Drow

Drow are a dark-skinned elven race that predominantly lives in the Underdark. They are generally evil, exceptions including Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre. They are shorter than many other subraces of elves and, similarly to most Underdark dwelling creatures, have a tremendous resistance to magic. They also have a much higher birthrate than most other elves, but strife tends to keep their numbers down.

History
Drow were once known as Ilythiiri (Ssri-tel-quessir in old Elven) but, in -30000 DR their goddess Araushnee betrayed her fellow Seldarine and, along with Ghaunadaur, Vhaeraun, Malar and others they tried to invade Arvandor. Afterwards Araushnee was cast into the Abyss, where she took the name Lolth. After many malicious acts and abuses of elven High Magic during the Crown Wars 20000 years later, the other elves banded together and banished the "Dhaerow" (traitors) whom Lolth used to be responsible for (and whom most still secretly worshipped) to the Underdark. The Illythiir have always believed that they were punished for being "successful" and have remembered this percieved slight and vowed eternal revenge, still claiming the surface world as rightfully theirs.

After the so-called "Descent" the warlike drow immediately began violently trying to establish their own territories in the Underdark. They stole dwarven magical items and used them against their former masters, creating the emnity that still exists to this day. The drow then began fighting amongst themselves, trying to establish a single ruler. The attempt failed, only resulting in a great magical explosion that destroyed the largest cavern that they had seized from the dwarves, Bhaerynden (now known as The Great Rift).

The surviving nobles took what they could and left to establish their own realms elswhere in the Underdark. This time was known as The Scattering and produced most of the cities in which the drow live to this day.



Characteristics
Drow have black skin and pale yellow, silver or white hair. Their eyes are usually bright red, but some are known to have different coloured eyes. They vary in height between 4'7" (1.4m) and 5'7" (1.7m), and weigh between 85 to 135 lb (38 to 61kg) on average. Almost all drow are handsome, especially nobles as Lolth does not favour meek, plain or unassuming worshippers.

Personality
Drow are arrogant, ambitious, sadistic, treacherous and hedonistic. They value advancement over their peers more than anything else, pulling down their superiors and crushing their inferiors. This doesn't mean they treat all of their peers with disdain, however. They appreciate a sense of subtlety and thus drow are often courteous and urbane, even to deadly rivals.

Drow are incapable of trusting anyone, forging alliances only when they are confident that they can outmatch their ally if he/she decides to turn on them. The inherent pride in their own abilities quite often leads to such alliances being forged, though they almost always end badly when one party decides said alliance is no longer convenient.

All drow enjoy surrounding themselves with things of beauty (drow cities are always spectacles of breathtaking architecture) and often partake of lavish revels, indulging in the most pleasurable of activities.

They commonly share a hatred of all other races, especially surface races but hate most of all the Seldarine and the surface elves ('Darthiir' in Drow) and wish to re-take the surface world from their hated brethren. It is the only thing that unites them as a species.

Religion
They generally worship the goddess Lolth although those on the surface often worship Vhaeraun or Shar. A small number of drow on the surface worship Eilistraee and are lead by Qilue Veladorn. Generally an entire city worships a single deity. Even more of a minority are the drow that worship Kiaransalee and Ghaunadaur. Also, because drow males are banned from the priesthood, males who become adept in divine magic tend to worship Selvetarm, Lolth's consort.