Drow of the Underdark

Drow of the Underdarkis the name of two supplemental rules books for theDungeons & Dragonsfantasyrole-playing game,providing supplementary game rules focusing ondrowculture, equipment and folklore for both players andDungeon Masters.

The Drow of the Underdark

Cover of 1991 edition, cover art byJeff Easley
Author	Ed Greenwood
Publisher	TSR, Inc.
Publication date	July 1991
Media type	softcover
Pages	128
ISBN	1-56076-132-6

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons2nd edition

The Drow of the Underdarkwas written byEd Greenwoodfor use withAD&D(2nd Ed.),and focuses primarily on the drow of theForgotten Realmscampaign setting.The book features cover art byJeff Easley,and interior art byTim Bradstreetand Rick Harris.

This book details the nature of dark elves, dark elven society, drow religion (includingEilistraee,Ghuanadar/The Elder Elemental God,Lolth,andVhaeraun), the high history of the drow, drowspells,drowmagical items,drow craftwork, drow languages, drow nomenclature, and dark elven runes. This book also details theUnderdarkof the Forgotten Realms, as well as several monsters of the Underdark (including themyrlocharand theyochlol).

Dungeons & Dragons3rd edition

Drow of the Underdark

2007 edition, cover art byFrancis Tsai
Author	Ari Marmell, Anthony Pryor, Robert J. Schwalb, &Greg A. Vaughan
Publisher	Wizards of the Coast
Publication date	May 2007
Media type	hardcover
Pages	224
ISBN	978-0-7869-4151-3
OCLC	126839306
LC Class	MLCM 2007/44945 (G)

Drow of the Underdarkwas written for use withD&D(3rd ed.),and is not tied to any specificcampaign setting.The book's format and contents are similar to that ofDraconomicon,Libris Mortis,andLords of Madness.

Although primarily intended for DM use, players can use information from the book to play as a drow character or half-drow character, as well as to fight against drow, or to adventure in theUnderdarkin general.

This book was designed byAri Marmell,Anthony Pryor,Robert J. Schwalb,andGreg A. Vaughan.It features cover art byFrancis Tsai,and interior art bySteve Ellis,Wayne England,Lars Grant-West,Tomás Giorello,Jackoilrain,William O'Connor,Richard Sardinha,Beth Trott,Francis Tsai,Franz Vohwinkel,Eva Widermann,andJames Zhang.

Contents

"All About Drow"

The first chapter contains general information about drow and contains few rules other than drow racial traits. A guide to drow names and their meanings is also included.

"Drow Options"

This chapter contains new uses for various skills, new feats (including general, metamagic, ambush, divine, vile, and weapon style feats), alternate class features for many classes, and new spells and invocations (some of which require the user to be a drow).

"Prestige Classes"

New prestige classes in this chapter include Arachnomancer, Cavestalker, Demonbinder, Dread Fang of Lolth Eye of Lolth, Insidious Corrupter, and Kinslayer. Each prestige class also contains a sample NPC ready for quick use.

"Drow Equipment"

This chapter contains new mundane, alchemical, and magic items, along with poisons, magic-infused poisons, and artifacts

"New Monsters and NPCs"

Numerous new monsters are presented inDrow of the Underdark,including the deep dragon, trolls, goblins, and draegloth. There are also numerous ready-to-use drow NPC statistics, both for "generic" NPCs (such as "drow slaver" ) and "specific" NPCs (like Xil'Etha Dhuvvaryl). Statistics for one monster, the vril, were accidentally left out of the book.

Reception

In his 2023 bookMonsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground,RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "The idea that drow (exceptDrizzt) are irredeemably evil is fraught and represents one facet of a much larger problem in the treatment of race within the context of fantasy and science fiction — namely that race, which in the real world is a social construct, is made obviously and biologically real within the fiction. "

See also

• Plot and Poison: A Guidebook to Drow(2002,Green Ronin Publishing)
• Underdark(2003,Wizards of the Coast) supplement for theForgotten Realms.
• Second Darkness(2008–2009,Paizo Publishing) anAdventure Pathcentered around drow.