Drow

Drow are a decadent race of dark elves whose beauty and sophistication fail to mask hearts all too often stained in evil. The vast majority of dark elves base their behavior and attitudes on the worship of the chaotic evil goddess Lolth, also known as the Spider Queen. Drow society is organized into houses. The heads of the most powerful houses occupy leadership positions in the various cities of the Underdark, the subterranean realm beneath Faerûn that the dark elves call home Drow stand just shy of human height and have slender, athletic builds. Physically, they resemble eladrin, with wiry builds, pleasing features, and midnight black skin that has a blue cast. Their eyes are fiery red, lavender, or blue. All drow have white hair, which most keep long and decorate with intricate pins and webbing wrought from precious metals. Aside from their tresses and eyebrows, drow have little facial hair, though males sometimes grow long sideburns or tufts of wispy hair on their cheeks and chins. From infancy, a drow child must be cunning. Children can expect no kindness, no warmth, and no compassion. Such expressions engender fatal weakness. Drow are cold parents, instilling self-reliance and independence, so that their offspring will become strong enough to survive a bloody adolescence. Ill treatment reinforces their natural inclinations toward evil. In rare cases, the harshness of childhood can have the opposite effect, seeding the youth with a hatred of and disdain for drow society and expectations. Such attitudes often lead young drow to a premature end. In general, dark elves have life spans somewhat longer than those of their surface-dwelling cousins. Drow who manage to avoid dying a violent death can live for well over 200 years, and exceptional members of the race measure their ages in centuries.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Akneth, Alauniira, Briesril, Chali, Charinida, Diviir, Drisiml, Faeremma, Fillith, Ilivarra, Myrymma, Pellanistra, Quewaun, Shivra, Viergar, Waeren, Xune, Yasesril, Zaketrin, Zarra

Masculine names

Adinimys, Baridl, Belgos, Bhintel, Drisdhaun, Elkantar, Haelirin, Houndaer, Kelnozz, Malaggar, Nalklyr, Orkallael, Pelloth, Phaeqel, Quarfein, Ryltar, Ulvein, Vorgyrn, Xulgos, Zebith

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Due to a process of selective breeding that lasted for several generations, the drow (especially nobles) looked attractive even when compared to other elve] Their alluring appearance, which could be used for seduction, was more often used to instill fear.According to Nojheim, meeting the beauty standards of the surface races made them prone to turn a blind eye on the deeds of the drow, and to be lenient to them.

Gender Ideals

Lolth’s dogma mandated to recognize female drow as more valuable than males, who were considered worthless. This gave female drow absolute power, and they were also less likely to be sacrificed than males. Males who hoped to find any place of power often resorted to ends as treacherous as the women that ruled the drow, hoping to perhaps win a coveted place as the mate of a powerful matron mother. Arcane magic was a route for power for male drow, though open only to a few. While they were still socially inferior to female drow, they weren’t in real danger of being killed by a priestess, while even accomplished male war commanders were in danger of being executed for perceived insults. Generally, men tried currying favors with women and advance their station by attaching themselves to them (for example, by gaining high officer positions, or becoming consorts). Other ways of gaining station as a male were to become an arcane devotee (but it didn't grant any additional safety), or an arachnomancer, taking advantage of the reverence of spiders that came with the worship of Lolth. It would be easy to imagine that drow females, by comparison, had it much easier. However, this was an illusion, and their prestigious position came at a high cost. In fact, the teachings of Lolth and the drive to gain more power made the competition between female drow, particularly those who belonged to powerful houses, violent, aggressive and lethal in a way that males didn't have to deal with. It was even worse for those women who sought power outside of Lolth's church, where they had to compete not only with other females, but with resentful and oppressed males as well.

Courtship Ideals

Courting was the domain of women in drow society. Trying to initiate a relationship was a reason for execution by torture and sacrifice for a male drow. In general, drow women chose their partners as animals would be chosen for breeding purposes. Furthermore, once a relationship started, the male partner had no say on how long the relationship would last, or whether it should even start. The woman, on the other hand, could change partners as she desired. When a drow man was desired by more than one female, the latter competed over him. The male wasn’t safe from damage: in fact, for drow women, as a sign to clarify the loss of interest in the rivalry was to skin the male and drop the corpse before the room of her rival. The death of a male drow was the usual way in which a relationship ended. In non-Lolthite culture and among commoners, matters weren't that extreme. The concept of marriage existed but it was not for eternity. The contract lasted for a decade or so at longest, but renewal was possible. One exception were the merchant clans: marriage wasn't everlasting, but marrying someone from a merchant clan meant becoming part of it for life. Trying to leave could be the same as inviting death. The secret of a working long-term relationship between drow was not love but tangible reasons, like the male having a history of fathering many female offspring. The best "normal" romantic relationship between two drow was similar to the one between a spoiled brat and her well trained, obedient dog, with the owner having the right to put the dog down for any reason.