Drow SAS

[Pinjata]

Hey, guys,

Drow are elves. Thus, long-lived. Very war-prone. Massive combat experience. I'd like to play them like this plus optimize usual drow warrior (https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=drow) to a point of high optimisation. What would you suggest? Limitations I'd set is: they can use any nonmagical item/weapon plus any Common magic item? And they can stockpile any amount of them on their bodies.

I'd think they'd only operate at night, taking advantage of their 120 ft darkvision. Perhaps they should go after maximising a chance of dropping their targets with poison, they have at disposal?

How do I make and play drow as a SAS team?

[hymer]

Operating at night wold be preferable, but they should prepare themselves to fight wherever, whenever.

The first order of the day is stealth, camouflage, and disguises. Being undetected means you have the initiative. You choose whether and when to engage, and you get tactical surprise. A subtle means of communication is useful here.

Poison as you mention is great, as it gives you a better chance to end the fight before the enemy gets to do anything. Handcrossbows are likewise nice for a ranged attack you can hide about your person in disguise, and shoot while hiding prone or climbing. There are good reasons for drow to hold on to these traditions.

Edit: BTW, shouldn't it be SUS? :smallwink:

[Pinjata]

>Edit: BTW, shouldn't it be SUS?

Eee... I don't get it :D Sorry :D

[DeTess]

>Edit: BTW, shouldn't it be SUS?

Eee... I don't get it :D Sorry :D

Special Underground Service?

[Corran]

You will probably have more luck using sth from the MM, and the idea of magic items on monsters seems like a bit dangerous to me (unless perhaps we are talking about consumables, so that the PC's don't accumulate lots and lots of magic loot). That said:

For the ranged ones, I'd probably want to go with gloomstalker ranger, because if I am not mistaken, it adds to the darkvision range of the character and it also allows to hide in the dark even against creatures that have darkvision. They get good opening rounds damage wise, so this would play very well with the concept of someone who is professional at seek and destroy type of stuff. Maybe add a couple of rogue levels for cunning action (useful for fighting dirty against the PC's, meaning kitting them or shooting at them and then popping back to stealth mode), maybe even 3 levels for assassin to boost their nova a little bit (though you don't have that many dice to multiplay on crits, so eeh…).

For melee ones, I am not really sure, but I think MAM is one of those feats that would suit them well, as it has a very fitting flavor IMO, being rained to be stealthy in heavier armor and all. Maybe a mixture of fighter and rogue perhaps? Not really sure.

[Pinjata]

@Corran
I appreciate the input, but I intend to work with given stats. Plus equiptment plus magic items plus tactics. @hymer's comment was exactly what I was looking for and I'd appreciate anything along that lane from you, if you feel like :)

[Unoriginal]

I'm not sure what you want? Tactics and equipment to make drow mooks into an elite force?

[Corsair14]

They would likely have the typical drow magic weapons +1 to +2 on pretty much everything as well as the drow equivalent of Elven Chainmail. However remember what happens when this stuff comes to the surface for long periods or worse gets exposed to the sun.

Camo and stealth would likely be the name of the game with much use of poisoned Hand Bows(again +1 or +2). It would likely be a 5 to six man team with at least one real wizard and possible a multi-class wizard/thief. One or two rangers and the rest filled out with fighter/rogue combos. I would expect all of them to be minimum level 3 with the officer being at least level 5 or 6.

[DeTess]

One thing about optimization is that you need to do it towards a goal, and with limitations. For example, the optimal way for the Drow to engage would be for all of them to be spellcasters with 9th level slots available, and use those spells to wipe the board. So, what's the exact goal you want these for (are they slavers? assassins? saboteurs? Are they engaged in open warfare or sneaky stuff?), and what limitations are there in play? Limitations could be 'medium encounter for a 10th level party'or 'no more than 8 class levels' or something like that.

Edit: wow, I'm blind. Better input to follow in a new post.

