underdark

The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming an underworld for surface settings. Polygon called it "one of D&D{{'}}s most well-known realms".{{cite web | url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2015/9/2/9242155/out-of-the-abyss-into-the-underdark | title=Out of the Abyss: D&D's next campaign goes deep into the Underdark | first=Charlie | last=Hall | work=Polygon | date=September 2, 2015 | access-date=June 24, 2017}}

Use in campaign settings

The Underdark featured prominently in the campaign settings World of Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms. The concept of a dungeon that spanned a planet was first introduced by Gary Gygax in his D-series of game modules and at the end of the G-series. The Underdark was described in detail in the 1986 manual Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, by Doug Niles. It was also part of the Eberron campaign setting, in which it was called Khyber and was home to evil beings driven deep into the caverns at the end of the age of demons. Wolfgang Baur, who previously wrote the Underdark adventure Kingdom of the Ghouls for the Greyhawk setting, also introduced the Underdark in Empire of the Ghouls to the third-party Midgard setting from Kobold Press.

A review for Pyramid refers to the Underdark as "one of the most well known facets of the Forgotten Realms". Much of the literary attention for this deep underworld stemmed from the sourcebooks and accessories for the Forgotten Realms setting, including R.A. Salvatore's novels about the fictional character Drizzt Do'Urden.

The Underdark was also the setting for the expansion pack to the computer game Neverwinter Nights called Hordes of the Underdark, which featured the port city of Lith My'athar, and the mysterious Seer.{{cite book

| title=Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, Official Strategy Guide

| year=2004 | publisher=Brady Games | isbn=0-7440-0341-5}}

Features

The Underdark is a subterranean realm of enormous size inhabited by many different types of creatures such as drow, mind flayers, and aboleths.{{cite journal | last =Bambra | first =Jim | author-link=Jim Bambran | title =Open Box | journal =White Dwarf | issue = 82 | pages =2 | publisher =Games Workshop | date=October 1986}} It extends far beyond the dungeons created by surface dwellers, and consists of caverns, tunnels and large complexes.{{Cite web | url =http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=1360 | title=Pyramid Review: Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark |date=January 21, 2000 | website=Pyramid | language=en | access-date=2021-01-31}}

=Environment=

The fictional Underdark's physical characteristics are based upon conditions in real-world caverns deep underground, except at immense size. Within the context of a game, the Underdark is extremely dangerous, especially to non-native characters and creatures. There are also the usual dangers associated with caverns: claustrophobia, poor air circulation, floor/ceiling collapses and getting lost.

There is no light except for occasional patches of phosphorescent fungus; most Underdark inhabitants either have highly developed senses other than sight or have developed darkvision.This was infravision before the 3rd edition of the game rules. Food can be extremely difficult to find, and much of the natural vegetation is poisonous. In addition, potable water is hard to locate.

In the Forgotten Realms setting, the Underdark is permeated with a magical energy the drow call faerzress, which is used as a source of energy by the native plant life and which interferes with scrying and teleportation spells.

=Araumycos=

In the Forgotten Realms setting, Araumycos (Dwarvish, literally meaning "Great Fungus") is an enormous fungal growth in the Upper Underdark under the continent of Faerûn. It is a single organism living beneath the High Forest between one and three miles under the surface, immune to magic and resistant to psionic energy. Araumycos will sometimes attack intruders with poison, spores, and manifestations that resemble oozes and slimes.

Araumycos houses many other fungal creatures. Travel within it is difficult since many passages and caves are blocked by it and damage regenerates quickly.

=Inhabitants=

The Underdark is home to many predators, races and fantasy monsters, most of which are hostile. These include:

Aboleths
Beholders
Drow (dark elves)
Duergar (gray dwarves)
Dwarves
Fomorian
Illithids (Mind Flayers)
Hook horrors
Kuo-toa
Myconids (Fungus-men)
Pech
Svirfneblin (Deep Gnomes)
Troglodyte

There is no unified underground government since each individual city-state has a different form of rule. The Underdark economy deals primarily in armor, exotic goods, magic, slaves, timber and weapons. The ethical code of many indigenous races tends toward evil or neutral.

