Drey [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Drey [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
StoneSinger
03-12-08, 01:06 AM I remember a long time ago Greenronin released a book with Drow and Drow variants.
One of them was the Drey.
At first I thought Drey was a term for Half-Drow, apparently not.
From what I got they are Drow with facial hair (males not females, and the facial hair is normally like a thin braid on the chin), and completely white eyes but are not blind. (Just for the sake of it I would probably house-rule that they have pupils atleast) Still a matriarchy, but apparently it is like a race of Drow berserkers, Passionate, angry, violent, and very militaristic.
Does anyone know where on the web I can find the actual stats?
Also, does anyone know anything about them that I did not mention, because I mentioned all I know pretty much.
Opinions, likes/dislikes maybe?
SilentOne
03-12-08, 01:09 AM From what you described, they just seem like Drow with some cosmetic changes and a different culture. No need to give them different racial abilities.
StoneSinger
03-12-08, 01:46 AM That is just it, im pretty sure there are stat changes.
It is not a race ive made up, and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find out more.
I did find a link once, but lost it.
Though from what I remember they are geared more towards the physical stats than the normal Drow.
SquibThePirate
03-12-08, 12:41 PM http://www.greenronin.com/errata/index.php?id=1109

I believe it starts about halfway down the page.
Shiftkitty
03-12-08, 03:29 PM The changes are minor. Green Ronin's "Dezzavold: Fortress of the Drow" has the stats I use for the drey. It looked to me like the males got an even rawer deal than the drow boys. A female drow might hesitate to whip the crap out of a male who might belong to a more powerful female, but I get the picture that a drey male is a general possession of the clan and is essentially "owned" by every female. In my game, they don't even have names. When a female calls "Male!" they all had better jump and she'll pick which one she wants.

Hee hee! The drow PCs got introduced to the existence of the drey by witnessing a drow male, recently recovered from the drey, grovelling at his mistress's feet, thanking her sincerely for her kind and merciful treatment over the years.
StoneSinger
03-12-08, 05:55 PM Well, I will admit I am actually surprised to hear that anyone actually uses them in their game.
I mean, just because I had not heard of them for so long does not really mean anything, but I thought they were kind of obscure.
I need to pay more attention.
But do a lot of people know about them or is it more of something a drow-obsessed person would know?
How many people use them?

In which case I would like to ask, what do you think would be an appropriate class for a Drey male? (im not thinkin magic user)
Shiftkitty
03-12-08, 09:31 PM A drey male's favored class is rogue. Think along the lines of an assassin more than a thief. They're not terribly brave, but will fight to the death because facing the females after a defeat is a fate worse than death. I sometimes imagine the drey males seeing the way the drow males are treated and thinking "lucky bums...".

The females tend toward the barbarian class. I don't think the race has the discipline to master the arcane arts. In fact, I just looked through the Dezzavold book at the NPCs the Black Heart and her Eight Daggers. Of the spellcasters there are a cleric, a sorceror, and a bard. None of them are male. I imagine a male that showed anything even close to a special talent would be killed on the spot. Even if he hid it, the odds are that his fellows would rat him out at the first opportunity to save their own skins. There is no room for a male to be anything more than cannon fodder and sperm donor.

If you want to toss in some more flavor, the book lists several deities that can throw PCs for a loop. It seems every drow variation has some kind of spider goddess (except the Xen'drik drow, I think). But to really mess things up if you're playing homebrew, "The Lady of Mysteries" is the mother of the Spider Queen. She has taken an active interest in leading the drow out of the darkness they plunged into at the hands of the Spider Queen. IMO, more proactive than Eilistraee in her attempts to redeem her children, the city of Dezzavold was led by one of her followers. There are other deities listed that can provide some interesting variations from the "canonical" lists. I highly recommend "Dezzavold: Fortress of the Drow". I downloaded mine from RPGNow, but it might be available at Amazon as well.

I think I read in Dezzavold that the drey are evil because of a direct inteference from Nyarleth. Essentially it's a divine spark of evil. One of the drow players wants to capture a male alive and see what happens if you remove that spark. Gonna be a fun campaign, probably putting the group's ranger to the test like never before. That stray drey male he's been following has orders to lead the party right to where the females want them...

