Station: In all the world of the drow, there is no more important word. It is the calling of their religion, the incessant pulling of hungering heartstrings. Ambition overrides good sense and compassion is thrown away in its face, all in the name of Lloth, the Spider Queen.
In all of Astora, there are but a few races that can match the drow in both cruelty and cunning, making them one of the more dangerous peoples of the world despite their limited numbers. Known by their elven kindred as Umbra Eladrin, they are the survivors of the
Morwen Mythal, former citizens of the great elven nation of
Aethel Loren, and the lone followers of the
Dark Seldarine Pantheon. They stand as a dark reflection of their now distant kin, and the hatred between them is unrivaled amongst other races, even between the surface
Dwarves and their fallen kin,
Clan Duergar.
Description
Appearance
Drow are much shorter than their surface kin, to the point where they could be considered short even by human standards. They are also considered to be noticeably attractive, even by comparison to other elves. Their drastic departure from the other elven sub-races is thought to be the result of many generations of ruthless selective breeding and eugenics. As elves, they retain a slender, somewhat fragile physique paired with a natural grace of movement.
Drow skin color varies in tones ranging from dark grey to jet black, with many sporting a slightly blue hue. Their eyes lack pupils and run a broad range of colors, most commonly bright red or a pale shade of blue, pink, or silver. Those with mixed ancestry often have purple or blue eyes, a distinct sign of their non-drow heritage. Their hair is most often stark white, with a pale yellow also common. More rarely, silver and copper haired drow can be found as well.
The drow have impeccable, expensive taste in their fashion, and often flaunt their wealth in the form of extravagant, often quite revealing, clothing. Those of noble station consider the piwafwi, a magically enchanted cloak, to be standard attire along with their house insignia.
Personality
The drow are a cunning race, capable of exceeding at most tasks they devote themselves to, be it arcane arts, clerical devotion, artistic expression, or feats of architecture, in part thanks to their draconian practices of eugenics. Unfortunately for the world around them, much of this potential is spent on the domination, subjugation, and punishment of those around them.
Traits
The Drow share several of the traits of their elven kindred, but also have many distinctions from them.
Lifespan
Like other elves, they are quite long-lived, reaching adulthood at around 110 years of age and experiencing natural lifespans as long as 750 years.
Abilities
The drow share the natural elven resistance to certain types of magic, including sleep effects and many enchantments. They are also natural spellcasters and devoted clerics, wielding immense arcane and divine power against their enemies.
Reverie
Many elves, drow included, do not sleep, instead finding their rest in a meditative state called reverie or "trance", which is as restful as true sleep but leaves them partially aware of their surroundings. In this state, they achieve the same results as a human might through sleeping in roughly half the time.
Culture
Millennia of indoctrination under the sway of
Lolth has left little room for morals, compassion, or empathy amongst the drow, and many of the races subject to their cruelty believe (wrongly) that the drow have become genetically incapable of kindness. In truth, their culture is so steeped in the cruel teachings of Lolth that such qualities are trained out or repressed starting at a young age, and those that are unable to conform to the cruelty of drow culture are often killed or exiled (a fate synonymous with death in the
Underdark).
Slavery is a ubiquitous practice amongst the drow, with most cities hosting slave populations greater than those of the drow they serve.
Society
As a religiously dominated society under the influence of
Lolth, the drow have a strongly matriarchal society. Only drow women can be priests of Lolth, and the clergy hold almost all political power within drow society, leaving drow men typically relegated to subordinate positions. As one of the only paths to real power for drow men in society, the arcane arts is heavily favored by men seeking to improve their station, though it still holds deference to the clerical caste.
The drow are divided by houses, each led by a noble family and organized in a strict hierarchy within each drow city. Each house is led by the family's matron mother, almost exclusively the most powerful priestess of the family. Non-noble drow serve in these houses, bearing no blood relation and no true loyalty, often leaving for whatever house they feel will allow them the greatest opportunity, despite the punishment for defecting from a house being death (or worse). Noble drow make up between 5-10% of the populace.
