Drow was the name used by D&D to refer to their interpretation of black elves. The name is taken from a Scottish troll (seeTrow) which is a cave-dweller like Nordic black elves. One of the main divergences of D&D Drow from old Nordic black elves is in a reversal of their pigmentation. The word for "black" in that language was not used to refer to skin-color but rather for hair, and black elves were traditionally described as ghostly pale with black hair and beards. They were not necessarily evil in the old tradition, but were not particularly favored, considered foreign and vulgar, somebody you would not want your daughter to marry. They were considered simply a subterranean version of light elves.The Nordic mythological tradition around black elves overlaps with that ofdvergr (dwarves) and it is likely that these were both names used to describe the same creature.

GENERAL:
The drow (pronounced either /drau/, rhymes with "now", or /drou/, rhymes with "throw") or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned subrace of elves. After the great war amongst the elves, the drow were forced underground in what is now known as the Underdark, a vast system of caverns and tunnels spanning much of the continent Faerun. The drow have since built cities across the Underdark, becoming one of the most powerful races therein. The drow have adapted to seeing better in the darkness than in the light, and they rarely, if ever, venture up to the surface, for their eyes are sensitive to the light. Drow are extremely intelligent, charismatic and dextrous, but share surface elves' comparative frailty and slight frames. Females tend to be bigger and stronger than males. Drow are characterized by white or silver hair, obsidian black skin, and red (or rarely gray, violet, or yellow) eyes, as well as innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their weakness in daylight. As a race, drow are usually evil. Exceptions exist, but these are highly unusual.


SOCIETY OF THE DROW:
Drow society is primarily matriarchal, with priestesses of their evil spider goddess in the highest seats of power. Males are considered inferior to female within drow society, and while some males may be respected if they are powerful wizards, they are never allowed to rule. The drow sometimes use their dark arts to turn human slaves into living sculptures or to torture them when they are caught. Drow society is based upon violence, murder, cunning, and the philosophy that only the strong survive (though in the Drow bellief, there is a slight difference in cause-and-effect; more correctly, it can be described as "those who survive are strong"). Hence, most Drow plot endlessly to murder or otherwise incapacitate their rivals and enemy Drow using deceit and betrayal. Drow, particularly in higher positions, are
constantly wary of assassins and the like. Their society, as a whole, is seemingly nonviable. The only reason they do not murder themselves to extinction is by the will of their goddess, working primarily through her temple. She does not tolerate any Drow that threaten to bring down her Drow society, and makes certain they cease their destructive actions by either threatening or killing them, depending on her mood. Most drow societies hate surface elves, but will wage war with almost any surface race and other subterranean races.