Add Drow (Dark Elf) Race
Anton
Member, Moderator, Mobile Tester Posts: 513
It would be great to make drow race into the game. We already have one drow (Viconia DeVir) after all.
Description:
Also known as dark elves, drow are a depraved and evil subterranean offshoot.
White is the most common hair color among drow, but almost any pale shade is possible. Drow tend to be smaller and thinner than other sorts of elves, and their eyes are often a vivid red.
Allowed classes:
Same as elves?
Ability Modifiers:
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma.
-2 Constitution, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom.
Special benefits and hindrances:
Darkvision, Light Blindness (blindness when exposed to sunlight).
Spell Immunities:
Spell resistance equal to 11% + character level. Immunity to sleep spells and effects, +2 on saves against spells.
Thief Skill Bonuses:
Hide in shadows+5%, Move Silently +5%, Detect Traps & illusions +10%
Starting Reputation:
5
Description:
Also known as dark elves, drow are a depraved and evil subterranean offshoot.
White is the most common hair color among drow, but almost any pale shade is possible. Drow tend to be smaller and thinner than other sorts of elves, and their eyes are often a vivid red.
Allowed classes:
Same as elves?
Ability Modifiers:
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma.
-2 Constitution, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom.
Special benefits and hindrances:
Darkvision, Light Blindness (blindness when exposed to sunlight).
Spell Immunities:
Spell resistance equal to 11% + character level. Immunity to sleep spells and effects, +2 on saves against spells.
Thief Skill Bonuses:
Hide in shadows+5%, Move Silently +5%, Detect Traps & illusions +10%
Starting Reputation:
5
Post edited by Anton on
37
Comments
About the Light Blindness, if we're going to use the DnD rules, they wouldn't actually be blinded in the light, just have a -1 penalty to attack rolls.
The thing is, the spell resistance, in my opinion, makes the race too attractive for anyone to choose Elf over Drow.
Further, there are other races as well that are introduced in the games, like Duergar and Svirfneblin, that would be equally as deserving to be added, although their level adjustments would make their inclusion even more difficult, unfortunately.
While I still would love to include drow as a playable race, there is also an issue of immersion - currently all playable races are generally accepted in Faerun, and thus they could make dialogue toward the player the same regardless of race. Yet look at Viconia's lovely welcome to Athkatla; the PC would undoubtedly hit trouble at some point!
But I do like the idea of being a Drow so that when the dragon tries to disguise me and smuggle me into the city I don't look different.
That being said, I'm fine with Viconia getting full P&P Drow racial traits. A Drow is what she is, after all.
I do like the way you think sir. It makes destroying evil a little uncomfortable if you're inherently evil by not only alignment but race.
Mm, I have a different opinion. Perhaps this is just because I never played AD&D and am just a 3 and 3.5 player, but I find playing subraces to be quite fun. What's been mentioned so far aren't quite monstrous races, like minotaurs or werebears, simply subraces. Drow are merely a subrace of Elf, the same way Moon, Sun, and Wild Elves are as well. In a way, actually, there is no "elf," in 3.5 - drow, moon, sun, and wild elves are elves.
I can see playing monsters being off-setting, but subraces are just acknowledging other forms of the same race, to me at least.
@Ward
Well, perhaps because you've been fighting so many drow yourself, but isn't there a chance that there are some non-evil ones as well?
Well Viconia is Neutral Good by ToB I think. That counts I suppose, even though she's fictional.
Wait what?
I see your point. However, all races that feature in the Monster Manual rather than in the Player's Handbook are supposed to be foes, not friends. There can be, of course, good drows (I can name at least one, on the fly ;-)) but that's more of a character concept for DMs to create and use, rather than a PC. There is a reason why Drow elves required a Level Adjustment in 3rd Ed. to be played: they are too powerful compared to other elves. The reason why they're so powerful is that they were meant as foes, whereas moon elves were meant as PCs. They added LA so that if somebody really wanted to play a Drow, they could. Then again, I was never a fan of LA: I found it an awkward solution to a problem that shouldn't have been there in the first place :-)
I understand your perspective. (I disagree on the Monster Manual position however. Perhaps we are quoting from different ones here, but mine {3.5} includes animals like baboons and badgers, as well as peaceful races, like aquatic elves, dryads, and the sort. I think the Monster Manual, despite the name, is to display any sort of creature that you may encounter that isn't detailed in the PHB or DMG, whether it is a foe, a friend, or something in between.)
