Evil Drow Statblocks to Return in Forgotten Realms Rulebooks Later This Year

Drow-specific NPC statblocks will be included in the upcoming Forgotten Realms Adventurer's Guide set for release later this year. Over the past several weeks, much hullabaloo has been made over the Monster Manual, specifically that the D&D design team replaced specific drow and orc statblocks with generic NPC statblocks that can be used for any kind of humanoids. In a video released today, D&D lead designer Jeremy Crawford confirmed that more specific statblocks tied to specific humanoid sects or characters would return in future rulebooks, with evil drow given as an example.

"Also for anyone who's eager to see more species-tailored humanoid statblocks, people are going to see more of that in our setting books," Crawford said. "You're going to see that in our Forgotten Realms products, for example. The malevolent drow of Menzoberranzan are an important part of that setting and so they get their own statblocks. This is really true of all the creatures in the Monster Manual. This is your massive starting toy box of monsters that are usable anywhere in the multiverse. The bestiaries in our setting products, that's where we can provide you versions of things tailored to the cultures and histories of our different worlds."

 

[Parmandur]

I don't think they're going to bother releasing a Greyhawk sourcebook, as I was under the impression that the DMG detailing it is more of a freebie "make it your own world". Where a more detailed and specific implementation of D&D with things that sort of resemble "a standard" that they would bother releasing sourcebooks on would be Forgotten Realms.

So despite the the assumption of the Drow starting in Greyhawk, it's more prevalent in the Forgotten Realms where they have a lot of novels as inspiration on the subject.

Drow in Eberron are different, they're jungle dwelling, scorpion affiliated, ex-slaves of Giants. The Lolth statblocks probably don't suite them as well.

They tried to make a stretch in Dragonlance by saying someone like Dalamar is Drow, even if he's just a High Elf that's been shunned from High Elf society.

Drow in Planescape can be any of the above or something completely new and different, but one of the 2e PS books equated a society of Drow in Ysgard with the Svartalfar of Norse mythology who were in conflict with the Dwarves of Nidavellir. 5e Planescape like a lot of 5e, now has a more handsoff approach when it comes of realworld mythology where it's more inspiration but not any strong specifics.

Yeah, I expect future Setting books will indicate "here's how you van fit this in Greyhawk from the DMG or your own homebrew!"

 

[Oofta]

As far as i know D&D multiverse has been used since the start of 5e, probably before too.

I posted a quote from Gygax on 1985 above. Does that mean Marvel stole it from D&D?

 

[Remathilis]

What happened to hill and mountain?

5 goliaths? What book are those in?

There's really one one dragonborn type. It's just that you get to make a choice from 10 options that determine your breath weapon and resistance.

Hill and mountain were rolled up into one package like high/gray (or Sun/moon) elves are one package.

The PHB has the option to pick your goliaths heritage from hill, mountain, frost, fire and storm and cloud (so actually six, the original mountain plus 5 new ones)

And the 10 dragonborn choices do represent different heritages of dragonborn.

Honestly, it might help if people looked at the books from time to time.

 

[Remathilis]

I posted a quote from Gygax on 1985 above. Does that mean Marvel stole it from D&D?

DC has been using it from at least the 80s when Crisis on Infinite Earths happened. Nothing about multiverses are new in the geek circles, they just weren't used in larger public media because people were assumed to be too stupid to understand the concept. (A theory that has some weight to it, based on general audience reactions).

 

[Dire Bare]

To be fair, WotC never said it was!

Truth.

I suspect that attempts to move away from depicting people-as-monsters is a part of the new design philosophy behind MM 2024, but only a part.

Moving lore from core books to setting books seems to be an important consideration as well.

Providing statblocks for evil drow in the new FR book doesn't work against either of those design goals.

Despite the reductive snark from some in the fan community.

 

[Oofta]

DC has been using it from at least the 80s when Crisis on Infinite Earths happened. Nothing about multiverses are new in the geek circles, they just weren't used in larger public media because people were assumed to be too stupid to understand the concept. (A theory that has some weight to it, based on general audience reactions).

Yeah, I've never been much of a comic book nerd so I wouldn't be surprised if the multiverse goes back away. But it's definitely been in D&D long, long, long before the MCU.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I posted a quote from Gygax on 1985 above. Does that mean Marvel stole it from D&D?

Marvel's exploration of alternate universes long predates D&D.

 

[Oofta]

Truth.

I suspect that attempts to move away from depicting people-as-monsters is a part of the new design philosophy behind MM 2024, but only a part.

Moving lore from core books to setting books seems to be an important consideration as well.

Providing statblocks for evil drow in the new FR book doesn't work against either of those design goals.

Despite the reductive snark from some in the fan community.

It makes you wonder if they're going to try to do more of it considering the job opening for a "worldbuilder".

 

[pukunui]

Well, if they’re going to give us stats for the drow of Menzoberanzan they might as well give us the stats for the orcs of Many Arrows all in one book.

Unfortunately, WotC deleted those orcs with the Sundering reset. It was a bit of a “shooting themselves in the foot” move because they could have used the Kingdom of Many Arrows as a prime example of how not all orcs are bloodthirsty savages.

 

[Maxperson]

Hill and mountain were rolled up into one package like high/gray (or Sun/moon) elves are one package.

The PHB has the option to pick your goliaths heritage from hill, mountain, frost, fire and storm and cloud (so actually six, the original mountain plus 5 new ones)

And the 10 dragonborn choices do represent different heritages of dragonborn.

Honestly, it might help if people looked at the books from time to time.

I don't have, and will probably never have the 5.5e books. Makes it hard to look at from time to time or otherwise.

The dragonborn distinction isn't enough to be a subrace. Look at the elven(or any other) subraces in the 5e PHB for what it takes. You need different abilities. Not the same ability with a different energy type.