Homebrew Drow Species Details
Drow are a subrace of elves, for the sake of clarity the following racial stats are elven after choosing the drow subrace.
Your drow character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age: Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.
Alignment: Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others' freedom as well as their own, and they are more often good than not. The drow are an exception; their exile into the Underdark has made them vicious and dangerous. Drow are more often evil than not.
Size: Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Superior Darkvision: Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Keen Senses: You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Trance: Elves don't need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is "trance.") While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Drow Magic: You know the dancing lights cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faire fire spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the darkness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Drow Weapon Training: You have proficiency with rapiers, shortswords, and hand crossbows.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.
While most of the abilities are self-explanatory, some have a bit of nuance so let's go through them one at a time and what they mean for your new character
Ability Score Increase: Dexterity is useful for almost every class as an improvement to your AC and in many cases your attacks. Drow get the bonus to Charisma as well which makes them ideal for classes that need both like Bards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks.
Age: Drow (and other elves) enjoy an extremely long lifespan, long enough to have lived through "ancient events" that may be plot-relevant. Ask your DM if your 500-year-old drow can have first-hand knowledge of some of the "ancient" things your party deals with.
Alignment: Drow are EVIL, to the point that your character has to be an exception of some kind. You'll need to come up with some reason why your drow character had a change of heart or was expelled by drow society. You need some reason for your character to be adventuring alongside the party in the dungeon rather than being a monster in one.
Size: Medium size with no bells or whistles.
Speed: Average, no worries.
Superior Darkvision: Darkvision with double the range, technically this isn't much of a bonus but there are some situations where dungeons are designed with normal darkvision in mind. Be sure to remind your DM about your extra range if you're encountering things at night or within caves, you might be able to spot things the DM thought would be out of sight.
Keen Senses: Simple but very good. Perception is by far the most common check players will need to make and it's nice grabbing a free proficiency in it.
Fey Ancestry: The advantage on charm effects is nice, there are some enemies that rely on charms and you'll have a major leg up in those encounters. The immunity to sleep is more of a hold-over from earlier editions, but once in a blue-moon it can save your hide. Just try to remember that you have it.
Trance: What trance really does is put you on permanent night watch duty. You only require 4 hours for a long rest (which can matter if the party is in a tough spot) but it's the semi-conscious clause that'll be important most of the time. You'll essentially always get an opportunity to spot incoming threats while the party is sleeping and that can be the difference between life and death.
Sunlight Sensitivity: This is a pure weakness and it's a rather savage one. Thankfully a lot of encounters will happen in dimly lit dungeons, but there will be some situations where you're just nerfed. Be aware of this weakness, try to stay in the shadows, and if you're a spellcaster try to make use of spells that will get you some shade or darkness to fight in. Most notably it messes with your attack roll, so if you cast spells that simply require a save instead of an attack there's no problem.
Drow Magic: Free spells are always nice, though these are mostly situational. Dancing lights is nice to have for utility, and faerie fire can save your butt in early levels if you face an invisible enemy. Darkness is the real get here, as it helps mitigate your sunlight sensitivity if used correctly.
Drow Weapon Training: This only matters if you play a caster, as any martial class would gain proficiency with them anyway. Rapiers are an excellent melee weapon for Dexterity-based martial builds, and the hand crossbows are good as an "out of spells" option for wizards. Keep this ability in mind when making wonky builds that want weapon proficiency without class level dips.
Languages: Common + Elvish. Elvish is a common language in many settings so you'll likely get some use out of it.
Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in the world but not entirely part of it. They live in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world.
Slender and Graceful
With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females.
Elves’ coloration encompasses the normal human range and also includes skin in shades of copper, bronze, and almost bluish-white, hair of green or blue, and eyes like pools of liquid gold or silver. Elves have no facial and little body hair. They favor elegant clothing in bright colors, and they enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry.
Example Female Drow Names: Balya, Briza, Drada, Ereliira, Kiaran, Laele, Malice, Myrymma, Narcelia, Nidria, Pellanistra, Phaere, Quiri, Sabrae, Saradreza, Talice, Triel, Ulvirra, Urlryn, Umrae, Viconia, Vornalla, Waerva, Zarra, Zelzrima, Zilvra
Example Male Drow Names: Alton, Balok, Baragh, Coranzen, Dantrag, Elendar, Elkantar, Filraen, Ghaundan, Istorvir, Kalannar, Malaggar, Nyloth, Quevven, Sorn, Torrellan, Vorn, Vuzlyn, Welverin, Xarann, Zaknafein, Zeerith, Zyn
Example Drow Surnames: A’Daragon, Abaeir, Argith, Baenre, Beltaulur, Blaerabban, Coloara, Cormrael, Dalael, Dryaalis, Duskryn, Dyrr, Elpragh, Faertala, Gallaer, Glannath, Hune, Hunzrin, Illykur, Jhalavar, Jusztiirn, Keteeruae, Lhalabar, Lueltar, Naerth, Nirinath, Omriwin, Philiom, Quavein, Rhomduil, Rrostarr, Seerear, Ssambra, T’orgh, T’sarran, Tuin, Uloavae, Vrammyr, Vrinn, Waeglossz, Xiltyn, Yauthlo, Zaphresz, Zauviir
Drow Traits
Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, the result of thousands of years of elven refinement.Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Your Charisma score increases by 1
Age
Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.
Size
Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Superior Darkvision
Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Keen Senses
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Ancestry
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Trance
Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires.