#drow lore

[weird-gnome]

My favorite thing about playing a drow in DND isn't the inherent creepy edginess but the amount of ridiculous flavor you can impose on them about discovering the world around them

Your average drow has never even peeked at the surface world. So I like to headcanon some things depending on how recently they've ventured out on their own

Sky??? What is sky??? Why does up go forever??? Where are my cavern ceilings??

Similarly, the sky changes??? Gonna stare at the night sky for way too long cause it's the most stunning thing they've ever seen. (If you have not seen the night sky without light pollution then I genuinely pity you)

Seasons??? Why are the leaves falling off trees?? They are such vibrant colors

Also just colors!!! So many rich colors

What the fuck is weather? WHY the fuck is weather?! Thunderstorms??? The clouds are casting lighting?!! Is no one concerned about this???? HELLO?!

s n o w ? ? ? ? OhFuckIt'sCOLD-

Probably literally anything with sugar in it is a wild ride. Get your grumpy drow on a sugar high and watch them run in circles and then take a fat crash nap

Oceans are weird. The water doesn't end?? Does it fall off the edge of the world or- what the fuck is a horizon and what do you MEAN there's more world beyond that???

"Don't drink the ocean water. It's nasty. Trust me on this." <- a clear indication of your drow having done some dumb shit

Just learned about dogs: "And what about this cute guy??" *owlbear cub wandering out of the forest*

And yeah I know they took away the drow's light sensitivity but I will always play my drow not being able to see in daylight. Its fun roleplay

"Didn't you see anything?"

"Nope."

"It's the middle of the day, how could you have missed them??"

"The sun is burning my eyes, Brenda."

-later-

"How did you fall down that hole? It was so clearly right in front of you??"

"Everything looks black"

"But the hole is a darker black-"

"..........."

"...... It's like the sun thing but backwards, isn't it."

"Gee I'm glad you noticed, Varant."

[loredragonoftheforgottenrealms]

I like the last bit of acknowledgement that many drow are a lot more reserved when it comes to choosing romantic and sexual partners than some surface dwellers would assume. It adds more depth and possibilities to Drow interacting with the surface world’s preconceived notions about who they are as people.

[drizznt]

Sometimes I like to imagine Keptolo as a superfan if there were a modern AU

[drowdreaming]

Ed’s lost lore of the realms #36, Jan. 26th 2025; Underdark Cuisine

“Monsters” tend to eat other creatures, often raw, but sentient races of the Underdark eat:

Fungi. Lots and lots of fungi.

Snails.

Slimes.

And lizards (worn-out or injured pack lizards, and all of the smaller varieties).

These things form the bulk of drow diets. Drow also, due to surface raids and trade, have access to other foodstuffs, but due to ongoing rarity these are “treats” (expensive). Most drow rear herds of pack lizards and farm “forests” of fungi in guarded caverns.

Thanks to the prevalence of fungi, a texture that can best be described as “rubbery to chewy” is prevalent in Underdark cuisine. Things that crunch are rarities.

Edible fungi cover a broad range of colours (though dun-browns to darker browns predominate, with purple being the next most popular—and never attempt to eat any fungi that look green) and shapes, from flaky spikes and “ledges” to shelf fungi, spears like asparagus, and various cap shapes with stalks, from tall and smooth to short and shaggy; literally just about everything.

These Underdark fungi offer flavours from salty or bitter and smoky to an almost vanilla-like sweetness; again, just about everything, including flavours that a blindfolded surface-dweller sampling them might mistake for roast beef or braised rothé.

Certain common fungi can be cooked to mush and then to an oil that thickens into a spreadable paste when taken off the heat, and this serves as a hummus-like “butter” (that can take on the flavour of herbs stirred into it, like garlic or dill into “real butter” derived from the milk of surface-dwelling creatures) when spread on other edibles. This is usually called “rarthree” by folk of the Underdark, regardless of species (though deep gnomes tend to shorten this to just “rarth” in casual speech).

The meat of the many edible lizards is often sliced into thin steaks and fried in rarthee, and tend to taste rather like real-world kangaroo meat; slightly gamier than boar or beef or rothé, but still striking the palate as “red meat” rather than fish or reptile. Pack lizards have the strongest taste, increasing with age and size, and Volo found it to be a curious cross between the fat of very well-marbled steaks, and bacon fat—without grease or the heaviness of fat.

Soups in the Underdark tend to all be thick enough to be called “stews” on the surface world, with diced chunks of meat or fungi, and almost all of them use simmered, reduced fungi as a base. “Superior” soups include the blood of slain edible creatures, which enriches the flavour and thins the texture.

Large root vegetables such as potatoes are almost unknown in Underdark cuisine, yet their blandness would cause them to be “shrug” curiosities, not highly prized novelties, if sampled.