[Corran]

@Corran
I appreciate the input, but I intend to work with given stats. Plus equiptment plus magic items plus tactics. @hymer's comment was exactly what I was looking for and I'd appreciate anything along that lane from you, if you feel like :)
Ah, apologies, I missed the link you provided and for some reason I thought you wanted to do that using pc levels. My bad. Well then, I don't have something brilliant to say that wasn't already said, use stealth to get surprise, and distance (longbow ranged attacks; distance which you will maintain by having them kite the party) to profit from the superior darkvision range. They are not very strong mooks, though that depends on what level your PC's are. So if your PC's start getting to level territory when these guys would struggle to compete with them, maybe have them attack the party when the party is in a tough spot (after a battle, or whatever). They are not great at stealth, but the party will probably have disadvantage on their (passive) perception because the drow will track them outside the range of their darkvision. You can have the combat last several rounds, by making them take the hide action and reposition themselves far away from the PC's and then have them start shooting again. Yeah, they wont all be successful, and depending on their success rate this might not actually be good advice, but prolonging combats sometimes makes the combat feels more dangerous, at least when a winning outcome seems far from certain. To achieve a far from certain outcome, play them intelligently, meaning, that they target weak and valuable targets first, and the tough PC's second. If someone is caught in melee combat with one of the tough PC's, probably have them use dodge to slow him down, while the rest pepper the weak targets with arrows from a distance. So, surprise, smart targeting, mix in hide and dodging if it makes sense, and add up their numbers if you want to increase the difficulty even further.

[DeTess]

In addition to what has been said, i'd really leverage their poisoned hand crossbows. Your average guardsman has about a 35% chance of failing that save, so between damage and the poison 3 simultaneous hits will put one of them down, which is great for covert insertions. Combining darkness and faerie fire might also lead to shenanigans, with opponents striking at disadvantage while you hitting them normally.

[JackPhoenix]

In addition to what has been said, i'd really leverage their poisoned hand crossbows. Your average guardsman has about a 35% chance of failing that save, so between damage and the poison 3 simultaneous hits will put one of them down, which is great for covert insertions. Combining darkness and faerie fire might also lead to shenanigans, with opponents striking at disadvantage while you hitting them normally.

Well, your average guardsman will most likely be dead after trying to tank three attacks with 5.5 average damage each with his 11 hp. Assuming all 3 bolts hit, he's got a 1.85% chance of survival. Even without poison.

[The Jack]

So are you just using the 1/4 rating stat block or are you going to use someone with class levels too?

I think some kind of elite 'SUS' type soldier is going to be better than 1/4 cr.
You're looking for at least multi-attack capable characters or some heavy sneak attack. The Veteran/knight/assassin with the stealth skills and drow racials for example.

Medieval fantasy 'SUS' type soldiers, I imagine a fireteam of three heavy crossbow users and a specialist; perhaps someone with a shield, light crossbow and sword, or perhaps a polearm master, or perhaps a sorcerer. The HC soldiers have a marksman who has sneak attack and the sharpshooter feat whilst the other two have crossbow expert.

Tactics
They begin their attack spread out and more than 30ft of movement away so that their enemy can't reach them and attack in the first turn. That way they get a surprise round and at least one more round without worry of melee attack. They are extremely patient and will wait for the right moment.

[Corsair14]

Did they do away with even basic Drow NPC fighters starting as 2nd level fighters? They should all have class levels. If these are going to be recurring villains then it is a good time to personalize each of them with class levels and weapons. I doubt there would be large numbers of these squads around so you might as well. Rangers, fighter/rogues(also mostly for stealth and sneak attack) and wizard/rogues(mostly for stealth). Any actual assassin would likely be a solo act. When running them, run them as smartly as possible. They aren't going to fight in a straight up fight. There will be traps in places they expect PCs to take cover in or in paths that PCs would take to get to them. Any special ops team will stack the odds in their favor so any fight should be difficult. Not only that, if for some reason they should start to lose, it would be doubtful a team this good would simply die in place especially if they set up the ambush to begin with. They each would have their withdrawal route planned in advance and have magical or physical means to make it happen. Then they would come back at a later time and continue the fight from a more advantageous position. PCs have to sleep sometime. Even in a country inn along the road, a special ops team would have no issue attacking them there by surprise or finding a way to poison the well, eliminate the horses in the stables, or simply prevent the PCs from being able to complete a long rest. Hello exhaustion. Good luck sleeping when there's stealthy guys in the woods shooting at you when you sleep for the night.

[Unoriginal]

Well, your average guardsman will most likely be dead after trying to tank three attacks with 5.5 average damage each with his 11 hp. Assuming all 3 bolts hit, he's got a 1.85% chance of survival. Even without poison.

