Drow (Dungeons & Dragons) - Reception

Reception

“	...today you can hardly mention the drow in the presence of gamers without sparking an argument. Some players love playing drow characters, while other players won't play in a game that allows drow PCs. Some GMs love the concept of "renegade" drow who have turned against their sinful ways to become champions of good, while others gag and gnash their teeth over the very concept. Even the name riles up gamers-there are at least two ways to pronounce the word, and I wouldn't put it past someone to come up with a third and a fourth. No matter how vocal people get about drow, the fact remains that everyone knows them and everyone talks about them.	”
—James Jacobs,

The drow originally created by Gary Gygax are now "essentially the drow of fantasy fiction today", according to Ed Greenwood, who also stated that "After the D&D game itself, are arguably Gary Gygax's greatest, most influential fantasy creation." This opinion was further reinforced by James Jacobs,

There are certain monsters that can be considered "mainstream" these days—creatures that even non-gamers seem immediately to recognize on sight... Relatively few monsters who were "born" in the game have made this jump. Ask the average man on the street if he prefers ankhegs over bulletes, and you're likely just to get a weird look. The drow are different, though. —James Jacobs,

Drow have also been proven to draw additional sales of products which feature them. While Paizo Publishing was printing Dragon and Dungeon, covers featuring drow often sold better than other issues in the same year.

The drow, especially when used as player characters, are surrounded by much controversy, especially after the release of R. A. Salvatore's novel, The Crystal Shard.