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."

 

[Scribe]

Level 1 characters are bursting at the seams. I am unsure how to add even more design space to a character.

Species - Born
Background - Training, Education, Occupation
Class - Call to Adventure

Culture is the only thing really missing. I dont see 3 options as 'bursting' personally.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Species - Born
Background - Training, Education, Occupation
Class - Call to Adventure

Culture is the only thing really missing. I dont see 3 options as 'bursting' personally.

I can think of one amazing version of 5e where culture isn't missing.

I all seriousness, I really think we should just let WotC do whatever it's going to do, and move beyond them if you want more or different.

 

[Maxperson]

I mean, there are two types of dwarf (normal and duergar)

What happened to hill and mountain?

, three gnomes, three tieflings, five goliaths,

5 goliaths? What book are those in?

and ten dragonborn types.

There's really one one dragonborn type. It's just that you get to make a choice from 10 options that determine your breath weapon and resistance.

 

[Maxperson]

Interesting point. Culture as of this moment is irrelevant in 5.5.

Will this FR book change that?

It seems that way, but who knows exactly how they are implementing it.

 

[Maxperson]

Sure, but if its just Subclasses, and Backgrounds, then its not like Culture went anywhere, those are just what we already have.

Not necessarily. Culture can also be background.

 

[Maxperson]

I expect to see "Evil faction" Drow Backgrounds, and from there various unaligned cultural options generally.

I prefer classes and subclasses to represent "fighting styles". But this can imply organizations, such as a Druid "circle" defending something, or a Paladin order giving an oath to champion some cause.

Level 1 characters are bursting at the seams. I am unsure how to add even more design space to a character.

On the other hand, the Bastion is probably an excellent design area to think about culture, as it depends on the nature of it and its relationship to the communities around it.

I think culture needs to come first, but that bastions can and probably should be influenced by the choice of culture.

 

[Distracted DM]

I guess its not problematic to stat out drow in monster manuals after all. Huh.

I had this thought as well, buuut I guess the caveat here is that it's not in a book called "monster manual," you're not calling them monsters? I know, flimsy, but I have to imagine that that has to be their excuse for not including them in the MM.

 

[dave2008]

Movies meet my definition better than yours I think.

I don't have "a" definition so I am not sure what you are talking about. Multiverse means different things in different context. I'm fine with that. Personally, when I think if multiverse I think of the D&D multiverse because that is where I first came across the idea. When I first heard people talking about multiple / parallel universes as a "multiverse" my first reaction was: that is not a multiverse, let me show you right in in my Deities and Demigods what a multiverse is!

 

[dave2008]

I guess its not problematic to stat out drow in monster manuals after all. Huh.

To be fair, WotC never said it was!

 

[MonsterEnvy]

As far as i know D&D multiverse has been used since the start of 5e, probably before too.