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It seems likely to me that the name of the Drow ancestry (that I'm hoping we'll get some day) will change.
Dark-skinned, underground elves have existed in fantasy since time immemorial, but the name might be a sticking point.
Svartalfar, to my mind, would have been a potential analogue, but they already exist as a fey monster in the Agents of Edgewatch AP. They could always just kind of retcon or ignore that in the transition, I suppose.
It might also be the case that Paizo create an entirely new name for their underground, dark-skinned elf ancestry. They're renamed a bunch of other extant monsters, but to date have kept Drow. I wonder if they can just continue to use it?
What would you like to see for "Drow" in PF2R?
I've always hoped to see a little more Drow utilization in PF. I'll probably never get the chance to play Second Darkness, and it'd be interesting to see a more contemporary take on PF Drow (or whatever they end up being called)
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We've already seen PF2's Drow diverge significantly from the OGL: lilac-skinned, increasingly associated with Proteans and other (formerly Chaotic Neutral) cosmic powers, not especially fond of spiders... a rename seems likely (perhaps to coincide with their wider reinvention as a people?), but I don't expect them to vanish. Zirnakaynin may be a little too close to Menzoberranzan for comfort, but I think other PF Drow antagonists like the undead of Shraen are perfectly distinct if we need baddies, too.
There's a Darklands panel at PaizoCon; we'll see what happens there.
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We've already seen PF2's Drow diverge significantly from the OGL: lilac-skinned, increasingly associated with Proteans and other (formerly Chaotic Neutral) cosmic powers, not especially fond of spiders... a rename seems likely (perhaps to coincide with their wider reinvention as a people?), but I don't expect them to vanish. Zirnakaynin may be a little too close to Menzoberranzan for comfort, but I think other PF Drow antagonists like the undead of Shraen are perfectly distinct if we need baddies, too.
There's a Darklands panel at PaizoCon; we'll see what happens there.
I'm SUPER excited for that panel, to be honest. I wanna see how they explore the ancestries, options and cultures of the Darklands, especially since they would need to be more unique VS D&D's Underdark due to the OGL situation. Just like with the new dragons, I want Paizo's real original take on the subterranean mysteries in their setting.
I have a question isn't Drow word comes from D&D? Usually most other games use Dark Elves instead I only remember D&D using this word.
Including I don't remember when but a lot time ago someone said that Paizo designers said that Drow if and when introduced in PF2 would end different from an Elf Heritage. But know that the game is abandon the D&D related names and even concepts would we even expect that something like drow coming back to the game?
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I have a question isn't Drow word comes from D&D? Usually most other games use Dark Elves instead I only remember D&D using this word.
Including I don't remember when but a lot time ago someone said that Paizo designers said that Drow if and when introduced in PF2 would end different from an Elf Heritage. But know that the game is abandon the D&D related names and even concepts would we even expect that something like drow coming back to the game?
Drow and the other Darklands ancestries' names will likely change due to the OGL shenanigans, but I doubt they'll do a Darklands book and not cover one of the most requested and sought after ancestries since the edition's launch. They'll be called something different (like changing gnolls to kholo), but I'd have faith they'll be tackled in some way.
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Okay, I'm sorry to nitpick, but this just drives me nuts. It's my personal huge pet peeve.
Canonically, Golarion drow do not generally have dark skin. They have blue and violet skin, which is often quite pale. Their skin may be lighter or darker than surface elves depending mainly on the surface elves' location. It's not about value, it's about hue and saturation.
Dark-skinned drow were bad. They aren't really a thing in PF1, and pretty much never were. PF1 did suggest some drow may have "coal-black" skin, which, hm, I'd be surprised if that's sticking around, but even then, it was presented as a minority. Aside from those outliers, drow skin is only "darker" if you are assuming surface elves are all white. Which they aren't.
Here's some canon PF2 drow art.
EDIT: Took a hatchet to my post after double-checking my facts. I should have done so before posting!
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Maybe they could have a name from their own culture, like kholo or ekujae
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PF1 did suggest some drow may have "coal-black" skin
It didn't suggest it but straight out stated it: "Drow skin is dark skin, ranging from black to a hazy purple hue." Inner Sea Races pg. 241, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 114, Advanced Race Guide pg. 102
PF2 changed that to an "unearthly lavender sheen".
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Drow skin ranges from coal black to a dusky purple.
This suggests that "coal-black" is the outer range, like I said. I was also thinking about the art that was actually focused on in the game--black skin is all-but unseen in promotional material, suggesting it was more being kept around as an option for legacy reasons. Sorry, my word choice was confusing!
