Huldrow (The Children of Lolth)

Huldrow are the legacy of the three drow who lived with the Arak so long ago. Most were slain and transformed into the undead Umbra when the domain of Keening was formed, but a handful of their number still exist. A lesser breed of the Arak, the huldrow were created when the three drow arrivals began to lure the Arak into their cult dedicated to Lolth. As these Arak behaved more and more like drow, their shapes slowly changed, until they came to resemble the dark elves they emulated. Huldrow greatly resemble drow elves, except for their eyes, which are orbs of a luminous white, and their skin, the color of which can range from light brown to obsidian black. Huldrow have the ability to change their appearances to mimic other demihuman races and humans, but always retain a small hint of their true nature. The huldrow still try to follow the teachings of their long-dead drow leaders, mimicking drow culture. However, the fact is that, due to the assassinations the drow brought upon themselves, the huldrow have never quite understood all the nuances of drow life. Nonetheless, they are regarded as renegades by the other Arak for breaking the law of Arak and their veneration of the goddess Lolth; thus those huldrow who are still alive have all been forced into hiding, some even leaving the Shadow Rift to wander the Core.

Combat: Like the drow they mimic, the huldrow are merciless warriors, combining weapons and spells in a deadly concert. Huldrow almost always try to ambush or trap their enemies, attacking in groups of 3 to 8.

Sunlight is extremely harmful to huldrow, doing three points of damage per round. Filtered light reduces the damage to three points per turn. Only magical weapons and those crafted of cold-forged steel can harm huldrow, and they are immune to attacks from stone weapons, even if they are magical. Huldrow are also entirely immune to spider venom of any kind.

Habitat/Society: In imitating the drow, huldrow live in the caves of the Shadow Rift or other cave systems of the demiplane, decorating them in what they consider to be a drowlike style. The caves of the undead umbra in Keening are a good example of the huldrow aesthetic. They still try to improve their copy of drow life, catching surface dwellers and drow to learn about this way of living. The one problem is, if they learn of something they don’t like about their chosen society, they simply consider it a lie and remodel it to their liking. Huldrow live in small clans, all led by the most powerful female who sometimes is a 6th-level cleric to Lolth.

Ecology: Being something like bastard Arak they live secluded lives, and offer their offspring few chances to deviate from existing patterns of behavior; thus their children are always huldrow. They can still mate with other Arak, but these children are rarely raised by huldrow, and thus usually develop into other breeds. Trying to be like drow, they are raiders of the night and commonly kill in the name of Lolth. The other Arak shun the huldrow for their crimes but rarely kill them because of the Law of Arak.

Huldrowkin

It seems that their are no huldrowkin, but a handful of the huldrow have mated with the true dark elves; these offspring are simply drow who have the extra ability to take on shadowform three times per day, and to shapechange into a human or demihuman form twice a day. These drow look like huldrow and are as susceptible to the sun as their shadow elf parents. With the DM’s permission they could be used as PCs.

By René Littek