d20 Natural 20 Press The Complete Guide to Drow.pdf

Credits

Table of Contents

Writer: Jeffrey Quinn

Cover Artist: Tim Burgard

Interior Artist: Brad McDevitt

Copy Editor: Joseph Goodman

Graphic Designer: Joseph Goodman

Playtesters: Melissa Brophy, Arthur Gar-

diner, Darry Husky, Darcy “Frosty” Mar-

tin, Brian “Little B” Mellem, Susie

Quinn, Cassandra Roma, Alexandra

“Sparky” Sloan, Teresa Stanton.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Origins and Physiology . . . . . . . . . .3

Social Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Priests and Priestesses . . . . . . .6

Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Trade With Other Races . . . . . .7

Drow at War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Family Armies . . . . . . . . . .8

Sieges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Engines of War . . . . . . . . . .8

Poisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Drow Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Drow as a Character Race . . . .11

Drow Mutations . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Búrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Drider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Shatúrug . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Shur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Urbam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Prestige Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Adamantine Soldier . . . . . . . .17

Blood Druid . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Dark Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Keeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Soulless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Weaver of Power . . . . . . . . . . .27

Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Drow Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

New Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Motivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Adventure Hooks . . . . . . . . . .46

Designing Drow Families . . . .46

Appendix 1 – New Monsters . . . . .49

Animated Conveyance . . . . . . .49

Golem, Carapace . . . . . . . . . .50

Golem, Rockslide . . . . . . . . . .50

Golem, Spider . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Spider Ballista . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Spider, Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Venom Zombie . . . . . . . . . . . .54

If you enjoy this book, be sure to look for

the rest of the Complete Guide series. Go

to www.goodman-games.com, or see the

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Introduction

The fierce and terrible drow have haunted the histo-

ry of the elves since time began. Many of the surface

races that have ventured into the dark realms under-

ground have found an unfriendly reception by these

hated dark elves. Few return to the lands of the sun and

sky to tell their terrible tales of the perverted drow

world.

This book offers a complete guide to the drow. It

covers everything you need to role-play them in your

campaign: social structure, cultural habits, combat

strategies, and guidelines for creating individuals and

families. This book is world-neutral, and the informa-

tion found within can be used in any campaign. You

should find it easy to alter the setting to suit whatever

campaign world you use.

While this book does cover a great deal of new

source material specifically for drow characters, the

drow are inherently strong in the arcane and devout in

the divine arts. Future publications will cover their

magical prowess in greater detail. For more informa-

tion, and previews of other books in the Complete

Guide series, please visit www.goodman-games.com.

On the cover: The cover depicts three drow

denizens of the underdark halls: Bralda, the drow blood

druid wearing a lance flower dress; Fratia, the drow

adamantine warrior wielding a drow double glaive; and

Nalda, the urbam dark blade wielding a blood marked

scissor-bladed sword. More about these NPCs can be

discovered on the pages within.

The Origins and Physiology of the Drow

The wars that ripped the elven nations and tribes

asunder were known as the Kindred Wars. During those

wars, a select group of alpine elves grew in power and

began to sing their battle hymns to the darkest gods then

known to the elves. The ben’docian was the name of

this sub-race of elf. They were tall, fierce and very

proud. They clung to the cliffs and crags of their moun-

tainside citadels, reigning terror and death down on the

grey and high elves that assaulted them. To the grey and

high elves, the ben’docian were called the drouin, elven

for “dark elves”.

As the Kindred Wars progressed, and the drouin

began to call even darker powers from the depths of the

chaotic Abyss, humans and dwarves allied with the

other elves to exterminate this hated foe. The drouin

fortresses were shattered by the combined strength of

the mighty human, dwarven and elven armies that

chased the merciless drow, as the humans called them,

from the mountains.

As the years stretched into decades, the drow

searched for a place to call home. They split into three

nations. Two of these nations of drow settled in the trop-

ical jungles and arid deserts. They began falling back to

the nomadic ways of their ancient ancestors. They still

carried the six-foot ben’docian height, purple eyes and

platinum blonde hair of their relatives, but they also

began to conform to their new environments with other

subtle changes.

