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Well, here's the thing: as drow of old used tattoos to mark slaves, many drow detest tattoos. However, early Lolth priestesses used progressively-augmented tattoos (down their right inner thighs, eventually to the ankle) to mark ascending clerical rank.
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Drow who don't venerate Lolth usually dislike tattoos (on drow) for that reason, in addition to the slavery. However, among Vhaeraun worshippers in the early 1300s DR, a fashion arose to tattoo around one's right eye (bare ring around the eye, then an elaborate...
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...design radiating out over brow and cheek on one side of the face only). This was regarded as beauty enhancing, not a mark of devotion to the god.
In addition, certain drow sorceresses hit upon the notion of storing self-renewing spells in right forearm tattoos.
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So as you can see, drow are split, just as the gamer debate is. Most drow detest tattooing, seeing it as marring drow natural beauty. However, drow who see themselves as ugly usually reason that they have nothing to lose by getting tattoos.
And a drow who bears...
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...slave tattoos and gets the opportunity to do something about them will almost always expand the tattoos into a larger, more beautiful design that seeks to obscure the original slaving marks.
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The thread responds to a request on "Drow and tattoos". An enthused reply led to this comment on the inner thigh tattoo.
x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1810…
A "supressed in editing due to Code of Conduct" lore detail. (TSR didn't want lawsuits from parents of kids who got D&D game-related tattoos.)
Later, D&D art briefly went tattoo-positive.
I recall a lady who did the "henna temporary tattoo" thing for her GenCon drow cosplay.
Mar 18, 2026 · 4:39 PM UTC