I think the ideal default is the one that sells better.
I also think that "villain humanoid species" is a tenet of older gamers (dare I mix threads and call it a grognard-notion?). These are folks who are aging out of the market. The winner in this will ultimately be what the next generation of gamers is apt to like better.
There was literally a non-evil drow in the Vault of the Drow adventure, part of the series where they were introduced. I think it's pretty clear Gygax was under the impression drow had free will. I don't know if Gygax even intended for the Lolth-worshipping drow to be typical of the whole race rather than just that one city.
As far as Lolth-worship, 1e D&DG says, "The dark elves worship demon lords from the Abyss. The best known example is the worship of the Demon Queen Lolth."
As far as drow having free-will—that's inarguable given that, by the rules that Gygax wrote for the 1e UA—drow are capable of being rangers (which MUST be good-aligned).
That's rather generic and hardly a complete "culture" or indicative of much of anything. I think you'd have to have a few hundred words to actually establish a "feel". I also think it leans into "hot tempered [insert race here]". That's fine of course, I wouldn't expect much more. Now do the same for drow, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, etc.. Make them all distinct and unique.
That's a paragraph written on the fly on a forum post. You expect me to come up with multiple generic-but-distinct cultures in the space of a couple of minutes? Seriously?
Nothing wrong with orcs being emotional. That's a bit of biology that both makes sense and is divorced from alignment. An emotional orc can be deeply romantic, strongly patriotic, a champion of the downtrodden, a zealot worshiper, a ruthless tyrant, a violent murderer, or more.
Here's a basic idea for drow: They're elves who live underground. Gasp! The subterranean world is as beautiful and natural as the surface world, after all.
(Crystal Caves, Bermuda)
(Fingal's Cave, Scotland)
(Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand)
So if you get elves wherever you get places of natural beauty, then of course you'd get elves underground.
You want to use Lolth? So some elves, ages ago, sought power and made deals with demons. Their descendants continue to maintain these deals, and some of them are the rulers of large cities. The common folk are just normal elves, trying to live their lives, but the rulers control them with a demon-iron fist--and demon-granted magic. Other Lolth-worshipers live more in hiding, trying to recruit the unsuspecting into their cults.
Or ... do like I said in #3 of my post of what I would change in 6E, have a section in the DMG (and a more prominent section in the MM) about alternatives to the default adversarial monsters listed in the Monster Manual.
Or, make the various humanoids more neutral in alignment and have sections on how to make them into adversaries.
Orcs: If used as adversaries, their tendency towards hot-headedness means they don't do well in large, highly-disciplined armies, but make for excellent raiders in groups of a hundred or fewer.
Elves: If used as adversaries, their highly magical natures and typical sense of superiority means that they are probably best used as controllers who seek to prevent "lesser" species from becoming equals, such as by preventing other people from learning higher magics.
I think that holds also from the perspective of gaming overall.
WotC, and D&D, are the tide upon which all gaming rises and falls. Until a 900-lb gorilla comes along to unseat the 800-lb one, then D&D selling well is a boon to all gamers, even those whose preference ceases to be the default presentation.
I think that holds also from the perspective of gaming overall.
WotC, and D&D, are the tide upon which all gaming rises and falls. Until a 900-lb gorilla comes along to unseat the 800-lb one, then D&D selling well is a boon to all gamers, even those whose preference ceases to be the default presentation.
As far as drow having free-will—that's inarguable given that, by the rules that Gygax wrote for the 1e UA—drow are capable of being rangers (which MUST be good-aligned).
You're right. Checking the text, it's quite explicit -- "Drow are generally evil and chaotic in nature, though player characters are not required to be so" (page 10). It says much the same about duergar -- "While the majority of the members of this sub-race are of lawful evil alignment (with neutral tendencies), player characters who are gray dwarves may be of any alignment" (page 10).
