The Drow of the Underdark

Home , Ann Dupuis, Ed Greenwood, Eilistraee, Elminster, Newton Ewell, Shadowdale (module)

DROWOF THE UNDERDARK CONTENTS Introduction: Drow In The Realms . . 3 A Selected Glossary of Deep Drow . 100 The Nature of Dark Elves 5 Dark Elven Runes 103 Dark Elven Society 13 The Spider And The Axe: War In The Drow Religion 20 Depths 109 Eilistraee 21 The Underdark Ill Ghaunadaur (The Elder Elemental Monsters of the Underdark 112 God) 27 Bat, Deep 113 Lolth 35 Dragon, Deep 115 Vhaeraun 43Sample file Myrlochar 117 The High History of the Drow .... 46 Pedipalp 118 Drow Spells 49 Rothe 120 Drow Magical Items 69 Solifugid 122 Drow Craftwork 87 Spider, Subterranean 123 Drow Language 95 Spitting Crawler 125 Drow Nomenclature 96 Yochlol 126

Credits

Design: Ed Greenwood Typesetting: Ries Graphics Editing: Newton Ewell Cover Art: Jeff Easley Keylining: Sarah Feggestad Interior Art: Tim Bradstreet, Rick Harris

TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. POB 756 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton Lake Geneva Cambridge CBI 3LB WI 53147 USA United Kingdom Distributed to the book trade by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any repro- duction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the ex- press written consent of TSR, Inc. ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, and FORGOTTEN REALMS are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. The TSR logo is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. 9326 ISBN 1-56076-132-6 Dedication

To Gary Gygax, for our first dark look at the drow. To Roger Moore, for glimpses of drow, dwarves, and a campaign of warfare between them. To Eric Oppen, for the dark elven point of view. To C.E. Misso, for a look at the unfortunate driders. To Ann Dupuis and to Erol Otus, for a little magic. To James Jacobs, for two names andSample more fun. file To Jim Lowder, for finding drow in the Realms. To Karen Boomgarden: Eilistraee is for you, with love and respect. Most of all, to Bob Salvatore, for bringing the drow to life in the Realms — and spinning tales of the Realms to warm many a fireside, down the passing years! Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared. — Drizzt Do'Urden, Exile Drow. The Dark Elves. Those Who Have unheralded flagstone path that leads to Turned to Evil. In elven tongues, they are Elminster's Tower. referred to by several names: "tirl What did The Old Sage, among the aukhbhet-ess," "tuer lothnil," and "duiss greatest (and almost certainly the most aszbhar." All of these translate to "The widely-experienced) living mages of Fae- Accursed." The elegant, dark and deadly run, know of drow? I quickened my steps drow are a hated and feared race. as I framed the question half a dozen In the dangerous caverns of the Un^ ways, thinking on how best to approach derdark dwell many horrible monsters, His Crustiness. Including the drow. Obsidian-skinned Hearing a familiar chuckle from off to kin to elves, this fell race has won mastery the left, I took the side-path that led down of magic—and a cruel reputation. Small to Elminster's Pool. Perhaps he was doing children of Faerun hear whispered tales dishes or laundry (or rather, sitting and even before they are officially warned of talking, smoking his infernal pipe, while Those Below. Lhaeo did the actual work), or maybe he As everyone knows, drow come by was—I stopped dead. night, sporadically raiding the surface Elminster was sitting, yes, smoking, realms with their twisted magic and their definitely—but he was also chuckling at near-invulnerability to the magic art of the low, murmured words of a visitor. most wizards. They are masters of subtle Words that ceased abruptly at my arrival, treachery, and cannot be trusted even by changing to silent hand-movements, their fellows. head-shifts, arched brows, and a complex "Were they not divided into warring shifting of expressions. factions, they'd no doubt have overcome a Elminster laid a level gaze upon me, realm or two before this—and mayhaSamplep nodde filed in a "wait-and-bide-quiet" man- (quietly, now; they've spies everywhere) ner, and turned his attention to his even have already, on the sly, here on guest. His hands, shoulders, and what the very sunlit surface of Faerun! Eh— could be seen of his face above the beard smile not! Have ye not heard of strange also moved, in a silent, high-speed ges- magic and doings, and this an' that going ture-talk that seemed concerned with the short, that never ran out before? Well— safety of my presence, and what I might 'tis going below, mark ye—to them." reveal. I forgot to wait and bide quiet in So much I heard from a dozen hire- the approved inscrutable manner; I was swords and caravan-guards in the tav- too busy staring. erns of Waterdeep when I asked about Before me, shoulder-deep in the pool, drow (a subject best avoided, they gave was a very beautiful elven woman. Her me to know). Armed with the ever-accu- head and shoulders were framed by a rate lore of the average sword in the cascade of fine, snow-white hair, which street, I used a secret gate I knew, and in pooled in the water around her in an a single step was flung from the City of impressive nimbus. Ruby-red eyes, set in Splendors. Half a world away I flew, to the a delicately-featured obsidian face, darted old green trees of Shadowdale; between from Elminster to me like licking flames two old and gnarled forest giants, actu- in the gathering twilight. ally, just across the high road from the The drow lady—I could only call her a

