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."

 

[DarkCrisis]

I think the Auroral Ice Drow and Jungle Shade Drow are both sick and aesthetic as hell. I don't know why so many people hate on them. New ideas are cool, new aesthetics are cool, I'm all for adding to the Realms. Underdark Drow aren't going anywhere, stop pearl clutching at new things.

My issue with them is that they make it a point to establish how much more beautiful their city is and how much better they are at magic etc.

They even have the best slides!

They can have new and special Drow but they don’t need to spend page time emphasizing how much better they are than their evil cousins.

Also good Drow already existed but I guess Elistree followers just weren’t awesome enough and better at everything.

 

[Scribe]

My issue with them is that they make it a point to establish how much more beautiful their city is and how much better they are at magic etc.

All of which, along with their creation in the first place, being very intentionally done.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

True, so dump them in some new setting instead of telling us they have 'always been there' in a decades old one and expect us to buy it.

The Forgotten Realms is big. Like ridiculously big. So big that there have been decades of supplements, novels, and video games exploring the setting, and they still haven’t done anything with the Fantasy Australia continent. The bigness of the setting is actually one of my main issues with it. It’s just too much.

I am 100% okay with them saying “they always existed” because the setting is so huge that it is absolutely possible there’s enclaves of good drow hidden throughout the setting. “They always existed” is actually my preferred method of “retconning” something in a D&D setting, like how Dragonborn were introduced to Eberron.

If you don’t like it, fine. I think this argument is nonsensical, given how many new monsters and species have been “snapped into existence” over the decades. But I obviously don’t have anything wrong with you not using the new Drow types they came up with. I probably won’t use them, but mostly because I’m not an FR fan.

 

[Scribe]

I am 100% okay with them saying “they always existed” because the setting is so huge that it is absolutely possible there’s enclaves of good drow hidden throughout the setting. “They always existed” is actually my preferred method of “retconning” something in a D&D setting, like how Dragonborn were introduced to Eberron

I'm glad it works for you.

 

[Distracted DM]

I guess this is one way to get people to buy the new books; it's not enough to tempt me back but there is appeal there!

Where are the ice drow from that I see folk mentioning? Jungle drow I know from Eberron.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I wonder if they’ll reprint the Drow Gunslinger stat block that was in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

 

[Oofta]

True, so dump them in some new setting instead of telling us they have 'always been there' in a decades old one and expect us to buy it.

A fair number of people insist that if you want to add a new species to your game that you can always come up with justification for them, that it should never be a big deal to introduce any species under the sun. A splinter group of drow should therefore be no problem!

On the other hand, it's FR. It's not like the setting has all that much coherence or logic behind it. In my own game I have my own lore and explanations, including drow that reject their societal morals but I did that years and years ago because of issues with their depiction.

 

[KentHusker]

It's the ignorant opinions I find tiresome. The ones not based on any actual experience or knowledge of a thing.

Oh the hypocritical irony.

 

[KentHusker]

True, so dump them in some new setting instead of telling us they have 'always been there' in a decades old one and expect us to buy it.

So they may as well just stop making any new content for setting then by your argument.

 

[Scribe]

So they may as well just stop making any new content for setting then by your argument.

Unless it's going to come about organically?

Yeah, sure. Look at the new Purple Dragon Knight. It's an abomination of lore butchery.