Drow

The drow are elves who broke away from the tel-quessir thousands of years ago. They can be found on Terrix in the Underdark, in vast, elaborate empires settled in darkness. The drow are a matriarchal and usually cruel society, built on the ideals of Lolth the Spider Queen.

Origin
Thousands and thousands of years ago, the elves were divided in the Crown Wars. The dark elves, or ssri-tel-quessir, were ruthless and all-powerful in their conquering of all other elven realms. Their rampage came to an end when the ssri-tel-quessir were banished the the Underdark as drow by the good elven deity Corellon Larethian, cursed to hate the sunlight. The drow found leadership in the only elven deity who had not forsaken them, and at her command the drow have built an empire in the underworld.

Biology
Drow are shorter than many other subraces of elves, but there is no average height differences between males and females. Drow are around 4'7"-5'5" and weighing in from 80-155 lbs. on average.

Drow skin is eerily pale, lacking the melanin gained from sunlight. It has taken on a purplish hue through thousands of years. Hair colors lack melanin as well, and are usually varying shades of white or silver. They groom and care for their hair carefully, wearing it long for the most part and adorning it with jewelry and other accessories (especially among nobles). Drow eyes are usually a pale pink to a wine red. They're also larger than their surface counterparts, adapting to their dark environment.

Many drow are beautiful, especially the nobles. This is not a coincidence, but the result of careful and selective breeding. Drow have a reputation of being more fertile, but in actuality they aren't any more fertile than other elves. However, certain drow were selected to birth as many children as possible during their lives.

Drow are also capable of having children with humans to have half-drow offspring. Their lifespans surpass human lives greatly and are comparable to the rest of the elven races (though somewhat longer). Assuming the drow doesn't meet a violent end, an average drow has a natural lifespan of 750 years.

Because of the extreme paleness of their skin, the drow often veil themselves in all black--covering most of their body, face, and hair, to better blend into the dark when hunting for prey or ambushing enemies.

Behavior
Many of the drow worship Lolth, a deity who resides in the Abyss. Known as the Spider Queen or the Demon Queen of Spiders, she is the figure around which the dark elves have built their subterranean civilization. When the Seldarine gods turned away from the drow thousands of years ago, Lolth opened her arms to embrace them as the only deity to accept the dark elves. After some time, her toxic rule has made them dependent on her, and it is nigh impossible to escape her reaches even if any drow wanted to. Whatever she demands, the drow do.

Drow are seldom seen by the surface world. Though Lolth's followers plot to destroy the elves that banished them, they no longer see themselves as exiles. They are the destined rulers of the Darkness, and when Lolth commands them to rise up and destroy their surface-dwelling kin, they will.

When slaves are in short supply in The Underdark, the drow send raiding parties to the surface to capture humanoids under cover of darkness, bringing them back to their cities to be tortured into submission. Beyond those occasional excursions, the drow are content to remain in their subterranean realm, where they feel secure and in control.

The dark elves build fantastic cities in enormous caverns where food and water are abundant. Their ability to sculpt stone rivals that of the greatest dwarf artisans, yet their structures retain a decidedly elven aesthetic. Though appearing delicate, drow settlements are structurally sound and remarkably resilient. The drow like to hollow out enormous stalagmites and stalactites, creating populated spires that rise from the floors and ceilings.

Most drow cities are sprawling metropolises enclosed by high walls. Non-drow visitors must conduct their business outside the walls under watchful eyes. The drow raise and keep giant spiders to help protect their cities against intruders, even as they drape those cities in beautiful webbing, creating a gossamer snare to catch flying enemies that would otherwise soar over the walls.

Just as the drow have adapted to underground life, so too has their magic. In addition to using that magic to carve their cities from stone, they empower their weapons, create dangerous new magic items, and summon demons from the Abyss. Drow spellcasters are supremely arrogant and never hesitate to use their magic in the most abhorrent ways.

Drow craft Weapons made of adamantine, a dark and supernaturally hard metal. Drow artisans adorn their weapons and armor with web-like filigree and spider motifs, and mages sometimes imbue items with magic to enhance their effectiveness. However, such magic fades when exposed to sunlight, so that magical drow weapons and armor rarely retain their enhancement bonuses and magical properties when brought to the surface.

Drow politics are cutthroat and rife with intrigue. When drow work together, it is typically to destroy a common foe and ensure their own survival, and such alliances are short lived and fraught with peril.

Drow society is divided into noble houses, each ruled by a matron who seeks to raise the prestige and power of her house above all others. Other high-ranking members of the house are blood relatives, while the middling ranks are flush with drow from weaker families that have sworn fealty to the greater house. Clinging precariously to the bottom rung of a house’s social ladder are the house slaves, made up of male drow of low birth and the occasional non-drow captive.

Lolth, through her faithful priestesses, dictates the rules of drow society, ensuring that her orders and plots are carried out. Since Lolth is prone to manifesting on The Material Plane and directly punishing those that disobey her, the drow have learned to heed what she says and do as her priestesses command.

