Editing Drow (section)

===''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition===
The drow appear as a playable elf subrace in the ''[[Player's Handbook]]'' (2014) for this edition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-16 |title=All DnD races and species explained |url=https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/races |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Wargamer |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":19" /> They also appear in the ''[[Monster Manual]]'' (2014) for this edition. In the adventure module ''[[Out of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)|Out of the Abyss]]'' (2015), the players are captured by the drow at the beginning of the adventure.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=2015-09-02 |title=Out of the Abyss: D&D’s next campaign goes deep into the Underdark |url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2015/9/2/9242155/out-of-the-abyss-into-the-underdark |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref> The floodgate to the Abyss is opened by [[Gromph Baenre]], the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, when he tries to harnesses a specific form of power in the Underdark; designer [[Chris Perkins (game designer)|Chris Perkins]] commented that Gromph is "arguably the most powerful male drow spellcaster in the Forgotten Realms, yet he feels subjugated and betrayed by Lolth and her priestesses".<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |last=Grabianowski |first=Ed |date=2015-09-03 |title=Hell Comes to the Underdark in D&D's New Rage of Demons Campaign |url=https://gizmodo.com/hell-comes-to-the-underdark-in-d-ds-new-rage-of-demons-1728418174 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Gizmodo |language=en-US}}</ref> Perkins also said the drow are "iconic D&D villains" with a matriarchal society that "is part of their core identity", adding they are "not looking to fundamentally change that" so there should not be expectations for "drow males to supplant their female superiors any time soon".<ref name=":17" /> The drow are also discussed in the ''[[Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide]]'' (2015)<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-11-05 |title=Review – Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide (Dungeons & Dragons) |url=https://www.strangeassembly.com/2015/review-sword-coast-adventurers-guide-dungeons-dragons |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Strange Assembly |language=en-US}}</ref> and in the ''[[Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes]]'' (2018) supplements.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-11 |title=Get an exclusive preview of elves and drow from D&D’s upcoming book Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes |url=https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/news/get-an-exclusive-preview-of-elves-and-drow-from-dds-upcoming-book/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Tabletop Gaming}}</ref>

The drow of Xen'drik are again outlined in ''[[Eberron: Rising from the Last War|Eberron: Rising From The Last War]]'' (2019).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1127909424|title=Eberron: Rising From The Last War|date=2019|others=Inc Wizards of the Coast|isbn=978-0-7869-6689-9|location=[Renton, WA]|oclc=1127909424}}</ref> The new [[Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings#Exandria|Exandria]] campaign setting added a non-Lolth based society of drow which was introduced in the ''[[Explorer's Guide to Wildemount]]'' (2020).<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|last=Haeck|first=James|date=March 17, 2020|title=Welcome to Wildemount: The Regions of Wildemount|url=https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/746-welcome-to-wildemount-how-to-start-your-critical|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208204349/https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/746-welcome-to-wildemount-how-to-start-your-critical|archive-date=February 8, 2021|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[D&D Beyond]]}}</ref> Per Wizards of the Coast, the drow of these settings are presented as more "morally and culturally complex".<ref name=":0" /> On June 26, 2020, [[Netflix]] and [[Hulu]] removed the "[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Community)|Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]" episode of the TV series ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]'' from their platforms due to scenes with Chang playing a dark elf by wearing [[Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|elf]] ears and makeup resembling [[blackface]]. A statement from [[Sony Pictures Television]] said that the studio supported the decision to remove the episode.<ref name="wrap">{{cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=June 26, 2020 |title=Netflix Pulls 'Community' Episode 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' Due to Blackface Scenes (Exclusive) |url=https://www.thewrap.com/community-advanced-dungeons-and-dragons-episode-removed-netflix-blackface/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628060004/https://www.thewrap.com/community-advanced-dungeons-and-dragons-episode-removed-netflix-blackface/ |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |access-date=June 26, 2020 |website=[[TheWrap]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Thorne |first=Will |date=June 26, 2020 |title='The Office' Blackface Scene Edited Out, Netflix Pulls 'Community' Blackface Episode |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/the-office-blackface-scene-edited-out-community-episode-pulled-netflix-1234691427/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630231520/https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/the-office-blackface-scene-edited-out-community-episode-pulled-netflix-1234691427/ |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |access-date=June 26, 2020 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

