#du drow lore

[meanbossart]

i’m not sure if this has been asked already or not, but how does mr. drow maintain his physique? was he always on the stronger side, or is this a more recent change?

I think fantasy rules is the only real honest answer here.

He is technically more active than most people, but not THAT ACTIVE. He definitely has the body of someone who either a) Has worked out with modern gym equipment minimum 4 times a week for the last decade or b) shoots up a moderate amount of roids. Obviously, he does neither of those things - he wasn't always a beefcake, either!

If I were to come up with an in-universe reason for his physique, it would proooobably be explained away as one of Bhaal's gifts. DU drow bulks up after arriving in Baldur's Gate and being taken into the temple - so, after being indoctrinated by Sarevok and Sceleritas. It could be that after finally "proving" himself as a worthy heir, Bhaal rewarded him with a body fit to rule with (It still took him a couple of years to get there, but it wasn't enough for him to realistically reach that point "naturally", especially at his height).

I think he could potentially lose his shape if he went completely sedentary/starved, obviously, but now as long as he maintains a relatively active lifestyle he will maintain his beefiness.

(And all of this completely disregards the fact that everyone in this universe has delts out to here and a six-pack - so you could just as easily say that, in Faerun, everyone just gets swole real easy.)

[elfwoodfae]

Orin and Drow little something I am working on for @meanbossart

This is how i personally imagined their relationship, how i imagined she would be sometimes with him, this is just a twisted little fragment of my broken mind. I have personally have a Drow where i have been the Orin where the roles have been someone always holding me over my own head, sadly a sibling too so girl i get you lol. anyways Drow belongs to @meanbossart and i hope you like it. I am writing more to it, this is just a fragment of how i imagine their last days together being, before she did what she did.

 Orin

 “Isilmë ilcalassë” The words cut through her, her face breaking for a split second, her eyes, white as the moon rolling back into her head as his voice rings through her ears; it doesn't take long for a fake smile to adorn her face, her body, soft and supple twirling around to meet him. 

“Blood-kin…” Is all she graces him with; just a couple more days, just a couple more pleasantries. 

His arms, big as her head, his skin dark as night, such a contrast to hers, finds its way around her shoulders, always touching her, always around her. Always, always always, never, never never away. He stinks, an intoxicating mix of blood and gore, danger and home. Because in the end, she knows, she knows he is home. Everything that keeps her safe, a sense she never had, always used, always expectant to a glory that would never arrive, to please false gods that would never respect her enough, no matter what she did, what she sacrificed it would never be enough. He was everything that kept her safe, everything that was on her way to glory, kept her away from the prying eyes and hands of Sarevok, his torment and torture, his constant expectation that she would bring forth the next line. That she, and her insufferable blood-kin would bring forth the next line of Bhaalspawns, and how wrong was he, how utterly and disgustingly wrong he was.

“I was thinking” Drow begins before her voice quickly interrupts him. 

“Oh because it thinks? your big, empty head and destroyed unuseful mind is capable of thinking? “Her tone is cruel, giggles and highs escaping her as her head twitches to the side, her eyes wide open, her nails softly tracing the exposed skin of his ribcage as if it were a dagger.

She sways side to side, his arm sliding lower, softly, imperceptible down her back, his eyes drop for a split second. She knows she has him right where she wants him. “Dear sister…” He says and she already knows how this will end before it even begins. 

*my gleaming moonlight in elvish which drows speak i believe.

[meanbossart]

does DU drow has a house he's from? like do'urden, baenre, oblodra etc. if he does, which one is it? and if he doesn't, which one would most likely fit him in your opinion? (i am genuinely in love with your artstyle btw)

I don't think he can even pronounce most drow names 💀

Cheekiness aside, the answer is complicated. DU drow was found as a (very weird) baby lying in a pool of blood and mud somewhere in the Underdark's wilderness. He was taken in by the slaves of a drow matriarch and "adopted" by her - though he was treated more like a pet than a child (or at least slightly worse than the average male baby). His resilience was a source of entertainment for the drow mother as he survived on scraps of food and house pests without as much as a cry or complaint, and at some point even killed a neighbour's child. Alas, before she could begin to grow any feal fondness for him, a 11-year-old DU drow killed her and escaped the Underdark with Sceleritas' guidance.

