Drow as a LE race

[Erekose]

I've been reading Drow of the Underdark with great interest but find certain aspects that don't resonate with me that well . . . like Lolth covertly supporting an otherwise unstable culture . . . so I thought what are the minimum number of changes you'd need to make if Drow culture was based on a LE alignment rather than CE?

[I appreciate Lolth would have to be recast as a hellish spider goddess.]

Please can we focus on how this could be done rather than why you feel it's a bad idea (assuming you do ).

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Do you consider madness an element of chaos (or vice versa), because the sheer number of insane drow tells something.

Also I think we'd need to hash out the difference between law and order (and which is more important to a "lawful" alignment) before we could get anywhere. If you ask me, order is more important...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

As of 3.5, drow are NE, not CE, which makes a lot more sense. I think that the drow work great as a LE culture as-is, once you change Lolth to something other than a demon (although even that could be made to work).

 

[catsclaw227]

I would say that the Drow found in Mongoose Publishing's Drow War AP trilogy were more LE than CE. Adrian Bott made them more like boot-stomping nazi's than anything else. It was very well done, BTW.

An excerpt from the book:

The Games Master should play the drow in this campaign almost as the exaggerated villains of a Second World War pulp story. They are decadent, but it is the decadence of Berlin Cabaret (officers enjoying evenings of grotesque and ribald entertainment) rather than of Rome. They have a fondness for uniforms, sadism, polished skull-shaped coat buttons and the obliteration of anything that does not fall into their vision of how the world should be. Their ultimate dream is of a world swamped in darkness, of perfect order and subjection to their authority.

This was a very cool angle.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

ne sounds right. you have a lawful pecking order, but its comprized of chaotic members

 

[Celebrim]

Every Drow culture ever depicted in D&D has been in my opinion LE.

So, the minimum change in every case is to make Lolth a LE diety.

And actually, this not only makes alot more sense given how both Lolth and the Drow have been portrayed, but it alot more sense for the great nemesis of the elves to be LE given that the Elvish pantheon as a whole is centered around CG.

 

[Lidgar]

I agree with the above statements. IMC, most drow are NE, while drow merchants and armies tend to be LE drow. CE is reserved for some eccentric nobles and the "underbelly" of drow culture (rogues, assassins, etc.). Lolth is NE, and the Drider's god, Morghol, is as well. Family loyalty above all else - at least on the surface. That does not mean that there are no betrayals - but it does mean that loyalty to the family comes before the church and state (think Sapranos here). Makes for some of the same intrigue, but with more stability in the chaotic environment of the underdark.

 

[Stone Dog]

Drow have always been CE in my book because their byzantine law structure was put in place to encourage their treachery and sharpen their cunning, not to give them any sense of honor or respect for structure and authority.
Lolth wants them to be viscious backstabbing, treacherous, devious villains and so gives them a set of social loopholes to jump through so that they become what she wants them to be. An ever churning reality TV show with the most sadistic and petty host in the multiverse.

All you have to do to change that is make them actually respect the laws of their society, the authority of their superiors and give them a twisted sense of honor. Change their focus from a loose alliance of selfish, vengeful murderers and make them a disciplined force of ambitious, racial supremist murderers.

 

[Vascant]

I would say that the Drow found in Mongoose Publishing's Drow War AP trilogy were more LE than CE. Adrian Bott made them more like boot-stomping nazi's than anything else. It was very well done, BTW.

I thought it could have been the worst piece of literature in gaming that I have ever read..

Back on topic, I have always thought that the Drow needed to be "redone" to explain how they survive in the underdark, the birth rate vs death rate seems even to be impossible. Of course you could easily explain this with radiation a such. This is one of those things when I have tons of free time, like my 2nd or 3rd retirement

 

[catsclaw227]

I thought it could have been the worst piece of literature in gaming that I have ever read..

Different Strokes....

In truth, there were the typical Mongoose editing gaffes, the maps sucked, and set-up was a bit cheesy, but in actual PLAY, the adventures were really loads of fun, with lots of tension, well thought out transitions, and the segments that read cluncky actually played out tightly and worked with the story as a whole.

Most importantly, the players felt the Drow were the not the typical rehashed antagonists they have been in the past, but much a more fearful, evil, megalomaniacal machine.