Drow (starting race)
Drow, also known as Dark Elves, are a possible starting race in some variants.
dNethack
Racial benefits and restrictions
Drow may be any role that elves can be (Nobles, Convicts, Priests, Pirates, Rangers, or Wizards). They are aligned with chaos.
Drow can see perfectly in the dark, but are blind in the light and can't see into lit areas. They can create a patch of darkness using the #monster command, or explore lit rooms with 's'.
Drow receive either a cave spider or a baby crocodile as a starting pet. They may also saddle and mount giant spiders, crocodiles, giant turtles, riding lizards, and salamanders. Drow Nobles recieve either a saddled giant cave spider or a saddled riding lizard.
Drow casting the summon insects monster spell will instead summon spiders.
Drow start with strong racial weapons and armor, though these items have some significant drawbacks as well.
Drovish Items
Droven armor (both Droven Plate Mail and Droven Chain Mail) evaporate when exposed to light, degrading and eventually turning to dust. Fixed droven armor still evaporates, but will regenerate while in the dark. Unfixed droven armor does not regenerate. Cloaks with Magic Cancellation protect against the light, so a MC3 cloak is a virtual necessity when exploring lit rooms. It is worth it to try to keep your starting armor intact. Both armors are non-metalic, low weight, and offer high AC. Droven Chain Mail also boosts spellcasting. Most drow begin play with one of these types of armor.
All Drow start with a Droven cloak. These cloaks offer no AC but give Level 3 Magic Cancellation. Droven cloaks can be applied to create a spiderweb in an indicated square. Each use of the cloak lowers its Magic Cancellation by 1. If it reaches MC0, the cloak is used up. The cloak may also be applied at an existing web to remove the web and restore MC to the cloak.
Droven weapons are high damage, but are constructed out of obsidian glass, meaning they will shatter if thrown (or when fired, in the case of droven bolts). All starting droven weapons are coated in sleeping poison.
The lone exception to this is the droven crossbow, it is made of more durable stuff, and bears the silver holy symbol of Lolth, which means it does and additional 1d20 damage if used to bash silver-hating creatures.
All drow also begin play with a Droven signet ring. These rings are of a random type, and are also poison-injection rings. When dipped into an eligible potion, the ring absorbs 30 doses of poison, which can be used by making unarmed attacks while wearing the ring. If two signet rings are worn, both apply their poison. Each ring also bears a specific crest. Rings engraved with the holy symbol any of the droven deities count as silver rings for attacking silver-hating monsters. All drow begin play with a signet ring loaded with sleeping poison. Signet rings are guaranteed to be of a valid type for starting players. All drow can reach grand-master level unarmed fighting.
Encyclopaedia entry
Myths exist for a purpose - To explain the unexplainable.
Because man fears the unknown.
Murdering our kin. Our children.
Butchering our towns.
Devouring our flesh.
Enslaving our people.
Whispering of incest.
Desecrating our lands.
These mythical black demons with red eyes, embodying all
the sins of men.
But what if those demons truly exist?
What are they, who are they?
Do they dream?
Do they hate and love?
Do they have their own demons that represent
everything they despise and fear?
Also known as dark elves, drow are a depraved and evil
subterranean offshoot of the elvish species.
White is the most common hair color among drow, but almost
any pale shade is possible. Drow tend to be smaller and
thinner than other sorts of elves, and their eyes are often
a vivid red.