Well, to be fair, the Drow mooks can't really tank three hits from your average guard either.

The Drow statblock doesn't represent elite forces, it is for the mooks. New recruits, older soldiers who just don't have the martial capacities, cunning or dedication to get stronger, or those who lost their touch due to injuries and the battlefield life they had. Being long-lived elves doesn't change that. They're numerous, cheap, and expendable, in the eyes of their overlord.

Not the kind of people you entrust with important must-not-fail operations or with magic items. The troops who would get those jobs are what the Drow Elite Warrior statblock is for.

Now, "mook" doesn't mean "bad at their job". It doesn't mean "not scary", either. A Drow raid is a terrifying thing, slavers and snatchers and slayers emerging from the ground or dropping from rooftops, silent and unnoticed by most except the sharpest, and catching all those they can get their hand on, anyone attempting a resistance being engulfed in darker-than-night shadows or dropping from one bolt, poisoned and unconscious, and leaving only the empty husk of a settlement behind, devoid of living people and valuables.

But adventurers are made of tough stuff, and the Drow statblock is not really suitable for a spec ops team. In fact, they rather more fit this Terry Pratchett quote:


They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they want to.



Did they do away with even basic Drow NPC fighters starting as 2nd level fighters?

Given that none of the MM creatures are built with class levels, yes.

The Drow statblock is still a CR 1/4 opponent and rather good at the job. A beginning adventurer can definitively get their donkey handed to them in a solo fight against one of those, if the Drow is a bit cunning.


They should all have class levels.

No, they should not. Giving class levels to NPCs is rather tedious, often unsatisfactory, and less efficient than just giving them the appropriate NPC statblock.

[Pinjata]

Thanks for all advice, it's great! Well I like these limitations, because it is easy to slap PC class levels upon a character and make it stronger. But smart play with what you have at hand is what I admire. Sneaky army that focus-fires guards for an insta-kill, while using 120ft darkvision ... oh yesss!

[Ganymede]

Hey, guys,

Drow are elves. Thus, long-lived. Very war-prone. Massive combat experience. I'd like to play them like this plus optimize usual drow warrior (https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=drow) to a point of high optimisation. What would you suggest?

Easy. First, pick class you want to play. Then, follow Quick Build advice given in the class' entry in the PHB. With that, you'll have a powerful PC capable of helping your party overcome some tough challenges.

[Unoriginal]

Thanks for all advice, it's great! Well I like these limitations, because it is easy to slap PC class levels upon a character and make it stronger. But smart play with what you have at hand is what I admire. Sneaky army that focus-fires guards for an insta-kill, while using 120ft darkvision ... oh yesss!

You could also add nets to their arsenal.

[The Jack]

No, they should not. Giving class levels to NPCs is rather tedious, often unsatisfactory, and less efficient than just giving them the appropriate NPC statblock.

I usually make things up as I go along. Honestly with mooks I often neglect to give them health and have them die when it sounds about right. but I find that using class levels is good for quickly making complicated NPCS without much effort, as I know 5e's class levels.

[No brains]

Oddly, while looking at the PHB elf subraces, Drow was the one I found least combat ready. A high or wood elf would be much scarier to me. That's off topic tho.

If you want to add things that you could add to any race to make drow scarier, the long range of longbow proficiency and maybe the Chill Touch cantrip can be used to take advantage of super-darkvision to keep foes from finding them again after an attack. Those work super-well with Rogue's Cunning Action to hide as a bonus action in the same turn.

In the underdark, Minor Illusion could more easily make convincing cover or false paths to confound attackers, with Mold Earth possibly really changing those variables. Also cantrips with saves, not attack rolls, work just as well in direct sunlight.

Also make your drow have an alliance with Sprites (I'm serious, keep reading) to get a supply of their sleep poison. Drow don't have an inborn ability to produce the poison, but maybe their charisma bonus helps them buy/ refine it.

[Corsair14]

A drow fighter before even becoming an adult in the eyes of the city went through at least ten years of boot camp followed by numerous practice exercises and close patrols. That's why in older editions you would never encounter less than a 2nd level fighter unless you managed to sneak into a city and hit an individual house and found its kids. Further even your basic level 2 fighter wouldn't be caught dead without drow chain +1 and at least a +1 weapon. Granted, you bring the weapons and armor to the surface and its going to crumble in a very short time but its pretty much the only place in the Prime where magic equipment is stupidly common. They would always attack from ambush as well and typically the first signs of attack were guys taking hand bow needles and falling to the ground from poison.

