Drow > Any Other Elf

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

I didn't even know about Vhaeraun or Eilistraee. You summed up the reasons for their popularity pretty well though.
*tries really hard to levitate*
Humans suck! 10/19/2006 8:40 AM | Joseph Calhoon

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

mmm... Blood Elves... 10/19/2006 9:24 AM | Blogus Maximus

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Blood Elves: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic 10/19/2006 9:31 AM | Joseph Calhoon

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Oh D... you silly little man. Richest Mythos? I think not. Ever read any of the (100+) Dragonlance Novels? The Qualonesti, Dagonesti, Sylvanesti? They make your drow look like the 2 dimensional inferior stereotype they really are.

Lets be honest, the drow are a rather flat concept. Elves live above ground and love life. Drow live below ground and hate, well... eveything including each other. Elves have pale pretty skin, Drow have ebon black skin. Elves are nice, Drow are mean. Elves commune with nature, Drow consort with Demons. etc...

Also, elves have infravision and lowlight vision just like drow and they don't run screaming like little girls when the sun comes up. And excuse me, but crappy elf armor?? Ever heard of elven chain? Of course you have.

and lastly... perhaps the biggest joke of all, the drow's much lauded ability to create a globe of darkness doesn't work in the sunlight. Let's pause to think a second, shall we. They can create a globe of darkness... in.. the.. dark. Yeah, that's handy. (Sure, Sure it works in dungeons too, but not above ground.)

10/19/2006 1:33 PM | Chris Williams

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Oh no...Chris...tell me you aren't one of THOSE D&D players...you know the ones I'm talking about: the Dragonlance Snobs.

Back when I was initially getting into D&D I remember talking with a friend that was exclusively Dragaonlance, and he would go on and on about how funny that little klepto halfling from the books was, and how Dragonlance was teh best thing EV-AR, and the Forgotten Realms were just a second-rate realm to play in.

Bah! Dragonlance...the only really kewl thing that came from Dragonlance was Lord Soth, and he was only kewl because he ended up being a dark lord in Ravenloft.

In all seriousness though, I think there's alot to the story of the Drow that hasn't been told yet, and as more and more authors realize the richness of the mythos, they'll put out THOUSANDS of books to dwarf the piddly Dragonlance realm!

ok...now its Joseph's turn to chime in and tell us we're both old foggies and how the only D&D realm that ever mattered was the one from Spelljammers.
;)

D 10/19/2006 1:43 PM | D'Arcy from Winnipeg

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

ah god no. I hated the DL setting for gaming, though I did enjoy the first 12 novels or so. The books on the elven races were quite engaging.

If you want to talk about campaign settings...

Planescape = Teh Best
Forgotten Realms = Great
Dark Sun = Great
Eberron = Great
Greyhawk = Good/Great
Gamma World = Good
Ravenloft = Good
Blackmoor = Good
Scarred Lands (D20) = Good-ish
Mystara = Good-ish
Kingdoms of Kalamar = nothing special
Hollow World = nothing special
Spelljammer = Teh Suck

10/20/2006 1:05 AM | Blogus Maximus

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

I couldn't get into Dark SUn, although I wanted to. It was too much like Rifts, which was an awesome game btw.

Eberron...eh...take it or leave it.

Planescape I've heard nothing but awesomeness about...I shoudl have checked that out more.

Greyhawk...good only becuase it was the grand-daddy realm.

Gamma World...wha? DOn't remember that one.

Ravenloft AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!

Blackmoor...never heard of that one either

Spelljammer...comics were good.

I haven't heard of hte other ones.

D 10/20/2006 3:23 PM | D'Arcy from Winnipeg

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Dark Sun had a great premise, and wasn't given enough time to really flourish. Imagine a lush, verdant world where the sorcerors drew their arcane power from the life force of the world around them instead of themselves (like in traditional D&D.) Ok, now imagine that world 400 years later... orcs have been hunted to extinction, elves are treated a lot like post-NAFTA Mexicans and halflings are now basically cannibal pigmy tribes. Dwarves are collossal badasses and there's this new slave race called Muls that are sterile human-dwarf halfbreeds. Throw in a city similar to "Gladiator" era Rome where the Emperor is attempting to ascend into a state of Dragony-Lichness and you have Dark Sun.