Introduction • 3 lady—held a swirled-crystal wineglass It definitely wasn't easy, but you now clear of the water. Green, spiced drow hold the end result: a sourcebook explor- wine sparkled within its depths. A simi- ing the fascinating, often deadly culture lar draught occupied a matching glass on of the drow in (or rather, under) Faerun. a rock beside The Old Mage. Sample Elminstefile r helped, as did Susprina, but Elminster smiled, and turned to me. they both warn that much here is incom- "Well met," he said. "May I present—no plete: adventurers may well learn more at closer, please; she's rather apprehensive, their peril. Moreover, in the other worlds and for reasons of modesty won't come where they are found, drow may vary in out of the water just now—my onetime customs and details from the informa- apprentice, Susprina Arkhenneld." tion given herein. As The Old Mage says He held my eyes almost challengingly. I (all too often, it seems): Ye Have Been remembered that one knelt on one knee Warned. to ladies of esteem (even when they're bathing in a pond), and did so. Elminster smiled. "Aye, she's drow. Mystra minded not. Have ye become so expert in the ways of Faerun that ye must stand as dumbfounded as a local? Ye came to ask me something?" I took a deep breath, and tried a smile on the angry-looking Susprina. This wasn't going to be easy....

4 • Introduction CHAPTER

The Nature of Dark Elves

The drow, or dark elves, are a fearsome Drow females tend to be bigger and and mysterious race to most surface stronger than males. Both sexes tend to dwellers in the Realms. Their essential be lithe, slim, and graceful in build, characteristics, statistics, and game-re- features, and movements, much as other lated details are given in Volume 2 of the elves appear to human eyes. Monstrous Compendium, under the heading "Elf, Drow." Drow Intelligence This chapter augments the informa- tion given there, as the essential first step Drow are also very alert and inquisitive, toward the goal of this work: bringing the simply as survival traits in their twisted drow of the Realms to life, for easy DM society. This mental readiness gives them reference and ready use in play. an intellectual advantage over most crea- tures. When creating drow characters, Drow Build DMs may elect to add + 1 to Intelligence score rolls, and +1 or + 2 to Dexterity Drow vary in shape, features, and hair scores, to a maximum of 18. Note that color as greatly as humans do. The only while drow Intelligence is augmented, exception to this rule is their uniformly drow Wisdom is not—the all-pervasive jet-black skin (the few exceptions tend to teachings of Lolth, and the limited expo- be bone-white albinos). sure to other societies, beings, and sur- The majority of drow have snow-white roundings, are not conducive to a wide hair from birth, yellowing (if female) or and reasoned experience of the world. graying (if male) and thinning with great Drow are rarely surprised. DMs should age. Rare drow have naturally silveSampler or add filethe "expecting attack" + 2 modifier to copper-hued hair, although there are all drow surprise rolls. This is because those who deliberately dye their hair drow always expect attack, whether in silver (see the chapter on Drow Religion, the "wild" Underdark or surface world, in under "Eilistraee"). their own cities (where rival drow may Most drow have red eyes. Others have strike with a dagger, dart, or spell at any green, brown, or black. Various shades of time), or even at home (where rival family gray, even amber and rose-hued eyes are members may seize an unguarded mo- not unknown. All drow eyes tend to grow ment to "prune the family tree"). redder when they are angry or upset. To reflect the true deadliness of drow in Yellow eyes usually denote illness, dis- combat, DMs are urged to have them use ease, poisoning, or the presence of cer- shrewd strategies, be alert and respon- tain detrimental magics. sive to PC foes preparing spells and other Blue and purple (and all the tints dangers to come, and so on. Typical drow thereof) are the most unusual eye colors, tactics include arranging ambushes and usually denote human or surface- where known dangers can be used, such elven blood somewhere in the drow's as loose rocks that can be knocked down ancestry. atop intruders. Anti-personnel traps, Drow teeth may be black, white, or such as strategically-placed phycomids, purple, and their gums, tongues, and and glass bulbs filled with ascomoid throats pink, red, or purple. spores, are also not uncommon in the