There are very few “wild” deep rothé herds left in the Underdark; they’ve been captured and are now the carefully-farmed exclusive food larders of particular communities. So they’ve disappeared from “general Underdark” larders and tables.

Lolthite drow cities who control those herds do indeed roast and thin-slice-and-fry deep rothé meat as a staple of their cuisine.

As for surface-world sweets: sweetness is in short supply in the Underdark. Household honey has been a traditional target of drow night surface raiding parties. The sheer sweetness of sugary confections (such as real-world chocolates) would be a dumbfounding revelation. There'd be delight among drow or other Underdark creatures (illithids in particular!)...and a murderous need to possess all supplies of it.”

[dykestelmane]

From Elminster's Forgotten Realms: Drow Cuisine

Well mostly Orbloren wine, and then a few words on other drinks, and then another small shread of the rest in the most general overview

[lunastrophe]

BG3 Drow Lore 🕷️Minthara's Age and Name Meaning

🕷️Year Of Birth - Minthara was born before 1297 DR. In one of her lines, she mentions that she remembers a scandalous event from the past – when Viconia DeVir, a noble female drow and a daughter of the fourth house of Menzoberranzan, disgraced her family:

Two hundred years ago, she disgraced her family - the DeVirs - by refusing to obey a divine order from Lolth. It was quite the scandal, and I was young enough that it left an impression on me.

House DeVir fell out of favour with Lolth because of Viconia's transgression and ultimately, in 1297 DR, they were attacked and destroyed by House Do'Urden. During this time, Minthara was likely in the first decade(s) of her life, since by drow standards, she was still young and impressionable.

It would mean that she was born at least several years earlier, likely between 1270 DR and 1290 DR.

🕷️Age In BG3 - during the events of Baldur's Gate 3, Minthara is over two hundred years old, but probably less than two hundred and thirty.

🕷️Name Meaning - Minthara's name means „minor / second rune” or something similar, being composed of female prefix Min- („lesser, minor, second”) and female suffix -thara („glyph, marker, rune”). The name was probably given to her by her mother shortly after birth, according to drow custom.

We do not know if the meaning of Minthara's name was important in any way to her mother. Sometimes drow names seem to be connected to the child's future profession, ambitions or fate, but in many cases, there is no such connection and a name is just a name. For example, the eldest daughter of Matron Mother Yvonnel Baenre was named Triel, which means simply „wing” or „bat”.

🔹If Minthara's name meaning is not accidental, it could imply that she is her mother's second daughter (but at the same time, the eldest living daughter).

Noble drow females typically value their eldest daughters the most, from early years grooming them to become their successors. Who knows - maybe in this case, the first daughter did not survive, ending up being assassinated by enemies, or simply failing to meet her mother's expectations. Then Minthara would be „the second try” kind of a child – her mother's second chance to raise a worthy successor, to strengthen her position in the family and in the society.

🔹It might explain why Minthara's mother considered her so special and important: I have been told that I am special since my mother first held me in her arms. The burden of expectation.

Normally, drow children are not considered overly special by their mothers. The usual exception is the eldest daughter, expected to take her mother's place in the society one day.

In the next post - thoughts about Minthy's childhood, family and the identity of her mother 🙂

For more of my drow lore ramblings, feel free to check my pinned post 🕷️

[aldanil]

“Most drow wear a magical, shielding cloak, called a "piwafwi." Under its collar, most drow wear a neck-purse. In it, noble drow carry their house insignia. Commoners will carry a black metal medallion denoting the house they serve, or the merchant clan they belong to. In the streets of a drow city, house insignia are usually displayed openly (as cloak pins or sewn-on cloak or tunic adornments) only by the members and servants of the "First House" (most dominant family) of the city. Insignia of lesser houses can be seen on the walls or gates of their strongholds, and are often worn openly inside such strongholds. The house insignia of nobles take the form of distinctive sculpted images, often equipped for use as brooches. All carry several magical powers-minor abilities known in detail only to members of the House.” — The Drow of the Underdark

I imagine Galathil still has a brooch with the insignia of their birth family; House Vandree, although of course, they don’t know what is it or what it represents, even less so any magical powers it carries, having no memories of their early years in the Underdark besides very blurry colors and smells. Their piwafwi and old clothes being long damaged by the sun, that’s the only item they kept from their past.

[faeriiefire]

I bought the dnd Art & Arcana (2018) a while back, and this piece has been living rent free in my head ever since. It was created by Stephen Daniele and depicts Laveth, the daughter of Lolth. Just everything, from the hair, to the spiders, to the armour, right to the big facade of Lolth. Stunning!!!🕷️