A basic drow fighter should be able to easily take on any normal town guard in a straight up fight. Drow's disadvantage is they don't play well together and you will never see many of them far from their cities unless there is a major driving force behind it. They have no need for surface territories to hold seeing as how the surface negates many of their material and magical advantages. Realistically they barely hold territory far from their cities even in the Underdark because they are too self involved with stabbing each other in the back than patrolling. Outposts exist either as a major strategic point or a valuable resource point.

[Unoriginal]

A drow fighter before even becoming an adult in the eyes of the city went through at least ten years of boot camp followed by numerous practice exercises and close patrols. That's why in older editions you would never encounter less than a 2nd level fighter unless you managed to sneak into a city and hit an individual house and found its kids. Further even your basic level 2 fighter wouldn't be caught dead without drow chain +1 and at least a +1 weapon. Granted, you bring the weapons and armor to the surface and its going to crumble in a very short time but its pretty much the only place in the Prime where magic equipment is stupidly common. They would always attack from ambush as well and typically the first signs of attack were guys taking hand bow needles and falling to the ground from poison.

Things change between editions. This is no longer the Drow lore.



A basic drow fighter should be able to easily take on any normal town guard in a straight up fight.

Why "should be able"? This edition's writers have decided the Drow mook can beat a Guard mook relatively easily, but not without risk if it's a fair fight (which of course the Drow would want to avoid).

[No brains]

A basic drow fighter should be able to easily take on any normal town guard in a straight up fight.


Why "should be able"? This edition's writers have decided the Drow mook can beat a Guard mook relatively easily, but not without risk if it's a fair fight (which of course the Drow would want to avoid).

Unoriginal has a good point here. Playing to the strengths of being a drow means avoiding straight-up fights. Natural illusions, charisma bonuses, and superior darkvision makes controlling the circumstances of a fight more important than a drow's actual aptitude in a fight.

If I'm being dismissive of the societal 'fluff' of drow, that's just because it's easy to say any race has a particularly rich society where they can afford +1 gear and can specialize in fighter roles. To me, all their boot camp does is give them their drow weapon proficiency. Otherwise it's just as easy, indeed more believable, for me to say that dwarves have a military-industrial society where they can craft and train in fantastic armors and its usage. With dwarves' inborn tool and medium armor proficiency, it's easy to believe every 40-year old dwarf adult has at least a breastplate and is comfortable wearing it every day.

Nothing's stopping you from writing drow as having a certain society or tendency, but there's also not much help I can give you there. The resources drow have and strategies drow use to gather, refine, and distribute those resources are limited only by your tastes. I only feel comfortable working with stats that the PHB gives me.

[The Jack]

I believe Drow largely wouldn't have their young well trained. They don't trust eachother, and they'd be allowing for a lot of revolts.

[Hail Tempus]

I believe Drow largely wouldn't have their young well trained. They don't trust eachother, and they'd be allowing for a lot of revolts.
If you’ve played Out of the Abyss, the Drow don’t come off as particularly impressive as a fighting force. They’re good at brutalizing prisoners and enslaving non-combatants. But their society seems to be based around a small minority keeping its boot on the majority of the Drow and the slave class.

If anything, Drow society seems to be structured in a way that would make it hard to create an effective, elite fighting force. Drow society doesn’t really make much sense. It only survives due to Lolth’s influence.

[BreaktheStatue]

Not that it would practical (or have much basis in reality), but I think it'd be funny if you could come up with an effect to put laser sights on all their crossbows. Nothing says "action movie special forces" like laser sights. That might be more cheese than what you're going for, though.

[vexedart]

Just some ideas.

Give them all riding lizards, the drow can attack from the top of the cavern, upside down, buckled in my with their crossbows, give them crossbow expert to show off their expert training, and poisoned sleeping bolts. Use the terrain to their advantage, drop stalagmites, blow the floor out from under them into a pit of lava/spikes/monstrousities. Use an illusionist to cover a pit trap, it takes a round and a declared action to investigate for a trap. Have them leave food around to attract bigger predators. Have them use yellow mold as a defensive layer to their base. Have them train slaves to act in danger, or have them put the slaves into real danger to attract those with a soft heart into a trap. Have the mages disguise themselves as the heroes and then openly kill someone loved by the towns people. Have another force of drow ready to come in to cover them while the other force leaves. Have the heroes fall into a trap for chasing the escaped drow.

