Unboring drow: more than just cave-elves
The drow make for popular enemies and it doesn’t take a genius to see why.
They look cool, which never hurts. Also, the backstory behind the drow is wild. In most D&D settings, they are subterranean, scheming, spider-worshipping fanatics, ruled by cruel and mighty matriarchs, psychotic priestesses and deranged wizards.
Their society is hateful, warlike and aggressive, despising surface-dwellers for any number of reasons.
Are they resentful because they were banished below ground millennia ago?
Are they arrogant to the point of xenophobia?
Has their devotion to an evil spider goddess driven them mad?
Yes to all of the above and more.
There’s a lot you can do with a race like that. They’re powerful, they thrive in a hostile environment and they’re cunning.
So very, very cunning.
So, sure, your drow character (PC or NPC) can be just another thug with a traumatising backstory.
Then again, the world is full of those.
Or you can lean into one of the things that makes the drow unique:
Their scheming.
For all their power, a drow’s worst enemy is another drow. The grand families and powerful institutions all scheme against each other, forming and breaking alliances to gain any advantage. Altruism doesn’t exist and everything is an opportunity - a card you can play against their enemies.
Why not lean into that side of your history?
The Spying Minion
This type of drow adventures because they were ordered to. Their family’s matriarch or their academy’s head wizard told them to go out into the world, seeking information.
What information?
Well, the Minion probably knows what they’re supposed to look for. They’re too low in the hierarchy to know why, though. After all, they could be captured, charmed or mind-read telepathically. No ruler in drow society would risk their schemes by storing them in a minion’s head.
Most of what they look for is busy work - a distraction for this ruler’s enemies. False explanations will fly about, leading rivals to faulty conclusions.
What sort of information will they be after? That’s up to the player and/or their GM. It should be things the rest of the party are happy to go after too.
A real spy might surveil a pair of tavern-owners for weeks. The player should keep it interesting for the others, though. Snooping around a hobgoblin encampment will be more fun for everyone.
Wouldn’t having a powerful drow figure as a sponsor be too game-breaking? Please. To any successful drow, their minions are expendable. Sure, the GM might keep the sponsor in their back pocket, in case they need an excuse for a friendly army to swoop in and rescue them. The players shouldn’t count on that, though.
The Information Broker
Some players might not like being so in the dark.
Then it’s lucky they picked a race with nightvision, hey?
(groans)
Moving on… for some players, “go here, do something, don’t ask why” might not feel all that satisfying. They’ll probably never see the big picture. Even if they do, they’ll see most of their efforts didn’t lead anyway.
A more proactive player might want to play as an Information Broker.
To the drow, information is everything. Secrets are more valuable than weapons. As such, an independent character in the drow society might prove themselves useful.
I say might. Drow families have no love of outsiders. An information broker would have to be not just great but indispensable.
So what would that look like?
An information broker chooses a target - something they know all the major figures in drow politics will want to know more about. It might be a person, a nation, an army, a magic weapon - who knows.
They gather all the information they can.
Then they sell it off to whoever’s willing to pay.
Of course, that’s only one strategy. An information broker might team up with adventurers without any specific goal in mind. They know that the party will go where they shouldn’t and cause mischief. All they need to do is listen and observe for anything useful…
The Rising Star
A drow character might not be some lowly minion.
In fact, they might be a high-ranking figure - a force to be reckoned with in subterranean politics.
Why would they venture off, so far from home then?
A few reasons:
One is what they want - a secret, a weapon, an assassination - might be so sensitive that they can’t trust it to a subordinate. They have to do it themselves.
Another is that maybe they want the experience or the glory. Such things could prove useful in the future.
Keep in mind that drow live a long time, even by elven standards. They can afford to spend a few decades adventuring when they won’t come into their power before their 500th birthday.
Like the information broker, the rising star might have a specific target to pursue. They might also be happy to go with the flow, trusting their ability to make the most of any situation.
The Undiscovered Traitor
I doubt drow have much say in their assignments. A matriarch isn’t about to sit a minion down and ask what their career goals are.
Even so, they might be able to nudge the scale. Learning the languages and customs of surface-folk might improve their odds of being sent on assignment there.
Some drow would really want to do that.
Like, say, anyone with incorrect opinions or beliefs, happy to put as much distance between drow society and themselves as possible.
They’re less likely to be caught if they’re far away.
Characters like this aren’t necessarily rebellious. There are enough Drizzt Do’Urden clones out there, rallying against the wickedness of their own people. Some drow might want to fit in but they know they don’t. They just want to live their own lives.
Among the drow, that’s an executable offense.
This still leaves plenty for the GM to work with. After all, the drow will have many allies and agents on the surface. If their wrongthink is uncovered, they’re going to have to fight to stay ahead of their people.
The Spy-Hunter
Want to dial up the intrigue?
Don’t just be a spy - be a spy who hunts other spies.
Part investigator, part assassin, all suspicious, these characters could play complex cat-and-mouse games. Innocent people will die as they work to uncover each other’s identities and loyalties.
This could get complex, messy and really fun.
I’d talk to your GM before choosing this as your PC. Unless they’re able and willing to work with that, this awesome concept might go nowhere.
Anyway, that’s five drowy drow and over a thousand words. I could go on but let’s wrap it up there.
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