Marc Radle
Legend
Grow. Forever grow 
D&D General Drow as in Cow or Drow as in Snow: Where did the Dark Elves Come From?
- Thread starter Snarf Zagyg
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Bupp
Adventurer
I originally pronounced it drow, then that Dragon Magazine came out and I started begrudging started saying drow. Though I continue to use them interchangeably.
I've always been somewhat aware of "the drow problem". I've always liked elements of them, but never really got into the Drizztization of them. Honestly never much of a FR fan, I'm a GH OG.
My game runs on a magitech level somewhere between Spelljammer and Voidrunner's Codex. I already cite Star Wars in my world's Appendix N, so my drow are just Dathomirians. My exposure to them is mainly through the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.
When I was more actively blogging, I wrote about it here.
jonbupp.wordpress.com
TLDR:
"A matriarchal society ruled by the Nightsisters? Pale skinned witches that manipulate foggy green magical auras that can look vaguely web-like?"
"Hit squads of red clad female ninjas and assassins."
"Let’s not forget the Nightbrothers. Subservient males that are kept around for muscle and breeding."
Darth Maul is a Nightbrother. I think when referring to the Nightbrothers, you would pronounce it drow as in "bro".
I think the Dathomirian art leans more Errol Otus. Which is a plus for me as well.
I've always been somewhat aware of "the drow problem". I've always liked elements of them, but never really got into the Drizztization of them. Honestly never much of a FR fan, I'm a GH OG.
My game runs on a magitech level somewhere between Spelljammer and Voidrunner's Codex. I already cite Star Wars in my world's Appendix N, so my drow are just Dathomirians. My exposure to them is mainly through the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.
When I was more actively blogging, I wrote about it here.
Eska: “The Drow Problem” Solved! Dathomirians
Like, Follow, Share, Support! For those of you that don’t know, the drow of D&D have at times had an image problem. I’ll leave others to define it: The Problem With Drow by Jared Ra…
jonbupp.wordpress.com
TLDR:
"A matriarchal society ruled by the Nightsisters? Pale skinned witches that manipulate foggy green magical auras that can look vaguely web-like?"
"Hit squads of red clad female ninjas and assassins."
"Let’s not forget the Nightbrothers. Subservient males that are kept around for muscle and breeding."
Darth Maul is a Nightbrother. I think when referring to the Nightbrothers, you would pronounce it drow as in "bro".
I think the Dathomirian art leans more Errol Otus. Which is a plus for me as well.
PHATsakk43
Last Authlim of the True Lord of Tyranny
I think he was overthrown by a pantheon that was also overthrown.
There seems to have been a cascade of pantheon overthrowing.
Bupp
Adventurer
As is tradition
RhaezDaevan
Explorer
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Back in the early and mid 80s when I was first playing I probably heard it both ways (drow as in "grow" and drow as in "cow") about 50/50. But as time went on and definitely by the early 90s, the former pronunciation died out in my circles and I never heard it again (except in derision of the fools who would say it that way ), and everyone I met from new people at my tables, to folks at cons, to fans of Forgotten Realms novels who had never so much as seen a d20, let alone played D&D, all pronounced it as rhyming with "cow."
Not sure that my experience means anything to the discussion, but it is my experience of it, nonetheless.
), and everyone I met from new people at my tables, to folks at cons, to fans of Forgotten Realms novels who had never so much as seen a d20, let alone played D&D, all pronounced it as rhyming with "cow."Not sure that my experience means anything to the discussion, but it is my experience of it, nonetheless.
pawsplay
Hero
My pronunciation is a lot closer to "draw," but in an American way, without a phantom R, but also not a Texan way with a flat vowel. Or I could say it rhymes with Nassau, the city, not the place in New York. I could say the vowel sound is the same as in bout, but then I would have to tell you that for me, that has a different vowel sound than cow. I have a peculiar accent, but it's based on my native northern Arkansas accent. Dog and hog don't rhyme for me.
I won't say someone is wrong for saying it rhymes with cow. Or with grow, knowing that drow is a cognate of trow, which is also troll. Drow, draugh, trow, troll are all words with a common origin.
As far as their presentation, they are clearly a mix of "dark elves," having traits of what might be two Scandanavian types, but also heavily influenced by Melniboneans and Gygax's own peculiarities. I think you can try to present them in a more balanced way. Or you can dig deep into the existing lore, and give them a role, a structure, a purpose for existing. What I will suggest is that you can't use them uncritically. As originally written, they were a mix of always-evil tropes, misogyny, stereotypes of women from swords and sorcery, racism, and exoticism. Melniboneans have more nuance; "dark elves" from Scandanavian lore were less human; any early depiction of drow probably needed more personality. Drizzt became a window into making drow more interesting. But he also made it really obvious how unstable and inconsistent the lore was.
My personal take is to make drow shadow-dwelling elves. Their society can be cruel and strange, but they aren't necessarily more evil or intrinsically cruel than other sapients. Most of the bad stuff others hear about them is the result of their rules, who are decadent demon worshippes (a la Melnibone). Depending on my mood, they could be either pale or more purple-gray. Sometimes I like to imagine that their ruling class is a purple-black color as a result of breeding cambions into their line (the creation of which was mentioned in 3d); the lower classes look just like wood elves, or maybe pale underground dwellers, depending on how I'm depicting their environment in that version.
I don't feel like I need drow in my fantasy worlds, but I sometimes think about things I could do with them.
I won't say someone is wrong for saying it rhymes with cow. Or with grow, knowing that drow is a cognate of trow, which is also troll. Drow, draugh, trow, troll are all words with a common origin.
As far as their presentation, they are clearly a mix of "dark elves," having traits of what might be two Scandanavian types, but also heavily influenced by Melniboneans and Gygax's own peculiarities. I think you can try to present them in a more balanced way. Or you can dig deep into the existing lore, and give them a role, a structure, a purpose for existing. What I will suggest is that you can't use them uncritically. As originally written, they were a mix of always-evil tropes, misogyny, stereotypes of women from swords and sorcery, racism, and exoticism. Melniboneans have more nuance; "dark elves" from Scandanavian lore were less human; any early depiction of drow probably needed more personality. Drizzt became a window into making drow more interesting. But he also made it really obvious how unstable and inconsistent the lore was.
My personal take is to make drow shadow-dwelling elves. Their society can be cruel and strange, but they aren't necessarily more evil or intrinsically cruel than other sapients. Most of the bad stuff others hear about them is the result of their rules, who are decadent demon worshippes (a la Melnibone). Depending on my mood, they could be either pale or more purple-gray. Sometimes I like to imagine that their ruling class is a purple-black color as a result of breeding cambions into their line (the creation of which was mentioned in 3d); the lower classes look just like wood elves, or maybe pale underground dwellers, depending on how I'm depicting their environment in that version.
I don't feel like I need drow in my fantasy worlds, but I sometimes think about things I could do with them.
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