By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack
Sizing Up the Target
Plot & Poison: A Guidebook to Drow is the latest offering in the Races of Renown series from Green Ronin Publishing. Author Matthew Sernett takes us on a trip in the realms of darkness that are ruled by the darkest elves of all in this 160-page tome liberally illustrated by the likes of Mike Vilardi, Toren Atkinson, Ilya Ashtrakhan, Drew Baker, David Griffith, and Marcio Fiorito. The defining work of Todd Lockwood graces the cover of this product, which retails for $24.95.
First Blood
For gamers, whether wide-eyed newbie or hard-bitten veteran, few creatures from D&D are more readily familiar than the drow. Since their introduction in G3 Halls of the Fire Giant King back in 1978, the drow have served as the perfect villain for thousands of evil plots and the perfect “dark” PC hero for hundred of players. But how much do we really know about them?
The answer is, “plenty.” Author R. A. Salvatore has given us perhaps the most defining glimpses into the world of the drow and this has been built upon by Wizards of the Coast (and TSR before them) for years. But since the release of 3E and the OGL, we’ve begun to see other viewpoints. Plot & Poison is one of them.
Unlike a lot of sourcebooks on the dark elves (which delve right into what they are and how they work), Plot & Poison opens with a series of discourses on the drow subraces described therein and whether you should use one or all in your campaign. It discusses the morality of evil, different types of campaigns involving the drow, and how you can make the drow of your campaign world unique, even among those described in this book. And, most importantly to new DMs, it offers ways to introduce the dark elves into your campaign. Even for veterans, this is good, solid reading that should spark some very creative thinking.
From there, the author examines the race as a whole, including a brief primer on naming conventions and the game mechanics of playing drow. In keeping with the standard set by Wizards of the Coast in their Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, drow carry a +2 ECL penalty (meaning that a 1st-level drow is effectively a 3rd-level character).
Several new drow sub-races are described in this section as well. The concept of the half-drow is certainly nothing new, but it is handled in a slightly different manner here, being treated as a template rather than an actual race. The aquatic drow are a new idea, a natural extension of the aquatic elf bloodline, and the new subrace known as the drey offers a great explanation for those strange, mustachioed drow with the blank, dead-white eyes that were illustrated in The Complete Book of Elves back in the days of TSR. Spiderlings appear to be a weaker offshoot of the driders, the magical drow-spider pairing created by the Spider Queen, and the bat-winged vupdrax make the perfect antithesis to the bird-like winged elves of the surface.
The first chapter is rounded out by discussions on typical drow combat tactics, a detailed section on drow society, the typical division of drow among the core classes, notes on demographics and features of drow cities, and hazards and environment of the underdark (including encounter lists) and new hazard descriptions.
No book on drow would be complete without a discussion on drow religion and so it is here. The Spider Queen (she is given no other name) is described here, as well as 11 other drow deities (and none of them devoted to the idea of good or dancing in the moonlight). Each deity’s description also provides a doctrine for followers (dogma), ceremonies, and priestly garb in addition to the “crunchy” bits, all of which should enhance role-playing (should the DM allow his or her players to take the role of drow) or encounters with these vile elves.
There are several new creature of darkness to be found here, including the drow and each of their subraces and offshoots. Half-drow and driders are treated as templates (which actually works out better because it allows a greater degree of variety in their number). New templates and monsters include the broken soul (the result of the drow god of pain at play), the evocation spirt (a creation of the drow god of Evocation and destruction), the living web (spawned by the Queen of Spiders herself), the scry warden (predators from the Ethereal plane), new vermin (slugs and leeches), and the verminoid (hideous crossbreeds of humanoid and vermin). All are certain to enhance the bestiary of any GM who uses the dark elves in their campaign.
Prestige classes are examined next, both how the drow fit into the existing core prestige classes and some brand new ones. Blessed of Xarcon are the undisputed masters of energy, while creature cultists devote themselves to the worship of one creature of darkness to the point where some of its abilities actually become their own. The dark dancer is the underdark equivalent of the bladesinger, the darksight slayer kills under cover of absolute blackness, and the deepsinger revels in the natural harmonies of the underdark. The dominant is one whose pleasure is to bring others pain, while the dweomer defender believes that the best defense is a strong offense. Fate weavers tap the lines of fate woven by the Spider Queen herself, the master summoner is a general of conjured troops, and the spell addict is obsessed with magical power. The submissive brings groveling to the level of an art form, the talon apostle avenges those who cannot avenge themselves, transmorphs study transmutation magics until they become inherent to them, the unseen sniper specializes in attacking from an unseen vantage point, and the vermin outrider serves as a line of communication between outposts and cities. Finally, there is the vile tormentor, the torturer supreme.
The drow are as unique as the life they lead and their unique lifestyle calls for some unqiue skills. The next chapter explores ways to apply existing skills to the living conditions of the dark elves and also introduces 75 new feats. Most are tailored for dark elf characters (a few even requiring certain spell-like abilities or drow traits such as darkvision), but several are appropriate enough to find a place in a more typical D&D campaign if the DM is generous and willing.
This chapter also introiduces drow martial arts styles, by which those who are dedicated enough to follow a strict regime of feat and skill selection are rewarded with special talents. This system is designed around the same one created by Wizards of the Coast for their Oriental Adventures campaign setting.
