Half-Drow Characters in 2nd Edition
JimDe...@stratos.net
Hey folks. =)
Got a few quick questions... I hope. I want to develop a half-Human,
half-Drow character for 2nd Edition of AD&D. Now I remember in the 1st
Edition, the Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
and they took stiff penalties in bright conditions for "to-hit" and saving
throws, I think. My questions are:
1) Will the penalties still apply in the 2nd Edition rules?
2) Because of the half-Human heritage, will the penalties be lessened any?
3) In the event the penalties are still in place when my PC joins up with a
party, is there any way to circumvent the penalties? Maybe an AD&D version
of sunglasses? Or would that be a DM decision on how to handle that?
Also, I'd like to know the rules on the Drow equipment, in particular
the mesh armor and swords. Are these available to PC half-Drow, or it is
another call of DM decision? Thanks!
Jeff
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Driftin J
>1) Will the penalties still apply in the 2nd Edition rules?<BR>
>2) Because of the half-Human heritage, will the penalties be lessened
>3) In the event the penalties are still in place when my PC joins up with
>party, is there any way to circumvent the penalties? Maybe an AD&D
I think a fair ruling would be that the half-human heritage lessens or negates
the light sensitivity in exchange for a loss of certain abilities they might
have in the dark.
>Also, I'd like to know the rules on the Drow equipment, in particular<BR>
>the mesh armor and swords. Are these available to PC half-Drow, or it is<BR>
>another call of DM decision? Thanks!<BR>
Of course, it's always the DM's decision but based on my (limited)
understanding of Drow culture. An half-breed Drow in the underdark would
likely be sacrificed to Lloth very early in life or would be made a slave. A
Drow born outside of the Underdark would probably not have access to these
things. Either way, IMO, it's unlikely that a half-Drow would have access to
very many things Drow barring unusual circustance or theft.
-DriftinJ (Jack Cox)
Check out the continuing adventures of The Travellers (an online campaign):
http://members.aol.com/driftinj/travelers.htm
***Old threads never die they just degenerate into flame wars***
cognomenGhost
as fohe drow equipment, all of it is destroyed in sunlight because of
the material it's made of. Even the swords and armor. There should be
a -1 to attack and should have a high save vs light spells. Anything
else is up to you the Dm JMHO
cognomenGhost
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Dacileva
JimDestiny wrote:
<snip - half-Human, half-Drow>
>Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
More importantly, they were very good fighter/mages, and
the females are very good fighter/clerics. Their spell-like
abilities, when used correctly by a DM, make them a very
challenging opponent.
>1) Will the penalties still apply in the 2nd Edition rules?
Drow still have a penalty in my campaign, and, I believe, in
the MM and Drow book (I forget what it's called) The
penalties for a base drow (by MM) are:
(in light or continual light or daylight - L/CL/DL)
90% likely to be seen
lose 2 points of DEX
-2 to hit
all targets of a spell cast by a drow in L/CL/DL get
+2 to their saving throws
if attacking a target in L/CL/DL, an EXTRA
-1 to attack (if drow is in light, that ends up at -3)
if casting a spell at a target in L/CL/DL, that target gets
EXTRA +1 to saving throws (as above, total of +3)
>2) Because of the half-Human heritage, will the
>penalties be lessened any?
Given the abilities the DM'll have to add to mollify any
players, I'd recommend against it.
>3) In the event the penalties are still in place when my
>PC joins up with a party, is there any way to circumvent
>the penalties? Maybe an AD&D version of sunglasses?
> Or would that be a DM decision on how to handle that?
It is always DM decision how to handle everything. In
most cases, I would say that the penalties could be
circumvented, but doing so negates the cool abilities.
Otherwise, the race is unbalanced, especially with MR.
>Also, I'd like to know the rules on the Drow equipment,
>in particular the mesh armor and swords. Are these
>available to PC half-Drow, or it is another call of DM
>decision? Thanks!
As I said, it's *always* DM decision. IIRC, though, Drow
equipment is crafted by exposure to strange radiation,
giving their items their magical-style bonuses, but without
the items actually radiating magic. Also IIRC, Drow items
crumble when exposed to sunlight for periods of time
over an hour.
