Albino Drow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Albino Drow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
warpdragon
10-09-04, 03:34 PM Ok, heres my idea, pieced together from ideas on this board and my mind.

Albino drow as a spy in a high elf community. Spared from sacrifce by divine intervention, he is trained to an excelent standard. He is then somehow turned into a baby while keeping his full knowledge. Either left as an orphan or somehow implanted into a mother in a high elf community to "grow up" again.

What would be a good way to do this?

Edit: spelling
Kaalan
10-10-04, 11:40 PM Excellent idea. Maybe have him "orphaned" as a young kid...by our standards maybe 10 years old....Old enough to be brainwashed by the drow to be a spy but not old enough to draw suspicion.
warpdragon
10-13-04, 10:18 PM Do you you think his odd accent would be noticed a Drow or if it would just be weird?

Anyone have ideas for the classes? Hexblade sort of seems to jump out at me. Lawful Evil, probably. Maybe take the Assassin PrC, but the skills dont sync up.

I've heard some mention about someone making a PrC Hexblade. Maybe SavageProgressionDrow2/xxx3/PrcHex15. Maybe the xxx could be a socially biased rogue? Maybe bard to cover the spellcasting?
Galahad_Knight
10-14-04, 04:38 AM For a start, "Albino Drow" brings up nightmares of players past.

People thought it was clever to play an albino drow and pose as a high elf so they could get all the drow power without having to actually roleplay being a frelling drow and neatly evading the issue that drow on the surface are hated and treated with fear and suspicion.

I'm not saying you're doing that, just mentioning what this reminds me of.

Anyhow, if you're going to go to the trouble of "somehow" turning him into a baby you might as well "somehow" turn him into a high elf because 1) an Albino, drow or otherwise, is NOT going to blend in with normal elves. He's going to be utterly devoid of pigment, have pink or ultra-light blue eyes (not to mention that drow are substantially shorter than surface elves, especially in FR) and an aversion to sunlight, which brings us to 2) look up the medical effects pof being al albino sometime. It's not just having cool white hair and skin and funky eyes.
It means you have NO defense against sunlight. Skin cancer is a very very high risk and your eyes are very sensitrive to light, not to mention you'll have other vision problems...doubly so if you're already a drow with light blindness.

An albino drow would not only not fit in on the sirface, but he would quickly become a blind, cancer-riddled cripple...a blind, cancer-riddled crippled...infant at that.

Frankly in my opinion, if you want to roleplay a drow and you want him to be evil (after all, you're proposing a highly trianed spy) just play a regular evil drow.

Sure, you won't be able to infiltrate high elf society but you'll be more plausable and potentially more fun.

THink about it, you vcould play the Drizt card. "Oh, I'm a good drow, I swear. All these ignorant pesants want to lynch me because of the color of my skin but they refuse to see the good in my heart." :evil:

Adventurers buy into that sap real easy. After all, theypre supposed to be eccuminical purveyors of goodness and virtue after all. Then you can be an evil spy and be totally protected by a band of adventuring saps who believe you're a good guy and will more readily believe that people are trying to frame you than believe that you're actually evil. I played a drow in a campaign like that, it was a blast. All the players knew I was evil, but I was able to BS and come up with a sappy enough story that the characters bought it. Itwas a lot of fun.

And if you *really* want to play an ultra-spy drow elf and pretend to be a high elf then give him a hat of disguise, easily within the starting funds of a creature with a drow elf's 3 ECL.

You don't have to have a bizarre story or some kind of fluke to make an interesting character.

A good roleplayer can make a perfectly average 1st level human fighter an interesting and memorable character.

Trust me on this, quirks can be a handicap to true roleplaying.

PS: Sorry if it sounds like I'm picking on your idea, it's a neat idea but it just seems way too needlessly complicated and hard to buy. Sometimnes simplicity is the best thing.
Skrimshaw
10-14-04, 05:40 PM [QUOTE=Galahad_Knight]For a start, "Albino Drow" brings up nightmares of players past.

QUOTE]

OMG me too! and i have always thought the same thing about the double light sensitivity.
warpdragon
10-14-04, 06:11 PM If he is abandoned as a kid, shortness wont stick out as much
I think cancer is a DnD game concept. Thats just too real.
He could use the albinoness to cover up for his Drow light blindness.
I don't want to be Drizzt.
I do want to be a spy, not a guest
The hat of disgise just kills the concept.

Anyway, I like how it is.
Galahad_Knight
10-14-04, 06:58 PM Just giving my opinion is all.
If you want to use a real world medical condition you should either use it all or not at all. To simply glaze over what makes the condition a real handicap, to me, sounds like an excuse to exploit something without bothering to roleplay it.

I also don;t see how a hat of disguise ruins the concept. the concept is a spy. Spys use disguises.
What it kills is the need for overly complicated gimicks

Anyhow, if you are so attached to "Somehow" making him into a little kid, I think you;re better off "Somehow" making him look like a surface elf too. A real albino would not only be ineffective, but he;d likely be sacrificed or outcast.

The idea of a drow spy disguised as a child is an interesting one, don;t get me wrong.
I'
m just sayign if you;re going to do it you may as well go with the way that makes the most sense.
If he;s going to be magically disguised as a child, why not magically disguise him as a surface elf too? That way he;s not totally blind in daylight and can actualy be effective.
warpdragon
10-14-04, 07:58 PM A real albino would not only be ineffective, but he;d likely be sacrificed or outcast.
From the drow or the surface elves?

I get the feeling thay anyone could slap on the hat and say that they are an elf. From your descriptions, It might be better to say he was found starving, lost and nearly fried alive when the elves got to him, and then one day returning to the drow to show what he could do and what info he got. Would the surface elves accept him?

