Generally speaking, your character will be a forward scout for some Underdark city. Usually, some group will send their young up to bring glory on thier parent House, or perhaps just to get rid of them. Perhaps, your character was sent up to assassinate someone or just to learn more about the surface. Often, characters are from defunct Houses seeking refuge for a time before returning. Your first job is to create a believable character using the above ideas as guides. Give him or her a couple of faults. Every drow is "evil", but try to be more specific. Is your character pscyhologicly manipulative? Or does he/she use the threat of physical violence to get his/her way? Does your character hoard secrets? To what degree does your character dislike humans? Will he/she attack them with the least provocation, avoid them at all costs or are they potentially useful fodder? Does your character's feelings get easily hurt? Is he/she a world-reknown butt-kisser? Give your character a quirk, something that makes him or her memorable. For example, Balaern'sus smiles way too much, and Vlondril has a musical quality to her laugh. But it could also be a memorable way of doing battle, a twitch, a limp, or a particular lust.
You must be willing to attempt to follow drow cultural norms. Drow females rule the males. This has been drilled into the male mind from birth. Males are expendable assets. So, if you choose to play a male, be prepared to accept this role. Males may rise high in the ranks but they will always be second-class citzens. Females can quickly rise in rank once they pass thier nobility trials. But they will still be in a very structured hiarchy. The word of the the Ilharess and Yathtaller is law in game. Please remember that. Rising in the hiarchy can be done one of two ways: ingraciating yourselves to your superiors or through assassination. Your character can either buy his or her way into power by offering gifts, accepting dangerous missions and succeeding, or through an overflow of shallow complements. This can be fairly well in game. Assassinations can also be made against a superior. This should be cleared with a leader and the target. Remember though, the price for failure can be harsh.
Besieged on every side by traitors and the countless slave races, we are constantly at war. Even in our very ranks, heritics and traitors may lurk. As you play a drow, be prepared to fight at any moment. Even your best "friend" may turn on you without warning.
Drow do not fight fair. They take any advantage they can. We appear quite cowardly to outsiders. Do not disappoint our RP enemies. That means using your character's natural ability to hide (and possibly stealth) to create an advantage in combat. Never let an enemy see where the attack is coming from while defending our territory. From the shadows, if you have the time, check anatomy or int. to help determine which foe is the weakest. Generally, strike this target if at all possible. (Unless there is something in your character's personality that compels him or her to tackle the strongest-looking or perhaps a known enemy for whom a special hatred has been developed.) If you are outnumbered and they seem to be on you, recall out and save your neck. Always seek to balance the glory (and fun) of killing with the need for self-preservation.
Drow generally seek leadership from their superiors, this may be more important in combat situations. If you run off alone, do not expect to be mourned if your character falls. But, due to the chaotic nature of battle and the drow world-view, seperation and confusion is a helpful tactic. A leader may order you to scatter to seperate large chuncks of enemy forces to be cut up piecemill. Every drow should carry a rune to a designated recall point to regroup.
While drow are not making war on the human populations of Britannia, they spend quite a bit of time quietly preparing the security of their current possition and making attempting to make that possition stronger. As a RP guild, you should expect your fellow guildmates (in character of course) to struggle for dominence over you. Drow Houses tend to be chaotic and friendships are usually only made based on their utility. With this in mind, any internal plot should be discussed with the House leaders and the target of your character's ambitions to avoid out of character misunderstandings and interference with other plots that may be going on unbeknownst to you. Also bear in mind, the cost of failure is very high in drow culture; there is no greater sin than failure, so plan well if you expect to advance using this method.
Though we are evil, grasping creatures, a Qu'ellar is all that makes a drow a drow. If he or she looses it, due to some gross breech of station and rank, failure in an important task or betrayal (that is caught), then he or she is nothing, an outcast worthy of death. One should make every effort to support the House, by providing information, defeating enemies, and obeying commands of the leaders in game. You should make every effort to put guild members above outsiders.
ar