--- Dacileva Inore Lalaith (Nikolas Izak Landauer) ---
"Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest thou also be like unto him" - Proverbs 26:4
"Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes" - Proverbs 26:5
Graey
JimDe...@stratos.net (JimDe...@stratos.net) posted:
>
>Hey folks. =)
>
> Got a few quick questions... I hope. I want to develop a half-Human,
>half-Drow character for 2nd Edition of AD&D. Now I remember in the 1st
>Edition, the Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
>and they took stiff penalties in bright conditions for "to-hit" and saving
>throws, I think. My questions are:
>
>party, is there any way to circumvent the penalties? Maybe an AD&D version
>of sunglasses? Or would that be a DM decision on how to handle that?
>
>particular the mesh armor and swords. Are these available to PC half-Drow,
>or it is another call of DM decision? Thanks!
1) As far as I remember, half-drow have all of the penalties and none of the
benefits of full blooded drow.
2) See above.
3) I don't see why not. But remember, drow magical equipment deteriorates
in sunlight. I don't remember the numbers, but I think within a couple of
weeks weapons and armor will be completely destroyed.
- Graey
-----------------------------
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-----------------------------
Dan Shinefield
Why exactly is there a diffrence between the men and women in this
respect?
Matthies
Dacileva wrote:
> JimDestiny wrote:
> <snip - half-Human, half-Drow>
> >Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
>
> More importantly, they were very good fighter/mages, and
> the females are very good fighter/clerics. Their spell-like
> abilities, when used correctly by a DM, make them a very
> challenging opponent.
>
> >1) Will the penalties still apply in the 2nd Edition rules?
>
> Drow still have a penalty in my campaign, and, I believe, in
> the MM and Drow book (I forget what it's called) The
> penalties for a base drow (by MM) are:
> (in light or continual light or daylight - L/CL/DL)
> 90% likely to be seen
> lose 2 points of DEX
> -2 to hit
> all targets of a spell cast by a drow in L/CL/DL get
> +2 to their saving throws
> if attacking a target in L/CL/DL, an EXTRA
> -1 to attack (if drow is in light, that ends up at -3)
> if casting a spell at a target in L/CL/DL, that target gets
> EXTRA +1 to saving throws (as above, total of +3)
>
> >2) Because of the half-Human heritage, will the
> >penalties be lessened any?
>
> Given the abilities the DM'll have to add to mollify any
> players, I'd recommend against it.
>
> >3) In the event the penalties are still in place when my
> >PC joins up with a party, is there any way to circumvent
> >the penalties? Maybe an AD&D version of sunglasses?
> > Or would that be a DM decision on how to handle that?
>
> It is always DM decision how to handle everything. In
> most cases, I would say that the penalties could be
> circumvented, but doing so negates the cool abilities.
> Otherwise, the race is unbalanced, especially with MR.
>
> >Also, I'd like to know the rules on the Drow equipment,
> >in particular the mesh armor and swords. Are these
> >available to PC half-Drow, or it is another call of DM
> >decision? Thanks!
>
Dacileva
Matthies wrote:
>Dacileva wrote:
>> More importantly, they were very good fighter/mages, and
>> the females are very good fighter/clerics. Their spell-like
>> abilities, when used correctly by a DM, make them a very
>> challenging opponent.
>women in this respect?
Lolth is a biased goddess. Her priests must be female. Also,
in most campaign settings, specifically GH and FR, the Drow
society is incredibly matriarchal, to such a degree that males
are secondary citizens. (In FR, only two male children are
allowed to a family at once, while any number of females are
allowed).
In response to the original poster, I remembered another
factor. The spell-like abilities (faerie fire, darkness, etc.)
also fade after a period of time above-ground. I recommend
reading the Dark Elf Trilogy for more, or the Dark Elf
Trilogy Omnibus that is being printed in a few months.
Hope this helps.
Jarrod Dill
Actually the Drow handbook does say that there male clerics of
Lolth. It just says that they can't rise above a certain level. That is
also another reason for the other Drow gods.
I've always had a problem with the drow materials disintegrating out
of the underdark. It's supposed to be a radiation thing, but that
wouldn't make them disintegrate.
David R. Klassen
JimDe...@stratos.net (JimDe...@stratos.net) posted:
> Got a few quick questions... I hope. I want to develop a half-Human,
>half-Drow character for 2nd Edition of AD&D. Now I remember in the 1st
>Edition, the Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
>and they took stiff penalties in bright conditions for "to-hit" and saving
>throws, I think. My questions are:
>
the sub-race the elf parent came from, with only mere cosmetic differences
(i.e. your half-drow would have all the regular half-elf abilites but
would perhaps have a grey skin-tone and silvery hair).
