Dark elves are they racist?
Recently my Larp has gotten very... "Political." For lack of a better word. New members are trying to change and rewrite over 20 years of history in our game. Our game is based off of a basic D&D model this is how we get things like races, lore, ranking of nobility. But new members think it's all a little to Politically incorrect an are pushing for changes that are both unnecessary and impractical.
Now I am all for making sure we do not included things that pertain to a real culture. No you can not wear a headdress of native people, no you should not promote that rommi weman are prostitutes, viking and noresmen are not to rape an pillage, if you are going to do any rituals from Wicca please change aspects of it. But we still includes parts of these cultures.
We have a rommi troop (they can no long call themselves gypsies because someone spoke about it. Personally I'm more offended that they call themselves rommi the real name for a group of people. as I myself come from that background) We have a nomadic tribel group that take a lot from Native cultures (in the aspect of Hunter gathers, family first, United with mother earth, story telling. None of these I see as offensive, they are taking aspects but do not present themselves as native people in any means. We have 7 people of pure native decent whom play are game and willingly give them pointers and share their culture, some are even part of this group.) Vikings and Norsemen have become very popular lately, no complaints from the people of European decent.
We have a magic based system. EARTH/WATER, FIRE/AIR, BARDIC. You choses how you use the magic, but if your placing rites, and rituals in a real religion we ask that you change some aspects of it as not to place religion into the game.
Now here is my real question, How did Dark Elves become racist?
The drow (/ˈdraʊ/[1][2] or /ˈdroʊ/)[3] or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned, and white-haired subrace of elves in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.[4]
DrowCharacteristicsAlignmentUsually Chaotic Evil or Neutral EvilTypeHumanoid or fey humanoid (Elf)ImageWizards.com imagePublication historySource booksDrow of the UnderdarkFirst. The drow made their first statistical appearance in Hall of the Fire Giant King in the Hellfurnace Mountains of the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting at the end of the module, and received a lengthy writeup. The history of the drow within the game is revealed; in ages past, the elveswere torn by discord and warfare, driving out from their surface lands their selfish and cruel members, who sought safety in the underworld. These creatures, later known as the "dark elvenfolk" or drow, grew strong in the arcane arts over the centuries and content with their gloomy fairyland beneath the earth, though they still bear enmity towards and seek revenge against their distant kin, the elves and faeries who drove them down. They are described as chaotic evil in alignment, and highly intelligent. They are described as black-skinned and pale haired in appearance, around 5-feet tall and slight of build with somewhat sharp features, with large eyes and large pointed ears. Their equipment (magical boots and cloaks, and fine mesh armor similar to chainmail) is black in color and described as being empowered by exposure to the strange radiations of the Drow homeland, losing this power and eventually falling apart when exposed to direct sunlight and kept from the radiation for too long. Females are inherently more powerful than males, and only females may be clerics or fighter/clerics; male drow are commonly fighters, magic-users, or both classes at once. Drow move silently and with a graceful quickness, even when wearing their armor, and blend into shadows with ease. They carry long daggers and short swords of an adamantite alloy and small one-handed crossbows which shoot darts carrying a poison that causes unconsciousness. Drow are difficult to surprise as they are able to see very well in the dark, have an intuitive sense about their underground world similar to that of dwarves, and can detect hidden or secret doors as easily as other elves do. Drow are highly resistant to magic, while all drow have the ability to use some inherent magical abilities even if they are not strictly spellcasters. The module also reveals that there are rumors of vast caverns housing whole cities of drow which exist somewhere deep beneath the earth, and now that the drow have dwelled in these dark labyrinthe places they dislike daylight and other forms of bright light as it hampers their abilities. They are able to communicate using a silent language composed of hand movements, and when coupled with facial and body expression, movement, and posture, this form of communication is the equal of any spoken language.[12]
The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game's second edition product Monstrous Compendium Volume Two describes the world of the drow, where violent conflict is part of everyday life, so much so that most drow encountered are ready for a fight. Their inherent magic use comes from training in magic, which all drow receive. Not long after the creation of the elves, they were torn into rival factions, one evil and one good; after a great civil war, those who followed the path of evil and chaos were driven far from the world's forests and into the bleak, lightless caverns and tunnels of the underworld. Most creatures who live on the surface have never met a drow, but those who have seen a drow city report nightmarish buildings constructed of stone and minerals, carved into weird, fantastic shapes. Drow society is fragmented into opposing noble houses and merchant families, and they base their rigid class system on the belief that the strongest should rule. Female drow tend to fill many positions of great importance, with priests of the dark goddess Lolth holding a very high place in society. Drow fighters are required to go through rigorous training in their youth, and those who fail are put to death. Drow use giant lizards as pack animals, use bugbears and troglodytes as servants, and have alliances with many of the underworld's evil inhabitants such as mind flayers. Drow constantly war with other underground neighbors such as dwarves and dark gnomes (svirfneblin), and keep slaves of all types - including allies who fail to live up to drow expectations.