(sighs)
(seems solemn tonight)
(posts something that everyone probably knows already)
Unfortunately James, the drow are ... without humanity.
They once had humanity, 20,000 years ago, before they came under the corruption of Lolth, Ghaunadaur, and the others, but the endless tide of Darkness and Evil pushed at them has at the very least atrophied their capacity for normal feelings and emotions.
They are, verily, the Dark Elves.
99 out of a 100 Dark Elves literally cannot love. They cannot feel love.
They cannot feel affection, closeness, or intimacy. They cannot even intellectually comprehend those words.
There is no word in drow for friend. The drow have no friends. Friendship is another concept that has no meaning to them.
There is no word for family in the drow language, as we think of family. Their word for family would translate more closely to our words for feudal chattel under a landlady.
The drow treat children, when they allow them to live past birth, as adults.
There is no nurturing. There is no love from a mother or father. There is no affection.
There is not even the instinct to protect offspring.
Children are expected to perform at their peak abilities, from the start. Those that do not, are killed. Those that do, are worked half to death from early childhood on.
The (pleasant and friendly) concept of a childrens' charity fund is utterly alien to the drow, even those who refused to go with Eclavdra and stayed behind.
They did not stay behind because they were the 1 in 100 exceptions to the rule. They stayed behind because they didn't believe Eclavdra, or refused to acknowledge her authority, or worshipped other gods, or otherwise felt safer in their own cities than among a crowd of strange drow.
The drow could not even understand a childrens' charity foundation. The very concept would be almost impossible to explain to them, and if they did understand, they'd think it absurd.
The drow do not grant charity to anyone.
If you are getting the impression these are a totally dark, monstrous, irredemable people, you are quite right. They are indeed, the Dark Elves.
Elves are a very lofty, noble people. Consider Elrond from FOTR. Consider Galadriel. Consider Legolas.
As high and noble as the elves are, the drow are equally terrible and unnoble.
1 in 100 Dark Elves is not like their companions, and these few have the potential to become the Drizzt Do'Urdens of the Oerth.
Unfortunately, most of these perish in their native drow environment, or in the Underdark, or at the hands of Surface Dwellers.
For the rare drow who is not like her fellows, there is no place in the world for her. Witness Drizzt Do'Urden and his troubles.
It is possible that in this IR, all of the above may change. Because in an IR, anything is possible.
However, something must happen to cause that change. Something fairly extraordinary.
20,000 years of being poisoned by evil dieties and primordial Evil and Darkness, combined with hatred for the Elves that has rotted and festered for millennia, has made of the drow a rather unpleasant people.
It isn't easy roleplaying them.
Obviously, they reject the Neutrality Pact out of hand (I realize you intended that semi-humorously.)
The drow state categorically that they thrill to the joy of Primordial Evil and Darkness flowing through their veins, their bodies ... the very flesh and bone of their bodies corrupted by the foul emanations of the Lower Planes.
They state that it is bliss to feel the Dark, exhatation to feel the Evil (think of Darth Vader talking about the power of the Dark Side of the Force), glorious and grand to slaughter, destroy, torture, and bring ruin and horror upon others, and that Lolth the Ultimate is their owner in mind, body, and spirit, forever.
They are evil, they know they are evil, they LIKE being evil, they WANT to be evil, they ENJOY behaving evilly, and they are a rotten, irredeemable, accursed people lost to the Darkness.
Compared to the drow, the orcs of Tolkien are nice guys.
Compared to the drow, Sauron himself isn't that bad a chap.
When you think of the drow, think of Lord Foul and his Ravers from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
That's an apt comparison.
The drow are so incredibly bad that they might even rival Vecna in terms of their horrific ways.
Again, the IR may change all that. Again, anything is possible in an IR.
But nothing has happened yet.
Until something does happen, or until the drow are exterminated, I must play them as they were created to be.
(sighs)
Of course, humor always lightens things. Even the drow are not immune to the merrily corrupting effect of the humor (even dark humor) of the one playing them.
Now, if someone had a Helm of Opposition that worked any number of times, and could just trick a lot of drow into putting it on, then ...
Edena_of_Neith
... ...