I mean, I find LA can give some variety to the game, and I think to some extent they are accepted as a player race, as DnD literature expands on it in other books (Book of Vile Darkness provides prestige classes specifically for drow, like the Insidious Corrupter. It gives me shivers, the good kind. I think it provides more variety for races, and offers a foundation for classes that are based upon innate abilities. The succubi is a good example. Still, they aren't for everyone.
I used to own to 3rd Ed. Monster Manual, both 3.0 and 3.5. You are correct, there are peaceful races in there too, but none of them I would consider suitable for PCs except for those that already show up in the Player's Handbook (you wouldn't wanna play a badger character, would you? ;-)). Back in the day, I played several monstrous characters, one of which was extremely overpowered as obtained by severe rules abuse. I used to be that kind of player. However, with time I've grown fonder of AD&D, because there was a lot more mystery around monsters (and deities, for that matter) and they couldn't be turned into ordinary playable races. It really takes away from the flavor of the race, for me.
That being said, if subraces were to be implemented and made available in BG:EE I would be no one to complain. I mean, the more features, the merrier. I'm not too adamant about this :-)
I completely understand your point. It's quite similar to what I was talking about in another thread - if the PC could create poison arrows every day like Eldoth can, Eldoth starts to seem a bit less special. By being able to play monstrous or sub-races, what these cool enemies use to do exclusively is now available to all the players, and their mystique and power is a bit... diminished. And in terms of powergaming, the rules in 3rd definitely can be twisted so that it isn't fun anymore; a minotaur barbarian with +8 racial strength will always be prevailing over a human counterpart, no matter the minotaur's racial penalty to Charisma.
Glad to discuss.
"Yeah I brought home a drow baby."
"Brought home... to drown it?"
Though if Gorion managed to sneak in a half-orc I don't think managing a Drow baby would be that farfetched.
Freudian. Menzoberranzan is Drizzt Do'Urden's home town, but the place you visit in Baldur's Gate II is Ust Natha ;-)
Well, its very possible that people will have enough time to replay BGEE a couple of times before BG2EE comes along.
If you guys could add more races after BGEE's release that would be great, but I imagine you guys will have your hands full working on the stuff for BG2EE.
Hmmm... you just gave me a thought how about Half-drow??? That might work then you wouldn't have "full drow" epicness and ECL but a slightly weaker and gameplayable half breed. Hey if it works for orcs to have half-orcs why not half-elves? What you say there are already half elves in the game? oh yeah how about half-drow elves then?
But yeah, I like the idea.
I can't recall if the games ever touched upon this subject, but I always assumed that the Bhaalspawn would always have the race of the mother.
What advantages would a Half-Drow have when compared with a regular Half-Elf? Do they get any benefits from their Drow heritage besides the nice tan?
I never played DnD so I have no idea if there's a description for Half-Drow stats anywhere, but if I was making guesses I'd think that a Half-Drow would be exactly like a Half-Elf except with half the Magic Resistance of a pureblood Drow.
Another question that I have is, if a Drow spent most of his life on the surface (which would be the case if Gorion had raised one) would they have any weakness under the Sun? I haven't read many FR novels, but at least in Salvatore's books I don't recall any mentions of Drizzt having problems being under the Sun in the more recent novels (though that could just be Salvatore taking some liberties).
Though, by all rights, Drizzt should be blind by now from staring at all those sunrises for the past 100 plus years.
Although if they did mind, I doubt they would mention it.
I don't know how complicated that can be (I am, after all, a computer illiterate) and I don't know how much (if at all) you can change the original content but sounds like a relatively simple change that can do a lot to introduce consequence to the choice of being a drow.
Food for thought nonetheless.