D&D General Drow as in Cow or Drow as in Snow: Where did the Dark Elves Come From?

[Clint_L]

"All of the monsters in question are unique to AD&D, and as I wrote virtually all of their stats and descriptions they are in fact my creative products, not the IP of WotC. That's a FWIW." Gary Gygax gave a lot to this hobby, but geez, he was pretty cavalier with acknowledging sources. Like, if he was a student he would definitely violate all of our academic integrity rules.

 

[MGibster]

I think everyone who frequents here had their eyes bug out upon seeing the ban strikeout over Snarf's name. I mean, they're about the last poster I could imagine getting a ban! Thankfully it's just temporary and self-imposed...

I reported him for being too awesome. Apparently the mods agreed.

 

[MGibster]

Despite playing D&D for so many years, I've barely ever used the Drow as antagonist but I still say the name like it rhymes with cow. They're a great group of baddies to use though. They've got a sophisticated civilization, a cool god, and they're the kind of competent evil it's fun to defeat.

 

[pukunui]

I pronounce "drow" like "cow", but if the word itself descends from "troll", then wouldn't pronouncing it like "show" make more sense? It's not like we pronounce "troll" like "trowel".

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

This thread teaches me that cow and snow aren't pronounced the same in English, apparently.

 

[Bohandas]

I always assumed they were dark colored and misandric because they're supposed to be black widow spiders

 

[Parmandur]

This thread teaches me that cow and snow aren't pronounced the same in English, apparently.

Phonetically, "kaʊ" and "snoʊ", respectively.

English spelling and pronunciation aren't on speaking terms, haven't been since the 15th century.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I always assumed they were dark colored and misandric because they're supposed to be black widow spiders

Of course…and why the females were larger…and their skin was shiny pitch black.

That is what they became anyway. I don’t know at what point black widows entered the design space…have not read the histories.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This thread teaches me that cow and snow aren't pronounced the same in English, apparently.

Only the tip of an exceptionally silly iceberg.

(Yes, yes, lots of good historical reasons for it all. The end result is still very silly.)

 

[Micah Sweet]

Despite playing D&D for so many years, I've barely ever used the Drow as antagonist but I still say the name like it rhymes with cow. They're a great group of baddies to use though. They've got a sophisticated civilization, a cool god, and they're the kind of competent evil it's fun to defeat.

I was never a huge fan anyway, and it got worse when I married someone with arachnophobia, so no spiders in my games.

That being said, I really like this shiny chitin idea.