Dungeons and Dragons Lore : Drow Elves

The drow (/ˈdraʊ/ or /ˈdroʊ/) or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned subrace of elves in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. This detailed overview of the race looks at their history, culture, environment and physical traits.
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[@twistsnkicks]

I don't participate in D&D, but man, these stories and the artwork are just so cool.

[@probationbird9786]

Give it a shot bro, you'll enjoy it!

[@ImperialCoffee769]

@Dillon Brunschon Forgotten realms and War of The Spider Queen books are good

[@love4allization]

Me neither man! Dig sci- fi though, and like you said, the stories and artwork are just sooo cool.

[@michaelmann3670]

I'm the same with Warhammer Fantasy and 40k. Its an incredible game but the stories and lore are massive and usually heavily detailed

[@joshshin6819]

Some of yah all missing out. Especially if you the kind of person playing MMORPGs or RPGs on a PC or Console.

[@AmigoRoberto]

Would you ever consider rerecording some of these old episodes? You're speaking voice is so much more confident now and your equipment is waaaay better

[@AJPickett]

Yes, absolutely.

[@AmigoRoberto]

@@AJPickett wow I wasnt sure if you'd get this on such an old video. Thank you so much for the quality content and hours of inspiration my man. I'm putting together a "guild request" for my players to investigate a blockage in the deep roads and these videos are a wellspring of epicness. Again, thank you!

[@coalmine9666]

with videos that are like 3+ years old it'll also be interesting to see how the lore AJ has found has changed. In 4 years we've definitely gotten new stuff.

[@leviticusward1]

I agree I was thinking this very thing when I started listening to this video

[@mattreinhardt4866]

Maybe one day lol

[@Calebgoblin]

I built a drow sorceress character for a new campaign that I knew nothing about, and by pure coincidence it took place in a world under an astral sea with starlight but no direct sunlight. Playing an uptight and self-important diva was a lot of fun, but her arc was learning the necessity of working together with others to survive in this hostile overworld.

[@daddyaf945]

A five course meal with the drow always includes an antidote for dessert 😋

[@elladanelvenblade4670]

Drow are my favorite bad guys. They are smart, agile and unlike most human bad guys they know they are evil so they don't whine "i was doing it for the greater good!"

[@arikawindstorm7625]

Agree drizzt is odd for drow . This is about the most complete drow explanation I will recommend to players who ask about drow as a player character

[@gensoyuuki86]

Not all dark elves are evil though. Big example is drizzt.

[@QwertySparrow]

gensoyuuki86 Jarlaxle is not evil either, just self serving.

[@powerist209]

@@gensoyuuki86 Or Eilistraee, or her entire cult, any Drows in Waterdeep, and maybe a sorta-friendly city-state that renounced Lolth.

[@justinsane332]

yes, they do.

[@PungiFungi]

The Drow, in first edition, were apparently deliberately designed to be the "opposite" of High elves. High elves are supposed to be dark haired, green eyed and light skin while the drow are white haired, red eyed and dark skinned. Drow are hence like the photo negatives of High Elves.

[@HBHaga]

I think the best drow character we ever had was Eddorian Smyvryn: drow assassin, adherent of Vehraun, some-time employee of the Breagan Dearth, known to us for most of the campaign as The Cabbage Guy. For most of the campaign we assumed that he was the comic relief merchant whose wares kept getting destroyed repeatedly in some way connected to our underdark hijinks and were occasionally amazed at how he got from city to city so quickly. Several of us thought he was quadruplets or something. We started talking to him, helped rebuild his stall a few times, he'd drop information ... turned out that he'd been hired to watch us and was steering the party towards crippling a House that had cheated the Breagan Dearth several years before.

[@jthompson7175]

I want to run an NPC that is a Drow Bard who has mostly illusion and necromancy spells. Lives in a cave on the top of a mountain because it's as far as he can get away from the underdark. He dedicates his life to playing the perfect lute rift and keeps an army of animated dead as his audience.

[@sentryward8744]

there "leather material" shrink and shred under the sunlight so that why female dark elf alway portrayed barely covered at all nice

[@AJPickett]

Actually, the deeper you go underground, the hotter it gets. Drow are more accustomed to temperatures surface folk would consider tropical.

[@PreistofGHAZpork]

I remember reading that isn't to show off their magic prowess. Kinda a I don't need armor because I armor myself with magic kinda thing.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Sentry Ward hilarious

[@darrylviljoen6227]

Also it is a sign of perfection of form. They show off skin to show they are without flaws (or are too powerful for those flaws to be used against them) with clothing used to cover flaws and avoid seeming to challenge more powerful drow. Also as a sign of strength. The more exposed a drow. The less they fear attack.

[@vincentandre8500]

One of my favorite characters was actually a drow wizard. She was an escaped trophy slave and wanted to master abjuration just to protect her new found freedom. It was interesting to come up with her character because everything just sort of fell into place. Why would she be on the surface? Last place her captors would look for her. Why magic? She hadn’t been allowed an education as a slave and it was the truest act of freedom. Was she evil? Both yes and no, she was raised in drow culture but as a slave to other drow. So she sorta filtered into some place in between, usually along the chaotic neutral spectrum.

[@somerandomsatanist597]

Did no one tell you that in Drow society the men are slaves? Almost never women in a different video on Drow I heard it was common for two women to take interest in a male and then one would find out and kill the male rather than let someone else have him

[@therope340]

@@somerandomsatanist597 If there were ever to be an escaped Drow slave in the Forgotten Realms, it would be Male. But Homebrew is always a thing.

[@leslieoliverii9035]

@@somerandomsatanist597 If you are low enough in the caste system I can see female drow being slaves. Like if you are a peasant class drow matron I can see a Male Drow of one of the 8 houses doing something like that.