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I've always disliked the drow. Gives me bad vibes. I frankly do not know what the Pathfinder lore is, but if we have underground elves, maybe they should have transparent skin like everything else that lives underground. The drow always, to me, looked like they should be "sun elves" for lack of a better term
***Edit***
Drow,
or dark elves, are the descendants of the elves who refused to abandon Golarion when it was discovered that the Starstone would hit the world. Unlike their cousins, they did not escape through a dimensional portal, but rather hid themselves in the Darklands below. These elves that remained were changed by the influence of Rovagug into a demon-worshipping culture, and when the other elves returned, they found their brethren bitter, twisted, and evil enemies.
This is deeply cursed. Why are the evil underground elves dark skinned? Super weird! Maybe we should do something else?
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I was also thinking about the art that was actually focused on in the game--black skin is all-but unseen in promotional material, suggesting it was more being kept around as an option for legacy reasons.
You are talking about PF2 images correct? If so, yes it's a lighter color. The older PF1 images were darker, but I'm I can't say for sure they are black or purple as I'm color blind and can't see purple.
Sorry, my word choice was confusing!
No worries.
I frankly do not know what the Pathfinder lore is, but if we have underground elves, maybe they should have transparent skin like everything else that lives underground.
They were the elves they didn't escape the planet during Earthfall and fled into the caverns to ride out the cataclysm. The tremendous tremors briefly awoke Rovagug, the god of destruction: his reaching out with his powers mixed with the Darklands' strange radiations and the elves' own feelings of betrayal and anger and it transformed them, turning their hair white and skin dark. So it didn't have ANYTHING to do with lack of light...
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I was also thinking about the art that was actually focused on in the game--black skin is all-but unseen in promotional material, suggesting it was more being kept around as an option for legacy reasons.You are talking about PF2 images correct? If so, yes it's a lighter color. The older PF1 images were darker, but I'm I can't say for sure they are black or purple as I'm color blind and can't see purple.
Sorry, my word choice was confusing!No worries.
I frankly do not know what the Pathfinder lore is, but if we have underground elves, maybe they should have transparent skin like everything else that lives underground.They were the elves they didn't escape the planet during Earthfall and fled into the caverns to ride out the cataclysm. The tremendous tremors briefly awoke Rovagug, the god of destruction: his reaching out with his powers mixed with the Darklands' strange radiations and the elves' own feelings of betrayal and anger and it transformed them, turning their hair white and skin dark. So it didn't have ANYTHING to do with lack of light...
I edited my post after looking this up. I'm in physical pain from reading the lore
I was also thinking about the art that was actually focused on in the game--black skin is all-but unseen in promotional material, suggesting it was more being kept around as an option for legacy reasons.You are talking about PF2 images correct? If so, yes it's a lighter color. The older PF1 images were darker, but I'm I can't say for sure they are black or purple as I'm color blind and can't see purple.
We are specifically talking about "coal black". Very specifically, that's the original thing you're replying to. There is very little PF1 art of drow with "coal black" skin--at least, not that was used much in promotional material.
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]I edited my post after looking this up. I'm in physical pain from reading the lore
Most likely it goes back to Norse cosmology where svartálfar ("black elves"), also called myrkálfar are beings who dwell in Svartalfheim. Written in the Prose Edda about the black elves: "... the dark elves however live down below the ground. ... [and] are blacker than pitch."
There are also mentions there of Dökkálfar ("Dark Elves") and Ljósálfar ("Light Elves") are two contrasting types of elves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at".
So the roots of dark elves that live underground predates any modern issues related to dark skin.
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Pathfinder lore for Elves has them physically changing to match their environment, and I think "the Darklands are full of bizarre magical radiation from being metaphysically 'near' the prison of a terrible dark god" is a fine enough excuse for Elves to turn lilac-colored and a little weird.
The dark skin tangent is kind of pointless, because that's not in canon anymore, and hasn't been for years. It feels like an attempt to derail the thread for little gain. I think Extinction Curse and Abomination Vaults, two sources that show us distinctly-Golarion societies of Drow in PF2, should be the primary reference points here.
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So the roots of dark elves that live underground predates any modern issues related to dark skin.
They're talking about Golarion drow lore, not the skin color itself. The old Golarion drow lore has always been, aside from the excellent choice to change the awful original skin color, one big offensive mess.
