OOTS #862 - The Discussion Thread

[Brom]

Forget Tarquin, why does Zzdtri know drow sign language? Or is drow sign language more than a crutch for deaf people?

Short Answer: It's useful and it's a Drow military thing.
Long Answer

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The Drow are aggressively militant, but at the same time, they're Elves, ergo with exceedingly low reproductive rates, compounded with an Almost Always Chaotic Evil society where members murder one another with a very frequent basis.

Yet they have extremely long lifespans to acquire military skills, and the constant threat of being killed by another Drow means they're pretty much all very well ready for duplicity, treachery, ambush, betrayal, and brutal combat. This translates to adopting commando fighting tactics, and stalking up on enemies is pretty much the norm.

Ergo, most Drow who can be equated to 'adventurers,' or have a combat background know Drow Sign Language, for the purposes of being able to communicate plans for betrayal in secret, or communicate in the pitch black of the Underdark where they can easily see using a purely visual medium. That way, Drow can plot in the dark to kill whatever prey has stumbled into the Underdark, without sounds that would give away their position.

In practice, by the way, this concept is so useful that I've talked pretty much every gaming group in every gaming system into having a Sign Language communication method. It comes up more often than you think.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Squark but I like my answer better =P