[@bigmonkey1254]

​​@therope340 If they're from a designated slave family, she could be. While it is true that significantly more trophy slaves are male, there could be one or two females if a house matron sort of really wanted to flex some odd dominance. The interest in wizardry for the original comment makes sense though as female drow often don't use arcane magic as much as males.

[@KazeTheCursedOne]

The most memorable Drow character I played was a drow ranger called Glyxidor Ilphelkiir-Mellerelel (for the love of gods call me Glyx) who was a drunkard Ranger (though never when on the clock) and part of a monster adventuring party. He was outcast from drow society after his consort was turned into a drider and does mercenary work to make ends meet. His wife was a relatively kindly short chubby alchemist who made the parties potions.

[@nosferatu-369]

We need a series based on the Underdark. It could be filled with ruthless characters like Game of Thrones, back stabbing royalty, and war.

[@zennyblades]

have you read the Drizzt Do'urden books?

[@jamesforgie6594]

Chaotic Scott there’s a series about Ren of Atikala, where the main character is a kobold. I’ve only read the first book, but it was interesting.

[@waterwulf]

war of the spider queen book series. Thank me later.

[@keats27]

lighting would be a challenge...

[@youroldman8129]

@@keats27 Slap a dark blue filter on it like underworld

[@lewispatton6550]

Was inspired to play a Drow after watching this video. He's a Bard who was living a life as a consort/ escort to a powerful priestess, but desired to follow to Goddess Eilistraee and live a free life on the surface. He escaped the underdark and is now adventuring on the surface with the goal of falling in love with a partner of his own choosing.

[@SoCalNative75]

A Drizzt Do'Urden movie starting with the novel "Homeland" would be great. But start the movie with a history of the elven wars leading to the decent of the Drow.

[@wastelanderstark8555]

Half-Drow Assassin named Re'Kyth He was tasked with scuttling the party's ship in the middle of the war between the drow and the surface. This was a suicide mission of which he was meant to fail and be rid of. Either he was to die at the hands of the surface dwellers, or take the poison and end it himself. He ended up getting captured instead and joined the party in order to get revenge on those who stabbed him in the back. Sadly, this was short lived because the game ended for me a short while after encountering a deck of many things. Another character I made and am starting to play is Avalin Fo'Péist Cladanni (Fo'Péist being translated to Under'Worm, essentially indicating her states in society). She is a half-drow barlock, and an informant for the powers of another higher ranking family. She was then banished to the surface (still working that out. Possibly because of some perceived failure or betrayal.) as apposed to being turned into a drieder (if I recall, being turned into a drieder is considered worst than death. So The question here is weather or not being banished should be seen as merciful, or worse). She is now joined the party disguised as a half-elf on a quest to find a knights missing daughter. She hopes to capture her for herself and return with her in hopes to gain a place back in society as this lost surface dweller might be an easy target with some easy info. I do plan on having a change of heart and having a big turn around to better align with the rest of the party, but it's still pretty early.

[@dynjarren5454]

2023 now, still only whispers about a Drizzt film. His tale is long and equal parts of legendary friendships, and tests of courage. Worthy of a film for him and those in his company I say. Salute to RA Salvatore for giving the world such a story. Elminstir was great and if you haven't read that story, you should. This is a great tale you've put together, loved it. There's lots of known Forgotten Realms angles and parts, and you did an awesome job presenting us with the history and origins of the Drow.

[@jaredblair5436]

I actually have drow cleric I plan on playing soon for a campaign. She was a paladin of loth but betrayed and saved by death and now serves him as a grave cleric rejecting many of the old ideas of the drow.

[@ImperialCoffee769]

Because of D&D and Forgotten realms, Dark elves became my favorite demi-human

[@jacobvardy]

I finished running the 1e module 'Queen of Spiders' about a year ago. Going to start running 'Out of the Abyss' this week. Great video. Got me started on getting back up to speed on drow lore. Also got a few good ideas.

[@vodkalord6941]

Played a drow celestial warlock of Elistrae. Forgot that i had to honor my pact. Lost my powers, misinterpreted what i had to do to regain them, pissed of some other drow in a bar, insulted some dwarves , caused widespread property damage, assaulted an innocent man cause i taught he was one of the drow i pissed off, threw another guy off a ladder, jumped out the second story of building without using the ladder knocked over said ladder and then got sent to a mental institution by the king

[@bostearns7083]

Loved the video, I personally always loved the Drow and they are hands down my favorite race.

[@fritzvoss5263]

"at one point in ancient history the elves were all slaves..." Ahh i remember the good old days

[@lucascoval828]

🤣🤣🤣

[@leftistadvocate9718]

i love how there is so many warhammer dark elves in this vid

[@AJPickett]

They really have a great "ancient elven empire" style to them.

[@Dark-Lord-Of-The-Sith]

I am currently running a Drow Campaign that's a continuation of a Drow Campaign I ran over 10 years ago. There are a couple of my NPCs that I absolutely love. A full on Priestess of Lolth and an Assassin Guild Leader. Have some newbies in my current group and they are always speechless when the Assassin comes out with her Drow Attitude! LOL

[@darkecoromantica4879]

Wow this changes a lot. Thank you for sharing this. Now I can improve my Drow hybrid character.

[@maryorosco1027]

I've been procrastinating on the last book in the Saga because I've been afraid Drizzt would Die today I had my sister read the last chapter and tell me if he live's nothing more and now I can return to it with a piece of mind.

[@ares0wept]

Great job! I loved it. Always enjoyed the drow based adventures of every edition.

[@MARSHOMEWORLD]

Ask and I received! You are a scholar & a gentleman sir. Thanks for this; truly awesome episode.

[@AJPickett]

+MARSHOMEWORLD Most welcome, it was fun to research and make this vid.

