.
A drow city is a sprawling metropolis enclosed by high walls. Non-drow visitors must conduct their business outside the walls under watchful eyes. The drow raise and keep giant spiders to help protect their cities against intruders, even as they drape those cities in beautiful webbing, creating a gossamer snare to catch flying enemies that would otherwise soar over the walls.
Cutthroat Politics. Drow politics are cutthroat and rife with intrigue. When drow work together, it is typically to destroy a common foe and ensure their own survival, and such alliances are short lived and fraught with peril.
Drow society is divided into noble houses, each ruled by a matron who seeks to raise the prestige and power of her house above all others. Other high-ranking members of the house are blood relatives, while the middling ranks are flush with drow from weaker families that have sworn fealty to the greater house. Clinging precariously to the bottom rung of a house’s social ladder are the house slaves, made up of drow of low birth and the occasional non-drow captive.
Matriarchal Rule. Lolth, through her faithful priestesses, dictates the rules of drow society, ensuring that her orders and plots are carried out. Since Lolth is prone to manifesting on the Material Plane and directly punishing those that disobey her, the drow have learned to heed what she says and do as her priestesses command.
In drow society, males are subservient to females. A male drow might lead an Underdark patrol or a raiding party to the surface, but he reports to a female drow — either the matron of his house or one of her hand-picked female subordinates. Although male drow can fill almost any function in drow society, they can’t be priests, nor can they rule a house.
Drow Priestesses of Lolth
Female drow with blood ties to a noble house are molded and trained from birth to become priestesses of Lolth. The Spider Queen doesn’t allow male drow to hold such positions.
Such priestesses execute the will of the Spider Queen, and as a result, they wield tremendous power and influence in drow society. The matron mothers who rule the drow houses are the most powerful of Lolth’s priestesses, but they must constantly balance their devotion to the Spider Queen with their devotion to their families.
Drow Mages
Privileged drow males who lack the strength and fighting prowess to train as warriors have no recourse but to pursue the study of magic. For them, it is a matter of survival. Female drow with a natural affinity for the arcane arts may also become drow mages, although they are much less common.
Drow Elite Warriors
Drow elite warriors defend their houses and their superiors against all enemies, although they specialize in fighting dwarves, gnomes, and elves (including other drow). They frequently raid surface settlements under cover of night, returning to the Underdark with prisoners and spoils in tow before dawn.
Elite warriors can be male or female.
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