New equipment, both magical and mundane, abounds in Plot & Poison. Some of it, such as the slug board (a sort of organic skateboard) seems extraordinarily silly and I have strange visions of hordes of drow youths riding slugboards through the streets of drow cities, but all of the mundane equipment is designed around the insect (okay, spiders aren’t insects, but anyway) theme of the drow, which I did find pleasing. The bladed buckler, the double short-sword, and the repeating hand crossbow are natural progressions of existing weapoons that have been added here and there are some interesting varients on armors as well.
One of the most interesting part of the equipment chapter is the treatise on slaves. Because slavery is a second-nature to the drow, this is a very important aspect of their lives and it is only fitting that it be carefully examined here. Not only is a table of typical prices for the most common slave races provided, but each slave race is examined independently as to how they are viewed and used by their dark masters.
Not all mundane items need be mechanical in nature, as the section on alchemical goods reminds us. Besides poison antidotes and special choking dust, there are 11 alchemical and some 80 or so natural poisons described here. With releases like this one, Traps and Treachery from Fantasy Flight Games, and Pale Designs: A Poisoner's Handbook from Bastion Press, the list of dangerous substances available in D&D 3rd edition has grown tremendously, much to the chagrin of hapless player characters everywhere.
The watchword among drow magical items is verminous, as in, a new type of magical item. Verminous items function very much like more traditional magical items, but instead of being drawn from formerly-living or non-living materials, verminous items are crafted by infusing living creatures (insects) with magic! The result is an eerie blending of life and magical power.
And what guide to drow would be complete without new spells? Well, Mr. Sernett doesn’t disappoint, with not only a selection of eight pages of new spells and the introduction of a new concept called power components. Power components modify spells and magical items in new and exciting ways. And don’t you clerical types fret, there are 25 new domains for you to enjoy.
Critical Hits
I’d be hard pressed to choose only one good point about Plot & Poison and, as luck would have it, I don’t have to. I could rave on about the nature of the verminous magic items (the idea of a buckler that looks like a beetle whose arms lock onto the wielder’s arm is just cool; gross, but cool!) or the new feats available to drow characters, but that really isn’t what makes this work so great. Sure, the bat-winged drow are neat and they’ll certainly make an interesting foe, they aren’t what the focus of this work is all about.
Matt has managed to do something that would make most people uncomfortable. He has immersed himself in the society of the drow, becoming one of them, in many ways. More than a collection of game mechanics and goodies, Plot & Poison is what it claims to be, a book that examines the very lifestyle of the dark elves. The reason it’s so cool is because everything in here (well, most things) makes sense! Alone, any of several bits from this work stands as a fine example of imagination, but taken together, they represent their creators as a race, something that is sometimes overlooked when getting caught up in the “coolness factor.”
Critical Misses
As good as it is, there are a few points in Plot & Poison that left me dry. I’ve already touched on the “skateboards” but I also found some of the feats a bit overpowering. The metamagic feat Nullify Enemy Magic, for example, adjusts your spells so that they only suppress or dispel spell effects from those you perceive as foes. Admittedly, this is a great feat and I don’t know of many mages that wouldn’t want it, but it has no prerequisites, which means that even a lowly 1st-level wizard can pick it up (of course, it won’t really become useful until about 5th level, but that’s hardly the point, is it?).
Other feats, such as Exceptional Climber or Exceptional Tumbler, reward exclusivity in certain skills, but why stop there? Why not Exceptional Craftsman, or Exceptional Performer? Why should these two skills be the only ones that benefit from exceptional training? It could be argued that the drow are not ones to waste skills learning performance, but perusal of the feats section reveals that this isn’t the case (such as with the feat Impressive Battledance, which requires Perform (battledance) at 5 ranks).
The prestige classes look to be fairly well-balanced (or at least, are nor more unbalancing that the typical Wizards of the Coast offering), though a few may need minor tweaking to fit the individual DM’s campaign. Personally, the idea that there even is a dominant prestige class (think dominatrix) makes me uneasy. I know at least one player of mine who will doubtlessly try to aim for this class when she finds out it exists.
Coup de Grace
There’s a large portion of Open Game Content here, most of the book, in fact, and what is here is pretty good in terms of d20 Compliance. Like I said, I have a few reservations about some of the feats, but it’s nothing that a good DM wouldn’t catch and tweak for their campaign anyway. There’s definitely more good than bad here and any fan of the drow will be thrilled with the options this book offers for the dark elves.
I gave an average rating on originality. This is, after all, another drow book (and there have been hundreds), but at the same time, Matthew’s immersion into the culture adds to it in a way that others lack, so much of what is here makes good sense and that is important. Unless the DM is willing to let the players play drow or otherwise reap some of the benefits of the goodies found herein, this book is largely the province of the DM, but it is intended for those who wish to play drow characters as well, so good score on playability.
As for value for the dollar, I think that if you have convinced your DM to let you play drow characters or if you are a DM seeking new and interesting ways to use these venerable foes in your campaign, you’ll more than get your money’s worth out of this one. If you don’t like drow or anything to do with them, you might still want to peruse this work. A lot of what is here could easily be adapted to another evil race and as drow go, you won’t find any annoying goodly Drizzt Do’Urdens here.
But for the feats that seemed a bit overpowered and one or two of the items and prestige classes, I think this one is worthy of an A. A few minor tweaks in these areas could easily boost that score to an A+ and I definitely recommend this book for DMs who want something “different” for their campaigns, even if you don’t have much use for drow. There’s a lot of good material here than you can adapt to your favorite evil underground race.
To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.