Christian Hoffer, for ''[[ComicBook.com]]'', highlighted a May 2021 update on Drizzt Do'Urden by Wizards of the Coast and wrote, "it also notes one major change to D&D canon that relates to the drow culture that Drizzt ultimately abandoned. The website points out that while Drizzt grew up in a 'cult of Lolth' [...], there are two other entire cultures of drow who have no ties to Lolth whatsoever. [...] The reveal of the Lorendrow and Aevendrow seem to suggest that ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is officially moving past some long-held canon about the drow".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=May 20, 2021|title=Dungeons & Dragons Sets Up Big Changes to the Drow|url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-drow-changes-lolth/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=ComicBook.com|language=en|archive-date=2021-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520191929/https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-drow-changes-lolth/|url-status=live}}</ref> Tika Viteri, for ''Book Riot'', commented that Salvatore's ''Starlight Enclave'' (2021) "contains a singular shift in the narrative of the story of the drow; Salvatore reveals that drow are not, in fact, the only dark-skinned elves in the Forgotten Realms".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Viteri|first=Tika|date=2021-08-27|title=Dungeons & Dragons and Racism, Oh My|url=https://bookriot.com/dungeons-dragons-racism/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=bookriot.com |language=en-US|archive-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922010851/https://bookriot.com/dungeons-dragons-racism/|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2021, Wizards of the Coast released an [[Erratum|errata]] for the ''Player's Handbook'' (2014) which updated the lore description of drow to emphasize their environmental connection to the Underdark and decouple them for Lolth.<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":20">{{Cite web |last=Crawford |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Crawford |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Sage Advice: Book Updates |url=https://dnd.wizards.com/dndstudioblog/sage-advice-book-updates |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220013226/https://dnd.wizards.com/dndstudioblog/sage-advice-book-updates |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |access-date=April 18, 2025 |website=Dungeons & Dragons}}</ref> Designer [[Jeremy Crawford]] explained that the errata clarifies a description which "confused the culture of [[Menzoberranzan]] [...] with drow themselves" and that "drow are united by an ancestral connection to the Underdark, not by worship of Lolth–a god some of them have never heard of".<ref name=":20" />

==== ''2024 revision'' ====
The [[Backward compatibility|backward compatible]] ''Player's Handbook'' (2024), as part of the [[One D&D|2024 revision]] to the 5th Edition ruleset, updates preexisting player options while introducing new content to the game; player races are now described as player species.<ref name="PC Gamer on PAX Unplugged 2023">{{Cite news |last=Macgregor |first=Jody |date=December 9, 2023 |title=D&D's Revised Player's Handbook 'will be the biggest Player's Handbook that D&D has ever had', and like all the Revised core books will be compatible with the current edition |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/dandds-revised-players-handbook-will-be-the-biggest-players-handbook-that-dandd-has-ever-had-and-like-all-the-revised-core-books-will-be-compatible-with-the-current-edition/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829030804/https://www.pcgamer.com/dandds-revised-players-handbook-will-be-the-biggest-players-handbook-that-dandd-has-ever-had-and-like-all-the-revised-core-books-will-be-compatible-with-the-current-edition/ |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |access-date=December 10, 2023 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Samantha |date=2024-09-18 |title=Race becomes species in D&D, but that’s not the only change in the new Player’s Handbook |url=https://www.polygon.com/dnd-dungeons-dragons/452438/new-players-handbook-uses-species-not-race |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref> Drow appear as an Elven Lineage option in this sourcebook.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fiore |first=Marissa |date=2024-09-07 |title=Dungeons & Dragons: All Species In The 2024 Player's Handbook |url=https://www.thegamer.com/dungeons-dragons-dnd-2024-players-handbook-species/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Screen Rant]]'' highlighted that mechanically drow are "largely unchanged, save for better spell selection and the removal of sunlight sensitivity".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Connor |date=2024-09-19 |title=D&D’s Most Iconic Species Are Better Than Ever In The 2024 Player’s Handbook |url=https://screenrant.com/dnd-2024-players-handbook-elf-dwarf-species-improvements/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]'' commented that the changes to the drow reflect a shift in design philosophy by Wizards of the Coast, noting that they were often "portrayed in the past as evil".<ref name=":16" /> ''Polygon'' highlighted that the 2024 sourcebook describes elves as impacted by their "environment in ways that imbue them with magic and change their appearance" with the drow "being marked by the Underdark without necessarily being aligned with the evil deity Lolth"; this sourcebook "also draws attention to the rainforest-dwelling drow found in the Eberron campaign setting".<ref name=":16" />