Drow Alignment is ok?

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This is gonna take a whilw to explain:
Personality
The personality of the Drow is a product of both nature and nurture. Since the Drow were banished
to the Underdark and embarked on a fiercely and lethally competitive life style thousands of years
and countless generations of Drow have passed. Those Drow who were most ruthless and aggressive
survived to have children, and to pass on these traits.
The vicious nature of the Drow is partly a result of this selective breeding. The vast majority of
Drow no longer have the capacity to empathise with other people, and are totally unable to form what
surfacers would call a conscience. They truly do not care about anyone but themselves. Their brains
are physically different; they have not inherited the brain paths and patterns that allow this to
happen. Those few children who are born with this ability rarely survive to adulthood, and if they
reach adulthood they almost always face being sacrificed on the bloodstained alters of Lolth or
fleeing to live alone. Either way, they do not pass their abilities to a new generation.
The lethal competitiveness and utter lack of love or care in a Drow’s upbringing adds to this lack
of empathy. Those who show signs of "weakness": - those who reject treachery and ruthless ambition,
who show affection or caring for others, or who question the dogma of success at any price are
rapidly weeded out. A Drow's entire childhood and adolescence is a training in treachery, and
ambition. They are taught to feel pleasure in the pain of others.
Drow are supremely arrogant, highly ambitious and utterly ruthless. Almost all of them delight in
inflicting pain and suffering for its own sake and also as a means to further their ambitions.
Others find them detached and cold, or they are less fortunate and experience the strong sadistic
streak in a Drow’s vicious heart.
Those few drow who have fled to the surface may have turned their back on the chaos and
destructiveness of the Drow way of life. However they still remain Drow, with all the competitive
drives and ambitions that entails. It is exceedingly rare to find any sign of altruism or
conscience even within these Drow.
Despite their dark nature, or perhaps because of it, Drow have a compelling mien. The gracefulness
of their movements and the sheer force of their will power can make them powerful leaders who
are at one and the same time attractive and terrifying, and above all difficult to refuse.
See that drow,like any other elven kin,are "improved humans", they are more perceptive, strong,dextrous,and sensitive,but also elf are more selfish,egolatric and vain(they "feel" more strong than the other races) but this is exactly what drow like, they are elves without any(or very little) trace of good in their hearts

 

Sorry Raptor, I hadn't seen it... Jesper898 showed it to me one day ...

If you for example read the Dark Elf trilogy, the drow children learn from a very young age, that it's the surface elves who are the reason for their miserable lifes in the Underdark. So they learn to hate from when they are big children. I think that's important to remember when you talk about drow. If a drow child was raised in a temple of a LG deity, then I think he or she could become a paladin, without the negative influence of Llolth.

I was just wondering Lord FOX... What about the other Drow deities in f.x. the FR? Aren't the drows allowed to worship gods like Selvetarm, who's the champion of Llolth?

 

