Dragon Encounters

Welcome to the drow.

The drow were left out of the 2024 Monster Manual—a decision I can’t quite understand. I would call it the worst omission, if not for the fact that orcs were also excluded.

Since I’ve committed to covering every monster that appears in either the 2014 or 2024 Monster Manual, I’ll be writing on the drow as well. To keep these articles useful for players and DMs who only have the 2024 version, I’ll pair each drow entry with broader DMing advice that fits the theme.

Here’s the plan:

• Drow (basic statblock): A guide to running betrayal scenarios in D&D.

• Drow Elite Warrior: How to build a homebrew race, since drow are no longer officially supported in 2024.

• Drow Mage: How to run a mage without it being killed in the first round (likely split into two articles).

• Drow Priestess of Lolth: Returning to betrayal, this time focusing on alliances and betrayals involving an openly evil foe. I’ll also cover ways to handle Zone of Truth, which can be a major obstacle. (This will probably stretch to four articles.)

How to Use: Betrayal and its Problems

When planning to introduce a traitor into the game, the first and most important rule is this: never force the players into it.

DMs may disagree on how much control counts as “railroading,” but one thing is certain — even the most relaxed, story-focused group will resent being forced to make a mistake. If they feel tricked into failure, they’ll complain, raise a fuss, and your carefully planned “big reveal” will be rendered worthless.

More importantly, it’s unfair. D&D is not — and should not be — a story the DM dictates. It’s a story everyone creates together. Forcing a player mistake breaks that rule in the worst way.

Why DMs Railroad Betrayals

There are two main reasons DMs get tempted to railroad mistakes into the game. The first is an elaborate plot they want to force through (often inspired by a book or movie). The second is the difficulty of improvising.

For the first, remember that the most memorable D&D stories are the ones shaped by player choices, not the DM’s script. Work with their actions, not against them. Maybe the betrayer escapes to return later. Maybe a vengeful relative comes after them. Or perhaps the players find a crucial plot lead on the traitor’s body. The story can still move forward, even if it isn’t the one you originally planned.

How to Handle Improvisation

Improvisation can be tricky at first, but it gets easier with practice — and even failed improvisation often turns into comedy, which players usually enjoy. (Judging from online accounts, it might even be everyone’s favorite style!)

As for the second problem, I recommend keeping a backup encounter in reserve. This doesn’t mean wandering monsters. Many “fixed-location” encounters exist only so the DM knows where to drop them in. Some are literally written as “the party arrives, and the monster just happens to pass by.” If monsters only act when adventurers knock, I guess they’re all working from home. 😉

If you’re stuck, drop in one of those encounters wherever it makes sense. Personally, I go further: unless an encounter absolutely depends on its location, I treat the map as optional. The entry is just a reminder of a possible placement.

Betrayals Part 1: Introducing the NPC

The first step in setting up a betrayal is getting the players to trust the traitorous NPC. You can hardly have a betrayal if they don’t agree to work with the traitor in the first place.

This step has two elements: earning trust and creating motivation for the party to keep the NPC around.

Building Player Trust

With many NPCs, trust simply requires a backstory that makes logical sense. But if the NPC belongs to a suspicious group (perhaps a race or faction known for betrayal), you may need more effort. Here are some effective approaches:

• The NPC in trouble: The players rescue the NPC from a threat or captivity. This gives them a reason to work together and is easy for the traitor to stage.

• The NPC offers help: Not as strong as the first option—players dislike feeling indebted—but it opens dialogue and prevents “attack on sight.” When negotiating, focus on how the NPC can help going forward; don’t guilt the players or manufacture problems to make them accept him, and make sure that them saying “No” is an option.

• A character witness: Another NPC vouches for the traitor. For example, he’s first seen helping a slave escape. The slave has a lot of credibility, and he’ll get credibility when the slave vouches for him. The slave can be tricked, or be intimidated.

• Trusted ally vouches: If the players already trust another NPC, have that NPC vouch for the traitor. If the betrayal or the traitor later harms the trusted NPC too, it prevents the players from resenting the NPC.

Giving Players a Reason to Keep the NPC

Beyond trust, players need motivation to keep the NPC around. The best approach is to give them skills that fill gaps, not overlap with player roles.

• Knowledge-based skills: The NPC might know the local area or have useful connections. Be careful not to make this knowledge indispensable—otherwise you’re dictating player choices.

• Combat utility: The NPC can provide backup in a role nobody in the party wants. Healing and buffing PCs generally qualifies. Keep abilities simple, and consider letting players run him during combat so he doesn’t overshadow their spotlight.

Personality quirks can make an NPC memorable, but don’t rely on them to generate player affection. Unlike in books or films, D&D sessions focus heavily on the players, leaving little room to showcase subtle quirks.

For advice on using friendly NPCs, see Aarakocra. The information is relevant here, even if only temporarily.