The dark skin tangent is kind of pointless, because that's not in canon anymore, and hasn't been for years. It feels like an attempt to derail the thread for little gain. I think Extinction Curse and Abomination Vaults, two sources that show us distinctly-Golarion societies of Drow in PF2, should be the primary reference points here.
To be clear, my intention with the skin color tangent was just to correct the OP on an important way Golarion lore diverges from Forgotten Realms lore, not to start any arguments! I'm sorry it's resulted in such a fuss.
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Massively, severely, holistically and naturalistically disagree, but you do you.
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This is tongue-in-cheek, but honestly, the cosplayers alone should be reason enough.
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While not all drow are evil, most drow were created due to their evil acts or were born amongst other evil drow.
Good drows are a rarity and any good gods would be the equivalent of the surface worshiping the evil gods. If the surface with the multitude of good gods frequently kill the followers of evil gods. The darklands who worship evil gods will even more so kill the followers of a good god. So any such follower would be a rarity amongst rarity.
From a more recent PF2 source on Drow, and pinned to their AON page:
Away from the larger drow cities where worship of demon lords is instilled into all citizens from a young age, drow might adopt the worship of other entities. Many drow feel the call of the protean lords and embrace chaos, art, and freedom to set themselves apart from their demon-worshipping kin. These communities often have proteans living among them, instructing drow proteges in the power of disorder.
Certain Drow cities have cultures of demon worship, but "many Drow" are pulled to non-Evil divinities. You might as well say that Cheliax is proof that all humans are Asmodean baby-kickers.
EDIT: It's also worth saying that Zirnakaynin, the demonic Drow city we saw in detail in 1e, has had one of its chosen Demon Lords ascend to become not only a goddess, but the Redeemer Queen. One can only imagine the fallout to House Misraria (who had her as a patron) and to that city's society more broadly, but I can't imagine it's just the CE status quo of the oldest materials.
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We are specifically talking about "coal black".
I'm not sure if you caught it, but I'm physically unable to tell if a picture has "coal black" skin or very dark purple. As such, I can't give an answer to this: I can only attest to how dark it is.
The dark skin tangent is kind of pointless, because that's not in canon anymore, and hasn't been for years. It feels like an attempt to derail the thread for little gain.
*shrug* It's a thread about drow and it's drow topic... But I was mainly posting what I say as a correction though it seems like it was a misunderstanding.
They're talking about Golarion drow lore, not the skin color itself.
They said "Why are the evil underground elves dark skinned?" The answer to that is a legacy that goes back to original d&d. If it was specifically about PF2, why ask about dark skin at all?
Also, while it obviously predated modern-day racism, I'm pretty sure the Norse people knew different skin colors existed, and there's a pretty obvious "fear of the unknown" at play in that mythology.
'Dark' in dark elves can be read of instead as "pale' or 'dingy', something that wouldn't be out of place for an underground people, instead of talking about actual skin color. IMO, that's how it should have been read but Gygax didn't.
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While not all drow are evil, most drow were created due to their evil acts or were born amongst other evil drow.
Good drows are a rarity and any good gods would be the equivalent of the surface worshiping the evil gods. If the surface with the multitude of good gods frequently kill the followers of evil gods. The darklands who worship evil gods will even more so kill the followers of a good god. So any such follower would be a rarity amongst rarity.
From a more recent PF2 source on Drow, and pinned to their AON page:
Away from the larger drow cities where worship of demon lords is instilled into all citizens from a young age, drow might adopt the worship of other entities. Many drow feel the call of the protean lords and embrace chaos, art, and freedom to set themselves apart from their demon-worshipping kin. These communities often have proteans living among them, instructing drow proteges in the power of disorder.Certain Drow cities have cultures of demon worship, but "many Drow" are pulled to non-Evil divinities. You might as well say that Cheliax is proof that all humans are Asmodean baby-kickers.
EDIT: It's also worth saying that Zirnakaynin, the demonic Drow city we saw in detail in 1e, has had one of its chosen Demon Lords ascend to become not only a goddess, but the Redeemer Queen. One can only imagine the fallout to House Misraria (who had her as a patron) and to that city's society more broadly, but I can't imagine it's just the CE status quo of the oldest materials.
I don't know if this makes me feel better about this at all tbh, but I don't want to derail, so I won't argue this
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I'm still not sure why the underground people aren't pale like cave salamanders.
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They said "Why are the evil underground elves dark skinned?" The answer to that is a legacy that goes back to original d&d. If it was specifically about PF2, why ask about dark skin at all?