Remember that any drow whom not worship Lolth was inmediatly vanished from the mayor cities, forcing him( or even more odd, her) to wandering in the pits of the Underdark.
Also, I´ve readed that those drow whom even shown any trace of weakness(er, goodness), inmediatly makes a good sacrifice to Lolth( The spider queen valorates a drow sacrifice above any other).Due to this, any possibility of breeding or raise a "good" drow in an Underdark city is almost imposible.Of course, there still are the surface drow.
This is what I find about it
Surface Dwelling Drow
The numbers of Drow living on the surface are steadily rising. They have moved into abandoned
Elven strongholds like the old Elven Court at Cormanthyr and the forests of Mir. These Drow include
individual hunters, groups of raiders and entire families all fleeing the chaotic strife of the
Underdark for the rich lands of the surface.
There are some groups who have abandoned the typical Drow view of the other races as lesser beings
to be preyed upon – especially the followers of Vhaerun and the Auzkovyn clan of Cormanthor. Their
observations of the surface races simply do not tally with what they have been told. In fact more
surface Drow follow Vhaerun than Lolth, and often find the followers of Lolth to be more of an enemy
that any other race.
Purely military organisations are led by a powerful individual, usually a spell caster or a cleric.
Family groups are usually led by a charismatic drow who uses persuasion scheming and manipulation to
hold her position. Like Underdark Drow, they frequently assassinate their rivals, so the leadership
can change rapidly.
The 8,000 strong House Jaelre is the largest and most powerful group of surface dwelling Drow. This
House aims to take many of the abandoned elven cities, retrieve their artefacts and study their
magic. They have used carefully planned raids to divert eyes away from their activities in the
ancient Elven Court.
The most famous drow residing on the surface is none other than Drizzt Do'Urden of legend and tale.
Shindia Darkeyes is a half-drow who serves Xanathar, the Beholder Crime-Lord of Waterdeep. Amryyr
of Skullport is a male drow trader and Vhaeraun-worshipper with alliance with 'Nal' Xalyth. Malakuth
Tabuirr, a scheming drow merchant who worships Vhaeraun, smuggles poisons, deepwine, drow armor,
weaponry, and magical items to Skullport in returns for beautiful human and elven female slaves.
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Non Evil Drow
The most famous of all the surface dwelling Dark Elves is of course Drizzt. However he is by no
means the only Dark Elf to leave UnderDark. Most of the surface dwelling Drow are evil, but there
are small groups of drow living on the surface who are not of evil alignment, and the occasional
dark elf in the Underdark. Most of these are followers of Eilistraee, but some worship
Lothlonglathe.
Eilistraee has remained allied to both the Seldarine and the Drow pantheon in hopes that she can
return the Dark elves to the surface, and back fromn the worship of evil. Ever since the Drow were
banished to their dark caverns there have been small numbers who have shunned the worship of evil
gods, and as followers of Eilistraee they have returned to the surface, in small communities around
temples to the good goddess. These communities are almost always small and sadly mostly short lived.
Exceptions to this are the city of Thal'kathact in the Drow forest, and the city of Winterstone.
There are major temples to Lothlonglathe' in both these cites, and the paladin order of holy knights
who uphold Lothlonglathe's priciples of justice can be found here.

 

Temple of Eilistraee in Skullport, as seen in the Liriel Baenre books, methinks.

As somebody said, using Eilistraee is the easiest way to provide a good drow, (and one I've used myself) but there was an article by Elaine CUnningham I read a year or so ago. (I think iwas her, but don't eat me if I'm misremembering)

SHe said that the important thing to remember about good drow is that they aren't just surface elves with dark skin. No matter how 'good' they are, they're still drow. They can't get past that. She said that, forex, Qilue has a temper on her, Drizzt has the whole 'Hunter' thing, and Liriel can be a bit of a...well, drow woman.

The important thing to remember is to make drow characters more than an elf who uses a few words we've all hard Viconia spout. They should really have drow mannerisms and should definitely be affected by their upbringing.

 

Well said Daie.

Regarding deities, in forgotten realms the main deity is of corse Lolth, aside from her, the only "worshipped" drow deities are Vhaerun and Eliaestre. Selvetarm etc seems to work more as minions of Lolth. Vhaerun is trying to upsurp and take over followers and hope to pretty much assasinate Lolth and take over the entire show, nice chap. Eliaestre is as described above, the only "good way out" for most drow.

The rest of the deities are seldom mentioned much, iirc (couldnt find it right now, ill look more into it) they arent even considered lesser deities and thus doesn't "get" any/many worshippers.

And as those that read War of the spiderQueen noticed, Selvetarm is dumb as a rock

btw, Lloth is the way the name is written in Greyhawk and planescape etc. in Forgotten Realms she is named Lolth. just minor spelling difference. I dont think anyone cares if one uses the wrong form had to look it up myself.

 

The Drow Pantheon goes:

Lolth, Spider Queen, head of the Pantheon, former consort of Corellon- CE Intermediate Deity- Goddess of Assassins, chaos, darkness, drow, evil, spiders(funnily enough)

Ghaunadaur- CE Lesser Deity- God of (portfolios) oozes, slimes, jellies, outcasts, ropers and rebels

Kiaansalee- CE Demigod(dess)- Goddess of Undead and Vengeance

Selvetarm- CE Demigod- God of Drow Warriors

Vhaeraun- CE Lesser Deity- God of Thievery, drow males, evil activity on the surface

Eilistraee, self-exiled Drow Goddess and memebr of the 'Dark Seldarine'- CG Lesser Deity- Goddess of Song, beauty, dance, swordwork, hunting, moonlight

All comes form the Faiths and Pantheons book. If anyone wants any more info, I;ve got other books to check.

