Drow
For Gameplay Purposes...
- Drow use the Drow player statistics without the sunlight sensitivity
- Yijikli use Shadar-Kai statistics
- Esopu use Duergar Statistics
- Aelfs use High Elf Statistics
- Fae Aelfs use Eladrin Statistcs
- Nindro use Wood Elf Statistcis.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Drow are two armed and two-legged humanoid mammals with two biological sexes, however, those who identify as non-binary are incredibly common, with magical procedures having been developed to render their bodies as such. They have a head that contains a brain positioned on a neck above their torso's, with most of their vital organs in their torsos behind a solid ribcage. Women are larger and more muscular than men.
Genetics and Reproduction
Drow reproduce in the manner of most mammals.
Growth Rate & Stages
Drow develop over the course of four decades, reaching their full physical peak around 100 years of age, remaining at that point for the next two to four decades before slowly degrading until their body can no longer keep them alive.
Ecology and Habitats
Drow are found near everywhere, however, they are most common in the Low Peaks of Zhattar. They favor indirect sunlight and are empowered by moonlight
Dietary Needs and Habits
Drow require a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, fat, fibre, minerals, vitamins, and water. Of all these, proteins are most important, vitamins the least.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Drow have no facial hair, with tradition demanding all genders wear their hair long.
Average Intelligence
Drow are sapeint beings.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Drow senses are sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. They can see in the darkness as if it were dim light and dim light as if it were bright light.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Drow cultural names are usually compound words of a noun and an adjective, mashed together with some changed syllables. They are given a name in childbirth, usually a one to two-syllable adjective, and upon reaching maturity, they chose their own. Tradition demands that Women, the warriors of society, take names about weapons or warfare, such as Thirsting Blade or Sieged Castle, while Non-Binary Drow take names about characteristics and personality such as Booming Laughter or Shy Speech, while Men, the homemakers, take names about daily life, such as Wet Cloth or Delicious Spices.
Beauty Ideals
Drow see peak physical condition as the main beauty ideal, with incredibly lean and fit Drow societally seen as more attractive as those who don't dedicate time each day to exercise. Tradition requires that everyone gets an hour and a half each day to do so, but the realities of life mean that the men, who spend most of their time farming or tending the home, get little time to do this.
Gender Ideals
In traditional Drow society, Women are the warriors and protectors, Non-Binary people are the governors and administrators, while Men are homemakers and crafters.
Relationship Ideals
The ideal marriage according to Drow tradition involves three people, one woman, one man, and one non-binary person. The woman is there as the protector, the man as the homemaker, and the non-binary drow as the civic, the one who trades and performs whatever the families trade is. The title for the female spouse is ipili, male spouse is wutimi, and Non-Binary spouse is tiliti.
Average Technological Level
Drow are on an early-Rennaissance technology level.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Drow speak Devkarin and Gui Biaozhun.
Common Etiquette Rules
Common etiquette for Drow is for Men and Non-Binary people to pay deference to their protector, who in most cases is the matriarch of the family.
Common Dress Code
Warriors are required to near always be in armour, be it dress armour or functional combat armour. Otherwise choice of clothing is fairly free, other than formal clothing in formal situations.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The Drow seem to have a racial affinity for psychic magic, such as that used by Psi-Warriors and Soul-Knives. There is no record nor any cultural memory of these warriors and magic before Mul-Zamain, so many suspect that this phenomenon was a side-effect of the magic he unleashed. A cultural institution they have become famous for is their Rally Knights (Meta: Modify This With a Playable Class Tag Later), who have become synonymous with folktale heroes. Other races are rarely instructed in the Rally Knight ways and inducted into their order, yet they are still synonymously Drow.
A far nastier cultural institution is their slaving ways. Drow are infamous for their ancient slaveholding ways, enslaving their own lower castes in the High Peaks of Zhattar, and while Drow slaves are still common in slave markets, they have pivoted to slavery as a way to subjugate the Humans in the Low Peaks. The large Drow slave cities are the only reason slavery hasn't been completely outlawed in the Akroni Confederacy, and its lucrative trade has continued to make the elites of the Drow states rich. However, this is becoming unpopular among many progressive Drow, with most Aelfs that associate with the Drow rejecting the institution entirely. The most infamous Drow slaver city is the City of Stone.
A far nastier cultural institution is their slaving ways. Drow are infamous for their ancient slaveholding ways, enslaving their own lower castes in the High Peaks of Zhattar, and while Drow slaves are still common in slave markets, they have pivoted to slavery as a way to subjugate the Humans in the Low Peaks. The large Drow slave cities are the only reason slavery hasn't been completely outlawed in the Akroni Confederacy, and its lucrative trade has continued to make the elites of the Drow states rich. However, this is becoming unpopular among many progressive Drow, with most Aelfs that associate with the Drow rejecting the institution entirely. The most infamous Drow slaver city is the City of Stone.