Also, while it obviously predated modern-day racism, I'm pretty sure the Norse people knew different skin colors existed, and there's a pretty obvious "fear of the unknown" at play in that mythology.'Dark' in dark elves can be read of instead as "pale' or 'dingy', something that wouldn't be out of place for an underground people, instead of talking about actual skin color. IMO, that's how it should have been read but Gygax didn't.
I appreciate the context. I've made my feelings on Gygax apparent elsewhere and I believe it was a major reason a thread was locked, so I'm hesitant to bring up his reactionary tendencies again. I'm trying not to be as spicy. The whole thing with drow is just bad vibes all around and I'll leave it at that
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We are specifically talking about "coal black".I'm not sure if you caught it, but I'm physically unable to tell if a picture has "coal black" skin or very dark purple. As such, I can't give an answer to this: I can only attest to how dark it is.
Yeah, I was just clarifying because you kept saying "dark skin" instead of "coal black skin"--not just in that post. That generalizes my original quoted statement a lot further than I meant it, so I wanted to be sure I was being clear. I appreciate your clarification, though!
They said "Why are the evil underground elves dark skinned?" The answer to that is a legacy that goes back to original d&d. If it was specifically about PF2, why ask about dark skin at all?
That's not the post you were quoting there, though. I think you might need to worry about the precision of your quotes; it's causing me confusion.
Also, while it obviously predated modern-day racism, I'm pretty sure the Norse people knew different skin colors existed, and there's a pretty obvious "fear of the unknown" at play in that mythology.'Dark' in dark elves can be read of instead as "pale' or 'dingy', something that wouldn't be out of place for an underground people, instead of talking about actual skin color. IMO, that's how it should have been read but Gygax didn't.
We were talking there about specifically mythological black skin, which was something you brought up, not me. :P
EDIT:
EDIT X2: Eh, nevermind. Rereading, I only see the pattern in two, not three.
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There is a fifth option: House Misraria sides with their goddess and the other houses tolerate this for now, since, like you said, the other houses aren't necessarily going to want to immediately start a war when they don't have to. I'm excited to find out when the new lore drops!
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There's a panel on the Darklands coming at the end of the month, and I imagine some news to come with it... but anyone expecting that to be "and the Drow are still demon cultists, just like they have been for 30 years of D&D" is going to be sorely disappointed. The OGL is forcing their hand here.
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Honestly, I'm excited. I think that the drow can only benefit from greater nuance and variety, and "Chaotic Neutral dark elf matriarchies" sounds like just the shake-up we need! It may be unpopular, but I found the old drow kind of boring and edgy-to-the-point-of-self-parody. At least when kobolds were evil, we got along with each other. The drow have long been one big "how are these idiots still alive" ancestry. Like if you gave Minions scimitars and a goth makeover.
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Pathfinder lore for Elves has them physically changing to match their environment, and I think "the Darklands are full of bizarre magical radiation from being metaphysically 'near' the prison of a terrible dark god" is a fine enough excuse for Elves to turn lilac-colored and a little weird.
The dark skin tangent is kind of pointless, because that's not in canon anymore, and hasn't been for years. It feels like an attempt to derail the thread for little gain. I think Extinction Curse and Abomination Vaults, two sources that show us distinctly-Golarion societies of Drow in PF2, should be the primary reference points here.
Extinction Curse depicts:
A vampire Drider (which almost CERTAINLY won't make the transition to PF2R unaltered). She has pretty classic vampire grey skin.An undead drider. Kinda dark grey? But also pretty mottled, presumably from decay.
A drow lich, described as using illusions to appear alive in the form of a beautiful and youthful drow. Their skin is a purplish blue. Definitely not dark, though. Sorta similar in hue to Draenei from World of Warcraft.
A drow vampire, with a sort of lavender skin. Again, very not dark.
A drow wight with teal skin. The darkest of the bunch, but still not very dark. Kinda blue-green zombie hue.
A drow lich who makes no attempt to appear living. Her flesh appears highly desiccated, so I don't feel like there's a ton of value in discussing its color (which is mottled grey)
A drow banshee, with skin of lavender.
Another drow vampire with more lavender skin.
There's a chapter transition with an undead looking Seoni and a drow looking version of what I'm guessing is another of the iconics. They have a somewhat more classical drow look, with medium-dark purple skin and white hair.
Finally, a drow mummy with grey, desiccated skin.
A lot of lavender and blue, with some grey. But nothing so dark as the drow in Second Darkness or in D&D.