 

Six major principles can be identified in the drow way of life.
Firstly – Drow society is based on groups and caste. Nobles form houses, and merchants form clans.
Despite their chaotic evil nature, the society of the drow is rigidly structured and divided. Social
strata and classifications are virtually immutable. A drow can advance in her caste, certainly, but
cannot advance beyond it. Drow constantly seek to improve their position in society and in Lolth's
eyes. If it comes at the expense of another's life, so much the better—that makes one less drow to
challenge the newcomer, and it ensures greater security in the new position.
Secondly –Lolth is the dominant member of the Drow pantheon, and in almost all Drow cities her
worship is paramount. She is the hungriest of all the Drow deities, hungry for sacrifice, murder,
chaos and strife.


Thirdly – it is a fiercely competitive and hierarchical society. Competition for position within
these groups is often based on murder. Competition between groups may also based on destruction. For
a noble house to move up the hierarchy it must destroy the rival house by murdering all its nobles,
leaving no witness alive to testify against them. Although many Drow will watch and enjoy such a
battle, only noble members of the House that was attacked can give such testimony.
Individual Drow constantly seek to improve their position in society and in Lolth's eyes. The
preistesses seek to advance both within their House and within their church. If it comes at the
expense of another's life, so much the better—that makes one less drow to challenge the newcomer,
and it ensures greater security in the new position. Many Drow hire bards to celebrate their deeds,
and to gain extra prestige from each murder. Performing a sacrifice in an unusual and "artistic"
manner that maximises the suffering of the victim and the enjoyment of the spectators is also
another way to gain prestige. However Lolth frowns on Drow acting in an manner to bring destruction
to their own house, city or nation.

Fourthly –It is a matriarchal society where females are considered to be completely superior to
males, holding the majority of power. The lowliest female ranks above the highest male. Male drow
are entrusted with the relatively unimportant jobs of swordplay and some sorcery. Females, on the
other hand, command the important positions in drow society. They are the priestesses, usually of
the dark goddess Lolth, Queen of the Spiders.
These females wield their tremendous goddess-given power mercilessly. Using the threat of intense
punishment, they keep the males cowed and submissive. They are the top of the social hierarchy in
the Underdark; they jealously guard their power against lowly males who might try to take that power
away.
Since drow females have greater power than males and are physically stronger and more intelligent as
well, the drow have a difficult time believing that males can hold power in other societies. Thus,
they do not believe that any threat mustered by males could seriously threaten the drow.

Fifthly – Like many other societies based on evil and mistrust, the Drow culture prevents sadistic
aggression from totally destroying their society by focusing their anger and hatred on an outside
enemy. Drow teach their offspring to have an abiding hatred of all things aboveground, but most
especially the good elves. The surface elves are blamed for all the ills and all the setbacks that
the Drow experience. Should a young Drow feel pain or suffer defeat she is taught to blame the
surface elves. The drow take any chance they can to destroy other elves they encounter. Even the few
evil elves aboveground are seen as enemies, and the drow do not hesitate to betray such a one when
he or she has served a purpose.
Sixthly - All other races are inferior ,and are merely tools to be used or destroyed. The Drow may
form alliances with other evil races, but these alliances will only hold good as long as the Drow
gain benefit. They have no qualms about turning on an ally. Slavery is a fundamental part of Drow
society. Slaves perform most of the mundane tasks of feeding and maintaining the city, and are seen
as totally expendable. In most cities the of slaves outnumber the Drow, sometimes many times over.

 

In Faerun the Cormanthor Drow are male dominated curtesy of Vhaeraun.

 

Not necessarily: Vhaerunite clergy preaches equality among the sexes, per se. However, in a drow society where the males become equal to females in influence and divine backing, there is likely to be one thought flashing in a lot of heads: "It's payback time."

