Jeff Grubb's U is for Underdark
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:02 pm
Has anyone here seen Jeff Grubb's [url=http://grubbstreet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/ ... l:1d0oad8q]U is for Underdark[/url:1d0oad8q] blog entry (which he wrote as part of the [url=http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/:1d0oad8q]A-Z Blogging challenge[/url:1d0oad8q])?
During the month Jeff Grubb spoke about a number of campaign settings (some of his and some done by other people).
One thing I found interesting was that he said this:
[quote="Jeff Grubb at Grubbstreet":1d0oad8q]The Underdark as a setting is pretty uniform, whether it is in Oerth, the Realms, or the Rock of Bral. Natural features. Rough caverns. Stalactites. This is where the drow and the mind flayer are comfortable, where herds of rothe (miniature musk ox) roam, and fungoid creatures like myconids and various noxious molds hang out.[/quote:1d0oad8q]
I thought that was quite radical, when I first read it (especially the idea that the Underdark on an asteroid was the same as the Underdark below Faerûn or the Flanaess), but I guess that a lot of the environment would be the same. And if drow exist in most of the D&D universe, they should have a similar culture in most places. So I guess it makes sense.
But I find myself wondering about the drow gods. Eilistree and Vhaeraun are supposed to be the children of Corellon Larethian and of Araushnee, but it seems that they are bespoke to Forgotten Realms and ignored in Greyhawk (and other campaign settings).
I know that some people here dislike the changes of the Spellplagued Realms, with the purge of gods being one of the things disliked, but when I look at how drow work in the multiverse, I think this goes against the Underdark being some sort of universal setting.
Given that Forgotten Realms canon specifically states that it was connected to lots of other worlds in the past (and then forgotten) and that the drow were created way back in time (according to most D&D campaign settings) the drow should have been freely moving from portal to portal and should have travelled to many different Underdarks on different worlds. But I'm not sure the D&D settings back up a drow migration that would see them arrive in the Underdark of most worlds.
I wonder if Eilistraee was specificlly excluded from Greyhawk's Underdark, or if the focus on Forgotten Realms products meant that we just did not get an Underoerth hardback that would have shown what her place would be in that setting. I do not see her mentioned in the Living Greyhawk documentation, but those guys were really just restating existing GH canon, rather than building new canon. If WotC had not sidelined Greyhawk to focus on Forgotten Realms, I wonder if Eilistraee would have been added.
I know that Dragonlance does not have drow (and has its deities locked down) so would not expect to see any Eilistraee worshippers on Krynn.
Eberron has a bit of a weird system, where people do not seem to know if the gods exist. They say that all core monsters and races exist on Eberron, so there should be drow cities in the Eberron Underdark, but I have no idea how similar or different they would be to the drow of Faerûn.
Ghostwalk is a funny beast, with a small number of gods. That setting does not really mention an Underdark. A lot of other D&D settings also seem to ignore the Underdark.
In Spelljammer a lot of crystal spheres are seriously under-developed. But there is one called Faeriespace that has all the races (including the drow) believing in some sort of "principle" instead of gods. So I guess they would not know that Eilistraee (or her parents) exist there. There is also a crystal sphere called Clusterspace with restricted gods. I guess they would have drow worshipping one of those gods.
Closer to home, I know there was a drow plotline in Maztica's underdark, with Lolth trying to sneak into that part of the world. But I'm not sure how Eilistraee might fit in there. She was not mentioned in the Maztica trillogy novels.
I don't know if there is an Underdark in Zakhara or Kara-Tur, but I would be interested to know if there are any Arabian or Oriental drow in any RPG products.
Has anyone here had any thoughts about what Eilistraee would be like outside of Faerûn and/or Forgotten Realms?
[b:1d0oad8q]EDIT:[/b:1d0oad8q] Not sure if this should be here or in the [url=viewforum.php?f=6:1d0oad8q]Theological Debate[/url:1d0oad8q] section. Apologies to the moderators if you need to move this.
During the month Jeff Grubb spoke about a number of campaign settings (some of his and some done by other people).
One thing I found interesting was that he said this:
[quote="Jeff Grubb at Grubbstreet":1d0oad8q]The Underdark as a setting is pretty uniform, whether it is in Oerth, the Realms, or the Rock of Bral. Natural features. Rough caverns. Stalactites. This is where the drow and the mind flayer are comfortable, where herds of rothe (miniature musk ox) roam, and fungoid creatures like myconids and various noxious molds hang out.[/quote:1d0oad8q]
I thought that was quite radical, when I first read it (especially the idea that the Underdark on an asteroid was the same as the Underdark below Faerûn or the Flanaess), but I guess that a lot of the environment would be the same. And if drow exist in most of the D&D universe, they should have a similar culture in most places. So I guess it makes sense.
But I find myself wondering about the drow gods. Eilistree and Vhaeraun are supposed to be the children of Corellon Larethian and of Araushnee, but it seems that they are bespoke to Forgotten Realms and ignored in Greyhawk (and other campaign settings).
I know that some people here dislike the changes of the Spellplagued Realms, with the purge of gods being one of the things disliked, but when I look at how drow work in the multiverse, I think this goes against the Underdark being some sort of universal setting.
Given that Forgotten Realms canon specifically states that it was connected to lots of other worlds in the past (and then forgotten) and that the drow were created way back in time (according to most D&D campaign settings) the drow should have been freely moving from portal to portal and should have travelled to many different Underdarks on different worlds. But I'm not sure the D&D settings back up a drow migration that would see them arrive in the Underdark of most worlds.
I wonder if Eilistraee was specificlly excluded from Greyhawk's Underdark, or if the focus on Forgotten Realms products meant that we just did not get an Underoerth hardback that would have shown what her place would be in that setting. I do not see her mentioned in the Living Greyhawk documentation, but those guys were really just restating existing GH canon, rather than building new canon. If WotC had not sidelined Greyhawk to focus on Forgotten Realms, I wonder if Eilistraee would have been added.
I know that Dragonlance does not have drow (and has its deities locked down) so would not expect to see any Eilistraee worshippers on Krynn.
Eberron has a bit of a weird system, where people do not seem to know if the gods exist. They say that all core monsters and races exist on Eberron, so there should be drow cities in the Eberron Underdark, but I have no idea how similar or different they would be to the drow of Faerûn.
Ghostwalk is a funny beast, with a small number of gods. That setting does not really mention an Underdark. A lot of other D&D settings also seem to ignore the Underdark.
In Spelljammer a lot of crystal spheres are seriously under-developed. But there is one called Faeriespace that has all the races (including the drow) believing in some sort of "principle" instead of gods. So I guess they would not know that Eilistraee (or her parents) exist there. There is also a crystal sphere called Clusterspace with restricted gods. I guess they would have drow worshipping one of those gods.
Closer to home, I know there was a drow plotline in Maztica's underdark, with Lolth trying to sneak into that part of the world. But I'm not sure how Eilistraee might fit in there. She was not mentioned in the Maztica trillogy novels.
I don't know if there is an Underdark in Zakhara or Kara-Tur, but I would be interested to know if there are any Arabian or Oriental drow in any RPG products.
Has anyone here had any thoughts about what Eilistraee would be like outside of Faerûn and/or Forgotten Realms?
[b:1d0oad8q]EDIT:[/b:1d0oad8q] Not sure if this should be here or in the [url=viewforum.php?f=6:1d0oad8q]Theological Debate[/url:1d0oad8q] section. Apologies to the moderators if you need to move this.