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Cpt420
Acolyte
5 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:21:53
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I have been a fan off D&D for decades now, and absolutely love tales of the FR.
I read a post where user "Khorne" stated that it was a little offensive that when some Drow turned brown and were concidered "good" while the Drow that remained black are still known as "evil". This brings to mind a question I have had since I first read the tale of Drizzt.
Why are Drow Black? ok barring that they were once brown, they currently and have for some time lived underground. Now some do make surface trips, but I don't think I'm presuming to much when I say that some maybe most of the Drow have never left the underdark for maybe generations.
This being said and going by simple evolution...I ask again why are they black? Shouldn't they be white, really pale lilly white. I mean no sun for us means pale skin, even if it is just for a season we get paler, and all species that live their entire lives in lightless caves are white and blind, shouldn't it be the same with Drow.
It would seem to me that wild elfs should be darker or black, and Drow elfs should be white or translucent. Also they should be complety blind, thats what we see in other creatures that live there entire lives underground. And instead of seeing with infra-red heat, I would think in a cold, wet lightless environment they would use a type of sonar to locate prey and navigate with much like bats.
So are they black in much the same way that the bad cowboy wears a black hat. Just my thoughts, do any of you agree? or disagree?
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Edited by - Cpt420 on 18 Oct 2012 20:37:46
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:28:12
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Ok, first, please use paragraph breaks in your text. Wall-o-text is really hard to read, and most won't bother.
Second, after briefly skimming your post, I have a question: do you mean why are drow black from an in-game point of view, or why did the designers make them black? |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Cpt420
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:38:28
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Sorry about the former wall-O-text.
and to answer your second Q' both. Why in game or in novel, or from conception....Why Black?
Also as a follow up, is evolution a factor in game?, novel?, lore?
Did the Umberhulk evolve or did AO just make it that way?
Is creationism the norm? or evolution? I would hope the ladder. |
Edited by - Cpt420 on 18 Oct 2012 20:54:43 |
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idilippy
Senior Scribe
USA
417 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:47:21
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I am fairly sure that the earth dwelling dark elves of Norse myth played a part in the dark elves of D&D, but I don't have any evidence behind that.
As for the in game reason of why they aren't pale and blind, I'm fairly certain that's due to Lloth and the magic of the race. There's a lot on drow in the Drow of the Underdark 3.5e book but I don't have it and don't remember a lot about it, hopefully someone will be able to find a source and reason better than my guesses and rememberings. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:54:18
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It's because of a curse inflicted upon them with High Magic. It turned their skins obsidian black, there's no biological reason for that color.
And yes, I agree with you that it's not the best choice. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 21:34:44
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I don't know; it sounds like politically-correct pot-stirring to me, to worry about drow being black.
Was TSR in the wrong for making black dragons evil, as well? But then, there are also evil white dragons. So does that mean that they cancel each other out, therefore, there's no problem, there?
Then there are red dragons that are likewise evil. Should we feel that we have affronted Native American Indians?
Will little green men from Mars be the next victim group, lamenting D&D's draconic color coding system?
Where does it all end?
From the very first time that I read about black-skinned elves, I did not think about people of African descent. Those people have brown skin--not black. They're only called "Black".
So if "Black" people are offended that evil elves are figured as having actual black skin, or if "Whites" are offended on their behalf, then there's a big non sequitur, there. Why should fictional evil black-skinned elves be considered offensive to RW brown-skinned people? Bah! |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 21:38:28
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| It's sort of hard to look at thing from an evolutionary point of view in a game where magic is a dominant force. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore
1221 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 21:53:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Cpt420
Sorry about the former wall-O-text.
and to answer your second Q' both. Why in game or in novel, or from conception....Why Black?
Also as a follow up, is evolution a factor in game?, novel?, lore?
Did the Umberhulk evolve or did AO just make it that way?
Is creationism the norm? or evolution? I would hope the ladder.
Keep in mind we're talking about a world where the existence of divine beings isn't simply hinted at or implied, but where it is possible(if considerably difficult) to physically travel to the realms of the gods, sit down, and have a face to face chat with them. Creationism being a major factor in such a world is to be expected. |
"Then I saw there was a way to Hell even from the gates of Heaven"
- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress
Fatum Iustum Stultorum. Righteous is the destiny of fools.
