Drow - good for anything?

[wildstarsreach]

Can anyone make a drow PC that would be better than a human? Anyone? I know I have been posting threads over and over again about how drow LA is too high, and I always get "but it isn't! They have SR, and good abilites, and darkvision out to 120 feet!" To which I could make counterarguments, but nobody would care. So what are drow good for? Obviously not spellcasting. What can they use their great abilities to excel at?

Note: Without LA buyoff, the Monster Manual version.

To note, The Drow hav +2 Int, +2 Cha, +2 Dex and -2 Con. Net a +4 would make this alone an LA +1. If you add in all the other enhancements including SR, then this goes to a LA +2. Now I would agree that the +2 to Cha and Int were changed to a +2 to either, players choice, then I would move this down to an LA +1. It's the overall package that is costing so much. I haven't played a drow since 3rd ed came out except in NWN2. It played fine all the way through the end playing a fight of all things. The SR made the difference when attacking spellcasters since their spells rarely worked.

 

[nittanytbone]

I think the loss in caster levels is deadly.

They do make ok rogue types/skill monkeys, though. HP will be weak, but the bonus to INT makes up for the lack of human skill points. Darkvision is a big plus for skill monkeys as well. So, drow assassins, rogues, or even barbarians (to offset their lack of con and missing two HD) do fairly well.

 

[Klaus]

Drow make great archers, be it Fighters, Rangers, Rogues/Scouts or Warlocks.

The +2 Dex nets them +1 to attacks and AC, and the increased range downplays a drow's reduced hit points.

The SR and save bonus protects the drow from ranged spells.

The increased Int lets them have one more maximized skill.

The increased Darkvision range means they can strike from Total Concealment more often than not. Add a rogue level and it's Sneak Attack heaven! If you want to take advantage of the Favored Class of males, you can take a level of Wizard in order to get access to 1st-level spells like True Strike. For females, the cleric-archer build works great, specially since they get access to Magic Weapon and other spells, and has no spell failure.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Want to do something unique? Forget the drow even exist. Your world will thank you.

Quoted for truth.

 

[Darklone]

I think the loss in caster levels is deadly.

They do make ok rogue types/skill monkeys, though. HP will be weak, but the bonus to INT makes up for the lack of human skill points. Darkvision is a big plus for skill monkeys as well. So, drow assassins, rogues, or even barbarians (to offset their lack of con and missing two HD) do fairly well.

Agreed. Drow are great for anything except melee and pure spellcasters.

As Felix wrote above, having a 40% chance of resisting spells in addition to your save is huge.

And the attribute enhancements give you a good chance of having the same Con as a human with any point buy system. Still, you have two HD less, but it's not as bad as it seems.

 

[werk]

I think they make smashing paladins

 

[nittanytbone]

Still, you have two HD less, but it's not as bad as it seems.

Well, it is as bad as it seems (especially at low to mid levels), but you can make something that is only moderately sucky instead of tremendously sucky.

I remember a pair of drow that joined our party in a lower level game (level 3 up to 5), a rogue and a wizard. The other two of us playing hated it, as the drow were worse than useless. Not only could they not hit reliably or do much damage or cast useful spells, but they were tough to keep alive too and needed constant protection due to their poor HP and saves. We were annoyed because despite their uselessness, they STILL sucked a full share of XP and treasure. Once we started to deny them treasure if they did nothing but cower in the back uselessly with their 5 HP (they didn't even want to hold lanterns, so we still had to hire a Patsy to do that!), they made new characters pretty quickly.

 

[Sigdel]

Quoted for truth.

Or you could have a Drow vs. Kobald war and have the Drow get their shiny black-butts handed to them. That would be neat.

 

[Seeten]

I think they were designed as foes first and playable second. Many races don't have appropriate LAs, or aren't really even balanced with a listed LA score (eg overpowered in some areas, underpowered in others, perhaps barely playable due to something like fast healing or regeneration, etc).

Just because drow have an LA doesn't mean you have "permission" to use them. They're not in the Player's Handbook, they're in the Monster Manual. Balancing their LA properly might even mean making them lame as monsters, and there's no reason why they should have more love lavished on them than anything else in the MM.

Except due to their terrible HD and HP, they make terrible foes, too

 

[Grog]

To be fair, the drow has commensurate benefits.

+1 DC for Wizard or Sorcerer spells.
+1 extra Spell/day for Wizards and Sorcerers.
+1 Skill point per HD
+1 AC
+1 Ref Save
+2 Will Save (v spells and SLA's)

Actually, the last two are inaccurate. Because of the +2 LA, the saving throw bonuses won't be as high. If they're a class that has a good Reflex save, their save will be the same as a human's (+2 Dex but -1 base Reflex save). If they're a class that has a poor Reflex save, they'll only have a +1 for one out of every three levels. Same with the Will saves.