History
The Drow claim that their god Yolwi Kiple was wandering the earth when they found the High Peaks of Zhattar and decided to climb them. Upon reaching the highest they decided to settle down and carved themself a house into the mountain. Growing bored and lonely, they created the first drow out of stone and plants scattered around, granting the first two life with a kiss. Yolwi Kiple decided to wader again, finding another mountain top and settling down before growing bored and creating drow again once more. This cycle repeated itself until every mountain where Drow once lived was populated, and Yolwi Kiple left the mountains to wander once more.
This is at least the origin story that most Drow hold to, even though the old gods are dead and dying. Worship of Yolwi Kiple and his pantheon is found in only the most traditional Drow kingdoms and small enclaves in other states. Funnily enough, the closer a Drow settlement is to the High Peaks, the more likely they are to be devout to their old gods. The likelihood that what is referred to as the "Old Drow Pantheon" are even their original gods is slim.
Concrete Drow history before Mul-Zamain is extremely fragmented, with only sparse mentions of one Zhattar, for whom the High and Low peaks are named. Zhattar was a powerful mage and a king of a large Drow kingdom, one who led them in a cultural revolution, as well as the scouring of a forgotten ancient enemy. Clearly, he was competent as what they were, to even what they were called has been lost to history.
Two centuries and change after the reign of Zhattar came Mul-Zamain and his purge of the Star Cults from the Empire of Laran, many of which had fierce support among the Drow. In his rage, Zamain led a war of pure destruction and devastation against Arakos, the mightiest of the Drow's ancient cities, and the seat of the Arakan Pantheon. Zamain and his armies marched through the Sotteran aided by a clan of Dragonborn and burning everything they could. Zamain's power was in full showcase as he annihilated armies sent to stop him with barely a thought, or so the stories say.
At the Walls of Arakos, a mighty Drow hero, a woman whose names and deeds have been lost but for this one, challenged Zamain to single combat to decide the fate of the city. Zamain, having done this song and dance before, accepted, and in that instant, the treacherous warlord attacked, hoping to catch his opponent off-guard. Instead, she met his blow, and attacked back, cutting his cheek. As the legend says, it was the first time anyone had physically harmed Zamain since his ascen sion, and he responded in fury. The two great warriors were evenly matched, trading blows back and forth for hours, days even.
After almost a week of fighting in this duel, neither had given any ground, so Zamain attempted a desperate maneuver. Channeling all his magical energy and prowess, he brought wave after wave of destructive energy to bear, using all of his stamina in extremely powerful attacks that left him without energy, but that significantly injured the mighty champion. Still, she would not yield, so Zamain focussed with all his might and clapped his hands. The resulting explosion completely leveled the 30000-meter high mountain they stood within, destroying the city and all the surrounding mountains for kilometers upon kilometers.
The magical energy spread so far and wide that all across the High Peaks of Zhattar entities began to appear. They distorted minds and sent the populations of entire cities into madness. The tunnels that were before bustling with trade and travel were now filled with shambling husks, the souls of all those Zamain had personally killed returned for revenge, or failing that, to feed on the living. Nowhere was safe, so the remaining Drow, of which there were many, fled down to the Low Peaks, encountering resistance, and to this day, near a millennium after Zamain's death, struggling to establish a complete presence in the mountains.
That is where the mythohistory becomes actual fact. Zamain did indeed march on the now ruined city of Arakos, and during the siege, destroyed the entire mountain as well as all those nearby, and unleashed the horrors that forced the Drow to migrate down from the High Peaks of Zhattar. The main Drow kingdoms established rose and fell, with only one surviving as the "bastion of Drow culture and civilization", the kingdom of Tenya Anoch, translating directly to Safe Haven in their native language of Devkarin. Drow are now found everywhere, from Akronis to Laran, with many of their descendant races populating the forests of Zamain's wound and the Everlasting Jungle.
The Drow founded the city fo Arakos as a new religious center after their old cultural centers were abandoned or destroyed. They have played major parts in global history, but haven't been a unified race since Mul-Zamain. Despite their prevalence, no Drow would ever be found a member of the Senpadida Siobkun. The Drow of Laran always side with the Imperial Cult.
This is at least the origin story that most Drow hold to, even though the old gods are dead and dying. Worship of Yolwi Kiple and his pantheon is found in only the most traditional Drow kingdoms and small enclaves in other states. Funnily enough, the closer a Drow settlement is to the High Peaks, the more likely they are to be devout to their old gods. The likelihood that what is referred to as the "Old Drow Pantheon" are even their original gods is slim.
Concrete Drow history before Mul-Zamain is extremely fragmented, with only sparse mentions of one Zhattar, for whom the High and Low peaks are named. Zhattar was a powerful mage and a king of a large Drow kingdom, one who led them in a cultural revolution, as well as the scouring of a forgotten ancient enemy. Clearly, he was competent as what they were, to even what they were called has been lost to history.