In most drow societies, males are subservient to females. A male drow might lead an Underdark patrol or a raiding party to the surface, but he reports to a female drow—either the matron of his house or one of her hand-picked female subordinates. Although male drow can fill almost any function in drow society, they can’t be priests, nor can they rule a house.

Distilled from Spider venom and the flora of The Underdark, poison can be found in abundance among the drow, and it plays an important part in their culture and politics. Drow mages concoct a viscid toxin that leaves enemies unconscious. Drow warriors coat their blades and crossbow bolts with this venom, looking forward to the interrogation and torture that follows combat.

It should be noted that there are exceptions to these kinds of drow, some who wish to break away from the cruel ways of Lolth and to find a way to live in peace again. They are normally outnumbered by Lolth's worshippers, who are taught that the "weak must be culled".

History
In the Dawn Age of elves, Corellon Larethian gave his wife, Araushnee, command of the ssri-tel-quessir's fate--without their permission or consent. Araushnee would later become Lolth, and this was her first connection to the dark elves, later to become drow.

The ssri-tel-quessir founded the first elven state Ilythiir on the continent Makane. Vhaeraun became their main deity and religion (Vhaeraun later would become the chaotic evil deity in the drow pantheon).

The Ilythiiri had higher ambitions than all other elven establishments, and sought to expand their territory throughout the middle of Makane. Other elves began to look down on the ssri-tel-quessir, and eventually the first of the Crown Wars started.

The Crown Wars
The First Crown War was between two elven nations, Aryvandaar and Miyeritar. A peaceful attempt by Aryvandaar to annex Miyeritar by using their royalty's claim based on ancestry turned into a violent invasion. It ended in Miyeritar's defeat, and the nation of Miyeritar was no more. During the war, different elven nations allied with each other, including Miyeritar and Ilythiir.

The Second Crown War was started by Ilythiir, enraged by the occupation and defeat of Miyeritar. Aryvandaar started what Ilythiir's leadership believed to be a genocidal campaign against Ilythiir's citizens. Geirildin Sethomiir, Ilythiir's coronal, summoned Wendonai, a balor under Lolth's employment, and bought power from the demon and with it from Lolth. The Ilythiiri nobility followed suit and bought power from other fiendish patrons, as well. Ghaundadar, Kieransalee and Vhaeraun provided the ssri-tel-quessir similar help.

With this power, Ilythiir had enough power to launch attacks against Aryvandaar and all its allies. Thearnytaar and Eiellûr were destroyed by the ssri-tel-quessir.

Ilythiir's course of action earned the dark elves the title "dhaerow", or "traitor" in old elven. Eventually, this would be shortened to their modern name, the drow.

The Third Crown War was between Aryvandaar and Shantel Othreier, not involving Ilythiir. Aryvandaar conquered Shantel Othreier.

The Fourth Crown War started when Dark Disaster occurred, resulting in a tragic loss of the annexed Myeritar nation entirely. Nobody knows exactly why the storm took place, but it is known that it was artificially made--likely by mages.

Accusations flew, some assuming Aryvandaar was flattening the already conquered Miyeritar nation, while Aryvandaar blamed Miyeritar for attempting to rebel. Another war took place between Aryvandaar and the leftover allies of Miyeritar.

Ilythiir was enraged, accused Aryvandaar of the Dark Disaster, and the war started as a retaliatory assault.

The leftover elves of Miyeritar and Ilythiir conquered Shantel Othreir, by that point conquered by Aryvandaar in the Third Crown War. They were so successful, that the elves began to pray toward their gods for the destruction of Ilythiir, and Corellon Larethian answered by turning the dark elves into the drow.

The Drow Descent
The drow were forced to leave the surface into the Underdark. They believed they were cursed for being successful, and justification for their hatred of surface elves and the Seldarine, especially Corellon.

After the drow descent, they lived for a time as nomads and scavengers, but managed to gather themselves and found the cities Telantiwar and Guallidurth. The Telantiwar drow seized the gold dwarf (hill dwarf) cavern of Bhaerynden for themselves as well. The drow then began fighting amongst themselves, resulting in a great magical explosion that destroyed the cavern and formed the Great Rift.

Survivors spread around the Underdark and founded the cities in which the drow lived. Sshamath, Menzoberranzan, and Ched Nasad were three of the largest, with a few like T'lindhet and Maerimydra gaining a foothold on the surface (to Lolth's displeasure).

War of the Spider Queen
After some time, Lolth and Elistraee started a divine game with the destiny of the drow as the wager. Elistraee successfully killed Lolth's rival deities, Selvetarm, Vhaeraun, and Kiaransalee, and Elistraee was killed, herself. Ghaunadar left the drow pantheon in this time.

This was the way Lolth became the unopposed deity in current drow society.