D&D Drow Will Return In Campaign Setting Book

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Summary

  • The 2025 D&D Monster Manual features more generic templates, including Drow with versatile options.
  • The absence of popular monsters like Drow was explained; Menzoberranzan-style Drow will be focused on in future Forgotten Realms books.
  • This change allows DMs to use Drow stats while enabling their use in various settings beyond Forgotten Realms.

In a video, they’ve shared reasons behind the omission of particular well-liked Dungeons & Dragons creatures found in the 2025 Monster Manual, by discussing some of the creature’s statistics or ‘stat blocks’.

In 2014, the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual introduced versatile stat blocks suitable for various adversaries like Cultists and Thugs. The updated 2025 version of the same book offers an enlarged collection of these templates due to their widespread appeal among Dungeon Masters.

It was observed that the latest Monster Manual has revised some creatures from the 2014 publication, making them more generic templates. For instance, the Drow are now represented as Priest Acolytes, the Drow Elite Warriors have been changed to Gladiators, the Drow Mages have been transformed into Bandit Deceivers, and the Drow Priests of Lolth have been replaced with Fiend Cultists.

Of course, many fans wonder why the well-known Drow race isn’t featured in the Monster Manual. This question has been addressed in a recent video on the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel, where it was explained that the Drow will soon be given more attention in upcoming releases.

Menzoberranzan Drow Will Be Given Focus In the Forgotten Realms Books

In the 2014 Monster Manual, the portrayal of the Drow was similar to their depiction in the Forgotten Realms campaign world. But it’s important to note that in other settings such as Eberron, there exist significantly different representations of the Drow.

In contrast to the depiction of the Menzoberranzan-style Drow found in the earlier Monster Manual, future books set in Faerun such as the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide and the Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide will delve deeper into this topic.

This adjustment is quite logical because it enables Dungeon Masters to manage the statistics for Drow characters, and they can utilize these stats within their preferred species. Additionally, this change expands the versatility of using these characters beyond the traditional Forgotten Realms Underdark setting.

In the realm of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the Drow are one of the most recognized species due to the acclaimed Drizzt Do’Urden novels. However, the interpretation of these dark elves in the D&D multiverse varies. While the malevolent Drow who worship Lolth may be the most familiar, they are not the only dark elves that exist within this universe.

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2025-02-13 21:09