Some of the base character classes are more prominent than others among the drow, and some are absent altogether. Listed below are the base character classes and how they fit into drow society.
Barbarian
Aside from the hordes of the lower class of the Kanahraun, there are few drow who take up the life of the barbarian. Drow culture, despite its many arguable faults, is very civilised. Further, the drow tend to gather in large cities for mutual protection, something which makes the emergence of barbarians as a common character class all but impossible. Among some of the Houses that make the exploration of the Underdeep their business,
such as House Devoren, there are a few barbarians, but most choose the path of the ranger instead.
Bard
Bards are exceptionally rare among the drow. The primary gifts of the bard, of music, song and oratory, are not popular amusements to the drow, who prefer to read their stories and histories in a book, and consider most music a waste of time, a pleasantry to be sure, but not something to which one should devote his life. This is not the case among some of the drow subraces, particularly the Pol’Tah, who treasure music, dance and the oral history of their people.To the deep drow, bards are held in high esteem as those responsible for preserving the culture and history of the sub-race.
Cleric
Religion is an extremely important part of drow life, and the position of priest at one of the temples is a highly-regarded profession among the dark elves. Even the acolytes of the temples have a place of honour in drow society. This is, obviously, more noticeable in those drow cultures where the temples enjoy a large measure of
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control over the population, but even in the most secular of societies, the cleric is respected.
Most clerics in drow culture have a fine line they must walk, however. As priests of one of the drow gods, their primary motivation and allegiance is expected to be to that god and his temple. However, most clerics are also recruited from the upper ranks of society, from positions within the Houses, which can end up dividing their loyalty between the religious and the secular.
Druid
The drow see the Underdeep and indeed nature itself as something to be mastered, not something they should live in harmony with or even really try to understand. The resources of the earth are there to be used and exploited as they see fit, not to be respected and honoured. This position has ended in disaster for some drow, who have used up all the resources on which they had come to depend or who have been buried in collapsing stone from recklessly digging tunnels and chambers in and around their cities, but the remaining dark elves pay little attention to these mishaps. This outlook leaves little room for druids in drow society, though some may be found in the few small and outlying settlements of the drow, and amongst the sinister Dark Fey.
Fighter
The fighter class is among the most popular with the drow, and even many drow who have chosen to follow a different profession often have at least one or two levels of fighter, skills learned to survive the harsh realities of drow society and life in the Underdeep. Children from all levels of society save the very lowest have the opportunity to learn the ways of the sword and it is the drow fighters who have, more than any other dark elves, carved out the cities and empires of the dark elves.
Drow fighters are acknowledged throughout the Underdeep as warriors of deadly efficiency and devastating skill. The drow usually fight in light or medium armour, using a style of combat that focuses more on the innate speed and agility of the race than on mere physical strength. The soldiers of House Draz’Kuri in particular are renowned for their quick and deadly prowess on the battlefield, honed over centuries of gruelling practice. So too are the warriors of the Lorgreln regarded, though the troops of the iron drow emphasise group tactics and crushing attacks over subtlety and speed.
Monk
The class of the monk is all but unknown in the culture of the drow. The path this class must tread requires a morerigid discipline and adherence to order than most drow are capable of undertaking. Indeed, it is something which would be intolerable to the chaotic hearts of the majority of dark elves. Even the Lorgreln, who do have the mental discipline required to pursue this path, have no monks among their number as they feel fighting without weapons would be an insult to their ancestors.
There is a small group of drow from House Draz’Kuri who practice the ways of the monk. Known as the Nos na’Khelim, or the Way of Stone, this group consists of a few score of drow who have divorced themselves from the chaos and suspicion of everyday life in their race and have dedicated themselves to the perfection of mind and body. They remain loyal to their House, however, and will respond with deadly force should the home of House Draz’Kuri ever be threatened by an enemy.
Paladin
The paladin is the rarest of all character classes among the drow. It is exceptionally difficult for any non-evil drow to survive in the society of the dark elves. Even a drow of neutral alignment is unlikely to endure the rigours of the society and a drow of good heart will almost certainly be discovered and revealed for the ‘perverted weakling’ he is.
The qualities which mark an individual of good alignment are considered faults and failings by the drow as a whole.
Some few of those drow who, against all odds, have embraced the cause of good find their way to the Darkling Sky (see page 85), but most either end their miserable lives as a sacrifice in a drow temple or are tormented and tortured for their beliefs until all the good has been wrung from their spirit.