Betrayals Part 2: Traveling Together

Sometimes the betrayal happens quickly. The NPC only pretends to be friendly long enough to lure the party into a trap, or stab them in the back at the first chance. If that’s the case, you can skip this step.

Other times, though, the DM wants the story to last longer. Giving the party time to know and trust the NPC makes the betrayal far more dramatic. If you go this route, you’ll need a reason why the traitor doesn’t strike right away — for example, after a tough combat or when left alone on guard duty.

Reasons the Traitor Delays

• Waiting for a goal: The party is after a magic item or a mutual enemy. The traitor plans to wait until they succeed before striking — either to steal the prize or to take advantage of their weakened state. Meanwhile, he’ll “Advise” them as best suits his own interests.

• Needing protection: The players lead the traitor into an area too dangerous for him alone. He delays betrayal until they leave, since he needs their help to survive. (To sell this, have him initially protest the destination, but reluctantly agree once the players insist.)

• Seeking an opportunity: The traitor needs something from another NPC and can’t risk blowing his cover yet. If he survives the first betrayal attempt, think about what he’ll try next — and what consequences the players face if they don’t stop him.

Tips for Long-Term NPCs

1. Use them sparingly. It’s often better to weave the NPC in and out of the story instead of keeping them around constantly. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

2. Don’t overwhelm the party. The more trust the players build, the more devastating the betrayal. That’s good for drama — but be careful not to make it so crushing that it wipes out the party.

Betrayals Part 3: The Betrayal

Finally, we come to the betrayal itself.

An NPC traitor usually isn’t strong enough to take on the entire party alone (unless they’re secretly something far more dangerous, like a disguised demon). So how do you stage the betrayal in a way that’s dramatic but still fair?

Options for the Betrayal

• Tip off the villains. The traitor reveals the party’s location, blows their cover while disguised, or lures them into an ambush. A clever twist is for the NPC to let himself be captured — by the people he’s working for. Players often risk everything to rescue a “friend.”

• Sabotage the fight. The traitor uses their position to tilt the battle against the party: knocking a PC off a cliff, closing a door or portcullis to split the group, grappling a key character, or taking a hostage. For best results, spring the betrayal at the start of combat so the players have time to react.

• Trigger traps or chaos. The traitor cuts a rope, triggers a trap, angers a neutral faction, or attracts a monster — then flees. This lets you bring them back later as a recurring antagonist.

• Steal and run. The traitor grabs a treasure or key piece of information and escapes, rather than trying to kill the party outright. (This can combine with the trap idea above.)

What Not to Do as a Betrayal

The most obvious betrayal is to have the NPC kill or drug the party. But players often see this as unfair. Being wiped out without warning (or captured against their will) robs them of agency and usually creates frustration, not drama. In most cases, this option isn’t worth it.

For more betrayals, and other social encounters

Part 2: Tactics of the Dark Elves

At this point, let’s move on to a combat encounter, following my usual structure.

Combat Encounter: Arrows in the Dark (difficulty 4)

The drow are the dark elves of the D&D world. They dwell in the Underdark, famous for their betrayals (hence the first half of this article) and their alliance with giant spiders.

One of the drow’s most overlooked strengths is their 120 feet of darkvision. This means a typical encounter should begin with the party being struck by crossbow bolts fired from beyond their own sight range.

The crossbow attacks will suffer disadvantage due to distance, but the range is still valuable. The first volley may even cancel out that disadvantage by gaining advantage from surprise. If you use this, consider allowing the party a chance to notice what’s happening — for example, a Knowledge or Investigation check to let them shake awake any sleeping allies before it turns deadly.

Drow Tactics

Hit-and-Run Attacks

Players will usually charge toward the source of the arrows. Knowing this, the drow will fire, then reposition — often moving sideways instead of straight back. This makes it harder for the party to track their movements.

Choosing When to Attack

The drow don’t need to attack every round. If they begin their turn within 60 feet of the party, they may be better off dashing away and striking later. Still, they’re opportunists: if a good opening presents itself, or if an ally is in trouble, they may risk a shot. If your players start to feel too frustrated, you can narratively justify the drow getting careless and exposing themselves.

Splitting Up

The drow may split into separate groups. Since the players don’t know how many enemies they’re facing, getting attacked from multiple directions creates confusion. If this becomes overwhelming, you can balance it by making the simultaneous attacks more obvious — maybe the drow don’t care about being detected, or maybe one group slipped up. Mistakes happen to us all.

Terrain of the Underdark

Two terrain features dominate the Underdark: crevices and pillars.

Crevices

Crevices are the most useful feature for drow tactics. They can shoot over them, forcing the party to realize they can’t pursue in a straight line. Instead, they must navigate a maze they can’t fully see — one the drow know intimately.

