i have only played the BG series and i have heard the drow go on about becoming driders (sofalein and viconias brother whatever he called) so my question i ssimple what exactly is a drider???

Short version: Half drow, half spider.

Long version: Let someone else fill you in on that.

It's a drow that is part drow and part spider. I think it still retains the drow head, but the body transforms into that of a spider.

ohhhhh so thats why them drow aint to keen on the idea lol

Well, he keeps the head and the torso, but the lower part of the body becomes that of a spider's, actually.

actually that be pretty cool, all those extra legs could come in handy

From the Monster Manual II (1st ed AD&D):

"The drider is a special creation of Lolth's magick. When drow of promising ability reach 6th level or slightly higher, Lolth will summon them and put them through a specially devised test. The drow that fail become driders.

A drider appears to be a cross between a giant spider and a drow elf. The torso, gead and arms of a pale, bloated drow sprout 8 spider legs. Due to the bloated form, it is impossible to distinguish the sex of a drider, but 60% of those encountered will be female. (persumably because of Lolth's trials are geared towards females)

a drider retains whatever drow abilities it possessed before the transformation; therefore, all driders have magical or clerical ability - magic use for males, clerical for females.

Driders are outcasts from drow communities and thus bear them no great love. They are seldom found in numbers, prefering to operate alone. Driders will be accompanied by 2-12 huge spiders 10% of the time. Generally living undeerground, they will often stalk their victims until the right opportunity for a kill presents itself. Their diet consists mainly of the blood of their victims, as they have acquired a spider's tastes."

Hope this helps!

That test is described a bit in the Drizzt books. Not tooo detailed, but it does appear and failure is drow transformation.
There, though, every drow in training had to go through the test. A drider that a drow becomes retains its previous class. So, if a fighter5/wizard1 is transformed into a drow, it'll just add some abberation (i think it's abberation) levels on top of it. They also gain a few spell-like abilities iirc. Darkness spell being one of them.
I hope someone can confirm all this, i'm not too sure about it all, i just glanced at them, hope i recalled correctly.

There are also all sorts of other of reasons drow make one of their own into a drider, besides this test.

Also Matron Mother have the power (through Lolth) to transform their own blood to driders. This happened to one of the characters in a Drizzt novel.

yeah, if a Drow angers Lolth he or she can be Dridered.

And there are some of them in IWD2. They look sort of like a centaur, but with a spider body instead of a horse.

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/Screenshots/image.php?image=iwd2_115.jpg

thats interesting information..cool..i remmember getting overwealmed by driders like it was yesterday...it accually was yesterday when i was playin iwd2..hehe..im so sorry :eek:

If they keep all there powers and abilities just look like that, i reckon they could become a more powerful race than the drow, surly they move faster, and proabably have a understanding with spiders better than the drow, really i think driders could raise an army in a retaliatory strike against the drow. It may be folish to try but i bet the illithid would side with them as well as all the spiders, if the driders could swallow whatever pride they had left thye may even be able to get duegur and them gnome who name i can't spell to side with them, i think that would be a pretty cool thing to happen. the war between drow and driders, be kinda funny.

If anybody here has been playing D&D games for long enough, the Driders appeared in a very (Very) old game called Unlimited Adventures which was one of the first ever computerised D&D games. In that they actually hung out with the Hill Giants... I dunno if this bears any resemblance to the modern Drider, but I just thought it was interesting...

Well in Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures, all the games are customized and made by us users, so you can put monsters in wherever you want. For marketed D&D games, I first saw them in Secret of the Silver Blades. They were so funny, blasting lightning bolts all over the place and making use of their magic resistance to avoid damaging themselves too much. And they had a poisonous (presumably spider) bite that paralyzes on hit if you fail a saving throw. But they were out of place in that game, they seemed like just another cool monster to kill. In fact I didn't realize they were half drow half spider until I played the sequel to that game, when drow were introduced.

Oh yeah, and I have never seen a drider cast clerical spells in a game yet, so I'm a bit skeptical about what someone said earlier.

Some driders in IWD II cast cleric spells. I think the reason driders cant go up against the drow is that the higher level powers of a cleric, wizard or fighter own those of the drider levels.

Remember the drider form is a punishment for failure. So those who remain drow will actually be more powerful.

