What Color Are Drow?

[Tonguez]

Absorbing Light!

Very dark grey. In bright light, they seem to absorb light.

I think this is brilliant and solves both our problems in one go

Drow bodies are pale whitish ashen-grey (and are seen as such with Darksight) however their bodies absorb all visible light striking them causing them to appear ebon black to others using 'normal' vision!

 

[Wormwood]

From G3, Hall of the Fire Giant King(1979?)

"Male drow are of thin build, about 5' tall, have dead black skin and dead white hair . . . Females are slender and shapely, about 51/2' tall, and have glossy black skin and shining silvery hair."

This thread should be called, "What color would you prefer Drow to be", since drow are now and have always been clearly described as being black.

D&D artists, however, have often depicted Drow incorrectly, possibly because they were more interested in aesthetics than accuracy. Unfortunately this has caused a great deal of confusion in the past 20+ years.

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

Jet Black, but I suppose that would be the norm and there could be variations, like dark grey.
In my campaign they are good and have slightly asian influenced clothing and architecture. They were turned black a few hundred years ago, by their patron goddess during the purge, when the magic users were destroyed and the demihuman races slaughtered. It's sort of a long story.


Uller: Ever run into a guy named David Torma in State College?

 

[Tewligan]

My white drow

Inspired by all this talk of albino drow, I painted up an elf miniature today as a pasty-white, cave-dwellin', spider-lovin' drow. I used a light bluish color for the shading, and I am now officially sold on white drow. He has a much more alien and villainous look than any black drow I've painted. That's it - whenever I find time to DM a campaign again, my drow are all doin' it Elric-style.

 

[Phowett]

In my campaign setting, Drow colors range anywhere from dark blue or dark purple to pitch black.

 

[johnnygolastly]

quote:the forgotten realms campaign setting

descended from the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the illythiiri, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess lolth down the path to corruption. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to often be mistaken for white) in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink and blue.


This clearly shows that drow have black skin which resembles polished obsidian. People who say that the drow should have evolved to have white skin due to no sun and lack of pigment, evolutioin can not affect a curse which was put on the drow by no less than 12 deities, it just isnt going to happen.

 

[Tewligan]

quote:the forgotten realms campaign setting

descended from the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the illythiiri, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess lolth down the path to corruption. Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to often be mistaken for white) in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink and blue.


This clearly shows that drow have black skin which resembles polished obsidian. People who say that the drow should have evolved to have white skin due to no sun and lack of pigment, evolutioin can not affect a curse which was put on the drow by no less than 12 deities, it just isnt going to happen.

Of course, not everyone plays in the Forgotten Realms, so not everyone's drow are under that stinkin' god curse.

 

[johnnygolastly]

Of course, not everyone plays in the Forgotten Realms, so not everyone's drow are under that stinkin' god curse.

very true, i apologise for the assumption.