That was probably a smaller house that did indeed have a name - but it's totally irrelevant to his story since the head matron is no more, and her biological adult child had died shortly before DU drow was brought in.

[meanbossart]

Don't know if you've gotten this question before, but why did Bhaal throw DU Drow into the Underdark and make him look like... well, a drow (even though he's obviously Not)?

Is there any particular "lore" reason for that or was it just an aesthetic decision you made on a whim in character creation?

I feel like this question can be more accurately answered not by character lore, but by a dramatization of the real life events that took place sometime in late 2023:

"Oh boy here I go play this Totally Legal Copy of the video game Balder Gates 3, but for only exactly the amount of time that it takes until I can find and pet a talking cat, and not a minute longer."

"Okay this must be the Custom Character option since it's the only one that allows me to edit my little guy."

"Nah man I'm in a rush to pet some kitties. Pass."

"Now this dragon they randomized for me is pretty neat but where's the Cool Evil Elf."

"Can I super-size it"

"Oh hell yeah."

"Since I'm not a nerd I better pick the most bone-headed class possible or I will never pet those damn cats."

"I mean the face and hair are fine but this Evil Elf isn't looking very evil to me."

"Much better"

"🤷"

"There I am in some... Weird Scorn-like contraption. Man that outfit is bad, I'm taking that off immediately."

".....Huh."

"I feel like I may have skipped past something important."

"Oh I have the funniest little pout though. Man I can't WAIT to talk to some cats."

[meanbossart]

A helpful little guide

[meanbossart]

Does drow have a favourite weapon/ weapon type? Whether that be in game due to proficiencies and what you looted or if there’s any lore to what he would have used in his pre tadpole days.

-🍒

It did in fact change throughout the course of his life!

Ages 12-19 Class: Ranger Fighting style: Archery

DU drow lived off the land in his teens. He hunted to both feed himself, acquire resources and to sell meat/skins in local towns in exchange for gold. Range was the obvious choice since he spent the majority of his younger years being too weak to hold up in melee combat - which is something that he developed a liking for as he grew older.

Ages: 20-27 Class: Fighter/? Fighting style: Two-weapon

Being taken into the temple would trigger a gradual but drastic change to DU drow's personality, as well as his combat style. This includes the discovery of a "secret" secondary class (I made it pretty obvious in an older post but I'm yet to see anyone question me about it LOL) , as well as the obvious change from Ranger to Fighter.

Murder, as dictated by Bhaal's teachings, should be a personal and intimate act. This is what drew him away from ranged combat and had him opt for smaller weapons like daggers and short-swords - not only could he "honor" his father's will more faithtfully that way, but these are easier weapons to conceal while out and about.

Ages: 28 and on Class: Fighter Fighting style: Great weapon fighting.

It is by complete happenstance that the first thing DU drow picks up once freed from the Nautilod pod is some Fist's greatsword. Having lost his memories after Orin's betrayal, he had no reason whatsoever to be subtle or performative in his fighting style any longer - and in his natural state, the man gravitates towards the large and the effective.

