"I suppose," he says slowly, "it's not the drow so much as their goddess. The Spider Queen is beyond vicious. Her followers enslave my kind on a routine basis. And then there's the Duergar; they're no better."

"I was lucky. My clan was set up nicely in the midst of some harsh terrain. We were well-hidden, never had any invaders in my lifetime. Most deep gnomes you talk to have lost a few relatives to mines they didn't ask to carry a pick into."

"I don't know. I've met a few drow on the surface who were...not exactly personable, but they didn't gut me or enslave me so I suppose that counts as normal."