Two centuries and change after the reign of Zhattar came Mul-Zamain and his purge of the Star Cults from the Empire of Laran, many of which had fierce support among the Drow. In his rage, Zamain led a war of pure destruction and devastation against Arakos, the mightiest of the Drow's ancient cities, and the seat of the Arakan Pantheon. Zamain and his armies marched through the Sotteran aided by a clan of Dragonborn and burning everything they could. Zamain's power was in full showcase as he annihilated armies sent to stop him with barely a thought, or so the stories say.
At the Walls of Arakos, a mighty Drow hero, a woman whose names and deeds have been lost but for this one, challenged Zamain to single combat to decide the fate of the city. Zamain, having done this song and dance before, accepted, and in that instant, the treacherous warlord attacked, hoping to catch his opponent off-guard. Instead, she met his blow, and attacked back, cutting his cheek. As the legend says, it was the first time anyone had physically harmed Zamain since his ascen sion, and he responded in fury. The two great warriors were evenly matched, trading blows back and forth for hours, days even.
After almost a week of fighting in this duel, neither had given any ground, so Zamain attempted a desperate maneuver. Channeling all his magical energy and prowess, he brought wave after wave of destructive energy to bear, using all of his stamina in extremely powerful attacks that left him without energy, but that significantly injured the mighty champion. Still, she would not yield, so Zamain focussed with all his might and clapped his hands. The resulting explosion completely leveled the 30000-meter high mountain they stood within, destroying the city and all the surrounding mountains for kilometers upon kilometers.
The magical energy spread so far and wide that all across the High Peaks of Zhattar entities began to appear. They distorted minds and sent the populations of entire cities into madness. The tunnels that were before bustling with trade and travel were now filled with shambling husks, the souls of all those Zamain had personally killed returned for revenge, or failing that, to feed on the living. Nowhere was safe, so the remaining Drow, of which there were many, fled down to the Low Peaks, encountering resistance, and to this day, near a millennium after Zamain's death, struggling to establish a complete presence in the mountains.
That is where the mythohistory becomes actual fact. Zamain did indeed march on the now ruined city of Arakos, and during the siege, destroyed the entire mountain as well as all those nearby, and unleashed the horrors that forced the Drow to migrate down from the High Peaks of Zhattar. The main Drow kingdoms established rose and fell, with only one surviving as the "bastion of Drow culture and civilization", the kingdom of Tenya Anoch, translating directly to Safe Haven in their native language of Devkarin. Drow are now found everywhere, from Akronis to Laran, with many of their descendant races populating the forests of Zamain's wound and the Everlasting Jungle.
The Drow founded the city fo Arakos as a new religious center after their old cultural centers were abandoned or destroyed. They have played major parts in global history, but haven't been a unified race since Mul-Zamain. Despite their prevalence, no Drow would ever be found a member of the Senpadida Siobkun. The Drow of Laran always side with the Imperial Cult.
Subraces
The Drow are divided into six subraces. The first of which si simply the Drow, who have been outlined in the main article. Unless otherwise specified, these subraces us most of the same culture.The second subrace are the Yijiki or Shadow Drow. Esopu are Drow who live nomadic lives traveling in the depths of the Sotteran, preserving Drow culture. The largest group of them is found in Nazzerath. They are hurt by the sun, however need much less food or water to survive.
The third are the Esopu or the Dwarf Drow. Thye trade the tall lankiness for heavyset builts and squat features, along with the ability to consume some stones for sustenance. Many believe them to be crosses with the Dawasi, and while this is untrue the name of Dwarf-Drow has remained.
The next three subraces are all Drow who were mutated by the magical energies released by Mul-Zamain. They are sometimes considered a separate race called the Alefs, but most don't think of themselves as such. Most Drow see the Aelfs as either mutant abominations that must be purged or lost kin to be reembraced. All take the milky irises of the Drow and make it their entire eyes.
Sunkin Aelfs have human skin tones, with a little light gray mixed in. They are physically and magically regenerated by sunlight, not significantly, but enough to notice. They have mostly assimilated into the large metropolises they are found in, with few separate kingdoms that carry on Drow traditions.
Fae Aelfs are found in the forests created by MUl-Zamain or in the Fae itself. They have near no connection to Drow besides the biological, and even their skin and hair are shades of red, green, yellow/orange, and blue. Little contact is had with them.
Nindro or Woof Aelfs are only found in deep forests and jungles, and many live in the Everlasting Jungle. Their skin tones vary from lightly tanned to dark brown, with similar hair tones. Much of their skin is replaced by shifting patterns of actual bark, suggesting that they have become one with nature in many literal senses.
Scientific Name
Drow Humanoid
Lifespan
200-300 years
Average Height
1.8 - 2.4 meters
Average Weight
55 - 90 kg
Average Physique
Drow tend to be tall and lanky, with lean muscle.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Drow skin tone varies from pitch-black to shades of purple to a very light grey. Their hair reflects this, though it contains no purple. Their eyes have no pupils, being completely enveloped by the iris. Their irises are milky fogs of colour, usually shades of red, yellow, or blue.
Related Organizations
Comments