New Drow origins: Everyone was wrong?
Wizards of the Coast recently released a post called “Beyond the Underdark: Secrets of the Drow“, which caused some raised eyebrows, to say the least. Anyone familiar with R.A. Salvatore’s The Legend of Drizzt series of books will most certainly know, or at least be familiar with dark elf standing with the ‘good races’ of the Realms.
It is no secret that the majority of Drow worship Lolth, the Spider Queen, with Menzobarrenzan being the main Drow city in the series. Without spoiling a now 33-year old series, old as I am, it is heavily implied that Lolth is the cause for the Drow to favor the CE alignment. Exceptions include Drizzt of course, but few other dark elves as well, to a more or less degree.
And for a time, it was good, as the saying from the Animatrix goes.
So, what’s different now and why?
In the newly published article in Dragon Magazine, this is just one faction of the Drow, namely the Udadrow. The Udadrow are the Drow we know and love (or more likely hate), and they are more-or-less unchanged, just given the new name.
The other two factions, the Aevendrow and the Lorendrow, are the names of the starlight elves and the greenshadow elves, respectively. These factions did not follow Lolth and do not reside in the Underdark, but rather in the far north and south, but unknown to us so far.
And this news shook the RPG world a bit. Basically, this can be viewed as a light retcon of the Drow (Realms scholars would call it a hard retcon I assume), it seems that the news did not stand well for all, and I assume RPG veterans were hit more than others.
Now, as someone who has read all 30+ Drizzt novels, I am somewhat conflicted on the manner this article introduced the new Drow factions. I will try to give my thoughts for the pros and cons of this decision.
The Pros
First of all, I agree that there should be various versions of the dark-skinned elves. We already have Sun, Moon, Wood and Wild elves which are mostly depicted as light(er)-skinned, with only one type of Drow.
Secondly, from a perspective of a player in a Realms Campaign, this approach gives players more options to play Drow elves without a Drizzt-like backstory. Keep in mind that, yes, each DM has basically their own version of the Realms at their table, but I still think that a small percentage of DMs made alterations to the way Drow characters can be made and/or played.
I assume at some tables Drow can be common as Moon elves, even more, but the so-far canon is that most of the goodly races are skeptical towards Drow at best (thanks to Drizzt). The addition to Drow origins gives players and DMs alike new options. As I am writing this I can think of at least five different story hooks for Aevendrow and/or Lorendrow characters and NPCs.
Lastly, lore-wise, the separation of Drow elves in the past is indeed a retcon, but so was the Second Sundering, and it came and went. In my opinion, I have little doubt that it will have a significant impact on most games, as they are played at the end of the 15th century DR, when 5E started.
I will add some notes below on how to incorporate the new Drow in your game.
The Cons
It is a retcon of the Drow, which could be arguably be done in a different manner. Lolth is not the only goddess of the Drow, and some deities are in fact good. Eilistraee first comes to mind. Her whole thing is to, and I quote:
To lead them [Drow] back to the lands of light, helping them to flourish and prosper in harmony with other races, free from Lolth's tyranny and the conflicts that dominated their lives.
Secondly, this move, in my opinion, feels a little forced. Indeed, the Drow shouldn’t be evil by default, as it is much said in the novels and books for the past 30 years, and therefore is canon. Any creative DM could find a way to incorporate this into their games without be ‘given the answer’. Again, all DMs have their own version of the Realms. I think that there shouldn’t be a need to knock on WotC’s door for everything. Make the change yourself. Your players will definitely like it!
Lastly, this change reminds me of the Night Elves from Blizzard’s Warcraft universe. Anyone who played the games since Warcraft III could see the parallel. It was even stated that the Night Elves (who love moonlight, just like the new Aevendrow) took inspiration from the Drow, but Blizzard’s team flipped it around. Night elves still live in a matriarchal society (Moon Priestesses rule while the Druids slumber), but the “twist” is that they are not evil. To me it’s a bit funny that the Warcraft Universe in some way inspired WotC (especially with WoW and 4E), while the Warcraft games themselves being inspired by Dungeons and Dragons.
Overall, I think this change is good, but it could be handled a bit better, especially with Eilistraee. It would be a nice change to add more Drow gods in the forefront, not just Lolth.
Now, here is some advice on how to incorporate the two new Drow factions in your game:
Adventure #1:
Your party retcons the lore! I know that time travel is not a thing in the Realms, but keep in mind that when the elves created Evermeet, two ripples went backward and forward in time.
As an adventure, your party may come across a ripple left by The Sundering which leads them to the Drow schism. Now, you are tasked to persuade a part of the elves to forsake Lolth and find another, less evil path. I’m sure that this could be an epic adventure. The talk about Warcraft Night elves inspired me for this one, as in the War of the Ancients books this happens as well.
Adventure #2:
Your party comes across a Drow who swears they are not from the Underdark, and teleports you to one of their cities. Now your party of humans, other elves, dwarves, gnomes and the like are the strangers who the residents do not trust.
One of your characters is an envoy to one of the for Aevendrow or Lorendrow settlements which are now revealed to the rest of the world. If you take the Eilistraee route, you may incorporate that your character is devoted to her, explaining the lore and her disappearance all this time.
