D&D 5E Do you think they will go back to driders being a curse instead of a blessing?

[Libramarian]

If, in real life, someone came along and gifted humans with an extra pair of arms, not everybody would be lining up to get them. It's possible for something to make someone more powerful and to be a curse.

I agree. I think even worshippers of Ganesha wouldn't be lining up for an extra pair of arms, or an elephant head. The idea that religious worship is always a straightforward relationship of admiration and inspiration displays a Christian bias.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I agree. I think even worshippers of Ganesha wouldn't be lining up for an extra pair of arms, or an elephant head. The idea that religious worship is always a straightforward relationship of admiration and inspiration displays a Christian bias.

That's applying modern human standards to drow, which I think is misleading. Based on everything I've read about them, the drow are obsessed with power as a race. Driders are undeniably more powerful. In fact, the only downside seems to be the social stigma, which only arises from it being viewed as a curse rather than a blessing. While a social stigma would certainly coincide with the loss of political power, that relationship strikes me as putting effect before cause. Powerful drow tend to have more political power. Driders are more powerful. Hence, it seems far more logical to me that the drider "curse" would be viewed as a blessing and therefore result in an overall increase in social stature.

Now if driders were spider-versions of lemure, it would make sense that it was a curse.

 

[Savage Wombat]

I'm just working off memory here, but as I recall from the original materials being trapped in the form of a drider, an 8 or so HD creature with no advancement rules available, would be a marked negative to creatures in a society where 9-12th level characters are quite common, if not the norm.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I don't think there's a legitimate argument for "it doesn't make sense that driders are a curse." The bottom line is that Lolth has made it clear that Driders are Drow who failed her test, and all the Drow know this. They consider it a curse because they know that it is, from the word of their god. Even if they think driders are cool (unlikely, since the humanoid part is described as bloated and unrecognizable, and they become antisocial hunters who thirst for blood).

 

[RangerWickett]

Maybe they could salvage the dichotomy this way:

"The goddess Lolth can use the drider transformation as both a blessing and a curse. For drow she finds loyal and worthy, the transition is a mystical awakening where the worshiper is brought closer to her goddess. Proud and powerful, these blessed driders are rare, with only a handful created each century.

"Far more common are cursed driders. For the disobedient and unworthy, the change wracks them with agonizing pain and leaves their mind forever trapped, forced to watch while their misshapen bodies behaves like savage beasts. They still carry a semblance of their former selves, but move about hunched and shamed as they obey the commands of other drow who knew better than to defy the Spider Queen."

 

[Libramarian]

That's applying modern human standards to drow, which I think is misleading. Based on everything I've read about them, the drow are obsessed with power as a race. Driders are undeniably more powerful. In fact, the only downside seems to be the social stigma, which only arises from it being viewed as a curse rather than a blessing. While a social stigma would certainly coincide with the loss of political power, that relationship strikes me as putting effect before cause. Powerful drow tend to have more political power. Driders are more powerful. Hence, it seems far more logical to me that the drider "curse" would be viewed as a blessing and therefore result in an overall increase in social stature.

Now if driders were spider-versions of lemure, it would make sense that it was a curse.

I'm quite willing to believe that their mindset is different from modern humans, but I just think it's more interesting if they worship Lloth while also thinking she is hideous and terrifying, rather than liking everything about her and wanting to be just like her when they grow up. Also I think if they're obsessed with anything as a race its hatred rather than power as such. But in terms of their internal political maneuvering, they're in shifting alliances and always looking for a pretext to ostracize and eliminate a rival. Becoming a giant bloodsucking spider thing would make you the nail that sticks up and is hammered first.

 

[steeldragons]

How 'bout this...only male drow are turned into driders.

To be a male drow attracting enough attention from Lolth to be turned into a drider is, clearly, a blessing! They gain incredible power, a new body in their goddess' own [perceived] form...and go on the roll-call as consort for Lolth herself (if/when she deems to visit the drider)! What higher honor could be bestowed on a male drow?

What was that again? That thing black widows do to their mates?...Ah yes, driders discover a bit too late, their ultimate blessing is actually a curse...but [glass half-full?] not before getting to "make it" with a goddess. [EDIT: and really, after that, what is there for the poor sap to live for anyway?/EDIT]

Those drider's smart enough to realize this do everything they can to hide themselves...as far from drowdom as they can get in hopes of escaping their "queen/goddess/potential lover-executioner"s notice.

 

[I'm A Banana]

While being physically more powerful than Drow, I always understood Driders to be more akin to a semi-mindless, tortured Frankenstein's Monster. A freak rather than a favored being.

DING!

I liked the counter-intuitiveness of driders being a curse. It's not obvious just knowing that drow like spiders that it would be. Which is what makes it more interesting to me.

I imagine with the perspective 5e is taking on lore, I'd be betting on it being "both." Some drow view this as a curse, to be turned into something like their servants. Some view this as a blessing. It's not clear how Lolth feels about it, since both awesome drow and crappy drow become driders (or, driders were created in ancient days by direct divine intervention and now breed true, and they think they're awesome, but other drow think they're cursed. Either one or both of them might be lying about it -- driders puffing themselves up, drow trying to save face, whatever).

 

[SkidAce]

I like driders as a curse, but see some of the points of those preferring it as a blessing.

The ONE thing I won't change regardless in my campaign is the fact that they are created. No reproduction for driders.

Currently, a vile creature that uses blood magic (The Spider from Birthright) is a major antagonist in the form of a drider (major villian/epic).

He creates drider minions and sends them on tasks and missions throughout the area. He can, nearly at will, send his spirit to inhabit the drider for a short time, which after he is done causes it to burn up and turn into ashes. You can imagine the drider would like to be successful on its own so the Spider doesn't have to take over.

By the way, there is a three way conflict brewing in the area. The Spider is manipulating an expanding human frontier into conflict with a race of dark forest dwelling drow (druas) who don't worship Lolth by the way. (She is just one of many demons that various drow clans worship). They follow Tenebrous, demon of shadows.

So the drow are fighting against spiders and humans/elves (PCs).

 

[MasterTrancer]

While I appreciate the reasoning behind the "drider as a blessing", and somewhat side with it, I just can't see the outcome of it: if being a drider is a show of having been directly blessed by Lolth, that also should mean that driders have any right to be the most prominent "persons" of the drow society (beside Lolth priestessdom), and that doesn't seem the case to me.

Just a thought thrown in the discussion...