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The drow are a race of elves who live on the continent of Xen'drik.[4] Like other elves, they were former slaves of the giants, but remained on Xen'drik after the giant civilization collapsed. The main three cultural groups of drow are worshipers of Vulkoor, the Sulatar, and the Umbragen.[5]

Description[]

Drow are generally dark-skinned and have white hair.[6]

History[]

Like other elves, drow are descendants of eladrin enslaved by the giants during the Age of Giants.[7] About 39,000 years ago, during the elf rebellions, the giants used the drow to fight against the elves.[5] When the other elves fled to Aerenal and the giant civilization was destroyed by the dragons, the drow remained on Xen'drik. There they settled the jungles and ruins of their former masters.[4][8]

Lands[]

Most drow live in Xen'drik or in the area of Khyber beneath the continent.[9] The Umbragen particularly favor dwelling in Khyber.[4]

Settlements[]

Most Drow rarely live in the same places for a long period of time. The only time that they do stay is normally in a large tribe, and still they do not stay long. Usually this is just long enough to obtain the magical items in that area.[9][8] The Sulatar are an exception, as they favor permanent stone settlements, including one known as the Obsidian City.[4][10] Some drow also reside in the city of Stormreach.[11]

Religions[]

The main cultural group of drow worship a scorpion god named Vulkoor.[5] Vulkoor is often represented as a gigantic scorpion, or as a hybrid with the head, arms, and torso of a strong male drow and the lower body of a scorpion. They also revere scorpions, considering other arachnids to be lesser servitors of Vulkoor. Followers of Vulkoor ritually scar themselves using scorpion venom, leaving white tattoos on their black skin.[9] Some who follow the Sovereign Host believe that Vulkoor is an aspect of the Mockery.[4]

Sulatar drow do not believe in the practices of their Vulkorian brethren. Instead they have stayed loyal to the teachings of their giant masters, in the belief they doing so means that one day they will be allowed to enter the promised lands of fire. Many scholars believe this promised land to be the plane of fire, Fernia. There, they expect to gain immortality and power, which will be used to take over the world. They don't really believe in a god, however. Instead they worship "The Promise of Fire". One interesting religious belief they have is that if they have tattoos of fire, they will be granted divine protection. This, however, is a superstition, since the tattoos don't provide any protection.[10]

The Umbragen drow do not worship Vulkoor. Instead they worship the Umbra.[4]

Cultures[]

Sulatar[]

A more magically advanced tribe of drow, the Sulatar seem to be masters of elemental binding and may have even been the source of Zilargo's knowledge. This form of magic dates back to the Age of Giants. In fact, the name Sulatar means "fire binders" in the language of the giants and the best warriors within this society use weapons and other items that are enhanced with fire. Sometimes the items are made powerful by elemental binding, but it is also done with other sorts of fire magic. Their weapons and armor often have fire art on them. The most interesting aspect of their weapons and armor is that it is made of a form of mithril that looks a lot like bronze.[10]

Since the Sulatar stay in hiding, it is difficult to determine how many of this group of drow exist or even where they mostly reside. There is some modest evidence that most of them live in southern Xen'drik. The reason for the evidence being so modest is their isolationist culture. They will not interact with other societies until their time of conquest comes. The one exception to their isolationism is that they are at war with the children of Vulkoor. The children of Vulkoor hate the Sulatar for the loyalty they demonstrated to the giants forty thousand years ago. The Sulatar hate the children of Vulkoor for their disloyalty and savagery.[10]

Umbragen[]

When the dragons devastated Xen'drik, the ancestors of the Umbragen fled into the depths of Khyber. They persisted under Xen'drik for a long time against many horrible monsters. Eventually they reached their current home, which is under the Ring of Storms.[10]

In a desperate struggle to survive, these drow established a spiritual bond with a dark force known as the Umbra. The Umbra is a dark type of magic that the Umbragen learned from Qabalrin lore. The Qabalrin resided in the Ring of Storms before they were destroyed by a giant dragonshard. The Umbragen have been using the magic Umbra for a very long time against many dangerous monsters and have gained more power over time as they bound themselves to the magic of the Umbra.[10]

However, in recent decades, a daelkyr lord, Belashyrra, has created an army in the depths below Xen'drik. The Umbragen have been fighting a losing battle with the army of Belashyrra ever since. The army includes beholders, mind flayers, and other sorts of aberrations. Since even the Umbragen see that they are outmatched, they have sent many drow out from underground in order to find a weapon that will turn the tide in their favor.[10]

Notable Equipment[]

There are several kinds of weapons and armor unique to drow culture in Xen'drik. These include the Xen'drik boomerang, a three pronged boomerang favored by hunters, the drow long knife, a throwing weapon similar in size to a shortsword, and the drow scorpion chain, a longer version of a spiked chain.[12][13] The drow also craft armor from the exoskeletons of scorpions.[12]

Appendix[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014). Monster Manual (5th Edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 126–129. ISBN 978-0786965614.
  2. Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt (2008). Monster Manual (4th edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-7869-4852-3.
  3. Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual (3.5 edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 103–104. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 196–198. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Keith Baker, Jeremy Crawford, & James Wyatt (2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 22. ISBN 0786966890.
  6. Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Eberron Campaign Setting. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 223. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
  7. James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 32. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
  8. 8.0 8.1 James Wyatt, Keith Baker, Luke Johnson, Steven Brown (2006). Player's Guide to Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 154. ISBN 0-7869-3912-5.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Jesse Decker, Matthew Sernett, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, & Keith Baker (2005). Races of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 77. ISBN 0-7869-3658-4.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Keith Baker, Jason Bulmahn, & Amber Scott (2006). Secrets of Xen'drik. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-7869-3916-8.
  11. Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 124. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Jesse Decker, Matthew Sernett, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, & Keith Baker (2005). Races of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 171–172. ISBN 0-7869-3658-4.
  13. Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Eberron Campaign Setting. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 119. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.

Connections[]


Races
Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn | Drow | Dwarf | Elf | Gnome | Half-Elf | Half-Orc | Halfling | Human | Tiefling
Eberron Races: Bugbear | Changeling | Goblin | Hobgoblin | Kalashtar | Orc | Shifter | Warforged
Other Races: Armand | Asherati | Bhuka | Doppelganger | Dragon | Gnoll | Goliath | Kobold | Lizardfolk | Medusa | Sahuagin | Shulassakar | Thri-kreen | Yuan-Ti
Outsiders: Aasimar | Angel | Archon | Daelkyr | Demon | Devil | Elemental | Genie | Githyanki | Githzerai | Inevitable | Mephit | Quori | Slaad
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