Content excerpted from Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Campaign Guide TM & Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast

t LLC. Used by permission. Review and other content Copyright 2011 Gen Con LLC.

This is not a highly combat-optimized character, but an attempt to play against type. Perhaps Im a bit contrary, but whenever I read about some ancient eladrin or elf tradition, I immediately think what would this look like as a drow? I like imagining what each class would look like in each race, how they would make it unique. In this case, it was two things: a long knife and the complicated drow relationship with Corellon. So heres a non-evil drow Bladesinger. Id work out with the DM exactly how Bladesingers operate among the drow: something a bit underground and hidden, maybe even heretical. Why? Because of the prominence of Corellon in the teachings of the order. Maybe the elven god isnt entirely demonized. Maybe hes a worthy opponent to best in battle, an ideal to strive against. Either way, Lolth isnt first and foremost, so the matriarchy wont like that. Perhaps the drow bladesingers are, in fact, a shadow organization, only open to males in a mirror-image of the priesthood of Lolth. To give some flavor (and mechanical punch), I took the Xendrik Weapon Training feat and reskinned the Xendrik weapons as the traditional tools of drow bladesingers (the boomerang is technically even a light blade, though it wont help with most bladesinger powers). This means Ill get some mean damage when I hit, but its worth noting that I could have gotten a +2 to hit by picking another race to get a 20 Int and then picking up a feat to boost attack roles. Since the bladesinger special powers key off of actually hitting, that is an important thing to consider. In the future, Id focus on feats that boost accuracy first and foremost, then branch out into other fun areas, depending on the direction the campaign took. As I go up in level, I get access to some more wizard powers, so itll be an interesting choice between sticking with melee power and more directly arcane action.