Category talk:Half-drow

Rather than get into a revert war, I'll simply point to the source material.

"The more high-minded elves and eladrin sometimes take a compassionate view of the drow, perhaps believing that the three races might one day be reunited."

- Dragon 361: A Fractured Family

"Like their kin, the elves..."

- Monster Manual 4th edition, pg 94

"It’s safe to say elves and eladrin know a bit more about the drow, given their historical connections. Also, drow prey on elves and eladrin more than they do other surface races, making drow a looming threat to these people."

- Dragon 367, pg 32

Drow are NOT elves. I know this is a retcon, but it's nonetheless canon. The name "dark elf" isn't even technically correct, as many on this wiki will point out, since it actually means the ancestors of the drow. Niirfa-sa 00:45, 4 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Is there a source that actually states "Drow are not elves"? Having their skin turned jet black, their hair turned white, gaining darkvision, and being drawn to faerzress doesn't make them any less of an elf. They are certainly much more elf-like than avariel and sea elves. It's like saying that duergar are not dwarves and svirfneblin are not gnomes.Quin 01:24, 4 October 2008 (UTC)


 * The above sources do say drow aren't elves - at least not true elves. They may, in fact, be considered Tel'Quessir, which is to say a member race of the overall "super race" commonly known as elves that also includes eladrin and true elves. And yes, I agree with you about avariel and sea elves. However, WOTC has released no information on either of those two races/sub-races yet so we have no idea how they fit in.


 * I have, in fact, advocated that they be no longer considered elven sub-races but consensus has so far been against me. It has agreed that drow aren't elves as defined by 4e canon, as you will see at Template talk:Elven subraces. Furthermore, my understanding is that in 4e duergar are not dwarves either though I can't say anything about svirfneblin given the low attention spent on gnomes in 4e.


 * The truth is that, mechanics and lore wise, the drow have been so different from elves in previous editions that they might as well have been a different race. They had radically different abilities and skillsets, along with a culture enormously different than that of either eladrin or elves.


 * So yes, drow are not "true" elves (as in, they're not a member of the elven race). If the fact that in 4e documents they are clearly listed as a separate race is not enough to convince you then I'm not sure what else I can do. Niirfa-sa 01:38, 4 October 2008 (UTC)


 * When you say, "The above sources do say drow aren't elves - at least not true elves," I think this sums it up nicely. The elves certainly don't see them as elves, but that has minimal bearing on anything. Your concession indicates the confusing nature of this evolution. All three of your quotes above indicate the use of the words 'elf' and 'eldarin' to mean 'other elves' and 'other eldarin' rather than an entirely different species. Technically, they might not be "true elves", but unless we see something canon that says either 'drow are elves' or 'drow are not elves' then it might be difficult to distinguish. There are certain benefits in lumping drow in with the other elves for the purposes of categorisation and user-friendliness. Fw190a8 19:46, 12 October 2008 (UTC)