Drow society is without mercy or remorse, and weakness is culled whenever it shows itself. To live amongst the drow is to see selfishness and sadism exercised to its extreme, leaving everyone involved all the worse for it. Hopelessly entwined to Lolth's will, the life of the drow is a life of self-imposed misery and loneliness.
Language
The drow speak
Nimdraic, a dialect of the elven language of
Eldraic that has since evolved into its own language. It is also the basis of the underdark trade language of
Undercommon, and thus most drow speak it fluently as well. The
Silent Tongue, or drow sign language is also known to most drow. As a highly educated people, many drow speak several languages outside their own, typically to better work against their native speakers.
Values
The true ambition of the drow is bent around one singular goal: advancement of station. The drow view themselves as inherently superior to all other races, and seek to establish their dominance over all those around them. Even other drow are not immune to this, as this view of superiority is typically held on both the familial and individual level, with houses in constant conflict for supremacy of their cities, and individuals ruthlessly pursuing higher station within their houses. Such treachery is permitted, even encouraged in drow culture, with brazen acts of violence often openly committed.
While outwardly espousing strong values in the rule of law and punishment of crimes, in truth the drow encourage the flagrant violation of such laws, on the condition that one is not caught in the act. Should a drow house wipe out a rival family entirely, such an act is praised and celebrated openly, but were a single member to survive the assault and bear witness to the assault, the offending house would be swiftly punished and face utter annihilation in response to their crimes. The true rule of law of the drow is not to maintain the law, but to never be caught breaking it.
Religion
The drow worship members of the
Dark Seldarine Pantheon, and their worship is overwhelmingly dominated by the power of
Lolth, head of the pantheon. Worship of Lolth (or one of her subordinate deities) is considered a necessity within drow culture and any perceived slight against her or any of her followers is often met with savage cruelty.
Vhaeraun,
Selvetarm, and
Kiaransalee all serve Lolth directly, and thus their worship is also permitted amongst the drow. As servants of Lolth, each is evil in their own capacity, though they work to different ends, and are often in direct competition with Lolth despite their subservience towards her.
- Vhaeraun is most popular amongst drow men, as he seeks to overthrow the matriarchal structures of drow society and put drow men and women on equal footing. His focus is also turned towards vengeance against the surface races, and encourages his followers to make those dwelling on the surface suffer as much as possible.
- Selvetarm is the champion of Lolth, and the drow god of warriors and battle. He is also popular amongst men as well as women outside the noble caste, all seeking to rise in station through glorious victory in combat.
- Kiaransalee is the goddess of revenge and undeath, and is the most niche of Lolth's servants. Those who worship her are often considered mad, and she is favored amongst necromancers, both arcane and divine.
Ghaunadaur is the last of the tolerated gods amongst drow society, though worshipers are exceedingly rare and he is only peripherally considered part of the Dark Seldarine Pantheon.
Worship of
Malyk and
Eilistraee is banned and persecuted, despite both being members of the
Dark Seldarine Pantheon. As a god of rebellion and wild magic, Malyk is considered dangerous and unpredictable, with his followers labeled cultists and hunted down whenever discovered.
Eilistraee is the only good deity within the pantheon, remaining with the Dark Seldarine after the schism of the
Seldarine Pantheon only to serve as a lifeline to those followers who seek an escape from
Lolth's clutches. She works continuously against the rest of the pantheon, seeking to remind the drow of the benefits of kindness and compassion, and draw them away from the cycle of hedonism and violence in which they are entrapped.
Relations
Diet
History
Notes (unformatted, to be added above in time)
General Drow Info: The vast majority of the drow are evil, with Chaotic Evil the most common, followed by Neutral Evil and then Lawful Evil. Rarest are drow of Good alignment, though they do exist (typically as outcasts or in secret).
Lolth is the primary god of the Drow and makes up the majority of their worship. Vhaeraun, Selvetarm, and Kiaransalee are all servants of Lolth, and many pay homage to the spider queen through them. Most women worship Lolth directly, and most men worship through Vhaeraun or Selvetarm. Kiaransalee has a much smaller following. Ghaunadaur is the only other deity of which open worship is largely tolerated in drow society, though his followers are few in number.
