Drow

The **Drow** or **Dark Elves** were a race of Telquessil Elves who lived in the Underdark. They were easily spotted for their grayish-lavender skin and white or whitish hair. They had a higher degree of darkvision compared to other Elves (at the cost of a sensitivity to sunlight) and did not dream of anything in their trances, instead they were a place of tranquil void. They were known for serving the goddess Lolth and for being a matriarchal society with a slave-based economy, and because this was both true and widely known when other societies, even ones in the Underdark, interacted with them it wasn't typically by choice. Many surface dwellers and especially other Elves often treated like monsters. Despite this surface dwelling races would sometimes venture down to Drow cities and even live in them.

A contributing factor to their reputation was their tendency to create monsters. Driders were drow cursed with gigantic spider halves as punishment for failing Lolth's tests in the Demonweb Pits, and Draegloths were the result of experimental breeding between Drow and Glabrezu.

Drow culture was dictated primarily by their religion, laid down by Lolth (whom they called Arawshnayi) and her family, the Dark Seldarine, who commanded the Drow to be matriarchal and value strength above all else (this would seem a contradiction to other strength-based societies but Drow men and women, like other Elves, were on par physically). Drow were also known to be ruthless, their society had virtually no notions of honor or fairness, only what was right and beneficial, to a Drow a good end could justify any means. All of this created an image of stone-cold seriousness among surface races but Drow could be quite frolicksome, a consequence of them no longer having their past and current lives shown in their trances is that they didn't develop the same ethereal wisdom of surface Elves & their fey nature could take root, ironically making them closer to Corellon.

The lunar goddess Eyllistrayi betrayed the rest of her pantheon and sided with her father Corellon, and it was said that whenever Drow were hit with moonbeams they were called to by the voice of Eyllistrayi beseeching them to abandon their culture and trying to guide them to one of her temples. Lolth's son Vayhrawn and her daughter Zinzerena also betrayed her. Drow unhappy with the rule of Lolth in their society turned to one of these betrayers gods as churches dedicated to Seldarine gods rejected Drow as a matter of dogma and Corellon was not known to have laid down any law against this, even those among Seldarine clergy who accepted Drow would direct them to the nearest church of Eyllistrayi rather than enroll them in their own church

Drow were by far the dominant race of humanoids in the Underdark (partially because Lolth was experienced in conjuration magic and would intentionally spread them with her cobweb tunnels), and they became less xenophobic with the commerce of the other races. While many uneducated assumed Undercommon was based on Old Thorass like Common, it was actually based on Drow with heavy influence from Common.

Because their deities were depicted with pitch-black skin the darker a shade of purple skin a Drow the more beautiful they were considered affording them a level of privilege over others, not unlike blond hair in humans, and while surface Elves viewed the black marks when an Elf neared death as coming from Corellon, Drow thought of them as deriving from the Dark Seldarine and usually didn't know surface Elves got them too, likewise surface Elves were under the impression Drow were deprived of their marks & died without warning. Despite the position of black skin in Drow society albino Drow, known as Sazarkhayi, were given a special place in Drow society because they looked more like other Elves making them good spies.

Although rare Half-Drow weren't unheard of and neither were Dragontouched Drow descended from Deep Dragons, Deepwyrm Drow.