In my game, the drey are to the drow what the drow are to the surface elves. :devil:

I don't know how many people use them, since they're third party and a lot of players seem hung up on staying canon. It was my interest in the drow that led me to buy Dezzavold ("Plot & Poison" is next on my third party "TO GET" list), because I was looking for more material to make the race a more varied culture. Cultural options were seeming limited. I love Green Ronin's products and wish I owned more of them. Alas, money doesn't flow that freely right now!

I for one am glad to find someone else using the drey. I like them as a race because of the mindless fury they represent. They're barbaric. As I play it, children are as worthless as males until they can pick up a weapon and beat someone over the head with it. Captured slaves serve as wet nurses, and as soon as they're weaned, it's boys over there, girls over here. The girls are driven mercilessly to become strong and mean while the boys get unflinching obedience pounded into them. Some drow may secretly break the mold and be different from their evil kin, but for the drey, there is no considering any other way of life. This is how it is.

(I like to think that if the drey ever produced someone like Drizzt, the first time he hesitated to kill it would cost him his life. No disciplinary tongue-lashing followed by a beating to teach the lesson, just a blade across the throat. He'd serve as a lesson to the others. There is no room for hesitation or weakness.)
Shiftkitty
03-12-08, 09:58 PM PS: The drey worship Nyarleth only. I mentioned the other deities more for adding depth to the drow.

The drey eyes are depicted as white and without pupils, but if you have Drow of the Underdark, look at the illustrations of the solid white eyes closely and you will see slight coloring differences indicating a pupil and iris. I imagined the drey to be like that. Not truly solid white, but close enough for horseshoes, handgrenades, and hydrogen bombs.
StoneSinger
03-13-08, 03:51 AM Shiftkitty I can say you have been more helpful than I thought anyone would be.
I have not actually used them before in a campaign, but I am going to in my newest one.
I was thinking Drey rogue with knives hidden in his jacket and boots. Main weapon probably being shortswords, and true neutral (more out for himself than anything, just happy he got away from the opposite sex)
By what I have read about them so far I think...
About 5"0
White eyes
Hair worn long with one long braid off the chin
And absolutely willing to drop out of the rafters on someone

Thinkin I like Drey more than Drow.
Shiftkitty
03-13-08, 03:43 PM Glad I could help. Are you making a PC, or someone to give your players a nightmare of a time?

One thing I recall reading about the drey is that they do not enter the Reverie. They sleep like humans do. They still qualify as an elf subtype, though.

I put the facial hair as varying from clan to clan. The clan I'm using right now favors the fu-manchu style moustache, but not as long and thin. I imagined the style mimicking the mandibles of the ankheg.

I was just picturing a drey chieftess and her lieutenant, well within the patrol range of a drow city, gazing upon the drow and their nice, safe, cities, living their posh lives tended by servants and slaves, being carted around on tannequins, feasting on spiced mushrooms and exotic wines.

"When the glow of that big column is at the bottom and the shadows are deep, their so-called 'archmage' will be in the streets, heading for it to light it up again and relatively unprotected."

"The male we sent in. Does he know what to do?"

"He knows a pat on the head from a kick in the teeth. If he can't kill the archmage, he's better off with whatever fate the archmage deals to him. He'll signal us when the deed is done. Then this pile of bat droppings they call a city comes down around their soft, little ears."

"And if he fails and we don't get a signal?"

The chieftess smiled, "Then it's going to be a better fight than I had dared hoped for."

If the drey are barbarians, the drow are the Romans. And we know what happened to the Romans...:evillaugh
StoneSinger
03-24-08, 01:26 AM It might be a bad thing of me to do, but I am really just wanting to give my players a run for their money.
It has been a while since I started using them...my players have survived, so far.
Though they have been through some tight spots and close calls.
A Drey greataxe almost seperated our rogue from his head.

Great Fun!
Shiftkitty
03-24-08, 03:50 PM LOL! I can imagine that the male drey is somewhat used to hiding, since it's always better to let the next guy catch the brunt of a female's bad mood. Can we say "bonuses to Move Silently and Hide"? Especially if you're using "the one that got away". He'd have to be very good. Probably the one guy in existence who could sneak up and attack Jarlaxle, Artemis Entreri AND Drizzt all in one move!

