D&D 5E Am I no longer WoTC's target audience?

[pemerton]

If a player wants to play a drow that's fine by me. Its an opportunity to use the Drow as a cool plot hook.

Given that they've been a player-facing race since Unearthed Arcana in the mid-80s I'm another one who doesn't see the big deal.

My 4e campaign featured a drow sorcerer PC - as per the player-authored backstory he was a member of the Order of the Bat, a group of Corellon-worshipping drow who seek to undo the sundering of the elves and bring their brethren back to the surface world. He would sing lays (maybe laments?) of walking under the starlight; sometime in mid-heroic, and again in epic, the PC multi-classed as a bard. (On the way through he was, via retraining, also multiclassed as a cutthroat - a sort of assassin prestige class - and as a drow-fu-using monk.)

Around 29th level he achieved his goal - Lolth was killed and the Underdark was destroyed, but many drow were led back to the surface world.

Back in the 90s, in our Rolemaster GH game, at one stage we had some orc PCs, and a long-running ogre PC who came from the Rakers/Bone March area.

 

[Anoth]

I miss the play style where drow are taboo and will be killed on sight. It makes my stomach cringe to see a PC playing the watered down drow allowed today.

 

[generic]

I miss the play style where drow are taboo and will be killed on sight. It makes my stomach cringe to see a PC playing the watered down drow allowed today.

What about Drizzt?

Or, is it Drizzit?

Drizz't?

Driz'zt?

Drist?

Dri'z'z'z'z'z't?

In any case, killing free-willed humanoids on sight seems a bit brutal to me, but I'm soft, I suppose.

 

[cmad1977]

I miss the play style where drow are taboo and will be killed on sight. It makes my stomach cringe to see a PC playing the watered down drow allowed today.

You got yourself one sensitive tum tums.

 

[Anoth]

You got yourself one sensitive tum tums.

Eh. I still play that way in alot of settings. Everything doesn’t have to be the kitchen sink setting. Those get kind of bland and dull.

they were also more Badass as villains.There magic resistance and innate spell casting was more powerful. When magneto becomes a good guy they weaken him, same with drow.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Eh. I still play that way in alot of settings. Everything doesn’t have to be the kitchen sink setting. Those get kind of bland and dull.

they were also more Badass as villains.There magic resistance and innate spell casting was more powerful. When magneto becomes a good guy they weaken him, same with drow.

There’s a drow PC in my 5E campaign. It does nothing to diminish the horrible crap that the drow tend to get up to in my campaign. If anything, the presence of a drow PC has helped draw the PCs into conflicts with the drow.

There’s no need to water down the entire race. Your analogy is off because Magneto is one guy. A more accurate analogy would be “mutants are weakened because Magneto became good”....and that one doesn't really hold up at all.

Having one or two good drow shouldn’t undo how awful their society has been portrayed.

 

[Anoth]

There’s a drow PC in my 5E campaign. It does nothing to diminish the horrible crap that the drow tend to get up to in my campaign. If anything, the presence of a drow PC has helped draw the PCs into conflicts with the drow.

There’s no need to water down the entire race. Your analogy is off because Magneto is one guy. A more accurate analogy would be “mutants are weakened because Magneto became good”....and that one doesn't really hold up at all.

Having one or two good drow shouldn’t undo how awful their society has been portrayed.

No sir that is not how the analogy was used for. You missed the point. But you can like what you like and I will like what I like.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I miss the play style where drow are taboo and will be killed on sight. It makes my stomach cringe to see a PC playing the watered down drow allowed today.

Jeez. If my players are killing any humanoid on sight, including goblins or orcs, I get a little uncomfortable. It always helps to check that they're not just misunderstood.

 

[Fenris-77]

Jeez. If my players are killing any humanoid on sight, including goblins or orcs, I get a little uncomfortable. It always helps to check that they're not just misunderstood.

Murderhobo's gonna murderhobo....

 

[Anoth]

Jeez. If my players are killing any humanoid on sight, including goblins or orcs, I get a little uncomfortable. It always helps to check that they're not just misunderstood.

well that’s because drow in some settings were looked upon the same way as a beholder. It just depends where a critter is in the game. Basically the same as Daleks and demons. We really don’t negotiate with them unless we are desperate and they will probaly backstab and cheat you the first chance they get.