Here are the companion pieces to the drider I posted yesterday. I also thought it might be interesting to talk about how these guys worked in play.
First, the drow were a lot of fun to fight as a group. Their poison mechanic made them work as a team and enabled hit and run tactics. The drow would fire a volley of darts and either escape or hide. The miss chance on the skirmisher really annoyed the players (but in a good, let's bash these dang drow sort of way).
The soldier is meant as a low-maintenance, hold the line sort of warrior. The skirmishers are there to hit and run. I used one as a lone ambusher against the party, to give them a tough fight in a goblin dungeon and to tip them off to the drow control of the goblins, and it worked out well.
However, the design has a couple flaws. First, the skirmisher is a little too complex. I'd consistently lose track of shadow shield and umbral aura. The poison was complication enough that I sometime forgot to use those abilities, particularly umbral aura. Shadow shield would've been better as a once or twice per fight, immediate action that caused a miss chance.
The big problem with these guys was the poison. When they fought in a group or used hit and run tactics, it was fun. When I wanted a lone drow, the posion just became annoying. It was at its best when the party faced a steadily escalating dose of poison. A drow warrior with a few grimlock mercenaries didn't work out as well. In those fights, I simply stopped using the poison to speed things up.
Anyway, here they are. In a way, I'm a little sad to reveal to the world my secret recipe for drow, but I think I tormented my players enough with these guys:
Drow Skirmisher CR 3
NE Medium Monstrous Humanoid (elf)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Elf, Undercommon
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15
hp 22 (4 HD)
Immune sleep effects
SR 14
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4
+4 saves v. poison, +2 v. enchantment
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee bladed buckler +5 (1d6+1)
Ranged mwk hand xbow +8 (1d4 and poison)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +5
Atk Options drow tactics, poison
Special Actions shadow shield, umbral aura
Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10
Feats Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot
Skills Bluff +4, Hide +7, Listen +6, Move Silently +7, Ride +7, Spot +6, Tumble +7
Gear bladed buckler, dagger, hand crossbow, 10 bolts, chain shirt
Drow Tactics: +2 atk and dmg v. flat-footed opponents.
Shadow Shield: Swift action, gain 20% miss chance against attacks, +4 on Hide for 1 round, can hide in plain sight, usable at will.
Umbral Aura: Limn creatures in 20-foot burst in flickering, dark fire. Creatures with darkvision gain +1 attack against targets in area, ignore concealment.
Drow Paralysis Poison: Fortitude save DC 18, 1 point of paralysis. Each point is –1 square movement, each 2 points is –1 attacks and AC. If points are greater than Constitution bonus + 2, save at start of turn or be paralyzed for 1 round, save every round. No secondary effects, fades in 5 minutes.
Bladed Buckler: Exotic weapon, +1 AC and can use in melee.
Hand Crossbow: Exotic weapon, 5 round magazine, full-round action to reload. Bolts come pre-poisoned.
Drow Warrior CR 3
NE Medium Monstrous Humanoid (elf)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Elf, Undercommon
AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18
hp 26 (4 HD)
Immune sleep effects
SR 14
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4
+4 saves v. poison, +2 v. enchantment
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee drow longsword +9 (1d10+5 and poison)
Ranged shortbow +6 (1d6)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +7
Atk Options drow tactics
Special Actions shadow shield, umbral aura
Abilities Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 10
Feats Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization
Skills Handle Animal +4, Hide +4, Intimidate +4, Listen +6, Ride +5, Spot +6
Gear drow longsword, shortbow, 20 arrows, dagger, drow chainmail, light shield
Drow Paralysis Poison: Fortitude save DC 18, 1 point of paralysis. Each point is –1 square movement, each 2 points is –1 attacks and AC. If points are greater than Constitution bonus + 2, save at start of turn or be paralyzed for 1 round, save every round. No secondary effects, fades in 5 minutes.
