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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medic" data-source="post: 8613218" data-attributes="member: 7035835">Loviatar spare me, this was never the case, at least not by the time AD&D's Faiths & Pantheons rolled around. The Drow had an entire pantheon of deities competing for their worship, and even entire cities that have patrons that weren't Lolth. They even had secular organizations with Drow in them such as the Underdark Anarchists' Fellowship and Affiliated Merchants of the Underdark! 5th Edition just diminished their influence and walked back on the idea that Spider Mom needed to maintain her stranglehold on the Drow because she was hemorrhaging followers. Aside, both sun elves and wild elves have dark skin, and neither are considered evil.I'd imagine that this was done to bring back "Classic Drow" like the ones portrayed in a certain widely-recognized series of novels. That's something that a lot of early 5e content is guilty of, both in fluff and crunch, actually - trying to make a "Greatest Hits" version of D&D by resurrecting old sacred cows in the vain hope of winning the grogs back. If I had to take a guess as to why, it was the "civil and rational" reaction to 4th Edition completely reinventing the wheel that made them reluctant to push the envelope.Hmm, when I saw the word "Disneyfied" I imagined it as an emotionally-charged expression made by angry grognards to convey the amorphous discontent they felt at things becoming newer and shinier. Framing it like this, however, gives me a new understanding that I lacked previously. Thank you.This happens to be a great springboard from which to elaborate on the post I made previously by giving a handful of specific examples.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Red Wizards used to be prolific slavers that reaped the benefits of employing forced labor on their large plantations as well as having a steady supply of fodder for Evil Wizard™ experiments.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A city-state of Drow used to rule Dambrath as suzerains through a race-based hierarchy enforced by their half-elf progeny, with humans being second-class citizens.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Women are not equal to men in Calimshan, and do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Beshaba's clerics used to leverage their reputation to extort level zero commoners for money, succor, and "companionship" whenever they felt like it without facing much in the way of consequences.</li> </ul>The items on this list are all obvious "bad guy" activities, or at least explain why my level one rogue would rather risk her life looking for a big treasure payout in the Dungeon of Despair than stay at home. I want to make it clear that these things were not retconned out of existence, never to be seen again. Wizards just... throws a sheet over it, so that casual observers don't need to view and interact with day-to-day hardships.</blockquote>

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