D&D 5E New Drow cultures coming in Starlight Enclave, the Lorendrow and the Aevendrow

[Zardnaar]

4e and 5e Drow lack Intelligence and are subpar as Wizards.

Yeah their stats don't match the fluff.

 

[ccs]

None of this has changed with the introduction of these new subraces. If you think all of this is is fine now, then you mustn’t have thought there was a problem with drow in the first place.

Your right. I've never had a problem with the Drow. They are the scary evil xp yielding monsters out of the FF/MM/etc, vaguely inspired by Norse myth, with a completely alien approach to society meant to stand opposite "good" elves.
As a DM I will use them as plot devices to challenge & terrorize my players.
As a player I will fight against (and loot) them, being lauded a hero when I foil their eeevil plots & save the kingdom.

The problem is that some idiot decided back in '84 or so to include them as an official PC option in '85s Unearthed Arcana book.
And it's all been downhill since, culminating in the current crap & badly named sub-groups of a sub-group....

 

[Charlaquin]

Your right. I've never had a problem with the Drow. They are the scary evil xp yielding monsters out of the FF/MM/etc, vaguely inspired by Norse myth, with a completely alien approach to society meant to stand opposite "good" elves.
As a DM I will use them as plot devices to challenge & terrorize my players.
As a player I will fight against (and loot) them, being lauded a hero when I foil their eeevil plots & save the kingdom.

That’s fine if that’s what you and your group like to do. I don’t think it should be the default presentation of Drow, but if it works for you in your games, enjoy!

The problem is that some idiot decided back in '84 or so to include them as an official PC option in '85s Unearthed Arcana book.
And it's all been downhill since, culminating in the current crap & badly named sub-groups of a sub-group....

If it hadn’t happened in 84, it would have happened some other year. It’s inevitable that people would want to try playing as the races that were traditionally presented as monstrous, and it’s equally inevitable that options for doing so would eventually be published. Such is life.

 

[Zardnaar]

That’s fine if that’s what you and your group like to do. I don’t think it should be the default presentation of Drow, but if it works for you in your games, enjoy!

If it hadn’t happened in 84, it would have happened some other year. It’s inevitable that people would want to try playing as the races that were traditionally presented as monstrous, and it’s equally inevitable that options for doing so would eventually be published. Such is life.

UA made it official Fiend Folio had character generation rules for Drow.

If you think Drow is bad check out the UA Deep Gnome.

 

[Azzy]

The Udadrow

1e Vault of the Drow, 1e Fiend Folio, etcetera.

Female Intelligence: 13-18 (d6+12)
Male Intelligence: 11-18 (d8+10)

There is no Intelligence 19 for a Drow.

And yes, max level 12 Magic-User is lame.

It cannot be an example of famously "weak fighters and strong magic users".

The rolling method for drow in VotD/FF are for NPCs (also an option for PCs—if the DM specifically allows it). Also, that rolling method shows that drow range from "highly" to genius-level" intelligence and average in the "highly" to "exceptional" intelligence range. Again, drow max out as a M-U at a higher level than any other elf subrace. (Male) drow have always been strong magic-users.

 

[Azzy]

4e and 5e Drow lack Intelligence and are subpar as Wizards.

That has nothing to what drow were "traditionally", as your original post declares.

 

[Azzy]

The problem is that some idiot decided back in '84 or so to include them as an official PC option in '85s Unearthed Arcana book.

That "idiot" was Gary Gygax.

 

[Zardnaar]

That "idiot" was Gary Gygax.

Not really they stuck his name on the book as they noticed anything with his name sold better.

He didn't have that much to do with UA or OA afaik.

 

[Alzrius]

Not really they stuck his name on the book as they noticed anything with his name sold better.

He didn't have that much to do with UA or OA afaik.

It's a little more complicated than that.

While the product history for Oriental Adventures makes it clear that Zeb Cook wrote the book, Unearthed Arcana isn't so clear-cut:

Thus, Unearthed Arcana was actually the product of divers hands, including collaborator Frank Mentzer, design consultant Jeff Grubb, and editor Kim Mohan. But Gygax's work is clearly predominent.

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's a little more complicated than that.

While the product history for Oriental Adventures makes it clear that Zeb Cook wrote the book, Unearthed Arcana isn't so clear-cut:



Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

All good I thought UA was stapled together from Dragon articles and the tears of a young boy.