Evil Drow Statblocks to Return in Forgotten Realms Rulebooks Later This Year

Drow-specific NPC statblocks will be included in the upcoming Forgotten Realms Adventurer's Guide set for release later this year. Over the past several weeks, much hullabaloo has been made over the Monster Manual, specifically that the D&D design team replaced specific drow and orc statblocks with generic NPC statblocks that can be used for any kind of humanoids. In a video released today, D&D lead designer Jeremy Crawford confirmed that more specific statblocks tied to specific humanoid sects or characters would return in future rulebooks, with evil drow given as an example.

"Also for anyone who's eager to see more species-tailored humanoid statblocks, people are going to see more of that in our setting books," Crawford said. "You're going to see that in our Forgotten Realms products, for example. The malevolent drow of Menzoberranzan are an important part of that setting and so they get their own statblocks. This is really true of all the creatures in the Monster Manual. This is your massive starting toy box of monsters that are usable anywhere in the multiverse. The bestiaries in our setting products, that's where we can provide you versions of things tailored to the cultures and histories of our different worlds."

 

[npick03]

You might as well put warforged and draconians in the MM.

I would actually love that. My ideal Monster Manual (especially if it was vaguely timed with the game's 50th anniversary) would go full maximalist and have every iconic monster from every setting as a love letter to the game and its worlds.

As for the Drow Priests, I agree that their statblocks are only applicable to Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms, but those are two of the larger and more historical settings that have shaped the flavor of both drow and the game itself.

As for other settings, Eberron has always had its own twist to things. A drow priestess of lolth wouldn't work there, but neither do fiendish gnolls or fey goblins. Dragonlance, too, is more idiosyncratic. There are no drow in Krynn, but neither are there any giants other than hill giants. Athas is not a current setting, and is unlikely to be revived, but if we are talking about popular old settings we could bring up Nentir Vale/Points of Light/Nerath, where the drow priest would work perfectly.

Ravenloft I would almost categorize as a multiversal setting like Planescape and Spelljammer, though a drow priest statblock wouldn't fit the flavor. Exandria and the MTG settings, to me these are almost deuterocanonical. They are doing their own thing with the Dungeons & Dragons toolset, and aren't really in dialoge with the D&D multiverse (such as it is). A lot of D&D things don't work there as is (and as of the end of C3, gods as a whole don't work with Exandria).

D&D is supposed to be all things at once. Some people want it to be a generic toolbox that is compatible with a dozen unique D&D settings AND their personal homebrew. Others want rich lore and history that is internally consistent.

I think you hit the nail on the head for me here. I am firmly not in the generic toolbox camp. Anyone can make a statblock, and a DM can make that statblock into anything and everything with reflavoring and tweaking. I don't see the Monster Manual as a statblock repository, I see it as a stealth guide to the ur-D&D campaign setting...which to my mind happens to look a lot like Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms (and also Nentir Vale and Mystara)

 

[Dire Bare]

There's a good chance this is a recent decision based on the reaction to the MM. I get the sense listening to him that Crawford has recently received several thousand dollars worth of media training. He's starting to sound like a corporate shill more and more.

Unlikely. The development on the FR book was likely largely completed before the "controversy" of statblocks in the MM. Besides, I really doubt the negativity represents a majority of fans, just the loud and cranky ones, and WotC is aware of that.

 

[Dire Bare]

Elves have always had more sub races than other races, TSR had a thing for elves

It's not that TSR had a thing for elves, it's that fans have a thing for elves. People like elves! So, TSR gave them elves.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I'm so tired of all these Multiverses...

Not the same kind of multiverse.

 

[SkidAce]

In my campaign Drow are like Romulans and those that reject Lollth are like Vulcans. So I did what all DMs do and "borrowed" an idea from existing fiction, in this case Star Trek and Greyhawk, to come up with a solution. So my Grey elves still have to resist the pull of Lollth so they focus on logic, reasoning and intellect above all. Because of their ascetic lifestyle they come off as even more aloof than normal and tend to have LG or LN alignments.

I did it that way because it gave a reason to explain why this group of elves have such a different outlook on life and because the very dark grey to black skin of drow is not natural, it's a result of the influence of Lollth and the underdark.

Once again we do something similar.

My elves (Alfar) start as standard. Then you had a "corruption" event where a large portion of the elven populace turned away from the Light, and became demon worshippers. (Lolth is "merely" a demon). These elves are called the Druas (drew-ahz), or more commonly, Shadow elves.

Not all Druas followed Lolth, many clans/houses followed other demons. They also don't live very far underground, mostly in dim dark forests, and shallow caves. Except Lolth's of course.

Lolth Druas are mainly grayish skinned but not all. In fact, many Druas look very similar to standard elves. Other elves can sense their darkness however.

Neat feature; if a Druas pilgrimages to the Queen of Elves, other Alfar recognize this (or respect it) and allow them to continue. Once before the Queen, they can request to return to the light, and if true in heart, their shroud is lifted and they become eladrin. This is normally kept secret from non-elves, cause they dont want to admit them and the Druas are the actual same, just "philosophically" divided.

 

[Scribe]

Not the same kind of multiverse.

Then they shouldnt have used that word.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I would actually love that. My ideal Monster Manual (especially if it was vaguely timed with the game's 50th anniversary) would go full maximalist and have every iconic monster from every setting as a love letter to the game and its worlds.

As for the Drow Priests, I agree that their statblocks are only applicable to Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms, but those are two of the larger and more historical settings that have shaped the flavor of both drow and the game itself.

As for other settings, Eberron has always had its own twist to things. A drow priestess of lolth wouldn't work there, but neither do fiendish gnolls or fey goblins. Dragonlance, too, is more idiosyncratic. There are no drow in Krynn, but neither are there any giants other than hill giants. Athas is not a current setting, and is unlikely to be revived, but if we are talking about popular old settings we could bring up Nentir Vale/Points of Light/Nerath, where the drow priest would work perfectly.

Ravenloft I would almost categorize as a multiversal setting like Planescape and Spelljammer, though a drow priest statblock wouldn't fit the flavor. Exandria and the MTG settings, to me these are almost deuterocanonical. They are doing their own thing with the Dungeons & Dragons toolset, and aren't really in dialoge with the D&D multiverse (such as it is). A lot of D&D things don't work there as is (and as of the end of C3, gods as a whole don't work with Exandria).



I think you hit the nail on the head for me here. I am firmly not in the generic toolbox camp. Anyone can make a statblock, and a DM can make that statblock into anything and everything with reflavoring and tweaking. I don't see the Monster Manual as a statblock repository, I see it as a stealth guide to the ur-D&D campaign setting...which to my mind happens to look a lot like Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms (and also Nentir Vale and Mystara)

Priestesses of Lolth work well in Spelljammer & Planescape as well.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Then they shouldnt have used that word.

Well, the term is very commercial. Makes sense from a corporate maximum profit point of view.

 

[Scribe]

Well, the term is very commercial. Makes sense from a corporate maximum profit point of view.

Sure, riding Marvel's coat tails and all that, but still it's not the same.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Sure, riding Marvel's coat tails and all that, but still it's not the same.

Well, making money isn't about being accurate.