Lolthian Drow Appearance

Revised Jan. 2026

 

"File:Drow Lolth-Sworn Default.png" by HINK (resized) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Well-Known Face of Evil

What do drow usually look like, and what distinguishes them from surface elves? To answer those questions, many gamers rely on novels and supplements published for Dungeons and Dragons. And since the Forgotten Realms has been widely popular for decades, Lolthian drow are what many imagine when they think of dark elves. They're typically shown with gray skin, white hair, and red eyes. Even Baldur's Gate 3 reflects these norms in the default Lolth-sworn drow player characters, as you can see above.

Their traditional looks can be explained in a number of ways. For instance, I wrote their dusky skin tones into my genesis myth, in which Lolth follows a prophetic vision she had before she created them. Pale-colored hair could be the result of spending millennia away from the sun, but you could just as easily tie their common genetic traits to the influence of faerzress, the magical radiation found throughout the Underdark. Whatever setting you're playing in and however the drow first came to be there, many in-world reasons for their traits can be found.

Making Over the Drow

Hair & Eye Colors

But there are just as many ways to explain why they look however you wish. In 5th edition, elves have the same range of hair and eye colors as humans, with some additional options like green hair and liquid gold eyes. Exposure to faerzress and other magical phenomena could occasionally result in colors like magenta and purple. Denizens of the Underdark rely on darkvision (formerly infravision) to find prey, so brighter colors wouldn't make them stand out and put them at a disadvantage. Selective breeding isn't out of the question, either. For much of their history in D&D, Lolthian drow have been predominantly Evil and ruled by mad matriarchs. Families could reflect generations of encouraging certain traits through divine intervention, magic experiments, and selective mating, not just with drow but with outsiders who have notable traits of their own.

Skin Colors & Tones

Since they're known as dark elves, it's easy to assume drow have dark skin, but it isn't difficult to come up with other reasons for that description. They're already known to wear dark clothing and create magical darkness. As inhabitants of the Underdark - with or without sunlight sensitivity - it makes sense if they only journey above ground at night and stick to the shadows. And there's no reason Lolthian drow can't have a variety of skin colors and tones. For example, some art shows them with more blue or purple-hued skin. Your drow could come in various shades of blue, gray, and purple, instead of just gray. If they've bred with potent planar creatures, they may have other hues, like red. Lolth could mark her favorites with particular skin tones or patterns of color, like the red hourglass shape on the bellies of female black widows.

Whatever you choose, it's a good idea to avoid color-coding creatures in fantasy games and stories. Players are more likely to investigate and strategize when they can't automatically recognize a foe from a distance, and characters are more engrossing when you don't know what to expect from them.

Body Types

As with most fantasy characters, drow are usually portrayed as slender, with various degrees of visible muscle tone. And there are reasons for this in the fiction: Elves tend to be lighter-framed and live active lifestyles, and drow struggle against fierce foes for resources in the Underdark on top of that. Drow have also been described as slightly lighter and shorter than surface elves. We might assume it's due to struggling for enough food and living in cramped environs over generations, but they're never shown with obvious signs of deprivation. Drow females have pronounced breasts and hips; drow males have notable muscle tone, even when they're being ground under the heels of Lolthian clerics.

There are, as usual, other possibilities worth considering. Some upper-echelon drow could show off more body fat because they have the privilege of developing it, mirroring attitudes in medieval Europe that equated extra weight with success. The most harshly oppressed drow could be shorter and lighter due to malnutrition in youth or over time. By showing a range of attitudes and figures, neither obesity nor thinness will seem like they're cast in a negative and unfair light. But with their exposure to faerzress and other unique factors, it could make sense for drow to vary from elven norms more often, and portraying more of a range of body types can make them feel more realistic.

Allure

When it comes to villains in D&D, drow are among the most alluring, but their svelte bodies and youthful features are just the beginning of their appeal. Drow are typically portrayed with strong eye contact and stances, which makes them radiate power. Their clothing and armor are usually dark and ornate, lined in silver or gold, making them seem rich even if they aren't. Males are almost always fully clothed and well armored, looking strong and sure. When female drow aren't shown fully armored, their apparel often reveals more skin but their faces rarely lack confidence. Visually interesting and sexy, drow aren't just popular because of their lore.

Traditional Lolthian drow appeal to our desires for fantasy. Player characters are usually idealized avatars. Many gamers enjoy imagining attractive characters engaged in daring deeds and craft avatars who are better-looking than they are. Why? Because wish fulfillment is a common part of fantasy gaming. Players commonly want to feel extraordinary and potent; they want their characters to be interesting and beauty makes them stand out at first sight. If your group enjoys prettier fantasy, the usual drow can be a way to get it.

It's worth remembering they also appeal to sexualized fantasies. Plenty of art shows female drow in lingerie and some are shown wielding whips, which hearkens back to cruel Lolthian clerics. Their matriarchal society has been tied to sexual domination for decades, with drow imposing their will on anyone they can get away with. This isn't always sexualized but it can be. And while this might just be menacing window-dressing for some, for others it's titillating. The kinky flavor drow can provide may feel safe since it's fictional and not acted out in real life, but it's a mistake to assume a group of gamers feels the same way. Even players who want dark elves to look sexy may not want to deal with them being sexual, so it's best to talk with your group before bringing these aspects into play. And if sexuality isn't part of your play at all, it may be best to avoid sexualizing the drow.

Why Change Anything?

I first wrote about drow appearance on this site over 20 years ago. By that time, the player characters in my first campaign had encountered Lolthian drow and I'd chosen how I would portray them. I gave them a wider range of hair and eye colors and my players perked up with interest when I described them. But I left most of their culture the same and didn't experiment with the rest of their looks. My article here reflected those choices and was constrained by them.

Years later, I created four tribes of drow with distinctly different cultures and roots, and I tailored their appearances to reflect that. They were still notably elven in their lines and proportions, but I felt free to be creative with the rest. And you know what? I had a blast. But it also made me realize why some people were bored with the drow. Much about Lolthians seemed to stay the same but didn't have to.

So if you adore traditional drow, you may not want to change much, but you could still be amused with small tweaks to their looks.

If you're okay with them, some major changes could make you a bigger fan.

And if you're thoroughly unsatisfied with them, start adjusting how you imagine them. Appearance can be a solid place to begin making them what you want them to be. And once your group is on board, you'll probably want to see more of the drow you've created.

 

<< Drow Genesis Drow Society >>