Eilistraee is the only good drow deity, a devoted enemy of Lolth, and her worship is typically performed in secret (being outed as her follower results in almost certain death in most drow cities).
Malyk has the smallest following, and those that worship him are considered dangerous cultists by the drow, hunted and killed whenever found.
Drow regularly enlist the use of and consort with demons, and most Fey’ri have drow origins.
Drow society has a rigid societal structure and strict laws that almost none of them follow. To break a law means nothing. To be caught breaking it is death. They will often flaunt their flagrant violation of the law, to the approval of other Drow, so long as they left no damning evidence of the act behind.
As an example, to kill a member of a noble house is a crime punishable by death, but attacks on houses are commonplace in most drow cities. If any (noble) members of the victim house survive, they can bear witness to the crime, condemning the attacking house to extermination (though to do so would not bode well for the survivor, as such an act is considered pathetic to the drow). If the entire house is killed, the act is met with high praise, with the attacking house gaining in both prestige and power for it.
As Lolth promotes strife and competition amongst her followers, Drow society is in a near constant state of flux and infighting, with various Drow subject to meteoric rises in power and influence only to fall, often via death by the hands of another ambitious Drow looking to take their place.
Drow often participate in trade and alliances with their neighbors, but are treacherous in these dealings, and have a reputation for such. The few good and neutral races that inhabit the underdark often avoid the Drow when possible, viewing them as an existential threat to their existence. Duergar and Mind Flayers in particular both commonly entreat with the Drow, largely because both are threatening and/or cunning enough to avoid falling victim to Drow treachery.
Duergar are in competition with the Drow for consideration as the dominant force in the underdark, but while the Drow are considered to be slowly declining in power, the Duergar are rapidly growing. Historically the Drow would treat with the Duergar when convenient and war with them when not, but they are increasingly driven to negotiation in the face of a rival they cannot reliably defeat. As such, the two often form a tenuous alliance, though both know that such alliances will likely turn to war if either side senses weakness in the other.
The Mind Flayers often meddle in the affairs of the underdark, manipulating the other races into doing their bidding and controlling others from behind the scenes. The Drow are one of the few races that have garnered a level of what may almost be considered respect from the alien creatures, rarely finding themselves victim of mental domination or manipulation. Instead, they often deal on near equal terms, working together as willing allies rather than subservient thralls.
Drow loathe nothing more than surface dwellers, especially elves, and devote inordinate resources to raids on them whenever possible. As such, many of their slaves come from the surface, and regions above them know and fear their presence despite the extreme difficulty in navigating between the surface and the world below.
Drow City General Guidelines:
Nobility makes up between 5-10% of the city.
Houses are typically between 10-30 noble family members, plus 50 - 1,000 non-noble members of the house, depending on the size and power of the house (normal is about 10 non-nobles per noble for a middling house, more for stronger houses, less for weaker ones).
Unbound drow (those belonging to no house) make up about 10-20% of a city's population on average. This is a dangerous position, and they often bind themselves to powerful organizations for survival (mage academy, mercenary outfit, etc).
Slaves typically outnumber drow in a given city, upwards of 2 to 1 (rarely higher as slave revolts become dangerous). Races vary greatly.
With a few exceptions, cities are run by the houses, with the matron mother of the leading house ruling over a council of other matron mothers (of all houses or just the top houses, varies)
Most cities are dominated by Lolth worship, and those that are so dominated have little tolerance for worship of other deities, especially amongst the ruling classes. Beyond Lolth, Vhaeraun and Ghaunadaur are next most common. Worship of good deities is rare and typically kept secret. Cities devoted to goodness (or even neutrality) are exceptionally rare, Imberlur being the only commonly known exception to this.
Nearly all cities are matriarchal, with only a few exceptions being equally led by men and women or dominated by men (Sshamath and Imberlur as notable examples).
Menzoberranzan - upperdark, beneath the desolate waste - 20k drow, 40k slaves - city of spiders - One of the oldest drow settlements, and considered the crown jewel of the drow empire despite its middling size. Considered the favored city of Lolth, and home to several of the most influential and powerful drow houses throughout the underdark.