The only other source for non-standard elves and half-elves would be
the CEHB. I don't remember offhand what it says, though.
--
David R. Klassen
Department of Astronomy
Center for Radiophysics and Space Research
404 Space Sciences Building
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
phone: 607-255-6910
fax: 607-255-9002
http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/staff/klassen/klassen.html
kla...@marswatch.tn.cornell.edu
Dreamweaver
For a good example of a drow as a player character look in a forgoten relms
book for drizzit do'Urden. He was a NG ranger drow on the surface, It even
gave the penaltys for light I think.
Dan Shinefield <usedco...@home.com> wrote in article
<35537B4A...@home.com>...
>
Kaviyd
In article <35537...@news.mediacity.com>, sla...@no-spam.mediacity.com
(Graey) writes:
>1) As far as I remember, half-drow have all of the penalties and none of the
>benefits of full blooded drow.
I think that they are supposed to have the same magic resistance and
infravision as full blooded drow but not their innate spell abilities. In most
other respects they should be treated as standard half-elves.
Kav...@aol.com
(David Knott)
Reading mail from me in a Usenet group does not grant you the
right to send me unsolicited commercial e-mail. All senders of
unsolicited commercial e-mail will be reported to their postmasters
as Usenet abusers.
DURANLEAU Francois
On Fri, 8 May 1998, Dan Shinefield wrote:
> Why exactly is there a diffrence between the men and women in this
> respect?
>
> Matthies
The drow society is a female dominated one, and the principal deity they
worship, Lolth, has only female priests. Drow are the contrary to most
other races regarding height/weight according to gender. Female are
taller, stronger...
___________________________________________________________________
"In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and
outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn.
They fought like warrior poets...
They fought like scottsmen...
... and won their freedom."
William Wallace, from BraveHeart
Francois Duranleau
Etudiant au baccalaureat bidisciplinaire Mathematique-Informatique
Universite de Montreal
<dura...@jsp.umontreal.ca>
DURANLEAU Francois
On Fri, 8 May 1998, Jarrod Dill wrote:
> Actually the Drow handbook does say that there male clerics of
> Lolth. It just says that they can't rise above a certain level. That is
> also another reason for the other Drow gods.
> I've always had a problem with the drow materials disintegrating out
> of the underdark. It's supposed to be a radiation thing, but that
> wouldn't make them disintegrate.
Well, what happens when you take a plant out of light? She dies from lack
of light, a kind of radiation. So it is for drow materials, but in a
"magical context".
Graey
DURANLEAU Francois (dura...@JSP.UMontreal.CA) posted:
>
>On Fri, 8 May 1998, Jarrod Dill wrote:
>
>> Actually the Drow handbook does say that there male clerics of
>> Lolth. It just says that they can't rise above a certain level. That is
>> also another reason for the other Drow gods.
>> I've always had a problem with the drow materials disintegrating out
>> of the underdark. It's supposed to be a radiation thing, but that
>> wouldn't make them disintegrate.
>
>Well, what happens when you take a plant out of light? She dies from lack
>of light, a kind of radiation. So it is for drow materials, but in a
>"magical context".
It's not lack of radiation that makes them disintegrate, it's the light from
the sun.
Michael
Jarrod Dill wrote:
> I've always had a problem with the drow materials disintegrating
> out
> of the underdark. It's supposed to be a radiation thing, but that
> wouldn't make them disintegrate.
Ahh, but a game balance mechanism might.
Mike ; p
Michael
>
>
> 1) As far as I remember, half-drow have all of the penalties and none
> of the
> benefits of full blooded drow.
Exactly right.
If you look at the 2nd Ed rulebook under half elves in the beginning,
you will see the only thing a half drow heritage does is penalize you.
Gotta love second!, doncha!!!
Mike
DURANLEAU Francois
On 10 May 1998, Graey wrote:
> DURANLEAU Francois (dura...@JSP.UMontreal.CA) posted:
> >
> >On Fri, 8 May 1998, Jarrod Dill wrote:
> >
> >> Actually the Drow handbook does say that there male clerics of
> >> Lolth. It just says that they can't rise above a certain level. That is
> >> also another reason for the other Drow gods.
