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 . 111 Ghaunadaur (The Elder Elemental Monsters of the Underdark . 112 God). .27 Bat, Deep . 113 Lolth . .35 Dragon, Deep . 115 Vhaeraun . 43 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 .95 Spitting Crawler . l . 125 Drow Language . , . l Drow Nomenclature . .96 Yochlol . 126 Credits Design: Ed Greenwood Typesetting: Ries Graphics Editing: Newton Ewe11 Cover Art: Jeff Easley Keylining: Sarah Feggestad Interior Art: Tim Bradstreet, Rick Harris Copyright ©1991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A. TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. POB 756 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton Lake Geneva Cambridge CB1 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 and more fun. 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 DoUrden, Exile 2 • Drow. The Dark Elves. Those Who Have unheralded flagstone path that leads to Turned to Evil. In elven tongues, they are Elminsters 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 magicand a cruel reputation. Small to Elminsters 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 definitelybut 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, theyd no doubt have overcome a Elminster laid a level gaze upon me, realm or two before thisand mayhap nodded in a wait-and-bide-quiet man- (quietly, now; theyve 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 yeto 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. ems 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 ladyI could only call her a Introduction • 3 lady held a swirled-crystal wineglass It definitely wasnt 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. Elminster 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; shes rather apprehensive, their peril. Moreover, in the other worlds and for reasons of modesty wont come where they are found, drow may vary in out of the water just nowmy 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 theyre bathing in a pond), and did so. Elminster smiled. Aye, shes 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 wasnt going to be easy. 4 • Introduction 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 silver or add the 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.