Human with Drow Stats?

[Lord Lemming]

I'm drawing up a character sheet for a Hunter (ranger with a bow, I'm using the Essentials guides,) and found that the player race most suited to that class and its playstyle is the dow. Playing a dark skinned elf I have no problem with, but since I started playing D&D not so long ago, I have heard SO much about a notorious Chaotic Good drow ranger named Drizzt. It even has a name: Drizzt Syndrome. You know what I'm talking about.

So my character is a Chaotic Good drow ranger. This must not happen.

I came up with the idea that my character is pretty much human, but has drow ancestry and was at least in part raised and trained by drow, so he has all their capabilities, and so starts with drow racial stats. Now, I'm not trying to munchkin some sort of overpowered human/drow hybrid that violates the rules or anything like that, I just want to play with drow racial stats without having to roleplay as a drow, or be accused of copying Drizzt.

Can you guys think of any real reason why I can't do this? Obviously, it's not in accordance with the rules, but it doesn't mess with character balance or anything.

[NotScaryBats]

Y'know, I vaguely recall a rule about half-blood characters -- mechanically you just choose one race and be all that race, but fluff wise you can be a halfblood (like a half dwarf half gnome could just be a gnome or just be a dwarf).

So, you'd be a half drow elf half human, raised in human society, with drow stats.

I... think its in the PHB for 4e, but you'll have to check,

[Badgerish]

4ed Drow are a very potent race. Okay stat mods, darkvision and a very useful encounter power. Personally, I feel they got these better-than-average abilities as they Drow race is hunted and hated throughout the world. There is an unwritten balancing element: killed on sight by most civilised races.

Thus, I would be leery of letting someone bypass that. This is 100% ask-your-GM territory. If you GM permits, you could be an elf exposed to shadow-magic, for the darkvision and cloud of darkness power. A human is a further stretch, as you would have the 'Fey' origin, which effects some skills and rituals. If you are a human warped by Fey magic to have the Drow stats... then are you really human?

Ask your GM about what role the Drow serve in your campaign: Just another type of elf? Jungle elves? Evil elves? Underground elves? or the greatest mortal evil?

[Ashdate]

I did this once with a "human" who had his blood cursed by a dragon, which effectively made him a dragonborn. I said I looked vaguely humanish, but with slightly warped features (larger jaw-line, flatter nose, more hulking frame, etc).

But, for all intensive purposes (feats, items, etc.) he was a dragonborn; not a human. It was purely a fluff change. It sounds like you're asking to do something similar; as long as you don't want to try feats that would be restricted to drow (i.e. human racial feats) I wouldn't see the problem.

But I also think there would be some merit in "fighting" the Drizzt stereotype. Why not take the route of Viconia in the Balder's Gate games?

[TopCheese]

Why do you think they got rid of Chaotic Good in 4e? That damn drow made tons of people mad...

Ok that should be some form of blue...

Even if you put the stats/race stuff over to human you are still mechanically playing a drow.

Just come up with a different backstory to your character. Perhaps you are the long lost 3rd cousin of some guy named drizz...drizztle...drizzle? That people keep mistaking you for. You feel as if he is a hinderance to all non-evil drow and must be stopped and punished for making all the stereotypes that come along with being a good drow ranger.

??

*shrug*

[obryn]

Originally Posted by Badgerish

4ed Drow are a very potent race. Okay stat mods, darkvision and a very useful encounter power. Personally, I feel they got these better-than-average abilities as they Drow race is hunted and hated throughout the world. There is an unwritten balancing element: killed on sight by most civilised races.

I don't think drow are any more powerful than - for example - dwarves. As a general rule, 4e doesn't balance mechanics with roleplay concerns. It only balances mechanics against each other.

I'd have absolutely no problem reskinning that character as a human with the drow package (including stats, feats, utility powers, etc) as long as you only pick from Drow stuff and never Human stuff (so no Adroit Explorer, for example).

-O

[tcrudisi]

Originally Posted by obryn

I don't think drow are any more powerful than - for example - dwarves. As a general rule, 4e doesn't balance mechanics with roleplay concerns. It only balances mechanics against each other.

I'd have absolutely no problem reskinning that character as a human with the drow package (including stats, feats, utility powers, etc) as long as you only pick from Drow stuff and never Human stuff (so no Adroit Explorer, for example).

-O

Wow, O. That's EXACTLY what I was going to say. The whole post.

My suggestion is O's suggestion: play a Drow. Tell everyone you are human. 4e does a lot with refluffing and that's what you are doing here. Make sure that you never pick up anything that requires human as a pre-req because mechanically you are a drow. But fluff-wise you will be a human.

Many (most?) 4e DMs won't have a problem with this. It's worth asking your DM.

[TheKoalaNxtDoor]

I'm with asking your DM on this one. You never know what plans he may have and what drows and humans have to do with it. For example, if the empire that your adventures take place is very xenophobic against all non-humans and a couple of others, I wouldn't want my players choosing a race for stat benifits and then re-skinning themselves to be human, and thus getting by all the problems that may be associated with being that race. If drow are just anouther type of elf, and normal, socially acceptable people, then fine, but if they tend to be evil underground torturing spider worshipping slavers, then i'd rather you not just re-skin yourself and avoid all that.