#drow lore

[lunastrophe]

Hello, can you make a post about drow's importance of fashion and moreover their braids and overrall hairstyle? What kind of styling they did, products they used... I would love that. You're truly a source of inspiration. Keep it going please! Thank you ❤️ Merci beaucoup.

Hello! Drow fashion is a delightful topic - I think I am going to create a few more detailed posts about drow clothes and beauty care in general. Thank you so much for inspiration! ❤️

For now, here are some basic information:

🕷️ Drow Clothing - in drow society, clothes reflect the drow's station and rank, especially among nobles. The best fabrics, like gossamer-like spider silks, are the most expensive, as well as intricate fabrics that resemble spider webs in their structure. Such web-like fabrics in clothing are often adorned with jewellery.

Leather is an easily available material in the Underdark, and it is often used by drow to produce various items of clothing. Top quality black leather is especially popular among nobles.

Some more common fabrics in the Underdark are made of mushroom fibers. Fabrics made of plant fibers or wool are naturally less common and more expensive, since they need to be obtained from the surface - as merchants' goods or as spoils from raids.

🕷️ Dress To Impress - surfacers often consider drow sense of fashion scandalous, but among drow, it is more about showing off their physical perfection and manifesting their self-confidence.

Drow generally take great care to conceal their physical flaws. In consequence, revealing clothing can be read as a message "I have no flaws to conceal" - or "I have flaws, so what? I am powerful enough not to care!", depending on one's attitude, station and power.

Piwafwi (drow cloaks) of nobles are often marked with specific colours and patterns, to indicate the owner's station and house.

🕷️ Hairstyles - drow usually wear their hair long, but many warriors crop their hair or even shave their heads (shorter hair = less chance for the enemy to grab it). Uthegentel of House Barrison Del'Armgo was wearing his hair short and spiked, most likely styled with some Underdark equivalent of hair gel.

For long hair, some drow use hairpins. It is quite popular among drow to make hairpins that are sharp enough to be used as weapons, or even hairpins that can store spells, like small wands.

Drow also braid their long hair. Triel Baenre, for example, was wearing her hair braided into a tight braid that was wrapped around her head like a crown - simple and practical.

One of young noble females from House Fey-Branche, adept in Arach-Tinilith, was described with her hair braided into three long braids.

Some drow like to braid their hair into many thin braids. Such braids could be used to create elaborate, durable hairstyles, often with help of a skilled servant. Liriel's party hairstyle was of this kind.

In Menzoberranzan, single-braided hair was a mark of a commoner (at least for a young drow male - as far as I remember, it was mentioned in description of only one character in Starlight and Shadows, so I am not really sure if it applies also to females or to older drow).

I also very vaguely remember that at least among Menzoberranyr drow, some hairstyles were reserved only for nobles from specific houses or of specific ranks - but I do not remember details, I would need to look it up.

#drow #dnd lore #drow lore #drow culture #dark elves #lolth sworn drow

[vspin]

The Evensong was an intimate ritual that all followers of Eilistraee performed at the end of their day. It was a wordless message to their goddess (usually involving a personal dance and song) in which they let out all the emotions, experiences, and reflections that they had gathered during the day so that Eilistraee could listen to them.

[x]

#eilistraee #cleric #drow tav #drow lore #bg3 mine #my oc: Tav'Lyn #bg3 #bg3 tav

[karniss-bg3]

I would like to hear your thoughts about Larian giving Kar’niss female pedipalps?

Personally I feel like it was just another f you from Lolth

Alright so, this is a complicated and detail-heavy topic. For that reason I’ll be splitting this theory into two sections: Technical Aspects & Lore. There will be a TL;DR at the bottom.

Technical Aspects

Kar’niss is a complex model and I imagine the rigging on him was wild. To my understanding his walking animation was done by hand which makes sense. His torso could be motion captured but the arachnid portions needed to be moved in engine. The best time to witness the separation is if you play music for him as a bard. His torso will bob and sway the same as the rest of the NPCs but his legs stay perfectly stationary. I do get a kick out of the idea of the Larian devs trying to put a tiny motion capture suit on a spider but alas.

I bring this up because the pedipalps add an extra layer of complication that the devs didn’t really need. In fact the concept art for driders doesn’t include them at all which suggests they weren’t part of the original design. A lot changed from concept art to the final version it seems. He used to have extra arms, his legs were longer, and his facial features were more twisted. His skin was also darker but it was either changed because he is a Szarkai or because his skin tone blended too heavily with the color of the chitin.

This would align with a lot of the concept art from D&D. There are many examples of driders without pedipalps, both male and female.