[vexedart]

Just some ideas.

Give them all riding lizards, the drow can attack from the top of the cavern, upside down, buckled in with their crossbows, give them crossbow expert to show off their expert training, and use poisoned sleeping bolts. Use the terrain to their advantage, drop stalagmites, blow the floor out from under them into a pit of lava/spikes/river/monstrousities. If fighting underwater equip them with small weapons so they don’t get disadvantage, if fighting in small tight caves, or halls, use reach weapons to cover a larger exit, use poison then also.
Use an illusionist to cover a trap, it takes a round and a declared action to use investigation for an illusion, this will make your players paranoid, you could always use that to your advantage to, to force certain responses.

Have them leave food or musk around to attract bigger ‘things’ to cause distractions. Have them use yellow mold as a defensive deterrent, or to have the party lose their trail through such a dangerous area. Have them train slaves to act in danger, or have them put the slaves into real danger to attract those with a soft heart into a trap. Have another force of drow ready to come in to cover them while the other force leaves. Have the heroes fall into a trap for chasing the escaped drow. Set up ambushes followed up by traps often, run them through a mine field, guerilla warfare.

Capture an NPC beloved by the party and if you really want the party to hate how evil the drow really are, have them enslaved by an illithid, drow and illithid are sometimes ‘frenemies,’ they even do business with beholders sometimes as well, like in Sshamath. Have the mind flayer enslave them by breaking their mind, have them repeat a phrase of something disturbing, a good example I’ve seen is;
You see a dwarf of middle age, clothed in tattered rags, whispering something to himself. As you approach, the message begins to sound clear, the grizzled man with gnarled fingers stares at his quivering hands and repeats, “No matter what, I’m going to get back to them. No matter what, I’m going to get back to them. No matter what, I’m going to get back to them.” Over and over again, ignoring everything else around them.

Have a jabress court a surfacer of high nobility or royalty, to influence the party in whichever way she sees fit. Drow are master manipulators and bred to be attractive as a survival instinct against the surface since the surface covets beauty. Have their mages disguise themselves as the heroes, and then openly kill someone loved by the towns people. If the drow can’t face the party directly, they will play them indirectly instead. Send the party on suicidal quests, into death traps, and/or deadly monstrosities.
Have their yathrin summon demons to cause chaos with their queens design in mind.

Just try to curb it to your players enjoyment, as a DM with infinite resources, it’s easy to kill or outsmart a party, remember it is a game to be enjoyed, if any of those boundaries makes your players very uncomfortable, you might want to steer clear of that, as with the drow, it could be an easy line to cross.

“Lolth tlu malla”

[The Jack]

If you’ve played Out of the Abyss, the Drow don’t come off as particularly impressive as a fighting force. They’re good at brutalizing prisoners and enslaving non-combatants. But their society seems to be based around a small minority keeping its boot on the majority of the Drow and the slave class.

If anything, Drow society seems to be structured in a way that would make it hard to create an effective, elite fighting force. Drow society doesn’t really make much sense. It only survives due to Lolth’s influence.

As someone with a keen interest in sociology, I disagree with you on this.

The bulk of a force being 1/4 cr isn't a bad fighting force. I'd argue that they punch a little above their weight too given that their racial abilities are good for low levels and they're extremely specialised for their environment.

As for drow society
-A lot of it is largely exaggerated. Most don't get assassination attempts every Tuesday.
-The lower class drow have a vested interest in keeping the slaves below them, and are aware that by overthrowing their superiors, they risk their underlings rising up. Lower class drow live relatively good lives so long as they keep their head down and their lords pleased.
-NPC wizards don't automatically know new spells every level up, so male wizards aren't much of a risk as the spells they learn can be controlled. Similarly, female warriors are better trained and equiped
-So many hostages are taken that nobody does anything. These hostages are likely well cared for, they're just denied freedoms and can be used for bargaining.
-Nepotism is huge.

[Hail Tempus]

As someone with a keen interest in sociology, I disagree with you on this.

