Drow

I think Drow is a pretty cool guy, eh evil and doesn't afraid of anything

Drow are black-skinned and white-haired subterranean elves who are allergic to sunlight. The strange thing is they live underground, but have black skin, you think they would be pale to the point of being transparent like Cave Fish due to their curse by Corellon when Lolth turned away from the other elven gods. They produce adamantine equipment (which falls apart in sunlight, yet is bad-ass underground), take slaves, are ruled by a matriarchy that likes S&M, have magic resistance and hate normal elves. In short, they'd be fucking cool, were it not for the fact that 90% of all player character Drow will be Chaotic Good and be Rebelling Against The Evils Of Their Race, thanks to the raging hard-on underages have on Drizzt. As a result, even though dark elf pr0n is 1; common, 2; totally acceptable given their interests, and 3; totally relevant when somebody asks for dark elf pictures (see 2) people still get whiny on /tg/ at anything moderately crude. Sure, we're trying to hold back the tide of cancer, but where dark elves are concerned, it's totally good.

Eberron's Drow are somewhat different, in that they have gender equality (more or less), hang out in jungles with the Yuan-Ti, and worship Vulkoor, a dickish scorpion god who looks like a cool guy to hang out with compared to Lolth. Their mamas also actually love them rather than whip them everyday then sacrifice them later. They're still a bunch of racist dicks, though. Still, Eberron Drows are the more tolerable Drows, a nice childhood, and at least they can be reasoned with easier. This means you can play as a Drow there without issues you'll have in any another setting.

Character templates

AD&D and 2nd Edition

There were no explicit rules for playing Drow. They were always monster-type NPCs. That said, a lot of people homebrewed various alternatives, mostly revolving around taking elves and adding magic resistance. During this era, both Drizzt Do'Urden and Viconia De'Vir stand out as "playable" drow, with backstories to explain why they're on the surface instead of down in the Underdark.

3rd edition

3E had rules in the core set for monsters as races. For Elf (Drow) the effective Character level (ECL) was +2, so a 1st level Drow elf is equivalent to a 3rd level regular elf character. The usual elf bonuses and flaws, plus: +2 Int, +2 Cha, Darkvision 120' instead of elf-normal lowlight vision, Spell resistance of 11+level, +2 to will saves for spells, can cast these spell-like abilities 1/day: dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire, weapon proficiencies are hand-crossbow rapier and shortsword instead of elf-normal, sudden bright sunlight will blind a drow for 1 round, and the drow will be dazed until they leave the bright light. Boy drow have wizard as favoured class, girl drow have cleric (of Lolth) as favoured class.

They had an article on their culture in Dragon Magazine #298 that really emphasized the darker side of drow culture. Want a sample? According to this lore, drow don't die out because, despite their tendency to murder and torture each other, they're as fertile as orcs, with females normally conceiving twins and triplets. They normally only birth a single baby, though, because the strongest usually kills and absorbs the others in the womb; these prenatal struggles actually produce orgasms more intense than anything a drow female might feel elswhere. This sensation, chad-zak, is explicitly called out as the main reason why drow women are willing to get pregnant at all, considering the selfish power-hungry bitches they generally are.

4th edition

The 4E Monster Manual had some explicit monsters-as-races in the back, and the Drow were one of them, although they got an identical repost in the 4e Forgotten Realms Player's Guide alongside the Genasi -- fittingly, since FR basically created the idea of Drow PCs.

For Drow, +2 Dex, +2 Cha, Darkvision, +2 Intimidate, +2 Stealth, Fey Origin, Trance, and one racial encounter power (Llothtouched) that could be used as a minor action for one of two effects that last until the drow's next turn: a close-burst-1 darkness spell the drow can see through, or a faerie-fire spell that gives combat advantage against the target.

5th edition

Drow are finally mentioned in the Player's Handbook as an equal option for elf subtypes. The usual elf advantages, along with +1 Cha, 120' darkvision, automatic knowing some spells: the 'dancing lights' cantrip at 1st, the 'faerie fire' 1/day at 3rd level, and 'darkness' 1/day at 5th level. Automatic weapon proficiencies are hand-crossbows, rapiers and shortswords. They are also the only race to receive an explicit penalty in the core book: if the drow or the drow's target are in direct sunlight, the drow has disadvantage on attack rolls and perception rolls. Better hope you fight indoors a lot.

See also

• Unified Setting/Drow Arctic merchant vikings who ride giant lobsters. But still with black skin and white hair.

Gallery

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  not racist; or at least not THAT kind of racist
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  in the skin darkness of the future, there is only Mary Sues
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  did I mention the Mary Sues yet?
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  drow men have a place in their matriarchy
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  Welcome to the jungle, where you can play a Drow however you want