The ben’docian that moved to the jungle began to

exhibit green-colored skin. Their ears elongated, almost

becoming double their original size. They discovered

that their attunement to arcane magic was beginning to

shift to a more nature-based aspect. They still called to

the dark gods for guidance and support, but of these

dark powers few answered them. Their strength

increased, even as their numbers began to dwindle to

constant attacks by dinosaurs, aranea, and other elves.

Soon the last of the true ben’docian elves died off, leav-

ing a legacy of forgotten and deadly shrines to very

fierce and evil gods in the most inhospitable jungles of

the world.

The ben’docian that moved to the desert took the

name of the drouin, as remembrance of what their

cousins had done to them. As they roamed the deserts,

they darkened in coloration to deep caramel and rich

brown hues. They moved faster than they had before;

generations of running across the sandy dunes strength-

ened their legs and hardened their hearts. They became

nomadic bandits, feared by all who crossed their path.

But their line did not end in bloodshed. Instead, they

were bred out of existence by mixing their bloodlines

too often with the humans that called the desert their

home. This became the root of the Bedouin tribes that

inhabit the desert to this day.

It was the third group that retreated to the deep halls

and caverns under the surface of the earth that we now

call drow. This group was lead by a few strong warrior-

priestesses that had escaped the genocide of their moun-

tain fortresses. Under their iron leadership and careful

plotting, the drow came to settle the deepest corridors of

the underdark that even the dwarves feared to mine.

After a few generations of hard work and by the

dark blessings of the evil gods above, the drow forged

themselves into a society based around the hate and

vengeance they felt in their collective hearts against

their surface cousins. With this hatred and newfound

devotion to their gods came physical changes. The first

was that their skin darkened. Unlike the assumed stan-

dard, all drow are not solid black in color. As a drow

grows older she begins to take on an ashen sheen to her

skin. This makes her appear to be a very dark grey.

Because of their environment, a thick mane of stark

white hair and glowing red eyes replaced the formerly

platinum hair and blue to purple eyes. Their tall height

was replaced with an average 4 to 5 feet height, with

females being between 4-and-a-half and 5-and-a-half

feet tall. Their muscled bodies are tight and corded from

their cramped cavern homes. Their fingers are long and

have an additional joint in them to accommodate their

silent hand language.

After the dust of eons have settled, from the ashes

of war, chaos and death walks a race of horror and

resilience. Welcome to the secret life of the drow.

Social Structure

Families

dark goals. Fighters that exhibit a natural aptitude for

defeating a family’s enemies and keeping the internal

security of the family intact can eventually earn the

respect and favor of the females of the house.

Male drow are not expendable, but they are viewed

as little better than slaves if they are of common stock.

All families try to keep the number of males to a mini-

mum and view multiple male births to be a sign of ill

favor in the eyes of the drow gods.

Family is as important to the drow as it is to the

dwarves and to their surface elf cousins. The families of

the drow are ruled over by the matriarch of the house.

This housemother is the center of the family’s religious

and tactical life style.

Following the housemother in family power is the

eldest daughter-priestess. One day this eldest daughter

will assume control over the family after the current

matriarch dies from either old age or by intrigue. Most

often this intrigue is begun by the eldest daughter seek-

ing to secure her place as the family’s new matriarch.

A family’s power is gauged not only by how many

members they can deploy in battle, but also by how

many of their number are faithful followers of the drow

gods. If a family defeats another in the field of battle,

the losing family normally surrenders their priestesses

and priests to the victor. This brings the winning family

closer to the drow gods and further into their favor.

Of the other members of a drow family, wizards and

fighters are also highly prized. A favored wizard that

performs well in the name of the family will often be

allowed greater personal freedom to pursue their own

Drow Names

Drow have alien and distinct names. These names

go back to a time when the primordial elven language

was still in its rudimentary base. The names on the

tables on the next page are common given names to

drow males and females.

Drow family names are also brought from the time

of those ancient days. Each family has its own distinct

name and house symbol. Normally the house army

wears these badges so that the dead can be separated; in

powerful houses these symbols are ensorcelled. The

table on the following page holds a short list of the

thousands of drow family names.