The Roleplayer's Gazebo;
http://theroleplayersgazebo.yuku.com/directory#.Ub4hvvlJOAY |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36782 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 22:29:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
It's because of a curse inflicted upon them with High Magic. It turned their skins obsidian black, there's no biological reason for that color.
And yes, I agree with you that it's not the best choice.
Actually, we had black-skinned drow years before we had the High Magic explanation... |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 23:28:50
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Right. Drow have been black ever since their first introduction into D&D in the GDQ series (check, for instance, the cover art of D3 Vault of the Drow). I don't know why they were made black, but my guess is a combination of the Norse underworld-dwelling dark elves (remember, this was the very birth of D&D, and they were still establishing many monsters by drawing from various legends) and to provide a quick and easy visual difference between them and their established surface kin. After all, we're calling them "dark" elves, they live underground, and they're evil, so let's make their skin black.
In FR, dark elves were originally either grey skinned with pale hair or brown, depending on whether you're using Cormanthyr or whatever that end-of-3e novel drek. That changed after they were banished from the surface during the Crown Wars some twelve thousand years before present day. Again, depending on the source, it either happened over time, or instantly. But they were originally surface-dwelling elves, and so their appearance and abilities (like infravision) remain after their banishment. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 08:56:37
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The word drow is a corrupt form of dhaeraow, which originally meant "face of shadow," "heart of night," "traitor," and a host of other curses that the dark elves well earned during the elven civil war known as the Crown Wars. This came about from the dark elves being seduced by evil powers such as Lolth, Ghaunadaur, and Vhaeraun. When the High Magic cursed these truly corrupt elves, their hair turned stark white and their skin darkened to match the darkness in their hearts. Poetic in an elven sort of way I imagine, but is not genetic, pure magic at work.
Ed's original version of dark elves were pale albino I believe. And there are the occasional albino drow. An entire city of them would probably be pretty slick, but then I imagine they'd live near or on the surface if they could pass as surfacers. |
Edited by - Eilserus on 19 Oct 2012 08:57:16 |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 09:39:08
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quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
I don't know; it sounds like politically-correct pot-stirring to me, to worry about drow being black.
Was TSR in the wrong for making black dragons evil, as well? But then, there are also evil white dragons. So does that mean that they cancel each other out, therefore, there's no problem, there?
Then there are red dragons that are likewise evil. Should we feel that we have affronted Native American Indians?
Will little green men from Mars be the next victim group, lamenting D&D's draconic color coding system?
Where does it all end?
From the very first time that I read about black-skinned elves, I did not think about people of African descent. Those people have brown skin--not black. They're only called "Black".
So if "Black" people are offended that evil elves are figured as having actual black skin, or if "Whites" are offended on their behalf, then there's a big non sequitur, there. Why should fictional evil black-skinned elves be considered offensive to RW brown-skinned people? Bah!
When I said 'I agree that it is not the best choice' I was referring to the fact that a curse inflicted as punishment led to a change in skin color. It seems just 'meh' to me. I wasn't thinking about it being politically correct or not, as -personally- I don't care about these kind of issues in fantasy. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 19 Oct 2012 10:31:42 |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 14:55:22
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| anfor the offest side note: people who ae caled white, their skin tone isnt white either..... ah just my crayola crayon box talking there |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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Cpt420
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 17:23:41
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@SFDragon lol crayola box talking...still chuckling at that, and @BEAST easy partner the post was not ment to stir any pot PC or whatever, just a question about why black.
Thank you to all for your poignant and thought inducing answers.
So it does look as if they are indeed "Black" due to a need to manifest their nature in a visual format, (bad cowboy=black hat) and thats not an issue with me, well not here anyway, thats for a different forum. Most if not all of western civilization promotes this association.
I also agree that in the FR creationism is a real and stable science due to their divinic system not being 100% faith based, but has divine beings walking about, directly intervining with thier followers.
Makes me wonder; would then evolution be concidered, blasphemy? do any faithful belive in natural selection? does anyone ask the question "where did a giant purple worm come from? and why?"
Were all the creatures made for a reason by one god or another? Does anyone champion natural selection? or is everything the result of some spell or another that lingers still.
Or maybe the presence of magic is an evolution of natural selection itself, as a result of a stagnant ecosystem? One that did not have any system for biological change or growth, just direct intervention by powerful beings when they had time or were free from personal battles.
Also again none of this is ment to be all PC or preachey, If you agree cool lets hear it, if you disagree cool and even better, lets here why. |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 17:42:27
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I think that there is a healthy mixture of both evolution and creationism in the realms, like it was pointed out the drow were cursed by the Gods with their current form but a creature like the hook horror might have evolved naturally in response to the environmental conditions found in the underdark.
Also I believe the derro are a devolved form of dwarf, possibly dwarf human hybrid, that were specifically bred by some nameless evil so their current form could be considered a mixture of both divine intervention and evolutionary factors. |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 17:46:14
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| I think the Realms and some sages might have a limited understanding of evolution. Personally, when I'm creating say a bugbear tribe that lives deep in the underdark, chances are I'll make them albino in fur color etc to reflect a long time underground. Really just depends on the creature/monster etc. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 17:46:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
When I said 'I agree that it is not the best choice' I was referring to the fact that a curse inflicted as punishment led to a change in skin color. It seems just 'meh' to me. I wasn't thinking about it being politically correct or not, as -personally- I don't care about these kind of issues in fantasy.
Gotcha. Sorry about that. Lots of times, when people raise their eyebrows at this subject, they do so for the other reason.
I question how much of a mark of the curse the change in skin color really is. Their being truly black-skinned doesn't change the fact that they are usually described as a beautiful, sleek, fit people. Just look at most of the official art featuring drow, and you see what I mean. That's not much of a curse, just going off of looks alone.
Corellon shoulda made 'em look like pig-faces, instead . . .
Or yochlols, maybe. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 17:50:20
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Good idea Beast, but then I'm guessing RA Salvatore might not ever have come up with Drizzt if he had to have a snout. |
Edited by - Thauranil on 19 Oct 2012 17:50:45 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 18:16:24
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I haven't read any of the other responses, but IIRC I covered this in the (non-canon) Elves of Faerūn project.
Elves gain a small portion of their sustenance from sunlight - that is canon. When denied sunlight for any great length of time they will eventually die (which is why they make terrible slaves). Now, I have all kinds of theories about that - elves can also lose their will to live and simply die. It seems to me this is a more esoteric type of spiritual sustenance - something required to maintain their 'elfyness'. It could very well be one of the discerning facts of what constitutes 'seelie' and 'Unseelie' fey (You "lose the light on your face, you lose the light in your heart", blah, blah, blah).
I wish I could give a more scientific solution, but the truth is, colors work the exact opposite ways - lighter colors reflect light and darker colors absorb it. Drow should actually be albino white (as Ed had them originally). So I believe I came up with some sort of whitish Chlorophyll-like substance in their blood that allows them to absorb radiance from sunlight. When the Drow were cursed, this was removed.
Their aversion to sunlight is unrelated - that is scientific and easy to explain. When they were cursed they became creatures of darkness - nocturnal - which gave them their Darkvision. Any nocturnal creature avoids sunlight because it is too strong for them, and painful. I have a theory (thanks to the changes brought-about in 3e) that Faerūnian Drow - the Ilythiir - were granted a boon by lolth when they fled underground - she also gave them Infravision. They can switch back and forth between the two, and also have a nictitating membrane which allows for a hybrid 'full color spectrum' vision even in absolute darkness (that was my HB solution to the Narbondel conundrum - FR Drow still have infravision).
Drow discovered Faerzress in the Underdark (probably guided to it by Lolth's priestesses), which prove to be a great power-source. That energy permeates anything it gets near, and imbues it with strange powers. That would also help explain their aversion to sunlight - they literally absorb the radiation, which itself is anethema to radiant sunlight. Their items - Drow-crafted items - are also able to absorb this radiation, and benefit form it. The items, like the Drow themselves, are granted powers from it, but can't tolerate sunlight.
