Drow, Dark Elf

[Blood axe]

Anyone intetested in working on Drow player class for LL & AEC?? I have some ideas.

[bighara]

I prefer the Shadow Elves of GAZ13 myself.

A drow-ish PC, huh?

Well, I'm no Underdark expert, but –IMO– the racial elf class (F/MU) seems pretty close. Maybe give them better infravision (ultravision?) and a -1 in daylight? What else? Didn't Drizzy have something like innate Faerie Fire 1/day? What would you offset that with? A reaction penalty with other races? Maybe something else, too?

[Blood axe]

I dont remember the stats for Shadow Elves. Close to Drow?

Yes, pretty close to a regular Elf. Some extra abilities, darkness, levitate, faerie fire, maybe others. Penalties in light, outcast in upper world. Possibly XP penalty.

[gentleman john]

Sounds like the Shadow Elves, except for the extra abilities.

[Black Wyvern]

I wouldn't go to far changing the elf class. Rather look at a different spell list for drow. Rather than give them bonus spells just put faerie fire on their list as a first level spell, maybe even levitate. You can really make huge differences in classes with spell lists. I have been using a custom elf spell list that is more elf-like for several months now and am really happy with the flavor it has given the class.

For a drow I would look at the innate list they had from AD&D and maybe put them on their list a level lower than the spell normally is. Give them some Atypical magic-user and cleric spells to blend the female and male types together as one. Then fill out the rest with useful spells for living in the underdark chosen from any of the four list in the AEC.

[bighara]

I wouldn't go to far changing the elf class. Rather look at a different spell list for drow. Rather than give them bonus spells just put faerie fire on their list as a first level spell, maybe even levitate. You can really make huge differences in classes with spell lists. I have been using a custom elf spell list that is more elf-like for several months now and am really happy with the flavor it has given the class.

For a drow I would look at the innate list they had from AD&D and maybe put them on their list a level lower than the spell normally is. Give them some Atypical magic-user and cleric spells to blend the female and male types together as one. Then fill out the rest with useful spells for living in the underdark chosen from any of the four list in the AEC.

This sounds pretty cool.

[Blood axe]

I wouldn't go to far changing the elf class. Rather look at a different spell list for drow. Rather than give them bonus spells just put faerie fire on their list as a first level spell, maybe even levitate. You can really make huge differences in classes with spell lists. I have been using a custom elf spell list that is more elf-like for several months now and am really happy with the flavor it has given the class.

For a drow I would look at the innate list they had from AD&D and maybe put them on their list a level lower than the spell normally is. Give them some Atypical magic-user and cleric spells to blend the female and male types together as one. Then fill out the rest with useful spells for living in the underdark chosen from any of the four list in the AEC.

Lets work on LL first, because Race is Class:

From Unearthed Arcana , Dark Elves get:
+2 saves vs. Magic
ambidexterity
speak- Common, Undercommon, Sign, Elf, Gnome
120 Infravision
1st level- dancing lights, faerie fire & darkness 5r 1xday
4th level- detect magic, know alignment, levitate 1xday
females of 4th+ level also get - clairvoyance, detect lie, suggestion, dispel magic 1xday


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I just noticed some significant changes in the 1st ed AD&D Elf and the AEC Elf;
No +1 hit with bow & sword
No 90% resistance to Sleep & Charm
No chance to move silently

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In the books, Drizzt loses many of his innate powers after being on the surface world for awhile.


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In LL , I like to keep things pretty simple, so the closer to the regular Elf, the better. But it has to be a little different. IMHO the Drow should be a total outcast, he cant just walk into town & buy supplies. He cannot stay at an Inn or drink at a Tavern. If he is spotted, an alarm will be sounded, guards will come, and he will be arrested, jailed, or slain on the spot. This should be a serious, in game penalty, a major drawback.

[Black Wyvern]

Languages are an easy one that gives the character some flavor, though I have noted that language usage differs widely game to game.

120' Infravision, or even ultravision from the AEC.
I agree with bighara on the -1 in sunlight.
I wouldn't go much further than that.

While I agree also with them being outcasts, going so far as to actually game mechanic it, rather than mention it in the description and let DM's deal with the implications, will have varying results as a balancing tool.

And just to start a discussion on a spell list;
1st Level
Auditory Illusion
Cause Fear (maybe reversible)
Cause Light Wounds (maybe reversible)
Charm Person
Command
Dancing Lights
Darkness (maybe reversible)
Detect Magic
Faerie Fire
Read Magic
Shield
Spider Climb

2nd Level
Detect Evil
ESP
Heat Metal (maybe reversible)
Hold Person
Invisibility
Know Alignment (maybe reversible)
Levitate
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Ray of Enfeeblement
Silence 15' Radius
Sleep

3rd Level
Blink
Continual Darkness (maybe reversible)
Dispel Magic
Haste (maybe reversible)
Lightning Bolt
Locate Object
Neutralize Poison
Remove Curse
Stone Shape
Suggestion
Tongues
Water Breathing

Not entirely happy with it but I am a bit tired and so figured it would give the discussion on a list a place to start.

[xmanowarx]

here's my stab at a drow elf race as class. i really like the idea of a custom class spell list that you guys are working on. i tried to keep this as simple as possible while also working in some mechanics for the hatred and fear most civilized races harbor for the drow.

DROW RENEGADE
Some drow elves turn their back on their spider-demon worshiping kin. They flee (or are exiled) to a surface world that hates and mistrusts them - yet they strive to undo the evil their kin have wrought upon the world.

Growing up in drow society weeds out the weak. As such, all adult drow may:
Add +2 to all saving throws
Add +2 to any attribute
Add +1 to another attribute

Drow are ambidextrous and may use both hands without penalty.

Drow are immune to the effects of Sleep and Charm magic (a trait their good-aligned kin seem to have lost)

Drow advance as elves (same XP, saves, spell progression, etc)
-females may choose spells from either the cleric or magic user list and they may have spells from both prepared at the same time
-females that opt for cleric spells must be either Lawful or Neutral in Alignment

Drow are at home in utter darkness, and as such there is no limit to their infravision. They may also see normally even while within magical darkness.

Just as the drow are at home in the darkness - they are alien to the light of day. As such:
Indoor Illumination (lamps, candles, torches, windows, etc): -1 to all rolls and -1 to DEX
Sunlight/Magical Light: -2 to all rolls and -2 to DEX
Healing magic cast by a Lawful cleric will not work on drow while they are under the light of the sun (healing underground or at night will function normally)
These are curses placed upon the drow in the elder days by Lawful elven deities. They cannot be removed by any means short of a Wish spell.

Drow cannot have followers or hirelings.

Any followers or hirelings already with the party when the drow joins must make an immediate morale check or quit.

A drow’s CHA is considered to be 4 lower when dealing with any non-elf/faerie being.

Any CHA check made involving the drow and an elf/faerie being will fail in the worst way possible.

Equipment, Lodging and Services in most civilized realms are 30% more expensive for drow due to hatred and fear.
They are similarly cheated when selling things in civilized areas.

All renegade drow have been marked or scarred in some way that will make them recognizable to most Chaotic creatures (as well as bounty hunters) as outcasts. Such creatures will know that they are worth at least 5,000 GP if returned alive to their former brethren.

[Blood axe]

Some ideas I like, but seems very powerful without equal drawbacks. It kicks the regular Elfs a$$, for same XP.