I used one drey as bait to capture one of my drow PCs, a ranger named Tabak. His job was to look for stragglers from the last skirmish and bring one back alive. So he saw Trsh, a drey male, limping along badly. When the two made eye contact, Trsh started scrabbling away. Tabak closed in easily... and then Trsh's commanders, a small squad of eight drey females, sprang up and took him down. When he proved useless militarily, he was stuck in with the other drey males who proceeded to beat obedience into him. It was like being the new guy in prison. Trsh, meanwhile, was granted the rare treat of a big hunk of fresh cooked meat. When Tabak finally made his escape, he paused only long enough to exact his revenge on Trsh before making a run back for Menzoberranzan. I haven't really made any specific drey NPCs except for Trsh, and he's not with us anymore!
StoneSinger
03-25-08, 01:09 AM :D Put a Drey in a tight tunnel, he will shiv you in the spine
Put a Drey in a large cavern, beware the swinging greataxe :P

They are mad-fun, mostly because they are mad.

But a little madness is fun, especially when there is a lot....
Shiftkitty
03-25-08, 03:08 PM Sounds like that "Freaky Little Drow Haiku" I wrote:
Hey, let's play a game.
How many times can I stick
My knife in your back?

Except I don't think a drey would even have the courtesy to let you know you were playing.

I was just thinking, after giving the PCs nightmares and scarring them for life (psychologically if not physically), let them escape back to the surface, but have the drey follow them. If it's that lone wolf drey you were talking about earlier, why not? After all, he's just found some new toys to play with...:devil:
StoneSinger
03-25-08, 11:17 PM The particular Drey NPC is a bastard.
He would definately follow them.
Especially since following the group will give him a chance to spring on some Bralani-blooded knights they will encounter in the future.
Shiftkitty
03-26-08, 03:13 PM "Bralani"? Not familiar with the term. Sounds like I should be, but I've been somewhat sleep-deprived this week. What is it?
Ecalsneerg
03-26-08, 03:44 PM "Bralani"? Not familiar with the term. Sounds like I should be, but I've been somewhat sleep-deprived this week. What is it?

It's a Chaotic good outsider (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bralani.htm)
Shiftkitty
03-26-08, 07:13 PM Ooh! So Bralani = Drey Chow! Yeah, I can see this renegade SOB liking exotic targets, especially CG ones!
StoneSinger
03-26-08, 10:11 PM Really what isnt a target to a Drey?

Good, evil, lawful, chaotic, I can see them going after about anything.

Especially females.