All that said, when it comes to the technical aspects, I have a theory as to why the original and final designs were so vastly different: Time. Kar’niss is one of the more detailed models in the game and even the final version didn’t turn out perfect. If you look closely at where his torso attaches to the spider body you can see some model tearing when he turns at certain angels, as well as what I refer to as “tubing”. I’ve seen this in a few games and it’s where limbs or portions of a body thin out to an impossible degree and they look like a squeezed out tube of toothpaste. This could be due to improper skeleton models, broken seams or rigging but as I don’t work in the industry those are my best guesses.

When you have a strict budget and time limit sometimes a development team has to cut some fat. They didn’t have the time to add in the extra arms, super long limbs or highly detailed face model. Perhaps they looked at the final design and weren’t satisfied with the lack of monster features. Thus, the pedipalps were introduced. But since drider are canonically sexless they designed the palps in such a way that they were made for battle; hence the sharp barb present at the tip of each. They are located face level for most races which make them perfect eye gougers or maybe they use them to subdue prey. Palps are also used to “taste” in most spider species and he could likely use them to discern if prey is edible or not.

“Pedipalps contain sensitive chemical detectors and function as taste and smell organs, supplementing those on the legs”

As for why they are female in design the simplest answer I have is that it was an oversight. If they were already scrambling to finish the model then they were likely going for the path of least resistance. Male pedipalps would’ve required a bit more work and either they didn’t think that much about it or chose the easiest design to model. I know about the Kar’niss is trans theory and I’ll be touching on that in the next section.

Lore

Anyone who has followed me for a while knows I’ve discussed drider lore a lot here so I’ll try to be a bit more brief in this section. Drider are meant to be sexless as Lolth didn’t wish for them to reproduce and rise up against Her. If Larian’s design of the palps were with intent then I believe we’re looking at Jurassic Park situation here. Maybe Lolth’s manner of birth control was to make all spider bodies female regardless of the gender of the drow who is changed. It would also align with the Matriarchal society drow come from as well as Lolth choosing to make driders in “Her image”. So yes, a “fuck you” from Lolth would be accurate in this case. The issue I run into is that Kar’niss is the only drider model in-game and so I have nothing to compare him to. I don’t know if all driders in this universe look the same or if there would’ve been a difference between females and males. It leaves it all up to pure speculation, sad to say.

There is a theory that’s been around for a while now that Kar’niss is transgender. While I think it’s a perfectly fine theory I don’t necessarily agree with it. It’s not because I’d be against him being trans, it’s more that I can’t find enough evidence to support it. For starters if he is trans, is he a trans man or a trans woman? We’ve learned that Kar’niss is a female name according to drow naming conventions and of course his palps suggest a female body. The name can be explained as an act of defiance as it is stated that if a man takes on a womans name they are considered troublemakers. If he is a trans woman, why would he ever allow himself to be misgendered?

There are several NPCs that refer to him as “he” and Kar’niss never once barks at them. It’s not as if he’s shy and in fact he’s proven to have quite the temper. He no longer follows nor worships Lolth and he’s under the protection of the Absolute, a cult that allegedly loves and accepts him. Why hide himself as a trans woman under these conditions? Especially in a game that is very progressive in terms of character creation and pronoun usage.

If he is a trans man then the spider body becomes a moot point. Did he transition before the drider transformation or did Lolth change his sex but slap on the female spider body as a way to mock him? Is that why he was changed? I imagine in a drow society where being a woman is a big deal having one that wanted to become a male, a lesser, would be the talk of the Underdark. I’m sure it’s worse for men who want to be women as that could be seen as “rising above their station”. It’s hard to say as modern day gender identity isn’t really addressed in drow lore.

There is a trans woman in Baldur's Gate 3 that the player meets during Shadowheart’s storyline. It can be easy to miss as her past isn’t revealed unless Shadowheart consumes the noblestalk Tav picks up in the Underdark. This is an excerpt from Nocturne’s journal.

“I am Nocturne. I think as her. I see her when I look in the mirror. I can't remember the last time someone called me by the wrong name - Shadowheart has been swift to gently correct slips of the tongue, and even swifter in challenging those who'd use my forsworn name in malice. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. “

While it seems she had trouble in the beginning, those under Shar came to accept her in time as far as I can tell. With this we can at least say that Larian has no issues adding in trans characters but Kar’niss doesn’t receive this treatment. Another thing to note is that Nocturne is voiced by a trans woman, Abigail Thorn. Where as Kar’niss is voiced by, what I assume to be, a cisgender male. In my mind if Larian would take that much time and care for accuracy wouldn’t they do the same for Kar’niss?

