D&D General Justify A Level 1 Drow On the Surface?

[Paul Farquhar]

True meant surviving the underdark. If it was easy to get to the surface it easy for the Drow to raid or someone to invade.

Luck works just fine. Ten rogue drow make for the surface. Only one survives. The one that survives is the PC.

 

[Hussar]

I don't like the idea of surface Drow in viable populations for a source of a player PC.

A Drow renegade or what have you going to the surface is a bit different.

Drow dark, mysterious Fey. PC Drow.

"Hi guys".

Surface Drow to me are a cop out.

Why? Think about what you gain by this. Note, "viable population" here means 2 - mom and dad. So, we're not talking about huge communities here. But, now, the PC actually has a background and a FAMILY. Ties to the setting. How was he treated in the community - an exotic curiousity or a monstrocity? How did he act within that community? How about his parents, and, even better, a couple of siblings and maybe a grandmother too. Fantastic background tied immediately into the setting without disturbing the setting at all.

 

[Shadowdweller]

I mean, it's not like there's two whole gods in the drow pantheon that try to push their followers to immigrate to the surface or anything...

 

[MarkB]

True meant surviving the underdark. If it was easy to get to the surface it easy for the Drow to raid or someone to invade.

Being 1st level doesn't necessarily mean having absolutely no experience of fighting. Maybe your drow was a mighty warrior who fought his way through many terrible beasts on his way up to the surface - but between injuries and illness and venom, those encounters took their toll, leaving him weakened and in poor health by the time he made it to the surface. Regaining his former strength will take time and practice - coincidentally, the same amount of time and practice that it will take for your character to level up a few times as he adventures.

 

[Ashrym]

The character could simply be born on the surface. Why that happened relates to his or her parents instead of the PC. The PC doesn't even need to be aware of why his or her parents were on the surface.

 

[ccs]

Well, see, it was the night of the Summer Solstice (2019) and there was this really crazy party at the Wildwood Inn & (among other things, some of wich cannot be shared on these boards).....

Some unlucky bastard got themselves Pollymorphed into a Drow.

How/why this happened is up for some debate.
* Some claim the fool got caught in the middle when a pair of drunken/stoned casters decided to throw spells at each other. Spell casting under the influence is just begging for trouble you know.
Maybe it was a miscast. Maybe a Wild Magic surge. Maybe one caster couldn't see straight & targeted the wrong person. Who can say.
Afterall, that one chick turned into a purple skinned winged tiefling. Maybe others were also affected.
* Maybe it's the result of a drunken dare/bet. Some say they overheard an exchange that went sorta like this: "You wouldn't last a week as a ~?~" {idiot egged on by the crowd} "I would too! Infact, double or nothing, I'll do a whole YEAR!" "OK....."
And then "POOF!" one dude became a Drow! A Drow!
$ changed hands & some new bets concerning his survival were made.
* Possibly it was a prank. "Hey guys! What if we completely Sharpie the High Elf? (but with magic) With his white hair he'll look just like one of them Drow!"
Warning: Do NOT pass out at parties!
* Of course there's a few witnesses who'll swear to Pelor that this guy really IS a Drow. That when that idiot bard Simon Keene sounded that Horn of Valhalla{?} at midnight & started that brawl, that this guy also came out of the portal right behind the bezerkers. No explanation why he didn't unsummon when the barbarians did.

 

[Zardnaar]

Well, see, it was the night of the Summer Solstice (2019) and there was this really crazy party at the Wildwood Inn & (among other things, some of wich cannot be shared on these boards).....

Some unlucky bastard got themselves Pollymorphed into a Drow.

How/why this happened is up for some debate.
* Some claim the fool got caught in the middle when a pair of drunken/stoned casters decided to throw spells at each other. Spell casting under the influence is just begging for trouble you know.
Maybe it was a miscast. Maybe a Wild Magic surge. Maybe one caster couldn't see straight & targeted the wrong person. Who can say.
Afterall, that one chick turned into a purple skinned winged tiefling. Maybe others were also affected.
* Maybe it's the result of a drunken dare/bet. Some say they overheard an exchange that went sorta like this: "You wouldn't last a week as a ~?~" {idiot egged on by the crowd} "I would too! Infact, double or nothing, I'll do a whole YEAR!" "OK....."
And then "POOF!" one dude became a Drow! A Drow!
$ changed hands & some new bets concerning his survival were made.
* Possibly it was a prank. "Hey guys! What if we completely Sharpie the High Elf? (but with magic) With his white hair he'll look just like one of them Drow!"
Warning: Do NOT pass out at parties!
* Of course there's a few witnesses who'll swear to Pelor that this guy really IS a Drow. That when that idiot bard Simon Keene sounded that Horn of Valhalla{?} at midnight & started that brawl, that this guy also came out of the portal right behind the bezerkers. No explanation why he didn't unsummon when the barbarians did.

Drunken bet and an F U from a wizard could work.

 

[Ashrym]

Drunken bet and an F U from a wizard could work.

You could adapt the Superman origin story with Spelljammers who escaped Eberron and it could work, lol. PC's tend to be special in their origins. ;-)

I don't see a challenge justifying it.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Here is a very simple one. You deserted and you had a map showing a route to the surface, this prevented you from being stuck in the Underdark for years like Drizzt.

 

[Laurefindel]

I feel @Zardnaar wants to reinforce that getting out of the Underdark is not a walk in the park. Like Boromir DoUrden once said: “one does not simply walk out of the Underdark”.

The Underdark is vast, unbelievably labyrinthine, full of monsters that want to eat you, full of plants that want to eat you, full of creatures that want to eat you, or at least eat your brain...That is without all the people who would take a shot at a lone drow, either by hatred, revenge, or just opportunity (including other drow). Not to mention the natural traps, chasm, treacherous terrain, etc. The Underdark wouldn’t supposed to be a super scary place otherwise. It may be beyond the abilities of a 1st level character without making it a campaign in itself.

Then, this implies that the drow character was either guided and escorted to the surface, or brought against their will. Magic shenanigans are also possible, as well as the “catastrophic results of a travel incident. Mercantile and surface raider background are the most obvious.

knowledge of the common tongue doesn’t have to be a result of the trip to the surface, it could also be the cause (character was sent along not because of their experience, but because their mastery of common, as an interpreter). Then there are 1001 ways of losing the PC along or abandoning them on the surface and as far as the PC is concerned, that is just fine.

there would also be 1001 reason for the PC to end up there against their knowledge or will, but then you need to account for the common language (assuming that the language is not relatively , well, common)