[@krispalermo8133]

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT REGARDING THE DROW First off it is D'crow and not Dr'cow. 1.) Weapons a.) Repeating light cross bow, with weapon specialization and feat tree. i.) muskets, pistols, and riffles with non magical silencers. Why, alchemy. "Dwarves are not the type to shoot others in the back, without given a War Cry. And a group of drow within a Circle of Silence firing riffles or tossing air compression bombs to cause mass Deafness is a tactic the dark elves would uses." b.) Military Forks , man catchers, and lasso to pin others in place for quick capture, and these weapons are used against their opponent's Touch AC. So the PC's hp don't matter in a fight with the drow. c.) Unless the drow attack is a silence raid, in AD&D2e the drow chant "Lolth" in combat, and they like to prolong a fight to cause as much suffering to their victims that they can as a battle offering to their goddess Lolth. 2.) Spell Users a.) In AD&D2e non humans had class level caps, but for the drow to set up a new outpost they would need a 14th-level Wizard to mine out a new location with Rock to Mud, Disintegrate or Charm Monster/ Beholder, and create the magic items for fresh water and air to breath. b.) In AD&D2e a female drow has to be a 9th-level cleric of Lolth to set up her own house/ outpost or stronghold. c.) I started out with AD&D2e as a teenager in the 1990's then moved over into 3e in my early 20's. So all of the really fun games I had in the Under Dark with the Drow was with 3e. i.) Do to the drow long life span and basic learning, there are No NPC "commoners." Even the Priestess of Lolth start off as fighter2nd/rogue2nd/wizard3rd CR: 7;BAB+4 with the feat: Create Wondrous Items. " They ALL start off as 1st-level rogues, for the most starting skill points, for craft skills, and Social Skills to kiss a$$ in their society. " In a city full of back stabbers, lairs, and "friends" you need to know how to watch your back. ii.) Some drow can only make magic items with 0-spell level,"cantrips" only. For items of city trade. Or one shot gag gifts and pranks. iii.) I still have the Menzoberranzan AD&D box set.After 20 some years the box fell apart. A lot have change with the city's back ground over the years. But back in the day, the drow love their bare knuckle boxing. Some DMs give XP for tavern boxing others don't use it as back ground xp level gain in character down time. " Drow favorite pass time is having a cleric or wizard summon/ call an "Outsider" for arena fighting. These battle arena games are how the warriors gain prestige for themselves and their Houses." iv.) Drow cities should be played as having a 12th-level party group being like, "Oh Crap ! Why did we come here ?!" The drow treat all new comers as novelties and more pieces in their political power games. And they let outsiders in their cities' know this. x.) Who House do you serve ? I can offer your party a better deal. xx.) Sing the Child's Praise of Lolth or be Whipped ! Resist and be Imprison ! xxx.) That is a nice strong looking male in your party, how much treasure do you want for him ? Just for the night, has he been trained for the whip ? iv.) Give us what we want, and only One of you Will Be Offer to Lolth !

[@AJPickett]

As for the Pronunciation of Drow, you may be technically correct, based on the origin of the word in folklore, but if you said it that way at my gaming table, I would kick you out of my house, also, WORDS CHANGE over time, the popular pronunciation of Drow is the correct way to say it now... get over it.

[@krispalermo8133]

I am sorry, I did not know how bad of a grip the pronunciation has become over the years. I was not trying to upset you or anyone else. There has been a few Dragon Mag issues with comics making fun of how to go about saying the dark elf name. I will stay away from trolling remarks.

[@averyfluet4406]

Great video on underdark lore and worldbuilding as well, thank you very much for the inspiration

[@rfc1526]

Thanks for the upload.

[@bobbobberson2641]

That pic at 20:20, good lord! XD A great source for info.

[@horizon241]

I made an evil Lolth-worshiping female drow circle of the moon druid that solely wild shaped into giant spiders. She was pretty neat.

[@cannedstarfish6194]

Thanks I have a drow NPC (and PC when I'm not the DM) in my game and this is really helpful for worldbuilding and roleplaying : )

[@arketek]

Thx for the video!!

[@nicholasmorgan7609]

I played a half drow magus in Kingmaker. Basically, his mother fell in love with a human slave she took, an adventurer and they escaped the underdark together. Shortly after he was born, his parents were killed by drow when one of them recognized his mother as a traitor, but my character was staying with his human grandparents, and what few things survived the attack were his father's sword and his mother's spell tome (she was unusual among her people, excelling at the arcane arts and chose them over the divine magic that drow females typically do), so he studied both sword and spell, and wound up in a kingmaker game that lasted only two sessions.

[@robhoteling5552]

I found it very difficult to play a Drow, I'm just too nice of aa guy.

[@AJPickett]

I remember back in my school days, we would get these Japanese exchange students who would come and study in New Zealand for a year, and when they first arrived, they were very reserved, studious, followed all the rules and were dedicated to their future career.. however, within a few months, they would start to realise that they were in a very different culture, and there were far more options available to them, so, by the end of the year, they would have long hair, wear Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts, play the guitar, go to beach parties and be very interested in staying in New Zealand, pursuing their own goals and individuality. In many ways, I think Drow characters might have that sort of transition on the surface world, so, you could just skip forward to where the Drow is far more laid back and acclimatized to the surface culture and feels comfortable expressing such strange concepts as "trust" and "Charity", perhaps somewhat furtively and defensively at first, but when the dagger never sinks into their back, they start to be more open with their brazen displays of goodness and compassion, almost revelling in their perversion (from a traditional Drow perspective) :D

[@robhoteling5552]

We were running an underdark campaign and I was very young. If I were roll a drow today, I would play up the chaos side more than the good/evil side, seems like a fun prospect. I've kind of been wanting to play another evil campaign, but the logistics would be hell. With every PC wanting to follow their own drive, everyone working toward their own ends. It would invariably end in a TPK, I would think.