With all of that said if people have the headcanon that Kar’niss is trans that is a-okay, I have no issues with that or any other character! It’s simply a theory I don’t personally subscribe to because the elements don’t line up well enough for me. But hey if they ever expand on his story and he is trans that’d be cool. I don’t know if there is a trans man elsewhere in-game so it’d be nice to see that representation there.

Phew, that was far longer than I anticipated but I hope I covered the topic well enough as it has been debated quite a bit in the fandom. Once again I want to express that I believe folks are allowed to write and draw these characters how they see fit. It’s fantasy fun folks, go wild and enjoy your faves as you desire.

TL;DR: I think the female pedipalps are a technical oversight and were only added in to give Kar’niss a more monstrous appearance or to round out his design. I don’t believe he is trans due to the lack of evidence to support the theory. If Lolth had any bearing on the spider body it was likely to prevent reproduction or in an effort to make driders in her image. Overall, the pedipalps are more up to interpretation than hard evidence.

#baldur's gate 3 #kar'niss #bg3 #drider #karniss #baldurs gate 3 #answered #drow #drow lore #theorycrafting #spider anatomy #pedipalps #long post

[flavor-blasted-fami-ussy]

posted in a server once about insane drow lore and the more i learn the more accurate my friend's observation is i feel

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #drow #forgotten realms #dnd drow #lolth sworn drow #d&d #menzoberranzan #drow lore

[minthara]

drow lore i compiled before i gave up on the drizzt books lmao, so this is really old lore and it might have changed!!! i have not read any of the newer books

- killing another house is ok but only if you kill ALL of them, otherwise the other houses will retaliate. If u manage to sneakily kill all of them, they will ignore it even if there were witnesses. only memebers of the house in question can be witnesses

- they have a way of melding, so drows can read the mind/see through another person

- sacrificing kids? all cool in the name of Lolth.

- they have fertility issues. Having a kid at 100 years old is considered young. One matron only managed to have one child per century

time spent in training:

- 10 years for fighter, they start at 20 years old (last year spent with the wizards, then with the clerics)

- 30 years for wizard, they start at 25 years old

- 50 years for priestess (cleric), they start at 40 years old

#petra.txt #drow lore

[sewermageboy]

question for ppl familiar with legend of drizzt, since I'm only on book one but I wanna work it into my OCs backstory somewhat:

At what point do you think other surface drow would start being aware of this 'good' drow, who was showing the world that not all drow were inherently evil? Like, after what event/during which year would news of sth like that travel far and wide enough for ppl to start being aware of the legendary hero drizzt?

#bg3 #legend of drizzt #drizzt do'urden #forgotten realms #drow lore

[alicelufenia]

Just spent the last 15 minutes infodumping to my wife about drow, because that's one of my love languages and they are my hyperfixation right now. At one point I mention (im still rusty with lore so take with a grain of salt) that no drow has yet to die of old age, but always meet their end either in combat or poisoning, or straight murder/sacrifice/assassination, preferably by an ambitious offspring. So it remains inconclusive as to whether they even have a max lifespan.

At hearing this she came in with the comment "So like lobsters?"

And now I can't get lobster drow out of my head. Crustacean Gromph is over here pushing over 7 centuries. Lobster Liriel escaped the tank and it's now everyone's problem. Hard Shell Maine Minthara is pinching you SO hard right now.

#drow #dnd drow #drow lore #gromph baenre #liriel baenre #minthara baenre #cause lobsters don't age they just get bigger until their shell can't take it or they die of disease #lobster drow #is this anything #queue

[flossmoss]

mintharas new idle camp animations, specifically 'be bothered by the sun', are so important to me i don't think i can even express it in words and i haven't even seen it yet.

#drow lore #bg3 #minthara #brainrot #minthara baenre #baldur's gate 3 #me myself and i #baldurs gate 3 #minthara bg3

[lightcantrip]

gonna repost this here in case tumblr also has dnd lore nerds

#bg3 #dnd 5e #dnd lore #bg3 lore #dnd drow #drow #drow lore

[kellymdoodles]

I finally am starting my Web Comic! I’ll be posting it here on Tumblr and on WEBTOON! Preview down below 💕

WEBTOON link: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/aracs%25C3%25AD-unraveling-the-spiders-web/list?title_no=913517

#digital art #comic art #my comic #dnd art #dnd comic #Aracsí #Aracsí unraveling the spiders web #dnd oc #digital fanart #artists on tumblr #digital illustration #ipadillustration #lesbians #drow dnd #dnd drow #drow oc #drow elf #drow lore #fantasy art #fantasy comic #bg3 fanart #bg3 oc #bg3 art #lolth sworn drow #lolth drow #dark elf #dark elves #webcomic #webtoon #independent artist

[theladyregret]

You know, I respect the whole thing with Drow worshiping spiders being based on the fact female spiders sometimes eat their mates...but uh...

honestly...it would be WAAAAY more fitting if they worshiped Hyenas.

