From the new Dragon+
“The spider-inspired ‘udadrow’ expression of the drow elves that D&D fans currently know is based on Lolth’s influence over a pocket of elves who became isolationist, cutting themselves off from the rest of drow culture,” explains Franchise Creative Director Jeremy Jarvis. “There are whole societies of drow that did not follow Lolth into the Underdark. Two such groups are the ‘aevendrow’ and the ‘lorendrow’, or the starlight elves and the greenshadow elves respectively.”
It is believed that in the years following Lolth’s schism, some of the drow elves who remained aboveground followed their moral compasses north, vanishing from history behind curtains of snow, aurora, and illusion. They became the aevendrow, a secretive clan steeped in powerful magic. The memory of their glittering bastion of Callidae somehow escapes even the longest-lived of elves. What life is like within Callidae’s borders, and what mysteries have been guarded through centuries of storm and strife, remain unknown.
To learn more about Saekolath, visit legendofdrizzt.com
Another band of uncorrupted drow which remained aboveground are believed to have sought a new homeland within the towering forests to the south. Certain historians imagine these ‘lorendrow’ to be living in a verdant city that straddles rivers with airy bridges and wends around trunks as grand as cathedrals. Considered in many circles to be a case of scholastic fancy gone rogue, these historians have named the lorendrow homeland Saekolath—or “Place of Shade”.
DEFINING THE DROW
As the world of the drow has expanded in the Legend of Drizzt, their appearance has also been revisited. Led by Principal Concept Artist Lake Hurwitz, a group of artists explored the drow’s physical characteristics, as well as their clothing, weaponry and architecture. “We needed to ensure that the drow would read as a fantastical, living group of elves. As beautiful and otherworldly as they are nuanced,” Jeremy says, as Art Director Daniel Ketchum adds, “One of the very first things we did is explore lividity and temperature zones in the appearance of all drow. Adding these areas of warmth to their features communicates that they are living, breathing beings with beating hearts.”
One of the Franchise art team’s key tasks when expanding drow society was to differentiate between those elves who remained on the surface and those who followed the Spider queen into the Underdark all those centuries ago. The challenge wasn’t simply to align the udadrow visually with Lolth in a way that went beyond their clothing and architecture, it was to make a distinction between the drow who are onboard with Lolth’s agenda and those who were not susceptible to her corrupting influence.
“Drow elf skin is clear of any markings as a rule,” Lake says. “Lolth is the corruptor and her markings, Lolth’s Embrace, are visual evidence of that corruption. And not every drow has them. Lolth cult members are ‘gifted’ those markings as a result of their connection to the deity. It was an opportunity to introduce more of the spider theme in a visual way.”"
RA Salvatore did not come up with these new Drow civilizations, he's just helping tje D&D team to flesh them out and add them to his fiction.
If the D&D team is up to this, what else are they up to? What else do plan on adding to FR and how else do they plan on expanding the setting? Secret Feywild Gobliniod city perhaps? Owlfolk and Rabbitfolk? Is FR going to get a subtler realms shaking event to explain where all of this is coming from?
BTW having gotten a closer look at the art, these new Drow cities aren't monolithicaly Drow, there are other elves, Dwarves, maybe some other types of folks.