@ Lord FOX: your info on drow culture is interesting, but one part left me totally confused. I quote: " Their brains
are physically different; they have not inherited the brain paths and patterns that allow this to
happen. " If you have found this somewhere, please let me know. Corellon's curse has transformed the drow somewhat, but I have found no references that it has affected their brains, nor have I seen anything about any other deity or event affecting them so. Certainly, they don't need it: in the vicious and authoritarian environment, most non-evil drow either submit or are slain. The rest are outcasts, renegades, and/or legends. Oh, and they are probably around 0.5% of the total population. Of these, I'd expect most to be neutral. I've toyed the idea of a renegade drow mercenary company in the Underdark (caravan guards, etc - not city-bound like Jarlaxle's bunch) of neutral alignment, and it sounded promising.

The part about drow society being chaotic and regimented has been a bit fuzzy for me too, but then again, alignments can be so in D&D. I'm not 100% sure myself, but my guess is the general drow attitude about the rules (admittedly many) that govern their societies: "If you can get away with it, it's ok." Respecting the rules out of fear does not mean lawful. Lawful is respecting the rules because they are rules, and because they are useful.

 

To the Shaman:
It´s a bit confusing to me too,but I think that have been passing so many generations in the drow genetic pool, than even their "instintcs" or inherent behavior has change so much too the evil side, that affected them in a way that escapes our undersyanding.
I remember something that I´ve read:
The non-evil drow (in the Underdark) were merely destroyed,or banished,sacrificed,etc.Due to that , for a "good" or neutral drow,a successful breeding was almost imposible, or extremely rare,so a good legacy and culture against the Lolth beliefs.
Excuse about the methaphore,but to me, a "good" drow is something I really dind´nt want by my side, no matter how interesating he/she is( like a black mamba pet, is never gonna forget who he/she is)

 

What about Kiaransalee and Ghaunadaur? Are they then worshipped in secrecy? Or are they just worshipped in special cults or small drow communities? What do you think?

 

From FR canon, it seems (esp. in Menzoberranzan) that they're only worshipped in secret, or in small drow communities outside major cities.

The larger cities are Lolth worshippers, on pain of death.

 

as of 1372 DR Lolth has been "silent" (comatose in the Demonweb Pits for whatever reason) and her clerics cannot wield divine power (ouch). Kiaransalee has aggressively rising considerably in power since Lolth's silence. Ghaunadar/Juiblex has no real interest in his drow followers, he's interested in his oozes (his favored servants, the Slime Lords aren't even clerics, but typically rouges).

I'm not really sure if Ghaunadar has a drow form or if he has retained Juiblex's form.

 

SPOILER!
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Lolth is back, surely? Resurrection in the WotSQ was her return, no?
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END SPOILER

 

The Player's Guide said that Vhaeraun took a good chunk out of Lolth and sort of left it at that. Strange things also happened after Selvertarm witnessed Vhaeraun attack Lolth and now both gods seem to be lost some where in depths of the Demonweb Pits or possibly even the River of Blood itself.

Maybe another supplement has her return, but the player's guide leaves things rather ambigious.

 

*spoiler*

The last War of the Spider Queen book, Lloth is back again, and it was Vhaerun that battled Selvetarm when Vhaerun tried to assassinate Lloth. And yes thats what i have been trying to say Vhaerun have rised alot in power latelly

 

Most drow cities are predominantly Lloth-worshipping, but not all. I don't remember the name now, but there was a large city dominated by the mages (there had been a problem with too few females being born and reaching maturity), where the church of Lloth is of only secondary importance. There, Kiaransalee and, to a degree, Vhaerun and/or Ghaunadar might be worshipped openly, and I imagine other deities such as Shar or even Mystra may have their followers

 

Well, Shar does have the 'Caverns' portfolio, I believe, so she'll have an Underdark following

 

I suppose it's mostly a matter if a deity thinks the drow are worth a bother - and with Lloth comatose, things may take a weird turn. I was at one point making the plans for a small drow mercenary band, led by a Marshal/ FS of the Red Knight.

As for Drizzt, kudos to Salvatore for choosing one of the last deities I'd have associated with reformed drow. Selune would be my first choice among the popular Faerunite deities.