#drow lore #dungeons and dragons #need a homebrew clan of Hyena worshiping Drow now

[lunastrophe]

I wonder how it is for Seldarine Drow in the Underdark. I imagine most would stay away from Menzoberannzan or any of the other Lolth cities if they can.

Seldarine drow / Lolth-sworn drow concept introduced in BG3 is a huge oversimplification, but yes - generally, drow who do not follow Lolth avoid heavily Lolth-oriented cities. Visiting Menzoberranzan as a drow who does not worship Lolth would be a risky business, since open worship of any other deity is forbidden there.

On the other hand, servants of other divine powers sometimes infiltrate cities of Lolth-sworn drow. For example, Jhelnae Horlbar, a noble from House Horlbar from Menzoberranzan, was secretly a follower of Eilistraee - and she was officially priestess of Lolth and the First Priestess of her House! This discovery started a war between several noble houses.

In every major city of Lolth-sworn drow, there are most likely followers of Eilistraee, Vhaeraun and other drow gods who work undercover - to gather information, or to guide and support new followers, for example.

In Rilauven, followers of Vhaeraun ultimately gained so much power that they managed to overthrow matriarchy of Lolth - although later, drow from Rilauven began to worry that Menzoberranyr drow will send their army and destroy them one day, to punish them for apostasy.

#drow #dnd lore #drow lore #lolth sworn drow #drow culture #seldarine drow

[vspin]

Drow nobles needed no stairs; another manifestation of their innate magical abilities allowed them the power of levitation.

Drow Spells: Levitate

Some races native to Faerûn, such as the (...) drow (while in the Underdark), had the innate ability to levitate. Levitation played a key role in the drow game khaless.

⋆.˚⭒⋆ཐིཋྀ˚⋆⭒˚.⋆

Drow spells: Faerie Fire, Levitate, Darkness

#drow #drow tav #drow lore #bg3 #bg3 mine #my oc: Tav'Lyn #i know the lore is messy im going with innate noble powers here + insigna

[karniss-bg3]

Just found your blog, and I absolutely love it! IN the dream scenario of Kar'niss being saved by tav/durge (larian please), do you think he would turn to Eilistraee? She seems like one of the most chill gods in dnd lore (imo) and I feel like she would want to help Kar'niss heal. OR do you think after the absolute he just wouldn't fuck with any of the gods. (Lowkey asking this because one of my Tavs is an ex-szarkai cleric of Eilistraee, and he's the one I ship with Kar'niss because I have no shame).

Thanks for the compliment! To answer your question, it depends on a few factors. In the case of your Tav, assuming he is a positive influence in his life, then I believe he could be convinced to follow the teachings of Eilistraee. Kar’niss is an individual who desires approval and acceptance. If he trusts Tav then he is more likely to follow their lead in most if not all scenarios. On the other hand, if the goal is to grant independence and choice to him then he could actively decide that he is through with deity worship and would prefer a more atheist approach to life. If someone had an evil Tav then they could convince Kar’niss to worship them instead and form a relationship where he is entirely dependent on them. The sad part about Kar’niss is how easy he is to manipulate. His mind is broken and his self esteem is in the tank, he is an easy target for anyone with ill-intentions. I feel like he and Astarion share a great deal of overlap but that is a discussion for another day.

In conclusion, it’s very viable that Kar’niss could lean toward Eilistraee with enough persuasion and influence. At the end of the day he just wants to feel safe and protected and anywhere he can find that is where he is likely to gravitate toward.

Thanks for the ask!

#baldur's gate 3 #kar'niss #bg3 #karniss #drider #baldurs gate 3 #answered #cleric of eilistraee #eilistraee #drow lore #D&D

[iwantmcdonalds]

#drow #drow elf #drizzt #drizzt do'urden #menzoberranzan #drow lore #dnd #dungeons and dragons

[jcniper-backup]

I have a silly question that is escaping my mind rn: Why is being turned into a drider viewed as a punishment for followers of Lolth? Is it a loss of autonomy thing? I just don't really remember ever finding a straight forward answer for that.

#drow lore #i have more of a handle on bhaalspawn lore than anything so idrk