Also, how would you do an albino? How would you represent cancer?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
warpdragon 10-09-04, 03:34 PM	Ok, heres my idea, pieced together from ideas on this board and my mind. Albino drow as a spy in a high elf community. Spared from sacrifce by divine intervention, he is trained to an excelent standard. He is then somehow turned into a baby while keeping his full knowledge. Either left as an orphan or somehow implanted into a mother in a high elf community to "grow up" again. What would be a good way to do this? Edit: spelling
Kaalan 10-10-04, 11:40 PM	Excellent idea. Maybe have him "orphaned" as a young kid...by our standards maybe 10 years old....Old enough to be brainwashed by the drow to be a spy but not old enough to draw suspicion.
warpdragon 10-13-04, 10:18 PM	Do you you think his odd accent would be noticed a Drow or if it would just be weird? Anyone have ideas for the classes? Hexblade sort of seems to jump out at me. Lawful Evil, probably. Maybe take the Assassin PrC, but the skills dont sync up. I've heard some mention about someone making a PrC Hexblade. Maybe SavageProgressionDrow2/xxx3/PrcHex15. Maybe the xxx could be a socially biased rogue? Maybe bard to cover the spellcasting?
Galahad_Knight 10-14-04, 04:38 AM	For a start, "Albino Drow" brings up nightmares of players past. People thought it was clever to play an albino drow and pose as a high elf so they could get all the drow power without having to actually roleplay being a frelling drow and neatly evading the issue that drow on the surface are hated and treated with fear and suspicion. I'm not saying you're doing that, just mentioning what this reminds me of. Anyhow, if you're going to go to the trouble of "somehow" turning him into a baby you might as well "somehow" turn him into a high elf because 1) an Albino, drow or otherwise, is NOT going to blend in with normal elves. He's going to be utterly devoid of pigment, have pink or ultra-light blue eyes (not to mention that drow are substantially shorter than surface elves, especially in FR) and an aversion to sunlight, which brings us to 2) look up the medical effects pof being al albino sometime. It's not just having cool white hair and skin and funky eyes. It means you have NO defense against sunlight. Skin cancer is a very very high risk and your eyes are very sensitrive to light, not to mention you'll have other vision problems...doubly so if you're already a drow with light blindness. An albino drow would not only not fit in on the sirface, but he would quickly become a blind, cancer-riddled cripple...a blind, cancer-riddled crippled...infant at that. Frankly in my opinion, if you want to roleplay a drow and you want him to be evil (after all, you're proposing a highly trianed spy) just play a regular evil drow. Sure, you won't be able to infiltrate high elf society but you'll be more plausable and potentially more fun. THink about it, you vcould play the Drizt card. "Oh, I'm a good drow, I swear. All these ignorant pesants want to lynch me because of the color of my skin but they refuse to see the good in my heart." :evil: Adventurers buy into that sap real easy. After all, theypre supposed to be eccuminical purveyors of goodness and virtue after all. Then you can be an evil spy and be totally protected by a band of adventuring saps who believe you're a good guy and will more readily believe that people are trying to frame you than believe that you're actually evil. I played a drow in a campaign like that, it was a blast. All the players knew I was evil, but I was able to BS and come up with a sappy enough story that the characters bought it. Itwas a lot of fun. And if you really want to play an ultra-spy drow elf and pretend to be a high elf then give him a hat of disguise, easily within the starting funds of a creature with a drow elf's 3 ECL. You don't have to have a bizarre story or some kind of fluke to make an interesting character. A good roleplayer can make a perfectly average 1st level human fighter an interesting and memorable character. Trust me on this, quirks can be a handicap to true roleplaying. PS: Sorry if it sounds like I'm picking on your idea, it's a neat idea but it just seems way too needlessly complicated and hard to buy. Sometimnes simplicity is the best thing.
Skrimshaw 10-14-04, 05:40 PM	[QUOTE=Galahad_Knight]For a start, "Albino Drow" brings up nightmares of players past. QUOTE] OMG me too! and i have always thought the same thing about the double light sensitivity.
warpdragon 10-14-04, 06:11 PM	If he is abandoned as a kid, shortness wont stick out as much I think cancer is a DnD game concept. Thats just too real. He could use the albinoness to cover up for his Drow light blindness. I don't want to be Drizzt. I do want to be a spy, not a guest The hat of disgise just kills the concept. Anyway, I like how it is.
Galahad_Knight 10-14-04, 06:58 PM	Just giving my opinion is all. If you want to use a real world medical condition you should either use it all or not at all. To simply glaze over what makes the condition a real handicap, to me, sounds like an excuse to exploit something without bothering to roleplay it. I also don;t see how a hat of disguise ruins the concept. the concept is a spy. Spys use disguises. What it kills is the need for overly complicated gimicks Anyhow, if you are so attached to "Somehow" making him into a little kid, I think you;re better off "Somehow" making him look like a surface elf too. A real albino would not only be ineffective, but he;d likely be sacrificed or outcast. The idea of a drow spy disguised as a child is an interesting one, don;t get me wrong. I' m just sayign if you;re going to do it you may as well go with the way that makes the most sense. If he;s going to be magically disguised as a child, why not magically disguise him as a surface elf too? That way he;s not totally blind in daylight and can actualy be effective.
warpdragon 10-14-04, 07:58 PM	A real albino would not only be ineffective, but he;d likely be sacrificed or outcast. From the drow or the surface elves? I get the feeling thay anyone could slap on the hat and say that they are an elf. From your descriptions, It might be better to say he was found starving, lost and nearly fried alive when the elves got to him, and then one day returning to the drow to show what he could do and what info he got. Would the surface elves accept him? Also, how would you do an albino? How would you represent cancer?