DROW2

But with the passage of time, the surface elves have lost much of their
influence as other races, such as humans, became the dominant race on the
surface. While in the deep, dark depths of the Underdark, the dark elves, the
drow, reign supreme, as they have since the founding of Xymerria. And as any
drow will tell you, is this not proof that Lloth and Matron Xymerr were right,
and won in the end?
 
Usual Height: 
Shorter than humans, taller than dwarfkin and demihumans. Slightly shorter
than surface elves.
 
Hometown: 
Xymerria
 
Religion: 
Worship of Lloth, Demon Queen of Spiders, is ubiquitous and permeates every
aspect of drow culture. When taking mortal form, Lloth usually takes the
shape of an incomparably lovely drow female, or that of a giant spider.
Arachnids are Lloth's symbol, and thus are considered holy by drow; no
follower of Lloth would dare to kill one, save in the direst of situations.
Lloth's priesthood is almost exclusively female; although there are extremely
rare exceptions where Lloth has allowed male priests to exist, only females
can reach the rank of high priestess. These high priestesses hold the highest
ranks and positions of power in drow society, ensuring that the devotion of
the drow never sway from their dread goddess. In the rare cases that the
snake-headed whips of the high priestesses do not serve to keep relative
order, the appearance of the dreaded yochlol, demonic shapeshifting hand-
maidens of Lloth, quells any and all insubordination, with those who offended
the Spider Queen turned into half-drow, half-spider monstrosities called
'driders'.
 
Lloth is a jealous goddess. With the passage of eons, her attention has been
increasingly diverted from Aabahran to her many other flocks on other planes,
but any drow who turns away from her can expect to have trouble for the rest
of his or her life, often at the most untimely of moments. On occasion, she
may allow drow who depart the Underdark to worship other gods in addition to
her, but she never forgets one who wholly forsakes her.
 
Drow must stay evil to cast any spells they might know. Those who turn to
good are frowned upon.
 
Physical Features: 
In terms of shape and size, drow elves are much similar to surface elves,
although somewhat shorter due to the more cramped confines of the Underdark.
They are perhaps best known for their dark skin; the color can range from a
light ebony to a pure, pitch-black coal. Their eyes are usually a blood red
in color, due to their innate infravision. Their hair is always pale in color,
often pure white, and rarely cut; the way their hair is worn and arranged
is one of the ways by which social status is displayed. Drow almost never
shave their heads, as to do so is to signify that they consider themselves
being outside of the drow hierarchical social structure, a direct challenge
to the authority of the Matron Mothers, and to the Spider Queen herself. In
a case of reverse sexual dimorphism, drow females are actually larger and
physically stronger than drow males; this is speculated to be due to the
magical influence of Lloth.
 
Very few drow are misshapen in any way, either in limb or in features. Drow,
being the cruel, arrogant race that they are, disdain any weaknesses, and
children who are born crippled or even slightly ugly are tossed to their
beasts for food. Over time, this has produced a race of exceptional beauty,
even by elven standards.
 
Society: 
Drow society is both hierarchical and chaotic. The Great Houses of Xymerria
rule over the city, with House Do'Rekdin presiding over them. The way to join
the ranks of the Great Houses for a lesser House is simple; destroy a Great
House and take their place. Consequently, lesser Houses spend most of their
time scheming over how to do so, and the Great Houses, aside from untouchable
Do'Rekdin, spend much of their time safeguarding their positions. It is
speculated that this infighting is the only reason why the drow have not
launched serious invasions against the surface; the fear of being ambushed at
home while their house armies are abroad prevents the Great Houses from
launching any distant assaults, whereas the lesser Houses simply do not have
the capability to do so.
 
See also: DROW3