What are Drow, anyway?

[National Acrobat]

Drow are an interesting, if overdone, atagonistic race. At least in most published material and in a lot of folk's campaigns. In my homebrew world the situation is a lot different.

I have elves, but they call themselves the Fey. There are the Noble Fey, the High Fey, the Green Fey, Winter Fey and the Dark Fey.

Being a Dark Fey does not make you evil. In my homebrew setting, when the elves warred with each other, most of the elves of Luthari, who are Black Skinned Elves, sided with the Seldarine. The Dark Fey of Dru'Krillith, led by their Dark King Drethelgroth, led the war against the Seldarine. Drethelgroth had been corrupted by Lolth's priestesses. Naturally he was killed and the priestesses took over. They fled into the depths of the earth.

However, when you run into a Dark Elf in my campaign setting, there are several things that are different.

1-Most people who are not ancient and revered elves do not know there is a difference between 2 types of Dark Elves.
2-Dark Elves are readily accepted everywhere because there is a good nation of them that has been a stalwart supporter of all that is good for millenia
3-When "drow" (for lack of a better term) show up, people just assume that it is a member of the dark fey gone bad, just like bad people anywhere.

It has really caused my players to rethink some of their attitudes and has led to both hilarious and dangerous encounters.

That's how I got around the stereotype.

 

[dagger]

They where greatly feared in 1e......we also used them as pcs though since 1e.


Githyanki have always been feared by us, well since 1e.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

What are Drow?

Old Hat.


Once cool - now cliche, lame and overdone.

I don't think so. In the game I'm in, we have only heard tales of the Drow, we don't see them ; we know they are up to no good, but we have yet to have an actual run in with them. There's sort of an air of mystery about them. I think they can be used effectively as villians if the DM does it properly.

I could see them being lame and cliche if the DM uses them constantly but if they are one of many varied villians and they fit into the story, they can be interesting.

 

[fnork de sporg]

I remember Dorw used to be scary because they were essentially adventuring parties just like yours, just as well trained and equipped, with all the same party niches filled, only by super evil people, and with all the same tactical advantages that entailed being a party.

Nowadays everything can be like that.


As for who the new drow will be, hmmmm....


How about sexy hobgoblin monks? Or could you jsut not get around the goblin nose? Too unattractive.


Hmmm....

 

[sircaren]

I also believe a DM goes through 3 phases of "Drowness"

Phase 1 - Drow are super cool bad mofo's. Every player in his game is one and they fight them all time. Everybody is happy.

Phase 2- Done with the drows as PC's but they are THE villian of choice of now. They are secretly trying to take over the world now.

Phase 3- Holy Cow I am so sick of drow I refuse to even put them in my game. Everybody has seen them, played them and fought them at least 10 times by now.

The next "Drow"------------ Githyanki

I've moved on to Phase 4 - I got over the earlier 'coolness' and use them just like any other race now. They are once again to be feared while in the underdark...

 

[Arnwyn]

Drow are still feared in my playing group. We've all read the Salvatore books, enjoyed them and now we have moved on. They may be overplayed to some but in the hands of a capable DM they are still a dangerous foe and still a mystery. Sure if, as a PC, you have seen them a million times they will get old but that goes for anything - orcs, goblins, blah. I still think they are a viable and potent villain.

They may be a bit overexposed but don't let once very popular novel series and WOTCs "Year of the Drow" fool ya. Unless you scoff at them in game or your DM makes them silly they are still to be feared. I wouldn't want any of my PCs to have to deal with them. Would you?

Try throwing them at someone who has never fought them in game and who has just read a few Salvatore novels and watch 'em squerm...

Word. (heh)

In more than 10 years IMC, my players have met drow only *once* - and we play in FR. They live in mortal fear of them, as they have only encountered them once; generally only hearing rumors, and they have read very little about the drow (just the Salvatore books - that's it) and don't frequent messageboards, etc. [To be honest, if all you know about the drow are from the Salvatore books, they are quite frightening, actually.] They don't even know that books/adventures like GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders and the like exists...

If the DM is intelligent and uses drow sparingly, they still can invoke terror in the players...

Edit: Fixed typos.

 

[dagger]

The reason they where so feared in 1e was simple , HIGH Magic Resistance (MR), I think it was 30% and went up 5% for every class level they had.


They always had female clerics with those damn tentacle rods and most of the males happened to be fighter/wizards.


So you had 5 or 6 front line guys keeping you busy while clerics and wizards in the back blasted you with spells. They would fireball or lighting bolt you (or worse) and not worry about hurting there own guys because they hardly ever where effected by any damn spells! Also with the darkness they had, and there ability to fight in the darkness, it sucked even worse!

Females could use charm person as a inate spell ability and because 1e charm was a damn 1st or 2nd level spell that works like a 3e Dominate Person you where in a world of pain my friends!


Damn Drow!

 

[National Acrobat]

What was most memorable in my group was the first time they ran into an Underdark Fey, which is the standard drow. The Dark Skinned surface elves in my homebrew have standard elven abilities. There is one female dark surface elf in the group I run and after the initial encounter with the drow, which was a touch and go situation, her party members wanted to know why she hadn't shared with them that she had some neat abilities and resistances. She had to tell them that she had no idea what was going on, that she was normal like everyone else. Now they are worried and are very wary.

Of course the elves won't share this information, what little that they know about the drow, with anyone else.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Charisma

So why is CHA the "dump stat"?

It's never been the dump stat in my games- that title has typically gone to Wisdom.

The first (2e) campaign I ran, I decided to make judicious use of reaction checks and interaction-based uses of charisma, and cohorts as well. Then, on top of that, one player decided to play a paladin (Min CHA 17) and another an Enchanter (Min CHA 16). Let's just say that Charisma has always been highly appreciated from that time on. My players seldom make characters with Charismas lower than 10, unless they're specifically making a big brute or an introverted, shadowy warrior. You don't want to be the ugly, unpersonable guy in the group- you never get the girl, the knighthood, the castle, the barony, the cult following, etc... that way.

3e just added to the fun, bringing in Sorcerers, Cha-intensive Bards, and the Paladin save bonus. I've seen more Lawful Good Sorcerers with a single level of Paladin to shoot their saving throws through the roof and pick up "detect evil" and a few weapon proficiencies.

The stat that still hasn't recieved the kick in the teeth that it needs is Wisdom. Only players that are playing Clerics, Monks, or Druids ever seem to bother with it (nobody in my groups ever seem to take more than one level of Paladin or Ranger), and skillful use of protection magics can make up for the save penalties. It's not uncommon to see PC's with Wisdom scores of 5, 6, or 7 in my groups... with Intelligence scores of 17 and Charismas of 19...

 

[LuYangShih]

Wisdom is what rules common sense, perception, and willpower. If you institute logical checks and so on based on that, as you apparently did with Charisma, it would become one of the most valuable statistics in your group. "Oh look... we're outnumbered fifty to one! We can take em... here's my brilliant plan that lacks any modicum of practicality!"