For those drow who do win free of the repression and persecution of dark elf society, there are yet more obstacles in the way of assuming the mantle of paladinhood, the most prominent being finding a god willing to accept a drow as a servant, no matter how pure his heart. Although there are rumours which surface from time to time of a drow paladin struggling against the forces of evil, even against his own people, the actual number of drow paladins could almost certainly be counted on the fingers of one hand, and it may well be that none of the dark elves have ever truly followed the path to become a paladin.
Ranger
Rangers are a fairly common class among some of the drow Houses and their servants. Houses with widespread interests in trading and exploration can count many drow rangers among their number. The ranger’s abilities with fighting, stealth and knowledge of the dangerous environment of the Underdeep make them nearly indispensable as scouts and
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caravan guards, and rangers are frequently employed as skirmishers in drow armies.
Rangers are less common among the drow sub-races. The Pol’Tah do not travel far from their home in the bottom of the Underdeep, the Kanahraun are too brutal and feral even for the ranger class and the Lorgreln despise such a ‘mixed-fighter’ avocation as a ranger. The Sulzthul, on the other hand, have many rangers, used by the aquatic drow to patrol their borders and seek out new trade routes which are inaccessible to other races.
Rogue
As long as drow society is as it is, there will be a place for rogues among the dark elves.
Eminently useful as spies, thieves, saboteurs and assassins, either aligned with a specific power or selling their services to the highest bidder, rogues find their skills and talents in constant demand in drow culture. Guilds and societies of rogues are scattered throughout the lands of the dark elves and all of them are kept busy by the needs of the drow. However, the actual social standing of any given society of rogues may vary dramatically. While the Seekers of na’Koth are well-respected by those who know anything about them, many of the followers of Mu’Ushket are spurned, though much of this has to do with those who believe the worshippers of Mu’Ushket are following a false god.
Rogues have a place as well in all the drow sub-races, even the Kanahraun, though they are vastly outnumbered by barbarians in the ranks of the feral drow. The Pol’Tah in particular have a large number of rogues in their population, skilled at striking from the mists at those who would invade the deep drow homeland.
Sorcerer
For many years there was resistance to the sorcerer in some parts of drow society, as the priests of Ydrillia were unwilling to grant the sorcerer the same respect given to wizards.
However, the chaotic nature of the drow was a perfect match for the unfettered mindset of a sorcerer, and their numbers within drow society grew until the priests of She of the Veil welcomed them as equals in the church. Sorcerers are still outnumbered by wizards among the drow, given the vast
research and academic resources available in larger drow cities, but their ranks continue to grow.
Sorcerers are more common than wizards among the Pol’Tah, and are the only spellcasters (aside from rangers) among the Sulzthul. The Lorgreln have no sorcerers, as the iron drow’s magical handicaps and strict, orderly mindset make them impossible. There are a number of sorcerers in the ruling class of the Kanahraun, but there has never been one born to the lower class.
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Wizard
The wizard is the very embodiment of the drow facility with magic and they are both respected and feared throughout drow society. Drow wizards often come from the upper ranks of society and even those who do not can climb there with ease. Wizards are commonly the leaders of Noble Houses and hold high posts in all the drow cults, not simply in the hierarchy of the church of Ydrillia. Any drow city of any size is likely to have at least one school or academy for wizards. Organisations of wizards rarely last long among the drow, however. There have been many attempts at the creation of a wizards’ guild or society over the years but they almost always collapse in upon themselves. Educated and disciplined as they are, drow wizards cannot overcome their own culture, and the combination of chaotic nature of the dark elves, drow ambition and suspicion with the powers of a wizard can lead to devastating results. The other powers of the drow, particularly the Noble Houses and the temples, often do their best to aid in the dissolution of these wizard societies as they see in them an inherent threat to their own grip on power. It is partially for this reason that the Cabal (see page 81), one of the very few societies of wizards which has survived any length of time, is considered an enemy by virtually all drow cultures.
The class of wizard is somewhat less common in the drow sub-races than it is among the drow themselves. Only the Pol’Tah and the ruling class of Kanahraun practice wizardry to any great degree. The Sulzthul have no wizards, as they have never really learned the art of creating pages which can survive immersion in water. There are some wizards among the Lorgreln, but only those iron drow with an unyielding will and commitment to the study are capable of mastering magic.