The bulk of a force being 1/4 cr isn't a bad fighting force. I'd argue that they punch a little above their weight too given that their racial abilities are good for low levels and they're extremely specialised for their environment.

As for drow society
-A lot of it is largely exaggerated. Most don't get assassination attempts every Tuesday.
-The lower class drow have a vested interest in keeping the slaves below them, and are aware that by overthrowing their superiors, they risk their underlings rising up. Lower class drow live relatively good lives so long as they keep their head down and their lords pleased.
-NPC wizards don't automatically know new spells every level up, so male wizards aren't much of a risk as the spells they learn can be controlled. Similarly, female warriors are better trained and equiped
-So many hostages are taken that nobody does anything. These hostages are likely well cared for, they're just denied freedoms and can be used for bargaining.
-Nepotism is huge. I think the biggest problem with Drow society is the seemingly utter lack of trust. The fluff makes it seems like Drow will backstab people in their own family to get a leg up. That's not a great basis for a functional society.

From the military perspective, soldiers, especially elite soldiers, are heavily motivated by the bond within a fighting unit. An effective, elite soldier knows that the guy next to him won't hesitate to risk his life for him, and vice versa. Drow society seems to explicitly discourage these kinds of bonds. Why would you risk your life for a fellow soldier if you knew he's likely to betray you to get a promotion or some other advantage? A Drow military unit strikes me as a dangerous, but brittle instrument. As long as they're winning, they'll stick together. But, if things go pear-shaped, it could quickly dissolve into every elf for himself.

Compare the Drow to Duergar. The Duergar are a fascistic, militaristic society (as opposed to the weird gender-based theocracy the Drow have), but the fluff paints them as being united in their outlook. If you were about to go to war, would you prefer to be leading a Drow or Duergar army?

[The Jack]

But that's why you take hostages and hold the high ground of law. Few are going to retreat or teamkill in a fight if such a discovery would lead to them losing their child/partner/home/business. 'My people have informed me of your cowardice. Time to revoke your privileges. I've noticed your family owns a tannery on my land. I've decided to give it to a more trustworthy group, and to tax you more.

Getting the highest position whilst you're weak is stupid, because you've become such a good. Running games like vtm, I've learned it's best to be extremely selective with power grabs, and you're better off taking advantage of a higher power that likes you and biding your time than taking risks.
Like vtm, There's a huge power discrepancy between low drow and high drow, so a lot of time is needed to bridge the gap of potential revolutions and coups.

[JackPhoenix]

But that's why you take hostages and hold the high ground of law. Few are going to retreat or teamkill in a fight if such a discovery would lead to them losing their child/partner/home/business. 'My people have informed me of your cowardice. Time to revoke your privileges. I've noticed your family owns a tannery on my land. I've decided to give it to a more trustworthy group, and to tax you more.

That works only if the drow care about the hostage. As they are written, they generally don't. This is a race where parents sacrifice their children to gain Lolth's favor, where siblings betray and murder each other, and where partners are just tools to use as convenient. The slighted drow will likely try join his boss' rival or try to achieve vengeance in a different way. They serve out of fear of what happens to them personally if they're caught, not out of concern for anyone else, even their family.

[The Jack]

Sounds like surface world propaganda to me.



Now, things work if that still happens. You don't need to take that to it's most extreme extent. Perhaps desperate families might sacrifice their children to better the survival prospects of the rest of their children. Siblings betray and murder eachother because they've independently established incompatible political alliances (This happened plenty in history)
Real people fear authority in such a way that they don't even realise it.

Everything the drow do has some parallel in human history. It's only when you go to extremes that it becomes farce, so you can work the Drow without needing the micromanagement of Loth .

[vexedart]

Err it double posted

[Silkensword]

{{Scrubbed}}

[BreaktheStatue]

But that's why you take hostages and hold the high ground of law. Few are going to retreat or teamkill in a fight if such a discovery would lead to them losing their child/partner/home/business. 'My people have informed me of your cowardice. Time to revoke your privileges. I've noticed your family owns a tannery on my land. I've decided to give it to a more trustworthy group, and to tax you more.

The problem here (other than the issue of drow not caring for hostages, as stated), is that even if they did care, morale would always be totally shot.

Maybe fear would stop them from defecting or deserting, but I doubt they'd ever be motivated to excel beyond anything but cannon fodder.