Drow
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Drow eyes could be of any color, with bright red being the most common. Pale shades that appeared nearly white of blue, lilac, pink, or silver were also frequent. Drow with green, brown, black, amber, or rose-hued eyes existed, but they were rare. Purple or blue eyes indicated surface elves and/or human ancestry. The color of a drow's eyes could also be indicative of their current mental or physical state; drow eyes reddened when they were angry, and turned yellow when they were sick, poisoned, or under some negative magical influence.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Drow names often included double letters and were designed to be pleasant to the ear. They believed that having first names similar to those of the Dark Seldarine guaranteed misfortune, and names similar to that of their patron was considered blasphemy. Nobles had a strong tendency to avoid giving names that were similar in sound to the common tongue of Deep Drow. Drow last names never started with the "L"-sound like that of "Lolth", "Lloth", or "Loethe", as this was reserved for the Spider Queen's avatar. Holding a last name, in general, meant that the holder was either born into a noble family, or had a rank and role (like weapon master) in a household. Drow that didn't meet those criteria weren't allowed to have a surname.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Barring the most primitive among them, the drow were a literate race. As was common for elves, drow speech was quite eloquent and their speech was almost musical. Most drow only knew two languages, namely Deep Drow and the Sign language, since they usually stayed in their cities and therefore had limited exposure to or need to learn other tongues. However, drow adventurers, outcasts, and slave-traders often learned more languages, as did their warriors. Drow were known to use their ability to read subtle markings in stone to leave secret messages.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The drow had a number of customs and gestures. For example, it was a commonly accepted gesture to drop held weapons and fall on a knee as a sign of surrender. There were many rituals as well, like the graduation ceremony for the graduates of the mage, priest, and warrior schools. When participating in a meeting, due to their weakness to light, the creation of an intense light source was seen as a hostile act by the drow, that led them to attack.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
The drow held some respect towards races capable of resisting their aggressions, and could perceive certain races as at least possible equals (though never superiors) with whom they had mutual gain or non-aggression pacts. However, contracts with "lesser races" were not seen as actually binding, and were readily broken as soon as they stopped being beneficial to the drow party. As a result, the other races learned to anticipate betrayal and always had counters to the treachery prepared. Normally the drow had poor opinions of even their erstwhile allies, and viewed other races, at best, as merely laughable or contemptible.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Da'Tel'Quessir
Origin/Ancestry
Tel'Quess
Lifespan
Up to 750 years
Average Height
4′7″‒5′5″ (140‒170 cm)
Average Weight
82‒152 lb (37‒68.9 kg)
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Drow skin tones ranged from dark grey, jet-black, and obsidian, (with various shades of blue), the albino drow known as the Szarkai being an exception. Drow had white, black, or purple teeth, while their gums, tongues, and throats could be red, pink, or purple.
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