Drow

Drow, also known as dark elves, deep elves, night elves, or sometimes "The Ones Who Went Below" on the surface are a dark-skinned sub-race of elves that predominantly live in The Underdark. They are hated and feared due to their cruelty, though some non-evil and an even smaller number of good drow exist.

Basic Information

Anatomy

In many ways, the drow resemble elves. Their bodies are wiry and athletic, while their faces are chiselled and attractive. They are shorter and thinner than other sub-races of elves. It is believed that females are generally bigger and stronger than males, but both sexes vary in height from 4 feet and 7 inches to 5 feet and 5 inches, averaging 5 feet. Males weigh between 87 to 157 pounds, averaging 109.5 pounds; females are a bit lighter and weigh between 82 to 152 pounds, averaging 104.5 pounds.
The skin of the drow is dark grey, jet-black or obsidian. Generally, the drow keep their hair long, and decorate it with pins and webbing made of precious metals. Drow hair can be stark white, pale yellow and, more rarely, silver or copper in colour. Drow hair thins and changes colour with age, turning pale yellow in women, and silver or grey in men. Drow eyes can be of any colour, with bright red being the most common. Pale shades that appear nearly white of blue, lilac, pink, or silver are also frequent. Drow with green, brown, black, amber, or rose-hued eyes exist, but they are rare. Purple or blue eyes indicates surface elves and/or human ancestry. It is possible to read some information in the eye colour of a drow. For example, drow eyes redden when they are angry, and turn yellow when they are sick, poisoned, or under some negative magical influence.

Genetics and Reproduction

Due to a process of selective breeding that lasted for several generations, the drow (especially nobles) look attractive even when compared to other elves. Their alluring appearance, which can be used for seduction, is more often used to instil fear. Meeting the beauty standards of the surface races makes them prone to turn a blind eye on the deeds of the drow, and to be lenient to them.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Drow are only native to the Underdark, however it is not uncommon for drow to travel to the world above.

Civilization and Culture

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Drow are overall decadent but managed to hide it under a veneer of sophistication. They are arrogant, ambitious, sadistic, treacherous, and hedonistic. From birth, the drow are taught they are superior to other races, and that they should crush those beneath them. Unlike inherently evil creatures like Orcs, the evil of the drow isn't of inherent nature: they are a race of emotionally stunted people, with a tenuous grasp on sanity and scarred mentalities, among which relatively undamaged minds are considered abnormal. However, as mentioned above, the drow have no innate drive towards evil and their morality is coloured by the society they live in.
Most drow's personal goal is about increasing their station in life, as they desire the power over others that a higher station would provide. The scarcity of resources in the Underdark and the limited chances for advancement within the society forces most drow to aggressively compete with each other. However, as mentioned above, they manage to hide their traits behind a veneer of sophistication. For example, while they like to assassinate their competition, doing so and being exposed would bring punishment for being too overt about it, as would open murder. Rising through the ranks too quickly is dangerous for any drow. The usual reaction is the formation of temporary alliances among those who were wronged by the quickly ascending drow to take them down. Such alliances are often successful.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elf

Lifespan

750 years

Average Height

4'7" - 5'5"

Average Weight

110 - 160 lbs

Geographic Distribution

• The Underdark