[21] The Complete Book of Elvesby Colin McComb focuses some of its attention on the drow. The Elfwar is presented, an elven myth in which the elves were one people until the Spider Queen Lolth used the dissent among the elves to gain a foothold; the elves of Lolth took the name Drow to signify their new allegiance, but as they massed to conquer the other elves, Corellon Larethian and his followers drove Lolth and her people deep into the earth, where they chose to remain. The dark elves who became the drow were originally simply elves who held more with the tenets of might than those of justice, and as they quested for power they became corrupted and turned against their fairer brethren. Dark elves rarely produce half-elves, as they would slaughter any fool who trusts them. Drow infravision is described as so intense that their eyes actually radiate heat; therefore, a character viewing a drow through infravision would see two burning eyes atop a normally glowing torso. Any elf character of good or neutral alignment, even drow, is allowed into the realm of Arvanaith where elves go upon reaching old age. The book notes that drow player characters have a large number of benefits while suffering few disadvantages, but that "the major disadvantage to being a drow is being a drow." Drow characters are extraordinarily dexterous and intelligent, but have the typically low elf constitution; also, their personalities are described as grating at best, and all other elves hate the drow which affects their reactions to a drow character.[24]
1991's The Drow of the Underdark, a 128-page sourcebook all about the drow, expanded the drow significantly for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition version of the Forgotten Realms setting. The first chapter explains "The Nature of Dark Elves", augmenting the information in the Monstrous Compendium entry. It describes their variable physical builds, their alert and inquisitive intelligence, their highly developed senses, the personal magic that all drow are trained in; it also details drow wizards (the most dangerous drow likely to be encountered outside the Underdark), as well as the driders, misfit drow who have failed a test of Lolth. Dark Elven Society is detailed in the second chapter. Drow society, being strongly matriarchal, allows the females to hold all positions of power in the government, and to choose and discard mates freely. Social station is the most important thing in drow society, making ascension to greater power a drow's ultimate goal. Drow have a strong affinity for arachnids, as most worship the spider goddess Lolth, and spiders dwell freely among drow communities. The third chapter details "Drow Religion" in the Forgotten Realms setting; as the majority of drow worship Lolth (or "Lloth", formerly known as Araushnee in ancient times), they simply don't speak of or recognize those who do not. Drow deities in this world include Eilistraee, the "Dark Maiden", the goddess of good-aligned drow, and of song, dance, swordwork, and hunting; Ghaunadaur, That Which Lurks (also known as "The Elder Elemental Eye"), a tentacled dark purple blob served by ropersand patron of oozes and all things subterranean; Lolth; and Vhaeraun, the god of thievery and the patron god of drow males in opposition to the matriarchy of drow society. "The High History of the Drow" in the Realms is revealed in the fourth chapter, detailing the descent of the Ilythiiri (the original "Dark Elves") of the southern jungles into the underground, and their dark wars as they became the drow they are today. The fifth chapter details 27 new "Drow Spells" for both wizards and priests; the sixth chapter includes dozens of "Drow Magical Items", some of which previously appeared in first edition AD&D sources; the seventh chapter details "Drow Craftwork", discussing their unique clothing and weaponry, their poison, as well as mining and engineering, and drow artisans. The eighth chapter briefly describes "Drow Language", while the ninth chapter goes into "Drow Nomenclature" by providing example female and male given names and drow house names, and the tenth chapter provides "A Selected Glossary of Deep Drow". "Dark Elven Symbols" are described in the eleventh chapter, including drow runes such as way-marker runes, sacred glyphs, house defense glyphs; the twelfth chapter, "The Spider and the Axe: War in the Depths" details an "ideal longterm camapaign setting" involving a war between drow and dwarves; the thirteenth chapter provides a brief look at "The Underdark", but advises readers to see the Queen of the Spiders series and the Dwarves Deep sourcebook for further information. The fourteenth chapter provides game statistics for several "Monsters of the Underdark" that associate with drow, or compete with them, including the deep dragon, the myrlochar, the deep rothe, the yochlol, and several species of spider and spider-like creatures.[23] According to The Complete Book of Elves, drow are not welcome in Evermeet and are turned away.[2]
Okay so most say it's the Skin pigment that make them racist. I always thought of dark elfs being dark skin was more to do with the tained world they live in and them becoming more like shadows then people. Like the essences of pure dark power that they Affiliate with turned them into that darkness. Never really saw it as a they look like a Person of African decent. Seeing as most of their Features are still very European when described. We do not give them any point of reference except the pure black skin, plus most are described a very beautiful despite there own "darkness." That being their dark powers not skin. If you wanted to add features to them like ( big lips, big butts) now you are adding racists Stereo types. But just being dark skinned (the purest black) I'm not seeing racist. They also have no cultural background that would say African either.
The problem lines that when playing these characters you must paint your skin as dark as possible, where the darkest clothes, get a bright white wig. When I have done it in the past for a storyline I painted myself black with purple and gray as accent colors. (I did not look anything like a human or did I look like a person of African Lineage.) I looked like a creature of pure evil. I didn't over draw my lips, you couldn't even tell I had a face at all if I was not next to you. We have never had a complaint from our American America players about this either.
So where did it become racist?
We have a graet meny races in pur world, elves, ogars, dwarves, humans, goblins, trolls, darkevles, orcs. A lot have some kind of makeup base to play them. Orcs have green skin, our dwarves must have a beard and or be gray, Ogars can be orange or wear prosthetic Tusk, all elves need Ears, and so on and so forth. They are not real creatures and it's a fantasy game. Let's live in the fantasy while we play and leave behind the real world politics.
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