The questions were really if you do away with the sunlight sensitivity is the Drow overpowered compared to other (elven) races, and if so what do you take away from them to make them balanced. We all have this feeling that Drow are overpowered but that proves to be a hangover from 3.5 and earlier. That is why I spent hours building characters to see if my prejudices were real. I found that they aren’t - Drow are not OP anymore, if anything the sunlight sensitivity actually nerfs them badly in sunlight and leaves them on equal footing at night and underground. I maybe didn’t make my view clear:
a surface raised Drow shouldn’t have the sunlight sensitivity, Drow raised and living below the surface should. If you absolutely have to take something away from them to feel comfortable doing this take the Drow magic from the PHB and give them the Drow high magic racial feat.
I am going to open up the can of worms of Nature vs Nurture. I posit, and this is unshakeable in my games, that Drow have EVOLVED over countless generations to having eyes that can see 120 feet in the dark, and the 1st generation on the surface don't lose that Sunlight Sensitivity. If a player wants to play a Drow, they get all the bonuses, and all the drawbacks.
And no, I also don't use anything from Tasha's in my games, if you are going to ask that. People immediately forget that the words "optional" are plastered all over that book.
I'm not going to argue this with you Dennis - its your world and soo how you run it is your business, but just as I can't force you to run your world my way you can't force the OP to run their world your way so yours is an option that they are free to take or discard. by the way we (or at least I) are well of aware fo the OPTIONAL on Tashas we (many of us here) just choose to opt it in not out.
They do need to be a little careful though. Corellon is where the curse of Sunlight Sensitivity originally came from. They might want to worship him, or he could do something terrible, like stick them in the middle of Menzoberranzan, in the Forgotten Realms. The Drow there don't like the any sort of Elf much, and Corellon has a sense of humor. He'd probably turn them into a male if they weren't one already.
I'm not sure making veiled threats is a great approach, but each DM has their own style and that's fine.
one way around this that works with (forgotten Realms at least) lore is to have them worship Correllon's daughter Eillistraee - according to lore corellon was willing to let her stay in Arvandor and she choose to descend to provide an alternative to Lolth and a hope of a return to the surface eventually. Her worshipers shouldn't have a problem staying on the surface and avoiding Correllon's wrath as long as they maintain a neutral or good alignment.
They do need to be a little careful though. Corellon is where the curse of Sunlight Sensitivity originally came from. They might want to worship him, or he could do something terrible, like stick them in the middle of Menzoberranzan, in the Forgotten Realms. The Drow there don't like the any sort of Elf much, and Corellon has a sense of humor. He'd probably turn them into a male if they weren't one already.
I'm not sure making veiled threats is a great approach, but each DM has their own style and that's fine.
one way around this that works with (forgotten Realms at least) lore is to have them worship Correllon's daughter Eillistraee - according to lore corellon was willing to let her stay in Arvandor and she choose to descend to provide an alternative to Lolth and a hope of a return to the surface eventually. Her worshipers shouldn't have a problem staying on the surface and avoiding Correllon's wrath as long as they maintain a neutral or good alignment.
My misgivings aren't with the workaround, but more with the "I'll give you this, but be careful what you wish for: it might just bite you in the ass" delivery. Not my table though, so maybe I'm just getting the wrong impression.
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As the DM, I'm the force of Gravity, and I remain constant, so be careful what you wish for. If you have an idea I don't like, I'll warn you, but at some point if you won't listen to my advice and force me to allow it, I'll use the same degree of force on your character, and you probably won't like what happens.
Yes, it's a threat, and it's not veiled at all. If you treat me like a dog, you can't expect me not to bite you.
Sence there is an official rare item that allows getting rid of light sensitivity. Why not have spells that also do the same?
Knave's Eye Patch
Source: Waterdeep - Dragon Heist
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this eye patch, you gain these benefits:
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
If you have the Sunlight Sensitivity trait, you are unaffected by the trait.
You are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts or determine whether you are lying. Creatures can communicate telepathically with you only if you allow it.
And the ones that argue that humans have to deal with darkness for 8 hrs. Majority sleep at night so that argument doesn't hold water either. So, have spells for both or none at all.
With that kind of narrow mindedness. Frankly I'm surprised you're a DM at all. Light sensitivity is the question. OP is not, it's all in how your people build their characters. I've seen all kinds of OP that are surface dwelling characters with dark vision and/or devil vision. Why not have a underdark character with a way to get around light sensitivity w/o losing there rasial hirtage? Just to bulling the people around your table into choosing a character that makes it easier on you. That's no reason to limit a underdark character.
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I'm not going to argue this with you Dennis - its your world and soo how you run it is your business, but just as I can't force you to run your world my way you can't force the OP to run their world your way so yours is an option that they are free to take or discard. by the way we (or at least I) are well of aware fo the OPTIONAL on Tashas we (many of us here) just choose to opt it in not out.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
one way around this that works with (forgotten Realms at least) lore is to have them worship Correllon's daughter Eillistraee - according to lore corellon was willing to let her stay in Arvandor and she choose to descend to provide an alternative to Lolth and a hope of a return to the surface eventually. Her worshipers shouldn't have a problem staying on the surface and avoiding Correllon's wrath as long as they maintain a neutral or good alignment.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
My misgivings aren't with the workaround, but more with the "I'll give you this, but be careful what you wish for: it might just bite you in the ass" delivery. Not my table though, so maybe I'm just getting the wrong impression.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
As the DM, I'm the force of Gravity, and I remain constant, so be careful what you wish for. If you have an idea I don't like, I'll warn you, but at some point if you won't listen to my advice and force me to allow it, I'll use the same degree of force on your character, and you probably won't like what happens.
Yes, it's a threat, and it's not veiled at all. If you treat me like a dog, you can't expect me not to bite you.
Is that better?
<Insert clever signature here>
A little bit. Not good by any stretch of the imagination IMO, but better at least.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Just get that Knaves eyepatch off that Drow bad guy in Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Sence there is an official rare item that allows getting rid of light sensitivity. Why not have spells that also do the same?
Source: Waterdeep - Dragon Heist
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this eye patch, you gain these benefits:
And the ones that argue that humans have to deal with darkness for 8 hrs. Majority sleep at night so that argument doesn't hold water either. So, have spells for both or none at all.
With that kind of narrow mindedness. Frankly I'm surprised you're a DM at all. Light sensitivity is the question. OP is not, it's all in how your people build their characters. I've seen all kinds of OP that are surface dwelling characters with dark vision and/or devil vision. Why not have a underdark character with a way to get around light sensitivity w/o losing there rasial hirtage? Just to bulling the people around your table into choosing a character that makes it easier on you. That's no reason to limit a underdark character.