Faersrezz should be, literally, 'chaos' made manifest. I don't know precisely what Lisa Smedman did with it, but from what I have heard it doesn't seem to fit prior lore nearly as well. The only 'fix' I can think of is that the radiation itself is like a an addictive drug - they get hooked on it (which I suppose does make some sense, since they do seem to gain power from it).
What all of this means is that elves should actually be naturally black, and its only the Chlorophyll-like substance in their blood that lightens their skin. The more sunlight they receive, the 'clearer' their skin gets (and can even get somewhat translucent, as in the case of specific 'blessed' elves, like Queen Amlaruil's daughter Ilyrana). This means that that theoretical substance behaves in an opposite manner as human Melanin.
While this theory is radical, I find it both amusing and somewhat scandalous that elves should be black, which means 'Drow-BLack' is the true skin tone of elves, if their bodies weren't absorbing radiance all the time. This is a theory most elves would kill someone over if they heard it. Drow are how elves were meant to be.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 18:30:59
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quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
When I said 'I agree that it is not the best choice' I was referring to the fact that a curse inflicted as punishment led to a change in skin color. It seems just 'meh' to me. I wasn't thinking about it being politically correct or not, as -personally- I don't care about these kind of issues in fantasy.
Gotcha. Sorry about that. Lots of times, when people raise their eyebrows at this subject, they do so for the other reason.
I question how much of a mark of the curse the change in skin color really is. Their being truly black-skinned doesn't change the fact that they are usually described as a beautiful, sleek, fit people. Just look at most of the official art featuring drow, and you see what I mean. That's not much of a curse, just going off of looks alone.
Corellon shoulda made 'em look like pig-faces, instead . . .
Or yochlols, maybe.
In my own HB lore, the (Eladrin) Elves living in Faerie were of two branches - Seelie and Unseelie, as all fey-related creatures are. The Seelie ones prefer to allow their chaotic nature to manifest in creativity and beauty, while the unseelie prefer destruction and ugliness (which in their minds is just a more provocative form of sensual expression). The original fey Elves - the ones born in faerie - were natural shapeshifters (as are all true fey), and the Unseelie branch took on hideous visages as a form of self-expression. Amongst them, the more shocking and hideous, the better.*
After the elves migrated to the Prime Material Plane, most Elves (the Lythari being the most noteworthy exception) lost the abilities granted them by their fey heritage, including shape-shifting. This means they were all 'stuck' as they were, which includes the various tribes of Unseelie fey... which we know of today as goblinoids. When it comes to the fey, and all their creations, the outside truly reflects whats on the inside.
Drow are cursed to be dark elves, but the Orcs are the true svartįlfar.
Once again, all HB, but it does fit with the article on Gruumsh and Corellon in the DDi Dragon magazine. Amusing, no? 
*And this is not entirely my idea - it is somewhat borrowed from the rather excellent Saga of Pliocene Exile, where they call the two branches the Tanu and the Firvulag. I just modified it to better fit D&D and FR. However, in that series, the Firvalug did not choose their appearance... at least not entirely. They were the victims of strange, underdark radiation. Nice correlation, eh? |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 21:35:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Elves gain a small portion of their sustenance from sunlight - that is canon. When denied sunlight for any great length of time they will eventually die (which is why they make terrible slaves). Now, I have all kinds of theories about that - elves can also lose their will to live and simply die. It seems to me this is a more esoteric type of spiritual sustenance - something required to maintain their 'elfyness'. [...]
I wish I could give a more scientific solution, but the truth is, colors work the exact opposite ways - lighter colors reflect light and darker colors absorb it. Drow should actually be albino white (as Ed had them originally).
How 'bout this?
Elves require light (preferably solar, but not necessarily). Drow are banished to the Underdark, where they have little to no access to sunlight. But, as elves, they still need whatever light they can get, and as much of it as possible. So they gravitate toward alternative types of light (from faerzress and faerie fire). And in order to maximize their ability to partake of these fleeting sources of alternative light, their skin becomes black, precisely because it is the color that absorbs light to the greatest degree. They're not getting much of it, but their bodies have evolved in such a way as to maximize their ability to absorb whatever they can get.
