Abilities
Drow were more agile than most humanoid races,[24] which, much like their higher intellects and force of personality, was a result of selective breeding over several generations.[10] Similarly, drow had a higher than normal tolerance for poison due to exposure over the course of countless generations. They had lesser resistance, in descending order, to the following kinds of toxins: non-drow sleep poisons, drugs, insect venom, and injected poisons. They had no special tolerance for contact poisons or to poison gases.[54]
Drow had tremendous resistance to magic, with adults overcoming magic around half the time.[10][9] During infancy it fluctuated between almost non-existent and youth-level (resisting around two fifths of the time), stabilizing as they grew up.[55] It increased again when they reached adulthood, and could be trained even further,[55] but even if a drow's magic resistance was overcome, they could handle magical attacks quite well and had a better chance than other races at resisting them,[55] especially spells that attempted to bend their will.[10]
Drow also had a natural aptitude for audible mimicry, the entire race possessing the capacity to easily imitate the sound and tone of another person in a believable manner, especially if frequently exposed to the language they were using.[56]
Base Powers
Base powers were abilities that the drow could cast without any schooling, needing only simple practice. They varied slightly from person to person due to various reasons, including but not limited to genetics, personal talent, and divine favor. Drow magical abilities[57] were somehow tied to the faerzress,[58] the radiation of the Underdark, and its intensity in the birthplace of a drow could influence their base powers.[59] These abilities could also vary in the same person temporarily, depending on their personal (mental and physical) health situation, age, and degree of training. For example, a dying drow could double the effectiveness of the own innate powers by super-charging them with her or his own life force.[59]
The drow could use their base powers once every day and, once employed, they could end the spell, move it around at their whim, or downsize it. Spells like dispel magic could end a base power's effect. Normally, a drow could not continue using these abilities when they started using another one, or started to cast a spell.[59] A common or untrained drow could neither use nor maintain their innate abilities under the effect of light that was as bright as, or brighter than, sunlight, as it impeded their concentration.[55]
A drow's innate dancing lights spell-like ability[10][9][60][16] could create a larger number of light motes than the normal spell, and provided better control as the power of the caster increased; for example, the light spheres could be moved further away from each other than normal.[59] Reports varied if it could also be cast once per day, as with the other base powers, or at will.[59][60]
In addition to the normal effects of a darkness spell,[10][9][60][16] which created an area that was impervious to normal sight and infravision, a drow's spell-like variant could also create a globe that could be moved around and grew in radius with the strength of the caster.[59] They could further enhance the spell-like ability to cast it more often, and learn to deepen it so that a daylight spell could not overpower it any more.[61]
Unlike the normal version of faerie fire, a drow's spell-like version could create a glowing field that grew wider with the strength of the caster.[10][9][60][16][59] It could come in blue, green, or violet,[62] but while a drow could change these colors, they always manifested a certain one if they made no choice.[58] According to Seldszar Elpragh, a drow's faerie fire worked by channeling faerzress.[58]
Mature Powers
Upon reaching a sufficient degree of expertise, the drow gained their so called "mature powers". These included the spell-like abilities detect magic, know alignment, and levitate.[59][16] Particularly intelligent and powerful drow could maintain two inborn abilities, or one inborn ability and one normal spell, simultaneously, using levitate and darkness at the same time for example.[55] Like with base powers, it was normally impossible to cast mature powers in the presence of intense light.[55]
Noble Powers
Some drow were born with more magical power than normal, allowing them early access to their mature powers.[63][64] Such drow made up the noble class of their society, and among them this was a dominant trait.[33] Not only could nobles use both base and mature powers more than once per day, but every decade they gained another daily use, with centuries old nobility having virtually unlimited uses. Unlike commoners, they could attempt to cast their inborn abilities even in the presence of light, but they could only maintain one of their spells in this condition even when normally able to do more.[55]
Light Weakness
Before the 1360s DR, the drow would gradually lose their base and mature powers, as well as their defenses against magic, if exposed to sunlight.[65] However, during the 1360s DR, Liriel Baenre, guided by Eilistraee,[66] carved her rune in the Child of the Yggdrasil with the intent of preserving her own drow magic away from the Underdark,[67] but the act ended up allowing all drow to keep their powers on the surface.[68] Despite Eilistraee guiding Liriel, speculations were that Lolth also had a hand in the matter.[68]
Lolthtouched
Lolthtouched powers, the result of Lolth's blessing, were perhaps the most distinctive abilities of the drow.[24][69] Lolth's touch gave her a hold over the entire drow race, and overcoming it was only possible by becoming a redeemed drow who also managed to be judged worthy by Corellon.[70]
