Spiders and stealth, learn everything you need to about these Dark Elves and how to create a powerful Drow character
What are the drow?
The Drow are elves that many centuries ago were exiled to the Underdark by their lighter skinned elven kin. It is the Drow’s worship of the Spider Queen, Lolth, that led to their exile.
Also known as dark elves, the drow have developed dark skin from many generations living below the surface. They are vehement enemies of the surface dwelling elves, but have a general dislike for most races.
As worshippers of Lolth, the Drow embody Lolth’s cruel and warlike nature. They often seek to subjugate the other, “lesser races” meaning slavery is rampant in the Drow cities of the Underdark. Each house seeks to bring greater glory to Lolth through conquests against their enemies. This involves attacking other creatures of the Underdark, surface dwellers and even other houses to sate the spider queen’s lust for blood and power.
Is a Drow the right race for me?
Dungeons and Dragons lets you take a flexible approach to building a character, but if you’re going to stick to typical culture and the best-optimised build for a Drow you might consider the following:
Choose a Drow if you like…
- Innate spellcasting
- Nimble characters
- To play a race that has a wicked culture
A Drow might not be for you if…
- You don’t want to deal with spells
- Want to play a strength-based character
- Love the sun
If you think a Drow isn’t for you, not to worry, there are dozens of playable races for you to pick from, just check out our races guide to find out about all of them. For an alternative Elven race, you could consider a High Elf or an Eladrin.
Racial traits
| Ability Scores | +2 Dexterity; +1 Charisma |
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Languages | Common and Elven |
| Traits | Darkvision, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Superior Darkvision, Sunlight Sensitivity, Drow Magic, Drow Weapon Training |
| Proficiencies | Perception |
| Resistances | Charmed and sleep |
| Darkvision | Yes (superior darkvision) |
| Innate Spellcasting | Dancing lights, faerie fire and darkness |
| Book found in | Player’s Handbook |
Tactics
Drow are very suited to operating in the darkness and shadows. As such, I’d suggest the following tactics when playing a drow:
Avoid the light: Sunlight sensitivity means you’re less effective in daylight. This can make playing a Drow a little challenging at times, but sticking to night time missions, dungeons, shadows and the Underdark are great ways to help this. Sunlight sensitivity can be quite problematic for daylight combat and I’d suggest that if you do want to play a Drow, discussing with your DM removing a Drow’s sunlight sensitivity. Doing so doesn’t make Drow overly powerful and it’s a change WOTC have made to similar races like the Duergar in more recent releases.
Highly dextrous: You get a +2 to dexterity so lean into classes and weapons that rely on dexterity over strength. This means ranged weapons and weapons with the finesse property as well as light armor. It also means focusing on classes that work well with a high dexterity like rogues, bards and monks.
Charismatic: The extra charisma works well alongside dexterity as a several classes gain from both of these abilities. This is particularly the case for bards and rogues but also applies for sorcerers and warlocks.
Very perceptive: Perception proficiency also works great for the stealthy classes making Drow well suited to stealth and subterfuge and a useful party scout.
Dark magic: The darkness spell is a great spell for controlling combat and rendering certain characters as less effective. There are some really creative things you can do with it too, like attach it to a creature’s armor or weapon to ensure it follows them around. The negatives apply to you too (despite your superior darkvision) so use it carefully to force archers from an advantageous position or prevent a very powerful creature from hitting as much in combat.
Which classes are good for a Drow?
Primarily, we’re looking at classes that work well with Dexterity and Charisma. Drow use charisma as their spellcasting ability and while this only really affects faerie fire, it’s still worth at least being decent in charisma to get the most out of this.
With their high dexterity, perception proficiency and sunlight sensitivity, Drow also make sense for stealth based characters, scouting out in dungeons and hiding from view.
Below I’ve put together a score for how well each class works with a Drow based on how well the ability score increases and racial traits work with each class:
Artificer⭐⭐⭐
Barbarian ⭐
Bard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cleric ⭐⭐
Druid ⭐⭐⭐
Fighter ⭐⭐⭐
Monk ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paladin ⭐⭐⭐
Ranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rogue ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sorcerer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Warlock ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wizard ⭐⭐⭐
*Star ratings scored out of 5
Best classes for a Drow
As alluded to, primarily you’ll want to take advantage of the dexterity and charisma boost. There’re also some other stealth related perks like perception proficiency and the darkness spell.
I’d recommend the following classes for a Drow:
Drow make excellent bards due to the winning combination of dexterity and charisma. Add to that some spells that can be recast with your class spellcasting and an extra skill to be excellent at.
Worst classes for a Drow
Essentially, we’re looking at any classes that aren’t going to want to be investing highly in dexterity or charisma. Fortunately, most classes can work with high dexterity so we’re mostly looking at characters preferring to rely on strength and armor. This is particularly the case for Paladins (though with their preference for charisma and the possibility of high dex low strength builds, this can work).
Barbarians tend to be a poor option for innate spellcasters as they can’t use spells while raging and while dexterity is a good option for a barbarian, charisma is not so I’d tend to avoid a barbarian. Clerics also may struggle to get the most from a Drow. A few extra spells is handy but use the wrong ability score for a cleric and most clerics can compensate for a lack of dexterity with plenty of armor so the ability scores may well be wasted.
About the Drow
Appearance
Drow tend to have grey skin that can vary from charcoal black to purplish and blueish grey. Their hair is often white or grey, but other than this, the Drow share the same features as other elves such as pointed ears and slender features.
Personality
Most Drow are exceptionally cruel. They despise weakness and punish any display of weakness with exceeding malice. This includes among their own society.
The Drow adhere to a strict matriarchal society. Women are considered superior to men in every way and even the lowliest of women is considered superior to the highest ranking male among. Matron mother’s rule each house with their daughters while males take on roles as soldiers and other menial workers.
Other Elven subraces
How to roleplay as a Drow
While most Drow truly are evil creatures, many despise the cruelty of their culture while others have been raised away from their savage, Underdark society. Such heroic characters include Drizzt do’Urden, the more conflicted Jarlaxle Baenre or even Viconia of the Baldur’s Gate games (though her heroism is very much debatable, though she does seem less cruel than many of her kind).
Here are a few ideas for roleplaying a Drow that might also explain why you don’t currently reside in the Underdark:
- Agent of the Matron Mothers: You are a master of your arts and the pride of your house. You come highly recommended of your Matron Mother and have unrivalled loyalty to your people. You serve as an agent to the Drow, traveling foreign nations for some mission. Choosing your mission will need to both accommodate the needs of the Drow while giving you a plausible reason to be traveling with others. Perhaps you are a spy, seeking items of great magical power or an assassin using the party to accomplish your aims. Ensuring you don’t operate at complete conflict to your party is the challenge here.
- Escaping the wrath of Lolth: Your loyalty to your house has been questioned and you have been found unworthy in the eyes of Lolth. Barely escaping your home with your life (and your sanity), you have escaped the hostility of the Underdark seeking to make a new life for yourself. Of course, you always live in fear that the Matron Mothers will cast their baleful eye in your direction.
- Surface outcast: You were born on the surface but you are rarely trusted. Nobody trusts a Drow. Perhaps though, if you can perform deeds of great heroism, you might convince the surfacers of your good intentions.
