Drow

The Drow are dark reflections of their high elf siblings, having decided to return from the lands of the gods to stand guard over the prison of The Entity. Dwelling in the dark beneath the lunar surface, drow work alongside the duergar to maintain the powerful wards there, and also pay the price as their souls slowly erode under the intense psychic radiation emitted by a primordial. Though bound to their duties by ancient and incorruptible magics, the drow have become twisted and rather cruel as a race, with precious few outliers.
Appearance Drow are shorter than most elves, with the average height for women being around five and a half feet, with men coming in a few inches shorter. They have slight builds as well and many stoop reflexively as they move, accustomed to tunnels in the dark. Drow have uniformly jet black skin and white hair, though some drow have mild highlights in their hair and occasionally break away from the extremely common red eyes.
Clothing Most clothing is leather or woven from rothé hair. Drow of both genders favor tight vests or shirts and loose flowing pants and skirts; many wear patches of armor woven into these discreetly. Jewelry is important in drow culture, often serving as a symbol of status or personal achievement, and sometimes serving as a testament to skill. After all, a known assassin who can lurk about with dangling pieces of metal about his person is extremely skilled indeed.
Art Drow painting is renowned for offering the viewer a different image depending on the level of light in which one views it. Of course, only those with darkvision can fully appreciate their works. Jewelry is important enough that silver and goldsmiths are held in high esteem, and are granted the rare opportunity to abstain from drow politics.
Religion The cult of Lolth has tremendous sway over drow society, as she was the leader who decided to commit the drow to their noble cause. Like her children however, Lolth has succumbed to madness over the millennia, and thus far has resisted all efforts to usurp her. The Mad Spider Queen is a potent ally against That Which Slumbers, but the toll on her people is high. Monthly holidays demand the sacrifice of sentient creatures, and at least once a year it must be a drow.
Cuisine Drow subsist largely on mushrooms and rothé, and are noteworthy among the elves for enjoying several dairy products. Rare grapes that may grow in faerzress provide a robust wine and other food products which lend some flavor to the notoriously bland bluebread of the Underdark, but other than this, drow cooking isn’t much to write home about. They do produce one exciting condiment made by mixing deadly spores with spider venom which cancels out the deadly effects of both; this venom sauce is the basis of many dishes, as the flavor can change considerably based on how long it’s cooked and with what. Drow mushroom wine and spider wine is also highly sought after.
Families Drow families maintain large compounds in their underground cities, overseeing most of the operations of drow society. House Prah’vinz remains committed to the original cause of the drow, training the vast majority of the drow’s non-treachery paladins. House Hu’et focuses on wizardry and agriculture, while House Nel handles most trade with the surface world, relying on bards to facilitate that. House Tahmsen operates a monastery and paradoxically trains many rogues. House E’stairbrukz trains fighters mostly, while House Zae’no trains rangers. House Faolur focuses more on barbarians, while House Le Vengstun features many of the drow’s most powerful warlocks. House Nay’do is mostly sorcerers.