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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 6285653" data-attributes="member: 58172">DROW VARIATIONI tracked down some of the descriptions of Drow from the conflictive D&D traditions.1e Monster ManualElf, Drow, Black ElfDrow Average Height: Over 5 feet. Same as Elf, ‘5 feet + tall’.Drow Appearance: Unspecified. They are called ‘Black’ Elf and ‘dark’. But the ‘Faerie’ is called ‘Gray’ Elf and ‘bright’ yet apparently is neither the color of gray nor the luminosity of bright. Originally these descriptions might refer to their regions, in the dark subterranean or the bright daylight of meadowlands, respectively. The name ‘Gray’ is perplexing yet lacks explanation. (Note: The Forgotten Realms term ‘Sun Elf’ makes more sense for a ‘bright’ Faerie, and the term ‘Moon Elf’ makes more sense for a ‘bright’ Elf. The Bright Elves are opposite the Dark Elf.)Even so, precisely this description of the Drow in the Monster Manual appears to be the jumping off point for a brainstorm of free associations that coalesce to inspire the concepts of the Drow for the adventure, Vault of the Drow. These concepts continue to change, evolve, radiate, regroup, and change again, into the multivalent traditions of the Drow in D&D today.1e Fiend FolioElf, Drow, Dark ElfDrow Skin: Black. Luster: Unspecified. But stylized illustration might be glossy. ‘Drow are black-skinned’.Drow Eyes: Unspecified. But stylized illustration might be solid white without iris or pupils.Drow Hair: Pale. ‘And pale-haired’.Note: The adventure, Hall of the Fire Giant King, which first introduces the Drow, says the male has ‘white’ hair while female has ‘silver’ hair. However these variations become nongendered and summarize as ‘pale’.Drow Physique: Slim. Fingers: Long. ‘They are slight of build and have long delicate fingers and toes.’Drow Average Height: 5 feet.1e Unearthed ArcanaCharacter Races, Elves, Dark Elves, DrowDrow Skin: Black. Luster: Matte. ‘Their skin color is the inky black of a moonless night.’Drow Eyes: Unspecified.Drow Hair: White. Pale Gray (silver). ‘Their hair is normally pure white or silver.’Drow Average Height: Unspecified. But description mentions Fiend Folio, implying 5 feet.Drow Physique: Unspecified. But mention of Fiend Folio implies ‘slight of build with long fingers’.2e Complete Book of ElvesVariations on a Theme, Dark Elves, DrowDrow Skin: Dark. ‘Their skin darkened’.Drow Eyes: Bright Red. Glowing in the dark. ‘Their eyes glowed red further evidencing the fires burning within their breasts’.Drow Hair: White. ‘And their hair turned white’.Drow Height: Female is taller. Same height as High Elf, except the female is the one who is the taller.Drow Average Height: 5 feet. Drow Height Range: 4 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 5 inches.Drow Random Height: 55 inches + 1d10.Note, male-centeredness: Despite the fact Drow and High Elf are the exact same height, both averaging 60.5 inches, the Drow is called ‘shorter’ because the male is shorter than the males of other Elf subraces. For these other races the male is taller. Nevertheless, the female Drow is just as tall as the males of the other Elf subraces. This is erroneous male-centeredness *causes* the misunderstanding of Drow ‘smallness’. ‘Drow [males] are typically shorter than [the males of] other elves’.2e Monstrous Manual(Not to be confused with 1e Monster Manual or 2e Planescape Monstrous Compendium)Elf, Drow, Dark ElfDrow Skin: Black. Luster: Unspecified. But stylized illustration looks Matte Pale Gray. ‘Drow have black skin’.Drow Eyes: Unspecified. But stylized illustration looks Pale Color, possibly Reddish (pink).Drow Eye Shape: Unspecified. But stylized illustration has human-like iris and pupil.Drow Hair: White, Pale Color.  ‘Drow have ... pale, usually white, hair.’Drow Physique: Slim. Fingers: Long. ‘They are ... more slender than humans. ... They have finely chiseled features, and their fingers and toes are long and delicate.’Drow Average Height: ‘5 feet’. ‘Shorter ... than humans, seldom reaching more than 5 feet in height’.Contrast the misrepresentation of High Elf as taller, ‘5 feet +’, despite the male High Elf is the same height as the female Drow.3e Monster ManualElf, Drow, Dark ElvesDrow Skin: Black. Luster: Unspecified. But realistic illustration looks Glossy Grayish Purple. ‘Jet black skin.’Drow Eyes: Bright Red. Uncommon Unspecified. But realistic illustration looks White. ‘Their eyes are often a vivid red’.Drow Eye Shape: Unspecified. But realistic illustration looks Solid White without iris or pupil.Drow Hair: White, Pale Color. ‘White is the most common color of hair, but almost any pale color is possible.’Drow Physique: Slim. ‘Drow tend to be ... thinner than other sorts of elves’.Contrast High Elf that is already ‘slender’ compared to Human.Note: Abilities now include Charisma bonus, since 1e Fiend Folio has high Charisma, but increasingly connotes the sexual themes of Drow culture, whence beauty.Drow Average Height: Seemingly less than 5 feet, but unclear because of male-centeredness. ‘Drow tend to be smaller ... than other sorts of elves’.Contrast High Elf that is already ‘slightly shorter than a human’. Note: The 3e Players Handbook lists the High Elf with an average height of 5 feet, ranging 4 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 6 inches. Possibly, the female Drow is this same size, averaging 5 feet, while the male is 5 inches ‘smaller’, averaging 4 feet 7 inches. If so, all Elf subraces are the same size, except the Gray Elf is ‘taller and grander in physical appearance’ and ‘nearly as tall as a human’. Yet the impression is, all Drow, both male and female, are ‘smaller’.4e Monster ManualDrowDrow Appearance: Unspecified. But the entry reuses the realistic illustration from the 3e Monster Manual, that looks like Glossy Grayish Purple Skin, White Eyes with Eye Shape being Solid without iris or pupil, plus White Hair.4e Heroes of the Forgotten KingdomsRaces, Drow(Nerath Setting)(Same as 4e Forgotten Realms Setting Guide, Races, Drow)3e Forgotten Realms Setting GuideCharacters, Races of Faerun, Elves, DrowDrow Skin: Black. Luster: Glossy. ‘Black skin that resembles polished obsidian’.Drow Eyes: White, Pale Color of Reddish (pink), Purplish (lilac), Bluish (pale blue), Gray (silver). Uncommon colors are Unspecified. ‘They commonly have very pale color eyes, so pale as to be mistaken for white, in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink, and blue’.Drow Hair: White, Pale Yellowish. ‘Stark white hair or pale yellow hair’.Drow Physique: Slim. ‘They tend to be thinner than most elves’.Drow Height: Unspecified. ‘Tend to be smaller than most elves’.3e Races of FaerunElves, Drow, Dark Elves(Same as Forgotten Realms Setting Guide but elaborates, also specifies height)Drow Height: Both female and male are the same height. Drow Average Height: 5 feet.Drow Height Range: 4 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 5 inches. Drow Random Height: 4 feet 5 inches + 2d6. Same as 3e Players Handbook High Elf. However, in Forgotten Realms, the High Elf corresponds instead to the Moon Elf that is the same height as a Human. Thus in comparison, the Drow is smaller than the other subraces. Even so, the Drow is the same height as a female Human. ‘Tend to be smaller than most elves’.3e Forgotten Realms NovelsDrow Skin: Black. Dark Orangish (brown). Bluish.Note: The ancestral Dark Elf subrace is called the Ssri-tel-quessir, who exhibits brown skin, dark eyes, and black hair. Two of these Dark Elf factions are the ancient Ilythiiri and the Miyetari. In the Forgotten Realms setting, all Ilythiiri corrupted themselves with demonic blood, apparently becoming bluish. Miyetari did not. But both factions were ‘cursed’ with obsidian black skin when they descendend into the Underdark. Later, about a fifth of the Drow population had this curse