Editing D1-2-3: Drow Trilogy (section)

==Legacy==
As intimated above, Gary Gygax designed these encounters as pearls in a string (or glass beads if you're a skeptic), for Tournament play. As a unified ''story'' the series has some Problems: over-powered rival monsters who certainly pose more of a problem for the surface races than the drow themselves, alternative routes meandering well out of scope, and at least one cavern hinted at (ST17) too late to be any use. As we speak Aristotle is berating Gary for all this in the next world. The DM must prepare in advance. And the GDQ "edition" fixed nothing of this.

Despite all the flaws, the impact of these modules cannot be overstated; they literally ''defined'' the existence of the [[Underdark]] (now called) and many of its most notable denizens. These were the first ever printed stats for the [[drow]], who had prior to that simply been mentioned as an evil, underground-dwelling counterpart to the [[elf]] race; as well as the first ever revelation of lore for their goddess [[Lolth]]. The modules also provided stats for other Underdark creatures, most notably the [[svirfneblin]]. And the narrative Problems are fixable: replace M12, plot out a jermlaine (or wererat) lair, do some modest preparation and you're golden. Compare the tangle that will be Q1.

The hex map, as an unholy union between a flowchart and a real caver map such as Carlsbad will sell to tourists, has been deemed a Sin Against [[Mimesis]] so is no longer employed for Underdark maps, like those in [[Douglas Niles]]' ''[[Dungeoneers Survival Guide]]'' and then [[Carl Lynwood Sargent]]'s ''[[Night Below]]''. The choice between one, two, and six hexes is, arguably, limiting; its 2-D layout fails if we're designing a full ecosystem with caverns overlaying caverns. But here (as in ''Night Below'') - who cares? You're going from point 1 to point 3, and you're on the clock.