For gods sake the females even target their own race.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
StoneSinger 03-12-08, 01:06 AM	I remember a long time ago Greenronin released a book with Drow and Drow variants. One of them was the Drey. At first I thought Drey was a term for Half-Drow, apparently not. From what I got they are Drow with facial hair (males not females, and the facial hair is normally like a thin braid on the chin), and completely white eyes but are not blind. (Just for the sake of it I would probably house-rule that they have pupils atleast) Still a matriarchy, but apparently it is like a race of Drow berserkers, Passionate, angry, violent, and very militaristic. Does anyone know where on the web I can find the actual stats? Also, does anyone know anything about them that I did not mention, because I mentioned all I know pretty much. Opinions, likes/dislikes maybe?
SilentOne 03-12-08, 01:09 AM	From what you described, they just seem like Drow with some cosmetic changes and a different culture. No need to give them different racial abilities.
StoneSinger 03-12-08, 01:46 AM	That is just it, im pretty sure there are stat changes. It is not a race ive made up, and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find out more. I did find a link once, but lost it. Though from what I remember they are geared more towards the physical stats than the normal Drow.
SquibThePirate 03-12-08, 12:41 PM	http://www.greenronin.com/errata/index.php?id=1109 I believe it starts about halfway down the page.
Shiftkitty 03-12-08, 03:29 PM	The changes are minor. Green Ronin's "Dezzavold: Fortress of the Drow" has the stats I use for the drey. It looked to me like the males got an even rawer deal than the drow boys. A female drow might hesitate to whip the crap out of a male who might belong to a more powerful female, but I get the picture that a drey male is a general possession of the clan and is essentially "owned" by every female. In my game, they don't even have names. When a female calls "Male!" they all had better jump and she'll pick which one she wants. Hee hee! The drow PCs got introduced to the existence of the drey by witnessing a drow male, recently recovered from the drey, grovelling at his mistress's feet, thanking her sincerely for her kind and merciful treatment over the years.
StoneSinger 03-12-08, 05:55 PM	Well, I will admit I am actually surprised to hear that anyone actually uses them in their game. I mean, just because I had not heard of them for so long does not really mean anything, but I thought they were kind of obscure. I need to pay more attention. But do a lot of people know about them or is it more of something a drow-obsessed person would know? How many people use them? In which case I would like to ask, what do you think would be an appropriate class for a Drey male? (im not thinkin magic user)
Shiftkitty 03-12-08, 09:31 PM	A drey male's favored class is rogue. Think along the lines of an assassin more than a thief. They're not terribly brave, but will fight to the death because facing the females after a defeat is a fate worse than death. I sometimes imagine the drey males seeing the way the drow males are treated and thinking "lucky bums...". The females tend toward the barbarian class. I don't think the race has the discipline to master the arcane arts. In fact, I just looked through the Dezzavold book at the NPCs the Black Heart and her Eight Daggers. Of the spellcasters there are a cleric, a sorceror, and a bard. None of them are male. I imagine a male that showed anything even close to a special talent would be killed on the spot. Even if he hid it, the odds are that his fellows would rat him out at the first opportunity to save their own skins. There is no room for a male to be anything more than cannon fodder and sperm donor. If you want to toss in some more flavor, the book lists several deities that can throw PCs for a loop. It seems every drow variation has some kind of spider goddess (except the Xen'drik drow, I think). But to really mess things up if you're playing homebrew, "The Lady of Mysteries" is the mother of the Spider Queen. She has taken an active interest in leading the drow out of the darkness they plunged into at the hands of the Spider Queen. IMO, more proactive than Eilistraee in her attempts to redeem her children, the city of Dezzavold was led by one of her followers. There are other deities listed that can provide some interesting variations from the "canonical" lists. I highly recommend "Dezzavold: Fortress of the Drow". I downloaded mine from RPGNow, but it might be available at Amazon as well. I think I read in Dezzavold that the drey are evil because of a direct inteference from Nyarleth. Essentially it's a divine spark of evil. One of the drow players wants to capture a male alive and see what happens if you remove that spark. Gonna be a fun campaign, probably putting the group's ranger to the test like never before. That stray drey male he's been following has orders to lead the party right to where the females want them... In my game, the drey are to the drow what the drow are to the surface elves. :devil: I don't know how many people use them, since they're third party and a lot of players seem hung up on staying canon. It was my interest in the drow that led me to buy Dezzavold ("Plot & Poison" is next on my third party "TO GET" list), because I was looking for more material to make the race a more varied culture. Cultural options were seeming limited. I love Green Ronin's products and wish I owned more of them. Alas, money doesn't flow that freely right now! I for one am glad to find someone else using the drey. I like them as a race because of the mindless fury they represent. They're barbaric. As I play it, children are as worthless as males until they can pick up a weapon and beat someone over the head with it. Captured slaves serve as wet nurses, and as soon as they're weaned, it's boys over there, girls over here. The girls are driven mercilessly to become strong and mean while the boys get unflinching obedience pounded into them. Some drow may secretly break the mold and be different from their evil kin, but for the drey, there is no considering any other way of life. This is how it is. (I like to think that if the drey ever produced someone like Drizzt, the first time he hesitated to kill it would cost him his life. No disciplinary tongue-lashing followed by a beating to teach the lesson, just a blade across the throat. He'd serve as a lesson to the others. There is no room for hesitation or weakness.)
