Kendo 2 Posted December 13, 2015 Posted December 13, 2015 One of my best pencil and paper gaming experiences was playing through the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Giant module series and discovering the plot fueled by Drow Elves. Way back then Drow were something new, original and unique. There have been attempts over the years to add them to TES games and I always find those mods lacking in one aspect or another; the added lore explaining their presence in Tamreil is too stretched to be believable, the playable race is overpowered, I don’t like how they look, etc. So I’ve decided to write a new annal in TES lore; The Drow of Tamriel. AD&D and Drow Elves The first hint of Drow Elves was under the heading ‘Elves’ in the orginal Monster Manual. They only got a few lines and there was scant information other that they were evil, and dark as the surface elves are light. It wasn’t until the culmination of the Giant modules that Drow elves made their first appearance. I remember as a player being fascinated by them as they shot me full of poisoned crossbow darts and burned me alive with fireballs. It wasn’t until the Fiend Folio (1979) was released that the world got their first real look at the Drow. Later incarnations have changed over the years but to me the original was the best and what I’ll be drawing references from. GETTING DROW ELVES INTO TES LORE Originally the Drow were driven underground by The Alignment Wars that took place thousands of years before the AD&D game time setting. In that war, good aligned men, elves and dwarves fought their evil counterparts. The races united (like in Lord of The Rings) and fought their own kin in a war over ideals and philosophy. In the end, good won and evil was banished or destroyed. That is were Drow Elves came from; they lost the war and fled underground. In TES lore there isn’t a real equivalent to the Alignment Wars but there is an instance of elves living underground; the Falmer. Blinded by the Dwemer, they became twisted and degenerate creatures over the centuries. In the Dawnguard DLC we first get to meet the progenitor race of Snow Elves. Though there are only two it is hinted at in dialogue that other Snow Elves might have escaped the deal with the Dwemer. They might be out there somewhere, living in secluded valleys or on remote islands. This is one way of getting Drow Elves into the TES world. Hypothetically there could have been groups of Snow Elves who rebuked the Dwemer’s plans and fled, or they simply weren't a part of it. It is possible that some of the Snow Elf slaves to the Dwemer went deeper underground, escaping the fate of the Falmer. FROM LIGHT TO DARK Here’s a few points of interest: *Drow have an affinity for spiders and other creep-crawly things. *Drow society is matriarchal and females are more powerful as fighters, mages and clerics. Males are relatively weak. *Drow are know to perform ritualistic and sustenance cannibalism. *Drow worship Lolth, an evil demon-spider queen. Looking at those points, by TES standards the Drow could be Namira worshipers. The Orcs have Malacath, the Dunmer have Boethiah, Azura and Molag Bal. There is no reason for another group of Mer not to have Namira, and her cult fits with what was laid out by Gary Gygax for AD&D over 20 years ago. In AD&D Drow Elves are described as slight of build with midnight black skin and silver or white hair. Typically in the real world creatures that live underground become depigmented and blind, but in a TES game world there is magic and Daedra so anything is possible. For the TES Drow, Namira turned their skins and black as their hearts. It happened to the Chimer after all and Orcs were turned into what they are by Daedra. In Closing So, there we have it. TES Drow spawned from Snow Elves who didn’t get affected by the deal with the Dwemer. They retreated far underground and evolved into their own species with an independent culture centered on Namira worship. I could write more but I’ll just leave this as is for now. Feel free to discuss.
LibertyPrime Posted December 13, 2015 Posted December 13, 2015 You forgot one important issue. Elves are quick to recognize lewdness. Are Drow the same? Since they live in a supposed matriarchal society, would female Drow actually go out there raping poor male Orcs, Nords and Khajits?
MsMia Posted December 31, 2015 Posted December 31, 2015 I have to say, this is a really interesting analysis. Definitely useful if people want to play a half "lore friendly" drow.
Serithi Posted January 1, 2016 Posted January 1, 2016 If you wanna be technical, back in ye olde days of TES1: Arena (and TES2: Daggerfall to a lesser extent) Bethesda was basically going with a D&D clone, the lore only really taking on its own form in the games afterwards, so it's likely the Dunmer were more or less the TES "Drow" back then.
Guest Posted January 2, 2016 Posted January 2, 2016 Even though it's Dunmer specifically that most superficially resemble Drow, as you say, Snow elves are probably a better candidate for including the subterranean element in any attempt to bridge the otherwise very large lore gulf. Small pockets of them could well have resisted the dwarves, but there is no hint in any TES lore I know of that they're anything other than culturally extinct. Any that do exist would probably consider their spiritual home to be The Forgotten Vale, not the ruins of the people responsible for their wretched fate. Everywhere is a reminder of how far they've fallen, and with no hope of staging any sort of come back that we have any evidence of. The Drow on the other hand, are absolutely thriving. They're defacto masters of their subterranean world, they've left their mark everywhere. In that sense they have more in common with the Dwemer than Snow Elves. It's all the things that are different about Drow compared to Dunmer that makes them the Darwinian nightmare they are. Dunmer almost always come across as sullen to me, sulky, pissed off and bitter. That isn't what comes to mind with Drow. They're absolute fuckers and they love it. But none of this really matters to me personally. I take what TES lore gives me, and I make the most of what overlaps there are, and my imagination takes care of the rest. I play female Dunmer in the same way I probably would a Drow in most of the ways that count - martially and magically gifted, morally chaotic at best, and I usually treat male npcs like dog shit. Like many roleplayers I admire the physical aesthetics of Drow, I mean, what's not to love? But I cherry pick while trying to retain an overall Dunmer look. No red eyes for me usually, dark but not blackened, and ranges of blonde but not normally white.
winny257 Posted January 3, 2016 Posted January 3, 2016 I love them!!! also in Skyrim, I play them very often. https://www.google.de/search?q=Drow+Elves&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=637&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYmr7jz43KAhUHRhQKHYs2Ci8Q_AUIBigB Skyrim https://www.google.de/search?q=skyrim+Drow+Elves&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=637&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwis5b7q0I3KAhUG1xQKHZRNCEwQ_AUIBigB
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.