I didn't even think about the slavery retcon, that's perfect to add to the drow. Of course slavery in the underground hard to access drow strongholds doesn't exist. In fact it never existed and all records of it have either been destroyed by incompetent and mysteriously dead administrators of the surface kingdoms, or have been outright destroyed as to not propagate further systemic discrimination against drow refugees.
Of course that's not something I would just blurt out during game, more like something carefully hidden and only uncovered if the party cared, but it would be there.
Going to pencil that in to my next campaign actually...
My usual Drow society is that the Drow are sociopathic, status obsessed (and varying degrees of sadists), and view everything non-drow as bad. Its also implied or shown that they live in the underdark, and any drow organization that doesn't do this is quickly lost to the underdark as the nefarious shit down there eats them alive. Drow society requires slaves to run because of how fucking short, hard, and brutish life down there is.
Any Drow that isn't on board with this shit leaves.
They aren't psychopathic though. You can negotiate with the Drow, and as long as you are a threat they'll more or less keep to their word, and when in Cities more-or-less behave themselves. They generally leave upworlder traders alone, unless they look really easy pickings - better you enslave them before they end up Roper food.
If the Drow feature fairly prominently, I usually spin in a nice sort of narrative where the Drow realize that if they raid a city, they'll get some slaves. If they set up an embassy and work with slave traders, they can get a lot more.
The Drow (and Lolth) are not exterminated via genocidal crusade because they keep the Underdark in the Underdark. If the Drow weren't the Drow, someone else would have to be the Drow to keep the
Balrogs Balors underground.
Wizards is in full damage control right now:
2,544 votes and 1,640 comments so far on Reddit
www.reddit.com
Reads to me like their in damage control after their changes weren't given the mass praise that they were so used to getting so now they have to walk back on the changes they wanted to make.
More damage control than the USS Lexington.
If that was real goal a simple, global "Alignments should be taken as guide, not the absolute. Most members of a race will behave a certain way, but tht doesn't need to be all of them. If you believe a different alignment for a PC or NPC would make better game, you should consider allowing it" would have done what they say they're trying to accomplish. But they are bowing to globohomo & dangerhair screeching,and buttblasted that the proles aren't just taking it.
Speaking of changes to mechanics, recently read through a good chunk of Testament: A Biblical RPG for the stream. They changed alignment to be Piety, where you gain more and are seen as more godly if you follow through the culture you're a part of's mores. For example the Israelites cannot work of Sabbath, the Babylonians must accede to the will of those higher in status, and the Egyptian must contribute to irrigating the Nile.
That's really interesting. That's... a lot more nuianced than I was expecting for a Biblical RPG.
I'm working on a late Bronze-Aged themed setting and really like that touch.
