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."

 

[Micah Sweet]

How are they going to "convincingly refute" something when it was in a publication describing D&D 40 years ago? What is there to refute?

The increased frequency of its use in current marketing material.

 

[Oofta]

The increased frequency of its use in current marketing material.

So? They've decided that books like the MM are core across multiple campaign worlds and specific lore such as drow in FR is being relegated to an FR specific campaign book. Emphasizing the multiverse aspect that D&D has always had just reinforces that decision. Besides, they are looking for (hired?) someone to do worldbuilding so it makes sense that at some point they emphasize there are more worlds than FR.

 

[Chaltab]

Not to mention that the Marvel/DC multiverse and the D&D multiverse don't even use the word in the same way.

 

[Bae'zel]

This may sound like heresy, but I took a Humanoid stat block, gave them hand crossbows and Drow racial traits from the PHB, then gave them Lolth Poison from the DMG and… they worked fine.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I wonder if they're going to pull in the drow stat blocks from MotM as well, since at some point (hopefully relatively soon)* they will want to update that book to 2024 standards as well, and the drow (and duergar, for that matter) stat blocks won't fit in with the current paradigm. Instead of cutting them entirely, it would make sense to move them to the FR bestiary with the ones from the MM.

*Note that while they added quite a few Humanoid stat blocks to the new MM, they did not bring any over from MotM, although they would be quite useful. Presumably they are saving them for an updated MotM.

 

[Parmandur]

I wonder if they're going to pull in the drow stat blocks from MotM as well, since at some point (hopefully relatively soon)* they will want to update that book to 2024 standards as well, and the drow (and duergar, for that matter) stat blocks won't fit in with the current paradigm. Instead of cutting them entirely, it would make sense to move them to the FR bestiary with the ones from the MM.

*Note that while they added quite a few Humanoid stat blocks to the new MM, they did not bring any over from MotM, although they would be quite useful. Presumably they are saving them for an updated MotM.

I think they have no plans to update MotManytime soon, not gor years even. It is all usable. MotM is newer than Tasha's, and they put material from Tasha's into the PHB unaltered.

 

[Chaosmancer]

But aren't those alt timeliness just implementing a multiverse?

My own campaign is loosely based Norse mythology so the cosmology is based on the great tree Yggdrasil. But just because Yggdrasil represents the material world and it's associated realms (aka planes) it doesn't mean that Yggdrasil is the only tree. But whatever symbolism people use to define their cosmos it doesn't really matter. The actual structure of reality (or realities if you prefer) is basically unknowable. My forest analogy also explains where outsiders come from, they aren't bound to one "tree".

I didn't do this because I care about the word "multiverse" one way or another, it's a term that's been used for at least 40 years in D&D. Disney doesn't own the word. I just did it this way because to me it would make sense both from the perspective who always defined their cosmology as a tree while still allowing for outsiders and potentially travelling between alternate campaign worlds.

I don't know why, but your post made me think of a Cosmic Forest, and I'm going to have to chew on that for a while.

 

[Parmandur]

I don't know why, but your post made me think of a Cosmic Forest, and I'm going to have to chew on that for a while.

Sort if a Wood Between Worlds...?

 

[Demetrios1453]

I think they have no plans to update MotManytime soon, not gor years even. It is all usable. MotM is newer than Tasha's, and they put material from Tasha's into the PHB unaltered.

Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to add the drow stat blocks from there in the new FR book just for the sake of completeness, especially since some, like the Matron Mother and House Captain, are very FR-orientated, with Menzoberanzan being mentioned in some of the flavor text.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I don't hate Disney's work, at all. No one benefits from assumptions. I just prefer it when what I see as blatant marketing choices are admitted to, or convincingly refuted.

Except you never accept any evidence from any source. Because anything from the designers is just a lie in disguise, and anything from older editions isn't applicable because it is "different" now. And it is different because... Disney made something that made money.