(also, I made this thread primarily to discuss the possibility of the name change and what it might be should it occur. I don't totally dislike the direction it took, but c'est la vie)
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Honestly, I like "dark elves" just fine. "Fallen elves" works, too--after all, they're the survivors of Earthfall, they descended underground, and their society has fallen into demon-puppeted mayhem.
All-in-all, I support focusing their name on just being another kind of elf, rather than a distinct species.
Creative Director
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There's a panel on the Darklands coming at the end of the month, and I imagine some news to come with it... but anyone expecting that to be "and the Drow are still demon cultists, just like they have been for 30 years of D&D" is going to be sorely disappointed. The OGL is forcing their hand here.
Since this got brought up, yes. I'm on the panel and will be talking about some adjustments that will be made to the Darklands—this area, more than pretty much any other region in Golarion, is significantly impacted by the fact that so many of the things that live there have deep ties to the OGL and D&D. It's a region we haven't really done much significant with since the pre-Pathfinder RPG softcover book that panel is named after, "Into the Darklands" (we NEVER did a big book about this location for the actual Pathfinder RPG, other than something like Darklands Revisited, which is less about the region so it doesn't really count for what I'm talking about here).
I fully expect what we've got planned for the Darklands to disappoint some people and excite other people, but again... more than any other location on Golarion, this is a part of our setting that needs an update.
There's plenty new we've brought to the underground, like serpentfolk and seugathis and urdefhans and munavris, and some stuff from public domain like gugs and morlocks, but there's a LOT going on down there that, as a result of it being developed when we were using D&D as our rulebook, remains very D&D if that makes sense.
The "Into the Darklands" panel will be a lot more about our upcoming Sky King's Tomb Adventure Path and the Highhelm book (both of which represent the closest and biggest thing we've done in a long while to playing in the Darklands), but the time to recontextualize is near. Some things will stay the same. Some things are going to significantly change. I'm actually pretty nervous about how everyone's gonna react to some of it... but it HAS TO HAPPEN.
We'll have more to reveal in a few weeks.
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I think folks know I'm the #1 Sekmin fangirl, so I'm quite excited to see all of it - especially for the Dwarves to get so much love!
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My fingers are crossed for ghouls sticking around, and maybe for kobolds gaining more of a place in the Darklands proper. I think I'm pretty reliably Not On The Same Page as Paizo on kobold stuff, though, and that's fine. XD
It's a region we haven't really done much significant with since the pre-Pathfinder RPG softcover book that panel is named after, "Into the Darklands" (we NEVER did a big book about this location for the actual Pathfinder RPG, other than something like Darklands Revisited, which is less about the region so it doesn't really count for what I'm talking about here).
I should have expected this was the case. Drow in particular seem like a footnote in the setting. Something I would easily forget was ever there if it disappeared
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IMO (and some will disagree) but Cavern Elves adequately fill the space Drow took up with none of the egregious baggage.It's a region we haven't really done much significant with since the pre-Pathfinder RPG softcover book that panel is named after, "Into the Darklands" (we NEVER did a big book about this location for the actual Pathfinder RPG, other than something like Darklands Revisited, which is less about the region so it doesn't really count for what I'm talking about here).I should have expected this was the case. Drow in particular seem like a footnote in the setting. Something I would easily forget was ever there if it disappeared
No those are the cave salamander elves.
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It seems likely to me that the name of the Drow ancestry (that I'm hoping we'll get some day) will change.
Dark-skinned, underground elves have existed in fantasy since time immemorial, but the name might be a sticking point.Svartalfar, to my mind, would have been a potential analogue, but they already exist as a fey monster in the Agents of Edgewatch AP. They could always just kind of retcon or ignore that in the transition, I suppose.
It might also be the case that Paizo create an entirely new name for their underground, dark-skinned elf ancestry. They're renamed a bunch of other extant monsters, but to date have kept Drow. I wonder if they can just continue to use it?
What would you like to see for "Drow" in PF2R?
I've always hoped to see a little more Drow utilization in PF. I'll probably never get the chance to play Second Darkness, and it'd be interesting to see a more contemporary take on PF Drow (or whatever they end up being called)
Drow as a name is fine...as I have mentioned elsewhere, it's an alternative spelling variant of the term Trow, which are a type of short troll-like fairy from the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Other than elves in general owing there origin to fairy lore and the fact that Trow live within hills (at least during the day), there isn't really much connection with the actual DnD Drow. I think that is where you run into trouble, as I think in the grand scheme of things Pathfinder Drow are not a whole lot different from the classic Drow, and some of the changes Pathfinder has made have kind been done in DnD at the same time (I've seen 5E Drow with purplish or gray skin). What's more, They strike me, given the popularity of Drizz't, to be creatures whose IP WotC would be very interested in protecting.