The Nature of Dark Elves • 5 Underdark. Drow who fall in combat are the Underdark, one learns to find water customarily animated as zombies (so by timing the echoes of dripping or long as their lower limbs are usable) by running water, and to detect coming rock drow clerics, not left for others to plun- shifts or collapses by listening for the der. Such zombies are often commanded natural grating and groaning sounds of to carry less-mobile dead and wounded, unshaped rock. and are also useful as "shock troops." Drow have long, slender, sensitive fin- gers, and a highly-developed tactile Drow Senses sense. In addition to their silent language of gestures, stances, and expressions, Drow eyes can see heat patterns in air they are able to read subtle, braille-like and rock thanks to their 120' range "secret signs" left on rock walls, message infravision. Against a dim gray "cold" stones, and other places by fellow drow. stone backdrop, progressively warmer The drow sense of smell, however, is hues show as subtle blue, purple, red, not so acute. The all-pervasive smell of and warm yellow. The warmth comes the rock and damp air all around, tainted from hot springs, magma, seeping water, by ever-present mold and fungus spores and fissure-breezes. and the scent of drow and slave bodies, is Drow learn to use the "shadows" of a strong background. Most drow have these varying hues for concealment when been exposed to strong incense and offer- stalking, in much the same way as a ing-burnings since infancy, which fur- surface creature uses the shadows pro- ther serves to dull the olfactory sense. duced by the sun, moon, and other light Drow still enjoy perfume, incense, and sources. Like surface dwellersSample, drow thfilee like, but their smell is only about as must learn to "read" heat-hues; the mean- acute as that of most humans—far less ings of various shades and patterns be- than that of many native inhabitants of come known to drow only through teach- the Underdark. ing or experience "in the field." Near areas of drow habitation in the Personal Magic Underdark, the varying heat-hues of the natural Underdark are blurred by the All civilized drow receive training in wiz- higher ambient heat of many gathered, ardry magic (discussed in the next chap- living beings and their activities. Drow ter), both to test their aptitude for casting cities also sport magical glows, a few spells and to train them in the mental actual lights (notably the sharp, foreign- concentration necessary for control of to-most-drow radiances of the candles of their natural spell-like abilities. (DM studying wizards and important rituals NOTE: SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES FADE to Lolth), and the far more common WITH TIME ON THE SURFACE WORLD. continual faerie fire glows that highlight BY THE TIME A PC IS OF ADVENTURING drow sculpture. AGE, THEY WILL HAVE FADED AWAY.) Drow are proud of the beauty of their These innate "base powers," so-called designs, and usually outline the most because all drow are born with them, and impressive works with this spell. with practice can learn to use them Drow hearing is highly developed. In without formal tutelage, are the abilities

6 • Chapter 1