Thats the only reason why I didn't think they could, but then if they got the allies and there new form must give adavntages, they are proably faster, and i would reckon they find difficult terrains easier to cross. If i was a Drider i would certainly try it.
Also as was said before not all the drow were punsihed for failure, some for angering the matron mothers for example. i belive sofalien has a dialouge where he says for his betrayal he would become a drider and he a capable figher and a handy mage as well so he would be one kick ass drider, and imagine if they caught drizzt and made him one, that would be one powerful Drider.

You all seem to forget one thing.

IF Drow vs. Driders = Draw (which I believe is not) then what do you think Drow + Lolth vs. Driders is?

Good point

@Shrikanth: I think female Driders cast clerical, male arcane spells or just fight.

I suppose the driders are superior to Drown in the matter of pure power. But there are so many other things, things that acount for more than mere power.

First off, the advancement of their previous classes. How could that be achieved?
Clerics need a deity. Surely Lloth wont help these lower creatures against the drow.
Mages need arcane knowledge. I dont suppose drider society has any sort of stability needed for education. Much too chaotic for it.
So, they can advance in Abberation class, which doesnt give them that much more power as opposed to the drow.

There's always the hordes of other creatures that are under the drow. It's intentions purely cannon-fodder, it'd surely help them against them.

Overall, i think the idea of Driders being able to turn on the drow is quite impossible. I dont doubt someone can explain it better and i hope it will be.

1. There are far fewer Driders than Drow. Also, they mostly live outside the cities of the Drow, in the Underdark. A small drider patrol would be no match for an illithid ambush, a group of beholders, or a medium-sized kuo-toa war party. Do the math.

2. Driders are the outcasts and dregs of Drow society. Their only place in "civilised" Drow society is to act as hunters, but the Drow *do* fear their power. Consider Phaere's reaction to her mother's threat; "do you wish to face the drider again so soon?" Phaere is not the type to back down.

3. Driders associate with each other mainly for survival. They don't have a strong communal bond or a society as such. AFAIK, the Viciscamera in IWD2 is just about the biggest crock I've ever heard of, and one of the reasons why I dislike the game (another is the weaker-than-weak Illithids).

4. Driders with clerical powers would draw them from Lloth. Lloth, being fickle, would not allow her failed servants to harm her Drow worshippers. In the event of an uprising, the drider clerics would likely find that Lloth's strength had left them - just as it did Viconia when she renounced the Spider Queen.

5. I'm not sure about this, but I would think that only those Drow who follow Lloth (ie: nearly all) can be turned into Driders. This would explain why Drizzt, Solaufein, Malavon and Viconia have escaped this fate. She has to send priests and demons after them instead.

Slight Spoiler (for the literarily-minded):

@ Veldrin: In the books, Drizzt's brother Dinin gets turned into a Drider after House Do'Urden is crushed by House Ba'enre in "Exile". Not sure which one that happens in - I think it's the first book of the "second" Dark Elf Trilogy.

@NonSequitor
Exile is the second book of the first triology.

I'd think you dont need to worship Lloth to be transformed into a drider. After all, it's a transformation cast by another. It might entitle saving throw because the target is unwilling.

@NonSequitor
Exile is the second book of the first trilogy.I know, but at the end of that one he (Dinin Do'Urden) becomes a mercenary. Dinin doesn't become a drider until much later - and IIRC, Drizzt doesn't meet up with him and his surviving sister until the second trilogy.
I'd think you dont need to worship Lloth to be transformed into a drider. After all, it's a transformation cast by another. It might entitle saving throw because the target is unwilling. You're right, there's probably some sort of ritual magic for those who don't worship Lloth. However, it would require interception and capture of the heretical Drow first, followed by the drider curse being inflicted by the Matron or a high priestess of Lloth.

Overall, I think the idea of Driders being able to turn on the Drow is quite impossible. Actually, I was reading up on Driders in D&D's monster manual and it says that Driders are outcasts from Drow society, and they both hate each other ‘passionately’.

If the two meet, especially if it was a Drow patrol party vs. a group of Driders, there would be one heck of a fight. The Drow would probably win since becoming a Drider isn’t exactly a “blessing” from Lolth, so even the advantage of having 8 legs wouldn’t be enough...but hey, if you have enough of anything you can usually win. :rolling:

5. I'm not sure about this, but I would think that only those Drow who follow Lloth (ie: nearly all) can be turned into Driders. This would explain why Drizzt, Solaufein, Malavon and Viconia have escaped this fate. She has to send priests and demons after them instead.You'd have to catch them first to turn 'em into driders.


How about olympics between drow and driders? I'd imagine driders would win at least all games that involve running. ;)