> >> I've always had a problem with the drow materials disintegrating out
> >> of the underdark. It's supposed to be a radiation thing, but that
> >> wouldn't make them disintegrate.
> >
> >Well, what happens when you take a plant out of light? She dies from lack
> >of light, a kind of radiation. So it is for drow materials, but in a
> >"magical context".
>
> It's not lack of radiation that makes them disintegrate, it's the light from
> the sun.
Yes, but it's the lack of radiation which makes their magical-like powers
to vanish...
Thunderballs
JimDe...@stratos.net wrote:
: Got a few quick questions... I hope. I want to develop a half-Human,
: half-Drow character for 2nd Edition of AD&D. Now I remember in the 1st
: Edition, the Drow were deadly fighters, but their one weakness was light,
: and they took stiff penalties in bright conditions for "to-hit" and saving
: throws, I think. My questions are:
: 1) Will the penalties still apply in the 2nd Edition rules?
: 3) In the event the penalties are still in place when my PC joins up with a
: party, is there any way to circumvent the penalties? Maybe an AD&D version
: of sunglasses? Or would that be a DM decision on how to handle that?
In the AD&D comic book put out by DC a bunch of years ago (stories written
by Jeff Grubb?), there is a half-drow character named Kyriani. I think the
story was that her father was a lawful good spellcaster named Ostus
Agrivar, and her mother was a drow. For some reason, they never explained
how those two got together. Anyhow, Kyriani was apparently born appearing
like a normal elf except that she had a dark, malignant growth that
threatened to kill her. The elves of Shadowdale (who raised her) tried
to remove and capture the growth, but it escaped out into the world where it
eventually developed into a rather powerful drow spellcaster named Killili.
The child grew up to become a spellcaster too (of level 4 or something like
that) named Cybriana.
But apparently, as Cybriana grew older and used her magic, parts of her
body would turn to crystal when she cast spells. Finally, in order to
survive, she had to merge herself with her evil counterpart, Killil, in
order to form a whole being containing both good and evil, now named Kyriani.
Kyriani appears as a normal half-elf and doesn't seem to be
weaker in light or anything. However, she is the owner and proprietor
of Selune's Eye, a tavern in Waterdeep formerly owned by the avatar of
Selune, goddess of the moon. Her spellcasting ability, however, is
far less than her former drow persona's. I believe that this is the only
"official" AD&D story dealing with a half-drow character.
: Also, I'd like to know the rules on the Drow equipment, in particular
: the mesh armor and swords. Are these available to PC half-Drow, or it is
: another call of DM decision? Thanks!
Aren't "pure" drow weapons and armor supposed to dissolve in sunlight?
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"The taste of love, the more we get, the more we want. And all
because... the only reason is just because. It all makes sense,
when you're near, it all makes sense."
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Jenna6412
Drow Armor and weapons retain their bonuses to armor class and combat ability
for 30 days after they leave the home land of the drow. (Vault of the Drow,
Menzoberanzan (sp?), etc.) If the items are returned to the radiations of the
drow home land, I believe they can regain their bonuses. I think the Forgotten
Realms source book even details this. I also beleive these items don't radiate
magic, don't quote me.
Upon exposure to sun light, drow sleep poison looses complete effectiveness and
rots. Drow armor and weapons loose all their bonuses and begin rotting, soon to
be totally unussable in a few days.
Thus, even if you happen to find drow armor and weapons and keep them from
being exposed to sun light, the items will retain their non-magical bonus for
only 30 days. Unless you want to make a trip to the drow homeland.
In the 1st edition game, Half-drow, had all the drow negatives and none of the
drow positives as a race. In second edition, half-elves, no matter what
sub-race the parent elf is, are the same. Only cosmetic changes designate the
deferences. Dragon magazine #244, detailed a half sylvan elf, half drow
combination called the Xakhun. They are not affected by sun-light, but have
only surface elf abilities. NPCs of this race retain some magic resistance, but
player characters do not. A specialist mage kit allows them to retain some
innate spell casting ability at the cost of a specialists bonus spell per level
and treating the schools of Conjuration/Summoning and Necromany as oppositional
schools no matter what school of speciaty they are. The magazine also details a
few new flying races including flying-drow, a race from drow/tanarri desent. A
good magazine if you like new races and flying in your campaign.
Guess I went overboard. Hope that straighten outs a lot for some people.
Jenna