What Color Are Drow?

[Mercule]

Re: original.....

Now we take FR with all they're bad authors and weak setting scribers and here we got the drow.

Actually, like most good stuff in D&D, Drow originated in the Greyhawk setting.

Personally, I like the "Correllon cast them out and changed their skin color" a lot better (we're talking orders of magnitude) than a lame hair dye legend.

 

[Ruvion]

A little OT...

Did you guys know that some books during the TSR days depicts male drows with thick moustaches?

 

[rinesin]

Yeah, I always thought it was funny that they did that. Usually Elves don't have any facial hair (or body hair for that matter). Colors range the course of the rainbow. When it comes to the Drow though they are a special case. All Drow are Dark Elves, though not all Dark Elves are Drow. (for example: Dalamar from the Dragonlance series) Drow are a specific subrace of elf, that TSR/WotC describes as having black obsidian like skin, white hair, and red eyes, with subtle variations to that theme. Dark Elves that are not Drow can be any coloration you want. Of course there is always the golden rule. It's fantasy. You can make elves look however you want. There is no "right" way to do it, you don't need to conform to "realism" or any idea that you don't like. Make Drow puice with magenta highlights if you want. It's your game, do whatever you want with it.

Rinesin

 

[Tewligan]

A little OT...

Did you guys know that some books during the TSR days depicts male drows with thick moustaches?

That's so they have something to twirl menacingly while they're tying women to railroad tracks.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Have to say it...

Red and black...The only good drow is a dead drow, better cut them up to make sure they are dead too!

 

[Darklone]

A gray so dark it looks black in some lights, but with a little bit of a sheen to it.

Albino drows are grey

 

[Arravis]

Drow have always been clearly described as having pitch ebony plack skin. Freaky? Yes, but so what, I think that's the point. I loathe when TSR/WOTC artists depict them as purple, blue, brown, gray, etc... There is no confusion at all as to their color. The descriptions have been unambigious and clear, pitch and utter black skin.

Is it difficult to paint and draw? Yes. But if you're a artist of any worth you can do it (talking professional here). I've done it in paintings, drawings and minis. It's not impossible, just a bit harder, but if you're getting paid for it, you'd better do it right in my opinion. Of all of them, painting drow-black skin on a mini is the hardest of all. So I can understand the difficulty there. But illustrating them properly isn't that hard. I'll have to scan in and post the one I've done . Hopefully sometime this weekend.

Anyway, my anger isn't at home-brewed campaigns and artists. Its your world, do it like you want. But since the very beginning of the drow in TSR (long before FR, for someone who thought they were an FR invention) they have always been clearly described but only rarely illustrated properly.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, the FF drow was illustrated that way, with a long thick mustache.

 

[nsruf]

I voted black, but I always wondered why Drow were dark. I mean, they live underground with no sunlight - they should be totally pasty white, like maggots

 

[Paka]

Both!

My Drow generally never see the sun, except for the rare Surface Walkers.

When they are untouched by the sun, they are albino white but once the sun hits them their skin tans permanently to a dark purply black.

Yay.

Be careful not to step in the Displacer Beast poop, it is never where it seems to be.