Games - Drow

	Games - Drow

Drow are a species of elf in the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game. Etymologically, term is probably derived from the Shetland Isles Drow (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1970) states: "Drow, n., A tiny elf which lived in caves and forged magical metal work."). The word's origin is identical to the origin of the word "troll," which both go back further to the Scottish Gaelic word spelled "trow." The original Scottish Gaelic word is pronounced "dtrow" with a soft "dt" sound, and the original pronunciation sounds similar to "troll." The word is also found in Cornish and Welsh, with slight pronunciation differences. The race itself seems based on another dark elf, specifically the Dokkalfar of Norse mythology.

The drow were first mentioned in the Dungeons & Dragons game in the 1st Edition
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual
under "Elf." They made their first statistical appearance in D&D in the module G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
(later G1-2-3 Against the Giants) (1978) by Gary Gygax. The story continued in modules D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth
, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, D3 Vault of the Drow
, and Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
each of which expanded on drow culture. The first D&D manual that the drow appeared in was the original Fiend Folio
.

Drow, or "dark elves" as they are called by most surface dwellers, are an offshoot of the elven race. Drow are characterized by white or silver hair, obsidian black skin, and red (or rarely gray, violet, or yellow) eyes, as well as innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their weakness in daylight. Also, drow weapons and armor (usually made of adamantite or another metal unique to the Underdark) slowly lose their magical properties if exposed to the sun. In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition, adamantite disintegrated upon exposure to sunlight unless specifically treated. Drow also employ the unusual dart-firing hand crossbow. Half-drow are the result of crossbreeding between humans and drow, and share characteristics of both.

Drow characters are extremely intelligent, charismatic and dextrous, but share surface elves' comparative frailty and slight frames. As a race they are usually evil. Drow males are commonly wizards or fighters. Females are almost always clerics and almost never wizards.

Drow hate elves, but wage war with almost any surface and subterranean races, such as mind flayers, svirfneblin, duergar, and kuo-toa for spoils and territory. Their society is matriarchal, with priestesses of the goddess Lolth (Lloth in the drow tongue) in the highest seats of power. Males are either enslaved or (rarely) respected if they are powerful wizards, but never allowed to rule. The drow sometimes use their dark arts to turn human slaves into living sculptures.

Influences

While the drow were designed by Gary Gygax for the Dungeons & Dragons Greyhawk
campaign setting, they may be found in many other published and any Dungeon Master-created setting.

The creation of the fictional drow was likely influenced by the drow of Scottish mythology, "a tiny elf which lived in caves and forged magick metal work." (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1970)). Drow are also likely influenced by the fictional dero of Amazing Stories (1940s), an evil 'degenerate' subterrannean race who also enslaved humans and turned them into living sculptures. Gary Gygax was a fan of science fiction and fantasy pulp of the 1940s, especially from authors of L. Sprague de Camp (Astounding Science Fiction) and Robert E. Howard (Weird Tales). The derro (introduced into the game by Gygax in the Monster Manual II) is also an evil "degenerate" subterranean race who enslave humans. The svartalfar (dark elves) of Norse mythology and The Lord of the Rings were added to the mix. So, the drow are most likely to be a fictional fusion of all these influences.

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