Chaulssin - middledark, below the dagger coast, southeast of the black loch - 7k free, 4.5k slaves - city of wyrmshadows. Conquered by shadow dragons and partially merged with the Shadowfel.Home to the brotherhood of Jaezred Chaulssin (shadow-dragon blooded drow - Zekyl - devoted to freeing the drow race from Lolth’s grasp - Not the good guys). Howling Abyss - 20 mile deep chasm (3 up, 17 down) the city sits on a spar of stone along its edge
Ched Nasad - middledark, beneath southern Khan plains - 30k drow, 70k slaves - city of webs.
Eryndlyn - upperdark, beneath the sundered vale - 60k+ drow, 100k+ slaves - City of Splendor - Largest known drow city in the underdark, founded by drow seeking to conquer the last remaining elven nation of Tor Dorthanolin, the assault never materialized, but the city grew to dominate the region
Maerimydra - middledark, beneath the Azzerheim valley - 11k drow - The Burning City - city was sacked by a half-fiend leading an army of goblins, ogres, fire giants, and demons several centuries ago and is slowly rebuilding.
Sschindylryn - middledark, beneath the worldspine mountains - 15k drow - City of Portals - demilitarized after losing a war against Menzoberranzan, now the largest trade hub of the drow. Ruling priestesses do not follow Lolth’s philosophy of strife, plus a male dominated merchant class leads to more political and social stability than other drow cities.
Sshamath - middledark, below bloodstone peninsula - 12k drow, 13k slaves - City of Dark Weavings - city is ruled by the male class. Lack of external threats allowed house wizards to devote their efforts to pillaging the ruins of the Netheril floating cities that had been buried in the region during karsus’ folly. Found many powerful magical artifacts, learning from them and using their power to overthrow the matriarchy of the city. Killed all the matron mothers and replaced them with wizards, leading to a Mageocracy led by the ruling wizard of each school, one generalist representative, and one elected from more esoteric arcane practitioners (elementalists, etc) Major trading center for arcane goods. Slavery is more limited than practice here: races deemed capable of the arcane arts are deemed unfit for slavery, as it was deemed a waste of potential talent. Those who demonstrated arcane capability were considered free in the eyes of Sshamath law, though ineligible to be citizens. Their population was kept under control, frequently used as scapegoats and sacrificial lambs for the drow to exploit. Races deemed too primitive for wizardry were freely kept as slaves, even if an individual demonstrated arcane talent (deemed anomalies or novelties, not evidence for the race as a whole).
Imberlur - upperdark, beneath Tuatha Tir Nua at the base of the northspire mountains - 8k drow - City of the Moon - Home to worshippers of Eilistraee, only good aligned city of the drow. City is close to the surface, less than a mile beneath it, with tunnels leading up to the forest at the roots of the mountains. Have established trade with the Sebaste, and frequent the surface, performing worship and rituals under the moon in clearings where the forest thins out in the mountains.
Vlyn’Darastyl - middledark, beneath the storm coast - 4k drow, 3k slaves - Drowned City - formerly a Duergar city, much of it is now submerged beneath the black loch. Drow conquered the city nearly 1200 years ago and have used it as a center from which to exert control over much of the black loch region.
Haundrauth - upperdark, beneath Reinstad - 9k drow, 15k slaves - City of Conquest - precise location of the city is almost completely unknown to outsiders. They control a vast swath of the underdark surrounding their city, with outposts and strongholds littering the region. Conservative estimates put the total number of drow in the region well over 20k, possibly as much as 40k total. Known for making alliances with outside forces, it is said that the city is allied with Clan Groeler, leaders of the Duergar city of Deepearth (formerly a deep gnome settlement, Haundrauth aided Clan Groeler in its conquest), now a powerful force in its own right in the region.
V'elddrinnsshar - middledark - 3k drow, 6k slaves -
Rilauven - middledark - 5k drow, 7k slaves -
Lith My’athar - upperdark - 8k drow, 6k slaves -
Telnarquel - middledark - 4k drow, 4k slaves -
Guallidurth - middledark - 7k drow, 11k slaves -
Cheth Rrhinn - middledark - 3k drow, 4k slaves -
Baereghel - middledark, - 5k drow, 9k slaves -
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