[meanbossart]

I'm unsure if you've already answered this before, but a previous ask you had about fem DU drow answer said that having a dick and being able to impregnate others is the pinnacle of your character and story and had multiple reasons beyond just being horny and regardless of gender, have you ever expanded on this before ? I'm suuuuuper curious as to the other reasons this is ! have a wondrous day mwaaah

The main reason is because of Dark Urge's whole purpose in life. Bhaalists (ironically) put a lot of importance on lineage and reproduction - you can see this on display through Sarevok, who went as far as to have a child (Orin) with his own daughter to preserve the "purity" of Bhaal's blood. Bhaal himself impregnated several human women before to ensure multiple heirs, and there's a lot of (conflicting, but present nonetheless) lore surrounding child rearing customs within the temple that the third game doesn't touch much on. ***

Not to mention one of the cut Bad Endings for Durge, where your character basically just loses their mind and goes on a breeding rampage at Bhaal's behest. As this is cut content, it obviously isn't "canon" - but nonetheless, the concept is interesting and almost counter-intuitive in a way that I think suits Bhaal, so it is a possibility in DU drow's story (the guy can't ever seem to be able to decide whether he wants the world to be all Bhaalists or if he just wants everyone dead. I actually like that dichotomy.)

If you take that ending to be canonical as I do, It also implies that The Dark Urge would be required to have the ability to impregnate others, since going through full gestation over and over themselves wouldn't be practical - hence, in my weird little version of things, every version of DU drow must have a penis. Of course, this being a magical world implies that someone with a different set of genitalia could still, potentially, inseminate other people through spells or rituals, but I just personally prefer the character to have a very physical "symbol" of virility on their actual bodies. You can think of it in the way that old relics and mythological embodiments of virility usually had exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics, even though big breasts or penises don't necessarily have anything to do with how effective you are at making/bearing children.

This is also why DU drow's nutsack is on the larger side while his dick is just perfectly average.

(Yes I realize that that's an insane sentence to sneak in here).

Let me reiterate that this is all my personal take based on bits and pieces of lore that I'm choosing to abide by, while consciously ignoring others that I don't like as much. I don't think this is the most-correct reading of the Dark Urge character or anything like that, it's just my very convoluted excuse to give my character a hefty sack. So, you know, don't make this weird or use it as fuel to shit on different interpretations.

***I CANNOT for the life of me find the source for this but I remember seeing a lore breakdown that went over Bhaalists' stances on reproduction and raising children in the temple, and how it had gone back-and-forth throughout the history of the Baldur's Gate games. If someone could hook me up, I'd appreciate it!

[meanbossart]

What are the main personality differences between "redeemed" DU Drow and Bhaalist Drow?

Canonical DU drow (where he defeats Orin and denies Bhaal) is an arrogant, true-to-chaotic neutral character who, while lagging behind in the empathy department, very much has a conscience and often tries to make "the right choice", even if his definition of "right" may be a little skewed. He can talk at length and eloquently and yet often chooses to let his friends speak on his behalf since he trusts them to make decisions for the group (he will jump in if he disagrees with something, but he does not operate under the impression that he always knows better than Shadowheart or Astarion).

He often has strong, negative reactions to things he doesn't like or understand, but can be brought down shockingly easily and often makes an active effort to see life through the eyes of those he cares about. He's uneasy about the violent "remnants" of his urge and worries constantly that they could return and result in harm being done to his loved ones. While DU drow is by definition a Big Fantasy-Racist, he will still share a pint with almost anyone who makes him laugh and seems to find a lot of "exceptions" to his preconceptions. He says "sorry" and "thank you" and "please" and doesn't swear when children are around. When someone mocks him, he's more likely to either brush it off or play along with it than get angry.

A DU drow that has embraced his heritage and pursued Bhaal's plans is that same man but with blinders on and a much larger ego. He talks a lot, and takes pleasure in waxing poetics and showing off his vocabulary (either version of himself loves the theater) he puts his own opinions and desires first the majority of the time, and if you're one of the lucky people to be deserving of any consideration, your needs will still be tailored to fit around what he deems acceptable.

When it comes to the urge, or his duty, he just assumes that things will go his way and that no matter what, his loved ones will be okay and an exception in every upcoming massacre - sorry, loved one, (singular). Bhaalist DU drow has no need for friends, or company, really - only a breeding mate.