Commom Female Drow Names

Holdiril

Elca

Nómion

Ertárië

Nóran

Eldarinquë

Nercarien

Aldecar

Elónetil

Vangórë

Itelmil

Yaluranwë

Ainelundúya

Angonnil

Norion

Linyaron

Urantirnë

Firamo

Emeldur

Fëalucil

Rungironwë

Lómion

Illindë

Lirramo

Mirtisolmo

Testilúmë

Calastinindë

Eäralistámo

Vanya

Mandil

Eärámë

Márion

Melerassë

Aryoril

Oiomonwë

Anirel

Ainondë

Ondenirnë

Landosar

Arnerion

Quernil

Cirdil

Tálemo

Eldandiril

Illirívë

Núlion

Íremo

Telpalin

Artenel

Itanarnë

Anyon

Laurossil

Erien

Naurendë

Tyámo

Iterenya Emba

Carteril

Andalin

Nendë

Fëarandil

Carahtámo

Tyelminwë

Fardanirya

Teryendur

Arolirel

Moncil

Ambarto

Curennen

Neracilmo

Arcámion

Elessil

Norquelië

Ormanya

Oiolossë

Inquë

Ilassalmo

Hyarfilmen

Firehtil

Rauco

Fanyon

Varalúrë

Nonondil

Cindil

Elotenar

Common Male Drow Names

Toonil

Bradrim

Arinarg

Lurormand

Inormane

Glak

Sodril

Glugrith

Fasarmane

Onganarg

Ugrirthiel

Arerthorn

Irangruk

Sarmun

Kangrorn

Tharthak

Tarmun

Tarongrane

Toruk

Zasorthane

Sarmog

Magrak

Drartheon

Kumararg

Vorarg

Corarg

Siraldrorn

Thirmad

Thargrim

Onvinil

Miguxor

Orurtharg

Ugrarmane

Glarthorn

Groon

Sarthun

Thoringrand

Thielak

Umgard

Carongruk

Igrath

Ugorthorn

Harkun

Bormuk

Farangrarg

Thorogril

Othonorn

Logorak

Ilareon

Ugrogroon

Torodrane

Lormand

Torormog

Girmorn

Droon

Athanil

Tasarthane

Urorim

Hudrath

Oringrarg

Grormeon

Kinorarg

Tharirak

Marg

Thorongrane

Obonarg

Mingath

Fangrand

Thorogrin

Halangrarg

Odrarg

Cahagrane

Falormad

Karugrorn

Briel

Thangard

Vorkor

Thulak

Halangriel

Anvarthand

Ithonarg

Thirthad

Imgorthim

Bogarthak

Mareon

Glirorn

Gladrane

Hatresh

Lororane

Sirorthim

Ganadrane

Driroon

Thororarg

Shirorn

Orthorn

Valdrorn

Iraneon

Thorelay

Drow House Names

Alkathân

Tarân-Girân

Bazar

Bellanunâth

Benâth

Athullôni

Imrazîr

Zanâth

Nimir

Belunidân

Nilbazarân

Azrimindar

Batân

Zendanâth

Nidanitân

Gimlê

Phazîr-Ginâth

Agamarân

Nazimrâk

Yôzar

Amlû

Avramîn

Zardûn

Amulzibêth

Arân Giranâth Aminîlû

Gimrizân

Zenal

Zigar

Phalkumân

Ninirazân

Yônârik

Nizar

Gimîrân

Girân

Gimlanunâth

Ilêth

Zenalbanâth

Tarik

Imrâ

Zôrî

Aganuzar

Abêthâni

Girinâth

Idân

Zimrân

Abrinal

Aphanuzîr

Imrithôr

Alkamân

Âthi

Abêrâma

Minulnâth

Athân

Belthurân

Zigirmîn

Kazar

Tâmar

Avalbanâth

Zinittarun

Avrazân

Ginal

Zirun

Muruk

Minâth

Zinâth

Barzî

Amrê

Imân

Tânal

Banuzamân

Imrizgân

Inzilêth

Urkazîr

Abrazân

Nâte

Abrizanâth

Izrumân

Avalê

Abazrâbal

Azân

Abâr

Gimrinal

Zibarân

Zagân

Amitthôrush

Târuk-Benâth

Izridas Zigân

Armî

Agânâte

Alkamar

Yandân

Azradî

Barik

Gimalzigar

Minallêth

Zimillêth

Amalbârik

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