I feel like I might be the minority viewpoint, but if Drow "died on there way back to there home planet", I wouldn't be terribly upset. I in general find Drow one of the least interesting of the Darklands folk, and much prefer the more original Paizo additions to Darklands lore. I'm more upset by losing the Darklands Intellect Devourers. Those dudes are messed up but in the most entertaining way.
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My fingers are crossed for ghouls sticking around, and maybe for kobolds gaining more of a place in the Darklands proper. I think I'm pretty reliably Not On The Same Page as Paizo on kobold stuff, though, and that's fine. XD
Ghouls should be safe. A subterranean connection between Ghouls and underground settings I think comes from the old Pulp horror stories, Ghouls themselves are a pretty generic monster that DnD didn't create, and as far as I know I dont think underground ghoul empires are a think in 5E, at least outside of the 3rd party Midgard setting.
I would be delighted if Paizo gave us a big underground Kobold empire. Kobolds have long been one of my favorite ancestries in RPGs, even if I am not completely sold on the new PF2E look.
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]I edited my post after looking this up. I'm in physical pain from reading the loreMost likely it goes back to Norse cosmology where svartálfar ("black elves"), also called myrkálfar are beings who dwell in Svartalfheim. Written in the Prose Edda about the black elves: "... the dark elves however live down below the ground. ... [and] are blacker than pitch."
There are also mentions there of Dökkálfar ("Dark Elves") and Ljósálfar ("Light Elves") are two contrasting types of elves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at".
So the roots of dark elves that live underground predates any modern issues related to dark skin.
Good info.
Never much cared about the Golarion drow. I figured Paizo brought them over due to the popularity of the drow. Hard not to ride that wave as the from the first time drow were introduced, players have been fascinated by them and wanted to play them.
Their mythology grew as their popularity grew. Not sure if drow are as popular as they used to be, but probably a good time for a change. The drow reached the height of their popularity during the Forgotten Realms Era. They've been so overdone by this point, no one really considers them special any more.
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What's more, They strike me, given the popularity of Drizz't, to be creatures whose IP WotC would be very interested in protecting.I feel like I might be the minority viewpoint, but if Drow "died on there way back to there home planet", I wouldn't be terribly upset. I in general find Drow one of the least interesting of the Darklands folk, and much prefer the more...
To my slight chagrin, a passing familiarity with DND Drow has been something a certain group of players have enjoyed. More than once a player of mine wanted to play a Drow in Pathfinder not because of Pathfinder's cool Drow lore (of which I am a fan), but because either:
A- A certain author's very successful novel seriesor
B- Edgy elves are cooler than regular elves.
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They could just flip the heritage on ear and call them Word Elves. :>
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Maybe Drow could become named night elves being adapted to the night(dark low light, not dark evil), which would make them more adaptable to living underground as well.
The word Drow is a variation of Trow, which is a variation of Troll, generally referring to a malignant spirit. So Drow could keep its darker origins as a malignant spirit that is only found underground instead of elves.
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Maybe Drow could become named night elves being adapted to the night(dark low light, not dark evil), which would make them more adaptable to living underground as well.
The word Drow is a variation of Trow, which is a variation of Troll, generally referring to a malignant spirit. So Drow could keep its darker origins as a malignant spirit that is only found underground instead of elves.
I think Activision Blizzard might have words with that one.
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Maybe Drow could become named night elves being adapted to the night(dark low light, not dark evil), which would make them more adaptable to living underground as well.
The word Drow is a variation of Trow, which is a variation of Troll, generally referring to a malignant spirit. So Drow could keep its darker origins as a malignant spirit that is only found underground instead of elves.
I would love a recreation of Golarion drows as a fusion of desperate elves and malignant spirits (or maybe faeries) with Rovagug's influence steering the pot.
But I feel the likeliest course will be to let them fade into the background and focus on Paizo's own creations.
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I feel like I might be the minority viewpoint, but if Drow "died on there way back to there home planet", I wouldn't be terribly upset.
Agreed. Between the Drow, Mualijae, Jinin, Ilverani, Vourinoi, Aquatic elves, etc., it feels like maybe 5 or 6 elves left Golarion to avoid Earthfall and everyone else stuck around.