[@AJPickett]

If left to their own devices, yes, that has almost invariably been my experience running evil campaigns.. what seems to work is where the players are secretly working against each other, or are forced to work together against a relentless, superior foe, and if any of them turn on the others, they will probably die first, so, cooperation via mutually assured destruction :)

[@jo1italianstyle]

Yes and No. Drow are xenophobic maniacs, not kind students. Anyway if they stay long on the surface of course they'll assimilate some traditions

[@That80sGuy1972]

When I first got into the game, my friend was the dungeon master. He introduced me to the Drow and knew I had a bad rep and an ambiguous background (family issues and life). He had me create a drow character who "turned good", a brutal True Neutral guy. That was a fun, difficult character. Intro to the party was cool. They liberated me from other drow looking to kill me. I helped them kill the backup forces. I was introduced to them on their escape from the Underdark. The only friends I had the entire campaign was my party and I mastered disguise. The party got lots of experience (and headaches) by Underdark meddlers sending people to kill me and my allies and when surface people found out "a drow was among them" the fun headaches sprung from that. The campaign drifted apart just as I developed a long-overdue local hero rep. Rogue Drow need not be the monsters shown here. I was a good law abider with a brutal mean streak, so my alignment was just in the middle of random villain and decent hero. Nice guys can play drow... if your DM is good the difficulties come from just BEING a drow.

[@bill6735]

Wonderful information!

[@AJPickett]

Thank you! Such a rich and exotic lore for the Drow :)

[@dadriza5308]

Oh he said legs been cut off...

[@tobytj2009]

I'm writing a book that will interface into ' Imp" , creatures, and I have to say your videos have great detail of knowledge which is very impressive. Thank you for knowing there are true fans of the supernatural/fantasy.

[@AJPickett]

Thank you Lou x!Yeah, I am kind of thankful that there are so many channels that cater to this imaginary beginner to the hobby who is looking for elementary gaming advice.. I am certain there are quite a few people like that.Personally,.I would rather everybody a much more complete body of information and leave it up to the individual to decide what to use and what to disregard.

[@jenovastrife]

I've got a drow i'm playing right now for an Age of Worms campaign. (It wasn't a smart decision, my dm keeps threatening to kill me with every npc and one of the party members is a dwarf with a very specific axe to grind right into my skull.) We're using 5e rules in a 3.5 era game so its a bit weird but he's a rogue assassin and he was a contract killer in the underdark. He's a follower of Vaehrun (who's right about to die, possibly before the game is even over) looking to join the Jaezred Chaulssin. I love my Lolth hating, neutral evil baby.

[@odin688]

Fucking excellent! Well covered without a doubt. I definitely appreciate how thoroughly you covered the lore and then went into the inter-workings of drow society. One of my favorite drow would probably be Jarlaxle, simply because he is almost everything a drow is but still not the norm whatsoever. He’s a male who who’s able to capitalize in a way only generally female drow can, and for that I’ve always had insane respect for him.

[@kineticstar]

I love playing a charmingly dark humored drow mercenary. My party never knows what I am planning or if they can truly trust me. Which they can't. Im always looking for reasons and opportunities to whittle down the party to my personal favorites for last!! 😁😁

[@jopeezy6971]

Im currently doing an escape from the underdark campaign and as with all things I do I delve too deep into the lore, min maxing, etc. Thanks to your channel I've experienced a renaissance with my fascination in DND. Your an excellent narrator and well versed clearly. You're newer work is extremely good but even in your older work like this video your attention to detail is clear.

[@AJPickett]

Thank you Jo

[@agitatedangel5472]

I love how detailed and well researched your videos are. They are an amazing catalyst for imagination. Lately I have been curious as to how the Feywild manifests its self in the Underdark and how denizens such as the Drow interact with it. If the Feywild parallels and echos the Material Plane would it not also be represented in the deep places of the world? There is not a lot of information regarding the "Feydark" but I imagine it as an embellishment of the natural places in the Underdark- with sprawling fungal forests inhabited by druidic Myconid societies. How do you envision the Feydark? I think your insights on this would make an awesome video.

[@AJPickett]

oooo yes! Definitely a great subject for a monsterology video.

[@firetarrasque4667]

Firstly, YES. Do this video. Secondly, what about the Shadowfell's Underdark? (I'll call it the Felldark.) The Shadowfell is already dark and shadowy, so would the Felldark just be like a massive black chasm into the earth?

[@gaddock3713]

that sounds really cool

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

I think there's a bit on that subject in Heroes of the Wildfey.

[@andresmarrero8666]

@@firetarrasque4667 supposed the light of the shadow fell is sealed within the deepest darkest parts of what you call the felldark. The numbing effect of the shadow fell is also at it's strongest there.

[@sebastianfrost5035]

I have played a half-drow monk of mystra and a female half-drow Druid, sword dancer of eilistraee. Both brother and sisters.

[@johnobrien7626]

Great video

[@unknownvalor9755]

Late to the party, anyway running a bard/warlock. His patron is seeing if a drow can be made to play nice with a good aligned group or will he lose his mind first.

[@jamesforgie6594]

I like the sounds of this. Who’s the patron, if you don’t mind my asking? That kinda sounds like a fey thing to me.

[@Nazinsky]

I'd love if you talked more about Kiaransalee! She's helped many adventurers obtain vengeance in books and she's honestly my favorite!

[@florenmage]

You could have a game where each player is a drow that serves a different drow god/goddess of the pantheon other than Lolth.Each player wants to help their deity defeat and overthrow lolth as head of the pantheon.They all work together but there are these conflicting ideals that cause them to argue with each other.But then they always come together to defend each other against mainstream drow society who hates people like them for mot being all loththy.

[@AJPickett]

+blank blank Lolththy is a great word!