removed. Thus many Drow reverted to their ancestral traits. Thus the Drow split into three ‘Dark Elf’ subraces: Drow, Ilythiiri, and Miyetari. The Drow retain their black-skin curse. The Ilythiiri revert to a demonic grayish blue skin. The Miyetari revert to the untainted purity of the ancestral Dark Elf, the Ssri-tel-quessir, namely brown skin, dark eyes, and black hair.Drow Eyes: Reddish (red, pink, rose), Orangish (amber, brown), Yellowish (amber), Greenish (green), Bluish (pale blue), Purplish (lavender, lilac), White. Black. Gray (silver).Note: In various Forgotten Realms novels, the Drow commonly have Bright Red eyes. Pale eyes are less common. In the House of Baenre, Gromph, Dantrag, and Lirial Vandree have Yellowish Orangish (amber) eyes. In the House Do’urden, Malice has Green eyes, and Drizzt has Pale Purplish (lavender, lilac) eyes that, however, are said to be unique among the Drow, despite the Setting Guide seeming as if Pale Purplish is common. The Ssri-tel-quessir and Miyetari have dark eyes including black and brown.In sum: Forgotten Realms exemplifies every color of the spectrum for eye colors: Reddish, Orangish, Yellowish, Greenish, Bluish, and Purplish.Drow Hair: White, Pale Color of Yellowish, Orangish, Reddish, Gray. Black.Generally, Drow hair is white, occasionally silver. With aging, male hair is sometimes said to gray, while female hair to yellow. Meanwhile, other pale colors are mentioned on occasion, including hints of coppery grayish reddish orangish. The Ssri-tel-quessir and Miyetari have black hair.4e Forgotten Realms Setting GuideRaces, DrowDrow Skin. Bluish Black. Luster: Unspecified. ‘Midnight black skin with a blue cast’.Drow Eyes. Bright Red, Pale Purplish (lavender), Blue. ‘Their eyes are fiery red, lavender,or blue.’Drow Eye Shape: Unspecifed.Note: Illustrations for the 4e Nerath setting tend to depict Drow with Solid eyes without iris or pupil, thus the same as the Eladrin that is specified as Solid, and unlike the Elf specified as human-like with iris and pupil. However, illustrations for the 4e Forgotten Realms setting tend to depict Drow with human-like eyes. There is some confusion.Drow Hair: White. ‘All Drow have white hair.’Drow Facial Hair, Male: None, Sideburns, Thin Mustache, Goatee. ‘Drow have little facial hair, although sometimes grow long sideburns or tufts of wispy hair on their cheeks and chins’.Drow Physique: Slim, Fit, Sexy. ‘Slender athletic builds, ... with wiry builds, pleasing features’.Drow Average Height: 5 feet 8 inches.Drow Height Range: 5 feet 4 inches to 6 feet. ‘Drow stand just shy of human height’. Same height as Elf. But Eladrin is slightly taller.3e Eberron NovelsDrow Skin: Black (Vulkoori tribe). Dark Gray, Pale Grayish Purple (Sulatar tribe). Grayish Black (Umbragen tribe).Drow Eyes: Dark Purple (Vulkoori). Bright, Reddish, Yellowish (Sulatar). Bluish Black (Umbragen).Drow Hair: Grayish White (Vulkoori). Grayish (Sulatar). White (Umbragen).3e Pathfinder Reference DocumentFeatured Races, Drow(Golarion Setting)Drow Skin: Grayish Black, Grayish Purple. Luster: Matte. ‘Drow skin ranges from coal black to a dusky purple’.Note, Paizo creative director, James Jacob, confirms in Paizo forum, Drow Skin: Black, Purple, plus Dark Blue.Drow Eyes: White, Red. Uncommon colors Unspecified. ‘Their eyes ... are often solid white or red’.Drow Eye Shape: Solid Color without iris or pupil. ‘Their eyes lack pupils and are ... solid’.Drow Hair: White, Gray (silver). Uncommon colors Unspecified. ‘Their hair is typically white or silver, though some variation is not unknown.’Drow Ears: Pointed and Prominent. ‘Distinctive long, pointed ears’. Same as Elf.Drow Physique: Slim. ‘Drow ... share the slender build and features of elves’. Same as Elf with ‘graceful, slender physique’.Drow Height: Same as Human. But Elf is slightly taller than Human. ‘Drow are similar in stature to humans’.</blockquote>

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