That could explain why drow priestesses like those slinky, revealing outfits, too. They're just trying to catch some faerzress rays, with the best light collector they could possibly come up with.  |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 22:05:51
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| So they've all gotten a 'Faerzress tan'? |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 22:09:54
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quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Elves gain a small portion of their sustenance from sunlight - that is canon. When denied sunlight for any great length of time they will eventually die (which is why they make terrible slaves). Now, I have all kinds of theories about that - elves can also lose their will to live and simply die. It seems to me this is a more esoteric type of spiritual sustenance - something required to maintain their 'elfyness'. [...]
I wish I could give a more scientific solution, but the truth is, colors work the exact opposite ways - lighter colors reflect light and darker colors absorb it. Drow should actually be albino white (as Ed had them originally).
How 'bout this?
Elves require light (preferably solar, but not necessarily). Drow are banished to the Underdark, where they have little to no access to sunlight. But, as elves, they still need whatever light they can get, and as much of it as possible. So they gravitate toward alternative types of light (from faerzress and faerie fire). And in order to maximize their ability to partake of these fleeting sources of alternative light, their skin becomes black, precisely because it is the color that absorbs light to the greatest degree. They're not getting much of it, but their bodies have evolved in such a way as to maximize their ability to absorb whatever they can get.
That could explain why drow priestesses like those slinky, revealing outfits, too. They're just trying to catch some faerzress rays, with the best light collector they could possibly come up with.
I actually like that...it makes scientific sense in a magical situation. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 22:29:06
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| Yes, it is for sure cooler than 'OMG the gods cursed us all!'. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 03:59:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
So they've all gotten a 'Faerzress tan'?
Aye, and when it gets a little too bright for them, they don their choice of:
Faerzress-bans
FaeRay-bans, or
Avarielators.
(p.s.: Hey MT, maybe on your next trek to Faerūn, you could scrounge up a pair of ORCLEYs!) |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
Edited by - BEAST on 20 Oct 2012 19:26:13 |
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 12:57:01
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| I love the light-absorbing explanation... |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 19:28:25
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Cool. I'm glad y'all like it.
I am imagining drow skin cells acting as miniature solar cells. There are solar cells that will even absorb low light from indoor fluorescent and eco-friendly bulbs, these days. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
Edited by - BEAST on 20 Oct 2012 19:36:12 |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2012 : 05:47:11
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| Gagh, I always come across these interesting threads late. I was going to mention how the Illythiir were dark-skinned, but yeah...that's already been said. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2012 : 06:11:58
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Sylvan (Wood/Green) Elves are always naturally dark of skin. The Ilythiir probaly got the monicker 'Dark Elves' for more then their darker-then-normal pigmentation.
Its the 'Faerie Elves' (Gray/High/Eladrin) that have light skin coloration. Of course, exceptions exist on both sides (some Gold elves can get quite dark, and some wood elves have pale skin).
But the skin of Drow is black (although I've seen them range from very dark brown and grey to purple), which is an abnormality. I like BEAST's explanation a lot - it makes perfect sense (like how cave-dwellers and deep-sea critters have very large eyes to compensate for the lack of light).
Hmph... just had a weird thought - drow should have big eyes (bug eyes?) |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2012 : 06:19:30
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| BEAST's explanation is a good one, I agree. Except that drow blister in the sun--or at least they did in Starlight and Shadows...but that's really beside the point, isn't it? |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2012 : 08:33:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
it makes perfect sense (like how cave-dwellers and deep-sea critters have very large eyes to compensate for the lack of light).
Hmph... just had a weird thought - drow should have big eyes (bug eyes?)
I recall reading a few science-based discussions of hypothetical infravision which made that assertion, and claimed that such eyeballs would have to be almost ridiculously large--like a <tarsier> or something--but I don't remember them ever backing that assertion up. Theoretically, eyeballs could/should/would grow to a very large size in order to provide an underworld organism a maximal internal surface area bearing a maximal number of receptors, in order to give the organism the greatest possible sensitivity to light. But if the D&D game rules define infravision as having a fairly short range, then perhaps our drow wouldn't need that much sensitivity, and therefore that big of eyes, after all. (Sorry, I can't provide any hard numbers for any of this, as I don't know them.) |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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A Question on Drow