[@florenmage]

AJ Pickett drow priestess walks up and stabs someone for disagreeing with her.Everyone turns to look. "Oh stop being so gods damn lolthy" = P

[@alanschaub147]

The sound was good for the intro, but I couldn’t hear well once AJ started speaking.

[@zechariahroe9401]

I believe there is new lore where there are now Dark Elves that are separate from the Drow. The Dark Elves can enter reverie where the Drow can not. They also have a better tolerance for sunlight and have a settlement on the surface.

[@bigmonkey1254]

I think Mordenkainen's and the PHB in 5e synonimizes the two. It's possible some earlier edition made a difference. Or wasn't "dark elf" once used to refer to the drow before they turned to Lolth? Edit: I think dark elves on Krynn (Dragonlance setting) are called just dark elves and aren't subject to Lolth.

[@trentonmaloney3280]

i got a really neat miniature, sharileth spider demoness. i was going to use this as an aspect of lolth for my underdark sea adventure but this video gave me a lot of ideas for filling out details. i will be coming back to this vid for both the images (fantastic)and info. so im thinking giant spider temple w/ an absolutely deadly drow cleric(and henchmen). this is going to be fun to craft.

[@AJPickett]

+trenton maloney Be sure to make a vid when you are done Trenton! Love your work man.

[@chonwarren9941]

My favorite drow I have played was a shape shifter druid who was a failed acolyte of lolth and cast out to the surface to die of exposure to the sun but she survived thanks to an old Arch druid who rescued her and taught her his ways when the pup of his dire wolf companion took a natural shining to her that pup became her companion at first then after an accident with shape shifting and her being unable to.change shape for a few years she mated with her companion fully letting herself become a dire wolf her master found a way to change her back after searching for those years but after that she spent a majority of her time in dire wolf form and even learned how to use her druid magic while in that form as well as in her drow form which she took when she had to deal with other humanoids (this character started at level 10 for a mid level campeign and the DM loved the backstory so he allowed the specific abilities I wanted)

[@arketek]

Jarlaxle is awesome! People tend to forget him!

[@keats27]

my WoW DH =)

[@almitrahopkins1873]

I’d like to see your take on dark elves of a non-WotC or non-D&D origin. The elves of Svartleheim, as an example. I had a thought of the Drow being heavily influence by the unseelie fey. Their spell-like abilities would suggest that as a possible origin of them as a separate elven type from the others. It would also be a better fit for why they are matriarchal and why iron weapons are rare among them. I need to work more on it to make it make sense. The Lolth story doesn’t quite fit all of the nature and ecology of them as a race. It looks like it was tacked on later, but not fully developed to explain everything.

[@bigmonkey1254]

Part of that could be because following Lolth was a mistake. According to Mordenkainen lore, Lolth convinced the elves to take physical form but this went against the wishes of Corellan Lorethian. So the current nature of the elves, especially the drow, is contradictory to elven nature in general. So that could be why it feels off. It's supposed to be.

[@matthewhartshorn5204]

Wow AJ you have come so far buddy keep it up. Your sound quality and delivery has improved tenfold in 4 years. You should consider going back sometime and recording new audio for some of these. I know you're a busy man but I would for sure rewatch the oldies redone because you've evolved.

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, I redid a couple vids so far and they were VERY popular so I will be revisiting a lot of the old vids.

[@prof_jelly]

[@permeus2nd]

When making a Drow ied have it as a standing rule that they get a negative on all charisma-based social skills as let's face it no one trusts them, but a bonus to imitation because everyone is thinking their going to do nasty thing to them.

[@AJPickett]

So in your campaign everyone knows of the Drow and their culture?

[@johndalziel4226]

Lloth was originally the Weaver of dreams and correllians partner she mothered elistaree and vareun with him

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Salutations Master Pickett,I normally would give my 2 cents worth on the drow but id be here all night typing......all I'm gonna say is that you should get the old boxed set of Menzoberranzan....i love it!

[@vedymin1]

I wonder how air recirculation works down there

[@jacobvardy]

I've worked on this a bit since doing a few Underdark campaigns in a row. Cannonicaly: - In the Days of Thunder the sarrukh flooded the Underdark to defeat the phaerimm; - faerzress radiation warms water and feeds fungal growth; - there is lots of fungus in the Underdark; - the Upperdark is cold and barren, the Middledark is warmer and somewhat fertile. Extrapolating: - Warm moist air rises from the Middledark to the cooler Upperdark where it condenses and falls again. So there is an active air/water cycle in the Underdark. - Anywhere this cycle interacts with faerzress (or other sources of radioactive energy), there are extensive algal and fungal blooms. These are descendant from species washed down when the sarrukh flooded the Underdark. Some species of both these kingdoms of life have evolved to radiosynthesise - they use non-light radiation to strip carbon from CO2, releasing the O2. So there is plenty of fresh air in the Underdark. - Animals also came in the flood. Mostly insects, filling every niche that might otherwise be occupied by birds or small mammals. Some blind fish in larger lakes. Fluorescence is not unknown. Intelligent cephalopods have thrived. Some moving onto land, as seen in ropers and pierces. With the recent coming of the drow and duergar some mammals have spread, mainly bats and rats. These two are rapidly radiating out to compete with the insects that fill the roles of birds and small mammals. - Areas with radiation are isolated from each other like islands or oasis's. There is some cross fetilisation on water and wind currents but this is rare, So each oasis of life has undergone radical speciation. Basically the life in each oasis looks really different.

[@ttmore7093]

I was hoping to get your source material for this section and the mind flayer. I’m currently weighting a campaign and would enjoy reading more.

[@garytrent9693]

Huge Applause to Mr. AJ Pickett. You, good Sir have cracked open a tidal wave of memories and imagination, regarding the beloved Drow. Thank you, thank you & Thank You very much. I think i could easily write a whole campaign on the premise you have helped me imagine. To be quite honest, i had to stop , go back restart, because that damn racing thoughts pushing and yelling.. then silence as that 1 calm voice speaks and describes and shows me the scene. Just Epic. Then , i hear your voice and realize i have been quite Gone for who knows how long. Well you get the idea..anyway. great stuff as always. Keep it up \oo/ T.Rust Monster p.s. cant wait to roll up a new character just to celebrate the occasion. hmmm..

[@AJPickett]

+Gary Trent One of my pet peeves is players who roll up male Drow characters and play them as though the whole matriarchy of the Drow culture never had any part of their upbringing.. it is one of the MOST fascinating things about playing a Drow character as a male player in my opinion! You have to examine your motivations, assumptions and really look at life from a different perspective. Also, well, just the idea of playing a character who has no idea what an Apple is.. who draws a sword and goes into combat stance the first time they see a bunch of squirrels. Who have no idea if you can eat grass or not.. I mean, that animal you call a horse can eat it, so, why doesn't everyone eat grass? Also, the subtle things.. waiting until the host eats the food first, always sitting with the back to the wall, never drinking something that they did not see come from a sealed bottle or barrel (don't offer them a drink from a waterskin, it would be offensive to them), always carry a weapon, never believe a promise...

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

+AJ Pickett (The Mighty Gluestick) ... ah, man. THIS. hope everyone reads this expansion of your themes here. excellent character & culture ideas.

[@florenmage]

+Gary Trent I like to imagine a male drow coming up to the surface and finding the fact that there are good people who actually care about other people in the world completely alien.Then as he lives in this society he begins to embrace it and live happily this way.You could also do it with a female drow I suppose.Then they become outraged when their town is attacked by drow slavers and defend it like you would not believe unless you saw it.Because they value the goodness of life and they want to destroy these beasts from below.The face of evil would be quite familiar to them as it was the face they once possessed themselves.

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

right on. i like that too.

[@AJPickett]

+blank blank You can also play a character who is evil, without disrupting the game.. a Drow might carefully observe the ethical behavior of the surface dwellers, and while they think it is illogical to, say, spare the life of a captive even if it is likely the captive will seek revenge on them later, they will follow the lead of surface dwellers, but certainly revert to their self interest and murderous culture when left to their own devices.

[@JCinLapel]

played a half drow for the out of the abyss campaign book that was a favored soul of Corellon Larethian needless to say it was a very rough start

[@Scott-od1xg]

Great video, he from 3.5 lvl 30 Rouge/shadow dancer/ monk named black lion who was hired to help the party kill a red wizard of thay. The exchange wS he got his freedom and the connection lot had on him was cut. Was a fun story and character to play

[@johnmills6173]

Always makes me giggle seeing a vampire portrayed as the drow (5:43). I know, really small nitpick. Love your work.

[@DrunkManSquakin666]

Tried to play an LE Drow of the Battle Sorcerer class from Unearthed Arcana. It was quite fun, until the new guy decided to found a fictional, anti-Drow equivalent of the KKK and got her killed off by catapult fire, just to be an asshole. :/ Needless to say, that campaign didn't last much longer. Hoping to take another crack at it with a new play group. The way Drow society works practically makes an LE exile character's backstory write itself, and that's my favorite alignment to play around with. =3

[@AJPickett]

Far too often, other players forget that the Drow are virtually unknown, perhaps rumoured or fabled creatures, that the vast majority of surface dwellers will never have heard of. When confronted with a dark skinned elf, it would be nothing more than a oddity, such as encountering a clean shaven dwarf, or an orc with red hair.. the cultural significance would be unknown to them. Otherwise, players who react to dark skinned elves as being an automatically assumed enemy, well... at best it is meta-gaming.

[@jamesforgie6594]

I’m thinking of playing a Drow warlock, although i’m also thinking maybe rogue now. Anyway, I was thinking an exiled drow might make an interesting security consultant or captain of the guard, maybe work under the boss lady in waterdeep(I can’t remember her name right now. ) lirael silverhand, I think. Something similar.

[@lucascoval828]

Don't trust a Dark Elf.

[@itzalion]

Deep dark fantasies...

[@hans-joachimtenhoope1744]

This is not how I remember the downfall of the Drow. Lolth and correllon Larethian had a relation with each other which ended when she turned against him. They also had a daughter named Eilistraee, (the only good aligned Drow goddess) and Eilistraee willingly followed her mother Lolth into banishment, to be a guide for the Drow in the underdark who wanted to go back to the world above if they wished to rejoin the light. Drow religion: Eilistraee (lesser goddess) Eilistraee, the "Dark Maiden" is the goddess of the good Drow -- those rare dark elves who yearn for a return to life in the surface realms, an existence akin to that enjoyed by the elves of the woodlands, left behind by the Drow long ago. Eilistraee (pronounced eel-ISS-tray-ee) is a goddess of song and beauty, worshiped through song and beauty -- preferably in the surface world, under the stars and moonlight. (source: Advanced Dundeons and Dragons, Forgotten realms, the Drow of the Underdark(9326) by Ed greenwood page 20 chapter 3.)

[@AJPickett]

Yep, correct, but then, that is all a matter of religion.. what was happening on the surface of Toril when the dark elves left the surface? There is our real story.

[@AJPickett]

@Mr. Lumiss *frowns* tone friend.

[@kthereturned2874]

Mafia soap opera elves, better than most daytime television, honestly. A dm playing them as a sort of disfunctional Italian family could be a bit fun as well.