Ok as for Greyhawk. If you think it was good only because it was the grand-daddy realm, you are sadly mistaken. Some of the best published adventures to date were in the Greyhawk setting. Against the Giants, Tomb of Horror, White Plume Mountain, Queen of the DemonWeb Pits, Hidden Shrine of the Tamoachan, etc... These have yet to be beaten. You want badass drow? Greyhawk Drow ARE those drow and could put a serious smackdown on your FR drow.

Blackmoor was the first D&D setting, before Greyhawk even. Created by Dave (the other white meat) Arneson. Go ahead look him up, I'll wait. Blackmoor was good but Greyhawk rocked a bit more.

Go google Gamma World. It wasn't a D&D setting, but that didn't mean characters wouldnt end up there occasionally. 10/21/2006 8:35 AM | Chris Williams

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

actually drow can use there ability to create darkness in the sun....idiot read almost any forgotten realms book and you know that 3/25/2007 9:14 AM | Thrissprimeleader

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Drow are awesome. Then again I never had a problem with normal elves either. The problem is for every "elf snob' you have you have a "drow snob". There are people out there that think drow can pwn anything or they just like the drow because they're mean and angsty. There is an insurgence of new gen roleplayers that "hate" any race that is not demonic, epic, or somehow not socially shunned. I suppose the "darker races" appeal to the inner rebel.

I used to be big on the whole "Gothic Villanous Fantasy" sub genre but then like everything else it was over done. It pretty much became a big BDSM and Master/slave bar with everyone there wearing hot topic apparel. I love it when a RP room online has 80 vampires or Sephiroth clones and only 2 humans,dwarves, or another "drab mundane sun loving race".

Dark characters are nice but only if there are light hearted and more jovial characters mixed in for good contrast + variety. A campaighn of nothing but sad and enraged drow and vampires that cry Blood wine and fart bats + spiders is no fun for anyone. lol. 2/18/2008 11:47 PM | BrokenHierophant

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Drow are awesome, And I play one in non D&D, as well as D&D Roleplaying, and one thing I have come to learn is that their superiority complex is well earned. True, the vast majority of them are Racist against... well... anyone not Drow. Drow grow up being trained in one or more school. (Mage, Priest, Warrior) and become more than adept due to constant combat and interhouse conflicts. (not to mention internal power struggles) and Elves do have darkvision, but a Surface elf would not be able to see in the lightless underdark unless they brought a light source, which would kill their stealth. On the flip side of the coin, Drow on the Surface are stunned by the Sunlight, and lose a lot of advantage there, and a globe of darkness on the surface is like a torch in the underdark. Both of the Drow I play are surface dwellers, but remain fairly indipendent and follow no Deity. They can get along with other races as long as they gain from it in some way, material or immatearial. And as much as I love Elves... they are too haughty for me, while the Drow I play are more along the lines of 'why dance and revere nature when you could be making money, dungeon crawling, ect..'
but thats just my opinion, take it how you will. 1/25/2009 5:53 PM | Praxus

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

Hmmmm. Difficult question. Personally, I like the drow. They have an interesting society that is virtually unheard of anywhere else. I do not think they could beat just about any other race however. Once aboveground, pretty much all of their forms of magic breaks down and becomes useless. The swordsmen could probably survive aboveground as is proven by Drizzt, but the mages would crash and burn because their magic does not work in sunlight. They are still my favorite race however, but I also like the other elf races and the occasional human. My favorite drow of all time is Jarlaxle and will probably never change. 3/14/2009 5:29 PM | randomperson1

# re: Drow > Any Other Elf

I too like the drow.
As Randomperson1 said, "they have an interesting society" and although I believe they are very talented individualy...they are not so strong as a race.
I do not think they would be able to beat most races in the FR setting...deep gnomes, dwarves and such could fall if they warred against a city of drow...but apart from minor surface raids on the surface, I doubt they would be capable of afflicting much damage.

They are so divided as a race, each individual, with his goals and they would kill each other to attain them. They mistrust each other and turn on one another like savages.
They would be much stronger as a race if they acted more united...had a common goal and abolished to stupid "inner house wars".

This said, the drow could represent a threat to some races, surface elves most of all...but I dont believe the drow could threaten the human race...one drow warrior is more capable and efficient than one or two human warriors...but humans in FR get their strength by their massive numbers...One thing to think about is how come the best wizard and magic practicers in FR are humans ? Drow and Elves can live centuries...humans have relatively short lifespans, so they try to accomplish as much as possible within their lives...this is why humans will always be the dominant race in DD.

5/5/2009 3:09 AM | NightwishRaven999