Pillars

Pillars (including stalagmites, stone columns, rubble piles, or even small rises in the ground) block line of sight and provide hiding places. This cuts both ways — they block the drow’s vision as well, sometimes forcing them too close to the players.

This is a feature, not a flaw: it gives the players a way to fight back through ambushes or stealth. Still, the drow aren’t careless. They may circle around instead of chasing directly, or send one member ahead to spring traps. Just remember: while the drow are cunning, they’re not perfect. Don’t use your DM metaknowledge of player positions unfairly.

Running the Battlemap

In encounters where players have limited information, I suggest preparing two maps:

• DM’s map: Hidden behind the screen, showing all terrain and enemy positions.

• Players’ map: Revealed gradually as they explore. Add terrain features as the party discovers them, and only place enemies when a PC can actually see them.

Assume the party remembers revealed terrain and communicates enemy positions. Otherwise, the bookkeeping becomes a headache.

Drow Underdark Encounter Scenarios

You could run this setup as a simple harassment attack: the drow fire, the players take damage, and the party decides whether to press on or fight back. The risk is that players may give up quickly, frustrated by the attrition. A better approach is to force a confrontation with a clear goal.

The Key and the Leader

Place an obstacle in the players’ path, such as a locked door or sealed passage, that can only be opened with a key carried by the drow leader. The drow, being proud and arrogant, might even taunt the party by announcing this fact.

• Recognizable Leader: Make the leader stand out — perhaps with a distinct weapon or armor. A nice touch is to give their arrows a unique marker, like gold-strung fletching.

• Resolution: Once the leader is defeated, the remaining drow scatter. They might flee in panic or turn on each other in a scramble for succession.

This prevents the encounter from bogging down into an endless chase where the players must hunt every last drow through the Underdark. Instead, it gives the party a clear win condition and a satisfying end point.

Additional Complications

The base scenario is enough for a solid encounter, but you can raise the stakes with extra challenges. Here are three options:

The Drow’s Pet Beast

While the party hunts the drow, the drow’s pet hunts them. Choose a monster with plenty of HP that can’t be dropped quickly. To keep the pressure fair:

• Limit its speed to 20 feet unless provoked.

• Make it loud, so the players always know where it is.

• Avoid spiders — their web attacks limit PC movement and that makes them too oppressive.

This creates tension without overwhelming the party.

The Drow’s Ambush

At some point, the party may split up to pin down their elusive foes. This opens the door for a drow counter-ambush, surrounding and overwhelming a single PC.

• Spring it with drow who deliberately held back, or with a monster ally.

• Giant wolf spiders are a good choice: they’re faster than regular giant spiders, like ambushing prey, and have web sense to detect intruders.

End the encounter after the ambush is sprung. If you use it more than once, your players may become paranoid in a way that slows down the entire game.

Webs as Obstacles or Traps

If the drow work with spiders, they may seed the battlefield with giant webs:

• As walls: Blocking movement until destroyed. Cutting through takes a full action and risks entanglement. Even destroyed, the strands on the ground create difficult terrain.

• As traps: A PC rushing blindly can stumble into a sticky hazard.

• Counterplay: Area-of-effect fire spells can burn webs away. Cold spells can freeze them to make cutting easier. Single-target cantrips like Fire Bolt aren’t enough.

For more underdark encounter ideas, see Darkmantle. The ideas don’t use drow, but darkmantles (and the obstacles and traps I gave them) are a good fit for drow security “dogs”.

See all terrain encounter scenarios

Summary: Six Combat Ideas for Drow Darkvision

The drow have 120 feet of darkvision, double what most PCs can see. And since they live in the Underdark — where it’s always dark — this is their greatest battlefield advantage. Here are six ways to use it:

1. Opening Volley: Begin combat with crossbow bolts from outside the party’s vision. The drow can then reposition to stay in the dark. for greater challenge, add crevices through the cavern. The drow know the safe paths, but the players are forced to navigate a maze they can’t fully see.

2. Leader’s Marked Arrows: Give the drow leader a key item the players must retrieve. Mark his arrows with gold wire (or another tell) so they can track him, turning the fight into a deadly game of “Shadows in the Dark.

3.  Hidden Ambush: With their superior darkvision, the drow don’t need to hide behind obstacles to ambush players, they just need a cavern big enough to stay out of sight. To lure them in, have 1-2 drow retreat into the middle of the ambush.

4. Monster in the Dark: Place a powerful but slow monster in the cavern. It hunts both players and drow, but the drow’s superior vision gives them an edge in avoiding it.

5. Tunnel Chase: Have the drow retreat into one of three tunnels. The players won’t see which one they chose, forcing the party to either split up or risk the drow slipping past unseen.

6. Hidden Web Trap: Take advantage of their vision by placing a net or web 65 feet above the party. A single arrow knocks it loose — a thematic ambush the players never saw coming.