D&D 5E If you were to rename the Drow for a neutral setting, what would you name them? (thread 3/3)
- Thread starter Slit518
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I called them Droalesti in one of my campaigns. But that's from a setting where all elves followed the -esti suffix system. (And yeah, I'm still waiting for the release of the fabulous Karanesti elves...)
for a more generic name, I'd call them Dark Elves
(And no, WC Night Elves are not even close to being drow. They live on the surface, worship the moon, loathe arcane magic and try to live in harmony with nature)
for a more generic name, I'd call them Dark Elves
(And no, WC Night Elves are not even close to being drow. They live on the surface, worship the moon, loathe arcane magic and try to live in harmony with nature)
I had a homebrew I was designing* in which I had 3 elf races, each of which had used magic to reshape themselves in the aftermath of a terrible multiplanar war.
The Asterainen were the ones who were most closely attuned to magic, and lived “beyond the stars” in a pocket reality similar to the time and space warping legends of Underhill.
The Vertolainen used their magic to fuse their forms with aspects from trees and other plants. They photosynthesize for most, but not all of their food, and live in cunningly engineered stony biodomes near the surface in partnership with The Inheritors- the Cyberman/Dalek-like remnants of a particular Dwarven clan (reskinned warforged).
The Svartolainen were the setting’s version of the Drow, driven underground to escape the ravages of the aftermath, using their magic to attune themselves better to the hazards of the Underdark.
* the file is currently missing
The Asterainen were the ones who were most closely attuned to magic, and lived “beyond the stars” in a pocket reality similar to the time and space warping legends of Underhill.
The Vertolainen used their magic to fuse their forms with aspects from trees and other plants. They photosynthesize for most, but not all of their food, and live in cunningly engineered stony biodomes near the surface in partnership with The Inheritors- the Cyberman/Dalek-like remnants of a particular Dwarven clan (reskinned warforged).
The Svartolainen were the setting’s version of the Drow, driven underground to escape the ravages of the aftermath, using their magic to attune themselves better to the hazards of the Underdark.
* the file is currently missing
I like the terms "dark elves" and "deep elves" for setting neutral drow myself. I use "dark elves" in my 13th age campaign, but of course in my version of the Dragon Empire they aren't very drow-like at all. They're more "unseelie" than "drow". I think there's a lot of merit to the idea that most gamers think "spider-obsessed, matriarchal, demon-worshippers" when they think of "drow" and I think there's a lot more space for underground dwelling elves than that.
In my Mystara games, of course, I use the shadow elves - who really aren't drow-like at all. My current group hasn't gotten anywhere near shadow elves yet, so I don't know what I'll need to do with them in 5e (probably reskin the drow - that's the easiest way to go about it I think).
When I run FR - and when I used to run Greyhawk - I of course use "drow". In my mind they're tied pretty tightly to both settings. You'd think that would mean that I'd see them as more "setting neutral" since they span both of those settings, but I never really have. (I chalk it up to being raised on B/X and BECMI D&D - no drow in those books, drow were always an AD&D thing to me.)
In my Mystara games, of course, I use the shadow elves - who really aren't drow-like at all. My current group hasn't gotten anywhere near shadow elves yet, so I don't know what I'll need to do with them in 5e (probably reskin the drow - that's the easiest way to go about it I think).
When I run FR - and when I used to run Greyhawk - I of course use "drow". In my mind they're tied pretty tightly to both settings. You'd think that would mean that I'd see them as more "setting neutral" since they span both of those settings, but I never really have. (I chalk it up to being raised on B/X and BECMI D&D - no drow in those books, drow were always an AD&D thing to me.)
RangerWickett
Legend
In the interest of slightly more racially-sensitive worldbuilding, so your one marquee dark-skinned race isn't all evil, I'd make a point of having diverse elves.
I had a setting back in college with elves that had large nations in northern mountains, so they looked loosely Scandinavian, only more sharply featured. Then there were elves who lived in a forest that had once burnt down, who all tended to have red hair and tanned skin; elves who had lived in the darkest wooded valleys and had drow skin tones but purple, gold, or crimson hair; elves who had a nation in an archipelago with brown skin and curly black hair; nomadic seafaring elves who looked roughly Polynesian; and the actual 'dark elves' with slate black skin and white hair, who lived in a dreamscape demiplane that lay under the surface of the world.
Each of the groups had names for the ethnic group, plus names for the various nations they lived in, since they weren't monolithic.
Just be a tad more creative than the designers were in the 70s and 80s, and strive for more representation.
I had a setting back in college with elves that had large nations in northern mountains, so they looked loosely Scandinavian, only more sharply featured. Then there were elves who lived in a forest that had once burnt down, who all tended to have red hair and tanned skin; elves who had lived in the darkest wooded valleys and had drow skin tones but purple, gold, or crimson hair; elves who had a nation in an archipelago with brown skin and curly black hair; nomadic seafaring elves who looked roughly Polynesian; and the actual 'dark elves' with slate black skin and white hair, who lived in a dreamscape demiplane that lay under the surface of the world.
Each of the groups had names for the ethnic group, plus names for the various nations they lived in, since they weren't monolithic.
Just be a tad more creative than the designers were in the 70s and 80s, and strive for more representation.
The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
While Dark Elves works, it’s not what they would call themselves, most likely.
So, for a neutral campaign, think about what they call themselves. How about the Sutter (bastardisation of subterranean > subterra > suttera > sutter).
So, for a neutral campaign, think about what they call themselves. How about the Sutter (bastardisation of subterranean > subterra > suttera > sutter).
TheCosmicKid
Hero
They're still all elves: beings of northern European folklore. I'd make a point of having diverse races. Nobody said the drow have to be the "one marquee dark-skinned race".
Also, haven't you heard? All drow are chaotic good. And male. And ambidextrous.
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jasper
Rotten DM
Jerky Jaspers
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