PaulImposteur wrote:Hey Arkanis, I've been digging all over the net trying to find some information on the dreaded Half-Drow.
I can't seem to come up with anything other than 'my parents hate me' schtick. So I've come here, to ask you if there's any great knowledge you can impart upon me!
Great question. There is not much lore around half-Drow:
"A half-drow was the offspring of one human parent and one drow parent. A half-drow generally had dusky skin, silver or white hair, and human eye colors. They could see around 60 feet (18 m) with darkvision but otherwise had no other drow traits or abilities.[4]
Half-drows were often conceived when a male drow mated with one of his human female slaves or when outcast drow mated with surface-dwelling species.
Xandra Shobalar encountered a merchant in Mantol-Derith, ostensibly human, who was in fact half-drow. Perhaps indicative of the drow view of such things, she found his suspected nature to be appalling.[5]."
[4] Reynolds, Forbeck, Jacobs, Boyd (March 2003). Races of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 62. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
[5] Elaine Cunningham (April 1996). Rite of Blood (Realms of the Underdark). (TSR, Inc), pp. 148–210. ISBN 978-0786904877.
From apocryphal sources:
"Not inherently evil by nature, Half-Drow are subjected, by their Drow masters, to cruel savagery every bit as vile as the torments visited upon the subject people from which they where forcibly conceived. Their lot is perhaps worse than that of those the Drow initially conquer, for they are not only are subject to such torments by the Drow, but also deeply reviled by subjugates from which they sprang. Half-Drow often find themselves believing that subjugated races have it easy: should they escape their masters, they are welcomed into the surrounding free-lands. Half-Drow, however, resembling the Drow as much as they do, receive no such welcome: instead they seem destined to be slaves, or wandering sojourners: strangers in a strange land, no matter how far from their Drow slavers they flee.
Half-Drow consider the ingestion of wine mingled with Drow poison to be something of a sacrament. It is to them a sign of defiance, and is often followed by prayers and supplications to the divine for deliverance. As a result of generations of half-drow ingesting the poison, they have grown largely resistant to its effects."
"Homebrew" v3.5 echoes these sentiments:
"Half-Drow are a particular rare breed. Occasionally a male drow to take advantage of a female slave or even rare a drow priestess may have affair with a human slave. Despite this half-drow are considered unworthy and untrustworthy from both sides. Drow see them as an abomination and distrusting. Humans see them as the very same creatures that enslave and imprison them. As such they are shunned by both sides and rarely accepted by either. It's rare for one to reach adulthood, let alone be born.
Half-Drow are shunned by pure-blood races and usually regarded as untrustworthy. Because of the world's disposition towards them, half-drow are very secretive and private, but they will welcome any that offer aid. A half-drow will usually try to occupy themselves with any kind of busywork they can get.
Half-Drow are usually slightly taller than pure drow because of their mixed heritage.
Half-Drow tend to have unstable relations with all races because of the general disposition that they receive, but any scholarly types find half-drow to be a wealth of information regarding the Undercommon language and will be the most likely to be friendly to half-drow. Those with strong religious convictions tend to be hostile towards half-drow, while rogues and the like are distrustful of them."
Arkanis