[@rossnorris2351]

My favorite Drow character was a rogue by the name of Lucien, a name he took after he survived the slaughter of a slaving party he took part in as a trainee. He was never sure if the ambush was meant to kill him or someone else, but he survived, the only thing he was worried about. (Now please note this was 4th ed, DM's I had before and after this one 4th ed DM tended to resist letting players play Drow, He filled the role as was expected, picking locks, finding traps(sometimes) and generally being a rogue, until it came to the fights. That is where Lucien's overconfidence and recklessness became annoying and sometimes funny as he would step up and go toe to toe like the fighter, the only problem was he was successful.(usually) I mean in the biggest encounter I remember he went toe to toe with a dragon (level balanced for the party) for three rounds till the rest got there to back him up. Wasn't happy afterwards but he survived it.

[@joestark8087]

Kiji Oblodra. Aberrant Mind Sorcerer 9/Feind Warlock 5, Patron Lolth. Very Devout but since he's male he was denied entrance to Arach Tinilith. He has a +1 Rod of the pact keeper & uses it as his spell focus. Uses reflavored EB-AB to make his rod a spider whip. (Can'thave a snake headed whip) The spiders shoot out on a web filament. The 1d10 represents the 8 legs & 2 fangs of the spider. The Agonizing Blast part is Poison from the spiders. His cloak of Flys is a cloak of spiders. Elven Chain shirt armor, but instead of links, spiders connected by thier legs. When I went adventureing I was only considering the thematics of the cloak of Spiders. Considering the penalties for killing spiders... it gives me some Really good protection from other Drow attacking me!

[@thereeldeelsteel]

The artwork at 1:43 though...wow.

[@zmishiymishi5349]

I suppose drow food would be bitter, sour with fermentation and salty ofc. I wouldnt bet on finding anything with sugar in the Underdark, unless you are ready to milk a mole or something...

[@AJPickett]

They eat a vast variety of exotic foods of the underdark and quite a few imported foods from the surface world (which is very exotic and strange for them), the flesh of many insects is quite sweet, as are a few fungus slimes, saliva mixed with carbohydrates produces a sweet ingredient that is quite common, and there are a lot of sweet, carmalized milk items in their diet, just understand that not all milk they drink or use for making other products comes from Rothe cattle, but from also from nursing slaves. They eat a very wide array of insect derived foods as well as lizard meat and of course, all sorts of fish and other marive life that thrive in the seas of the Underdark.

[@zmishiymishi5349]

Well... So they apparently ARE ready to milk... even more than mole... Thanks i guess? xD

[@001shadowknight]

Owen lloun’az She was not particularly fond on requiring someone else for power and chose to rely on herself. With that in mind she studied magic and magic items. She fled the underdark using teleport to jump out of it and land surface side. From there she had to adjust her mannerisms as well as new clothes and food. Allying herself with adventurers who were fairly ignorantly the drow (i cant thank That to no one being an elf). It ended with her killing them all looting everything and using there corpses as undead for labor. Killing and turning that kingdom into her empire.

[@christopherbrown5304]

I like how he is talking d&d and then uses Elder Scroll pics.

[@AJPickett]

If there were no D&D there would be no Elder Scrolls, therefore, all your scrolls are belong to us.

[@darrekworkman8685]

I found the use of Magic the Gathering art interesting to. Like why did AJ use a pic of the vampire mage? His not even elven.

[@DarthRamzes]

Rather than Drizzt, my first drow character wasl Jarlaxle-like assassin, who created plane-spanning criminal empire based on trading secrets. I was really surprised, when years later I found his tv clone in form of Raymond Reddington from Blacklist. Crazy how close those two fictional characters are to each other in terms of personality.

[@TheSwartz]

Excellent.

[@dragonlord498]

drow are my favorite elf sub race and one of my favorite characters in fantasy fiction is drizzit do'urdon though I've never managed to get around to getting the completely series of books involving him. though i wouldn't want to be one at least not in their societies that worship lolth or similar deity

[@seanbarber6283]

I had a drow druid in a game where we planehopped. Low intelligence and I accidentally bonded a demon posted constrictor. I was neutral good so our dm played me and the snake off as a jekyll and Hyde type duo

[@livingdaybyday3469]

I love the drizzt books but they make me not want to make a dark elf character because I naturally want to make either really good characters or really evil ones and both are in his books and I don’t know why it stops me

[@keats27]

you're not alone...Drizzt is iconic--outcast, hunted but powerful survivalist, independent, but seeking friends that are difficult for him to make...speaks to a lot of people. Every Drow PC is going to seem a bit like Drizzt--unless the DM allows evil chars.

[@TheSamuraijim87]

Great video, and refreshing that you shut down the drizzt clones. All too many of them get incorporated into people's games, that they just get boring. Nonetheless, a bit sad about the lore gaps, like the founding myths and so much of the nuance of society. I was astounded that almost the entirety of the foundational mythos of the drow was omitted. Vhaeraun is actually the secondary god of the drow who founded their Empire has always advocated its return and the drow return to the surface. The whole "War of the Spider Queen" was essentially a war between Vhaeraun and Lolth for supremacy. Kiaransalee meanwhile, was the subject of two of the most amazing Drow Adventures (City of the Spider Queen and Assault on Maerimydra). Amazing deity, certainly as much worthy of mention as Eilistraee. Selvetarm too is an amazingly interesting god, who deserved a mention. Still need that Ghaunadaur video. Otherwise, awesome video!

[@bigmonkey1254]

My drow character is a follower of Selvetarm. He has a goal to one day perhaps find a way to free his god to learn what kind of person Selvetarm would be without Lolth's overbearing grip. He also has a special place for Eilestrae because she had an influence on Selvetarm.

[@ServitorSkull]

10 points to those who saw the Nightingale.

[@michaelmann3670]

Can we get an update or more lore? I want to about Drow houses outside of Menzzobarinzan (butchered that up good). Im in a campaign in Ten Towns and I wondered how Drow might find their way there if they don't like sun light?

[@justinsane332]

ten towns in the north, so is another drow city, which sits on the sirface. evendrow dont m8nd sun.