Shiftkitty 03-12-08, 09:58 PM	PS: The drey worship Nyarleth only. I mentioned the other deities more for adding depth to the drow. The drey eyes are depicted as white and without pupils, but if you have Drow of the Underdark, look at the illustrations of the solid white eyes closely and you will see slight coloring differences indicating a pupil and iris. I imagined the drey to be like that. Not truly solid white, but close enough for horseshoes, handgrenades, and hydrogen bombs.
StoneSinger 03-13-08, 03:51 AM	Shiftkitty I can say you have been more helpful than I thought anyone would be. I have not actually used them before in a campaign, but I am going to in my newest one. I was thinking Drey rogue with knives hidden in his jacket and boots. Main weapon probably being shortswords, and true neutral (more out for himself than anything, just happy he got away from the opposite sex) By what I have read about them so far I think... About 5"0 White eyes Hair worn long with one long braid off the chin And absolutely willing to drop out of the rafters on someone Thinkin I like Drey more than Drow.
Shiftkitty 03-13-08, 03:43 PM	Glad I could help. Are you making a PC, or someone to give your players a nightmare of a time? One thing I recall reading about the drey is that they do not enter the Reverie. They sleep like humans do. They still qualify as an elf subtype, though. I put the facial hair as varying from clan to clan. The clan I'm using right now favors the fu-manchu style moustache, but not as long and thin. I imagined the style mimicking the mandibles of the ankheg. I was just picturing a drey chieftess and her lieutenant, well within the patrol range of a drow city, gazing upon the drow and their nice, safe, cities, living their posh lives tended by servants and slaves, being carted around on tannequins, feasting on spiced mushrooms and exotic wines. "When the glow of that big column is at the bottom and the shadows are deep, their so-called 'archmage' will be in the streets, heading for it to light it up again and relatively unprotected." "The male we sent in. Does he know what to do?" "He knows a pat on the head from a kick in the teeth. If he can't kill the archmage, he's better off with whatever fate the archmage deals to him. He'll signal us when the deed is done. Then this pile of bat droppings they call a city comes down around their soft, little ears." "And if he fails and we don't get a signal?" The chieftess smiled, "Then it's going to be a better fight than I had dared hoped for." If the drey are barbarians, the drow are the Romans. And we know what happened to the Romans...:evillaugh
StoneSinger 03-24-08, 01:26 AM	It might be a bad thing of me to do, but I am really just wanting to give my players a run for their money. It has been a while since I started using them...my players have survived, so far. Though they have been through some tight spots and close calls. A Drey greataxe almost seperated our rogue from his head. Great Fun!
Shiftkitty 03-24-08, 03:50 PM	LOL! I can imagine that the male drey is somewhat used to hiding, since it's always better to let the next guy catch the brunt of a female's bad mood. Can we say "bonuses to Move Silently and Hide"? Especially if you're using "the one that got away". He'd have to be very good. Probably the one guy in existence who could sneak up and attack Jarlaxle, Artemis Entreri AND Drizzt all in one move! I used one drey as bait to capture one of my drow PCs, a ranger named Tabak. His job was to look for stragglers from the last skirmish and bring one back alive. So he saw Trsh, a drey male, limping along badly. When the two made eye contact, Trsh started scrabbling away. Tabak closed in easily... and then Trsh's commanders, a small squad of eight drey females, sprang up and took him down. When he proved useless militarily, he was stuck in with the other drey males who proceeded to beat obedience into him. It was like being the new guy in prison. Trsh, meanwhile, was granted the rare treat of a big hunk of fresh cooked meat. When Tabak finally made his escape, he paused only long enough to exact his revenge on Trsh before making a run back for Menzoberranzan. I haven't really made any specific drey NPCs except for Trsh, and he's not with us anymore!
StoneSinger 03-25-08, 01:09 AM	:D Put a Drey in a tight tunnel, he will shiv you in the spine Put a Drey in a large cavern, beware the swinging greataxe :P They are mad-fun, mostly because they are mad. But a little madness is fun, especially when there is a lot....
Shiftkitty 03-25-08, 03:08 PM	Sounds like that "Freaky Little Drow Haiku" I wrote: Hey, let's play a game. How many times can I stick My knife in your back? Except I don't think a drey would even have the courtesy to let you know you were playing. I was just thinking, after giving the PCs nightmares and scarring them for life (psychologically if not physically), let them escape back to the surface, but have the drey follow them. If it's that lone wolf drey you were talking about earlier, why not? After all, he's just found some new toys to play with...:devil:
StoneSinger 03-25-08, 11:17 PM	The particular Drey NPC is a bastard. He would definately follow them. Especially since following the group will give him a chance to spring on some Bralani-blooded knights they will encounter in the future.
Shiftkitty 03-26-08, 03:13 PM	"Bralani"? Not familiar with the term. Sounds like I should be, but I've been somewhat sleep-deprived this week. What is it?
Ecalsneerg 03-26-08, 03:44 PM	"Bralani"? Not familiar with the term. Sounds like I should be, but I've been somewhat sleep-deprived this week. What is it? It's a Chaotic good outsider (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bralani.htm)
Shiftkitty 03-26-08, 07:13 PM	Ooh! So Bralani = Drey Chow! Yeah, I can see this renegade SOB liking exotic targets, especially CG ones!
StoneSinger 03-26-08, 10:11 PM	Really what isnt a target to a Drey? Good, evil, lawful, chaotic, I can see them going after about anything. Especially females. For gods sake the females even target their own race.