[@PattPlays]

"Ghaunadaur . . . deserves a video of his own.." WHERE IS IT MY GUY? @o@ I'll gladly share obscure Ghaunadaur lore. Literally today was piecing together a few specific Illythri connections in western Sharn.

[@JoseMolina-ij3xx]

Wasn't there a splinter group of Drow that returned to the surface, but couldn't go out in daylight, but only in moonlight? They were known as Moon Elves. Do they exist in Toril? If they do, you should make a video about them.

[@bigmonkey1254]

Yes, the followers of Eilestrae (I misspelled that), the only good drow deity. She is present on Toril. She even almost showed Selvetarm, Lolth's son, the way of goodness before Lolth imprisoned him.

[@otakubatman1853]

I play a Drow and I'm happy my superiority complex and know it all attitude iv built for him if perfect. As is my Lawful-Evil alignment(alignment is BS)

[@oldmannamedjib9864]

Request: Exploring the Underdark

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

always love the history you start off with. really got me thinking -- how much then of the elvish magical lore is actually passed down from what they stole during their slavery under the illithid & the dragons? its somewhat more understandable that elves in general are known as a quiet and secretive race if their empire drew its history from such dark corners and they are trying to paint a brighter future for the next generations ... revisionist history. certainly wouldn't want the young ones digging about in the illithid and draconic archives.

[@AJPickett]

+Rp Sketchbooks The language of Magic IS Draconic.. so, everything they know of arcane magic comes from the Dragons and the Giants, everything they know of Alchemy and technology, or their druidic arts and meditation/psionics, comes from the Illithids and the Fey, their knowledge of the different planes and dimensions, and seeing into the past or the future, comes from the Aboleth and the other Primordials.. see, unlike us, NONE of the intelligent races of the D&D world had to bootstrap themselves from scratch, they base all of their technology is built on the foundations of ancient empires and older cultures.Yeah, the Elves started off as the cherished creations of a loving and proud god, and they do look beautiful and live a very long time, do not suffer from disease or infirmity for the majority of their lives.. it is no wonder they feel so superior to others, and the years of slavery were in a time when EVERYONE not a Mind Flayer or Divine being on the material plane was under the rule of the Illithids, so, it was not so much that they saw themselves as ex-slaves.. they saw themselves as survivors of a cosmic age of darkness, and then, they rose to dominance on a few worlds, the D&D world of Torril being one of them, but that same hubris that aided their survival, eventually laid them low again... so yeah, fascinating history.

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

+AJ Pickett (The Mighty Gluestick) ... its always cool to hear the canon from your perspective, and also your own masterfully inventive twist on things. i have to admit that having been around the game for as long as i have ... i've gotten to the point where i find the elves to be among the most boring of the races. but your video has revitalized my interest somewhat. i appreciate all you do, man.

[@AJPickett]

On behalf of the Elven people, I snort in your general direction and go back to my flower arranging. :)

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

hahaha ... i swear we gnomes may have learned nearly everything from you tall frail collapsible-lung humanoids, but we IMPROVED on it, dang-rabbit! trees NEED wheels, after all. =P

[@reubenholcomb8568]

Drow are so damn cool.

[@ryderma1]

Would you say a Drow society removed from Lolth would still be matriarchal, but drastically less severe?

[@almitrahopkins1873]

What makes you think it wasn’t matriarchal before Lolth? Look at the gods of the Drow and the dark elves in general. All of the more powerful gods are female, not male. Even before the fall it was that way.

[@ld_raine4247]

Love the content. Wish you put names on screen for clarity. There's some weird names here lol

[@AJPickett]

Yes, in later videos I load the written script into the closed captions so viewers can read along with what I am saying for just this reason.

[@Xenaisthebusiness]

“The most vicious soap opera you’ve ever seen.” 🤣

[@imlaughing2death]

Have you seen anyone play a Drow PC in a campaign that wasn't a Drizzt knock-off but still stick with the party in a convincing way?

[@AJPickett]

yes. just recently actually, my friend played a Drow female who was kind of unwillingly 'laying low' on the surface world and finding her predilection for combat and assassination was not in such a high demand as she had expected, plus she had acquired this half orc warrior and a Gnome druid who had a sentient mead barrel as a companion.. life on the surface was very frustrating for the Drow.

[@rpsketchbooks3931]

+AJ Pickett (The Mighty Gluestick) ... haha! a SENTIENT mead barrel ... fantastic! great character descriptions. top shelf.

[@beastwarsFTW]

I made a Drow bard a fear of elven women (ironically was a woman) and acted more like a dwarf then elf do to them being her first friends

[@jeansteesgal9593]

imlaughing2death Yes, about 5years ago I played a female drow that was an assassin who worshiped the drow god of assassins (sorry can't remember the name off the top of my head) but was on the surface most of the time so she was use to daylight and it didn't bother her so much but she started hearing the voice of sword maiden and started dancing naked at night just to be a better assassin but stared to slowly change by the time we got to 15th lvl she was no longer an assassin and had changed her alignment, her god and her class.

[@jest3978]

I Played a Drow rogue who Loves adventuring, worries about his friends well being, and not actually have a drow like personality

[@briansmoyer8742]

Drow are my favorite d&d race by far

[@aubreynesbitt]

the drow appeared to have a lighting depiction

[@yuvi9845]

what is faerzress energy but the surface thought of the chained god, the deeper you go the closer you are to his nightmares... therefore the chaotic influence and the possible alliance with Ghaunadaur

[@TheSvartulfr]

I didnt notice you mentioning Selvetarm

[@defiantnight2668]

I've always wanted to play a Drow character, but I don't want my terrible acting to butcher the character execution. Any high-charisma character really I never end up doing justice with. :(

[@krispalermo8133]

Just play a Low Charisma drow fighter/rogue. Silent but deadly.