In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, R.A. Salvatore created the drow Underdark city Menzoberranzan.{{cite book | first=Merle | last=Jacob | author2=Apple, Hope | year=2000 | title=To be Continued: An Annotated Guide to Sequels | pages=251 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=1-57356-155-X}}

Media

= Source books =

{{cite book

| title=Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark

| first=Eric L. | last=Boyd |author-link=Eric L. Boyd|date=November 1999

| publisher=TSR, Inc. | isbn=0-7869-1509-9}}

{{cite book

| title=The Drow of the Underdark |date=July 1991

| first=Ed | last=Greenwood | author-link=Ed Greenwood

| publisher=TSR, Inc | isbn=1-56076-132-6}}

{{cite book

| title=Dungeoneer's Survival Guide |date=1986

| first=Douglas | last=Niles | author-link=Douglas Niles

| publisher=TSR, Inc. | isbn=0-88038-272-4}}

{{cite book

| title=Lost Caverns of The Underdark: Dungeon Tiles

| first=James | last=Wyatt | author-link=James Wyatt (game designer)|year=2007

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast

| isbn=978-0-7869-4709-6}}

{{cite book

| title=Menzoberranzan |date=December 1992

| first1=Ed | last1=Greenwood |author-link=Ed Greenwood

| publisher=TSR, Inc | isbn=1-56076-460-0}}

{{cite book

| title=Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue

| first1=Brian R. | last1=James |author-link1=Brian R. James

| first2=Eric | last2=Menge

| date=August 2012

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=9780786960361}}

{{cite book

| title=Underdark | year=2003

| first=Bruce R. | last=Cordell |author-link=Bruce Cordell

|author2=Kestrel, Gwendolyn F. M. |author3=Quick, Jeff

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=0-7869-3053-5}}

{{cite book

| title=Underdark | publisher=Wizards of the Coast

| series=D&D 4th edition supplement

| isbn=978-0-7869-5387-5}}

= Game modules & adventures =

{{cite book

| title=City of the Spider Queen

| first=James | last=Wyatt | author-link=James Wyatt (game designer) | year=2002

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=0-7869-2874-3}}

{{cite book

| title=Deep Horizon

| first=Skip | last=Williams | author-link=Skip Williams | year=2001

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=0-7869-1855-1}}

{{cite book

| title=Demon Queen's Enclave

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=978-0-7869-4977-9}}

{{cite book

| title=Descent into the Depths of the Earth

| first=Gary | last=Gygax | author-link=Gary Gygax | year=1978

| publisher=TSR, Inc | edition=9059 | isbn=0-935696-60-1}}

{{cite book

| title=Empire of the Ghouls

| publisher=Kobold Press| isbn=978-1-936781-97-3}}

{{cite book

| title=Expedition to Undermountain

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=978-0-7869-4157-5}}

{{cite magazine

| first=Wolfgang | last=Baur |author-link=Wolfgang Baur

| date=1998

| magazine=Dungeon

|number=70

| publisher=TSR, Inc

| title=Kingdom of the Ghouls }}

{{cite book

| title=Night Below: An Underdark Campaign

| first=Carl | last=Sargent | author-link=Carl Sargent| year=1995

| publisher=TSR, Inc | isbn=0-7869-0179-9}}

{{cite book

| title=Out of the Abyss

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=978-0-7869-6581-6}}

{{cite book

| title=Queen of the Demonweb Pits

| publisher=TSR, Inc | year=1980 | isbn=0-394-51541-2}}

{{cite book

| title=The Sinister Spire

| publisher=Wizards of the Coast | year=2007

| isbn=978-0-7869-4357-9}}

{{cite book

| title=Vault of the Drow | last=Gygax | first=Gary |author-link=Gary Gygax

| publisher=TSR, Inc | year=1978 | edition=9021

| isbn=0-935696-07-5}}

= Video games =

Parts of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate 3 take place in the Underdark,{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-0EB1EE5E54E9468A.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629114934/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-0EB1EE5E54E9468A.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 29, 2014 | author=Cappellini, Matt | title=Blockbusters Make Christmas Bright | work=The Beacon News | location=Aurora, Illinois | date=November 30, 2000 | access-date=November 21, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/baldurs-gate-3/How_to_Get_to_the_Underdark|title=How to Get to the Underdark|work=IGN|access-date=November 5, 2023}} and Icewind Dale II featured journeys through the Underdark. An expansion pack based on the Underdark setting was released for the Neverwinter Nights game series, titled Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. The tilesets which came with the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack were used in several persistent worlds, most notably Escape from the Underdark.

Notes

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite book | first1=Erik | last1=Mona|author-link=Erik Mona |last2=Holian|first2=Gary|author-link2=Gary Holian |last3=Reynolds|first3=Sean K.|author-link3=Sean K. Reynolds |last4=Weining|first4=Frederick|author-link4=Frederick Weining | year=2000 | title=Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=0-7869-1743-1}}

{{cite book | first=Bruce R. | last=Cordell|author-link=Bruce Cordell |author2=Kestrel, Gwendolyn F. M. |author3=Quick, Jeff | year=2003 | title=Underdark | publisher=Wizards of the Coast | isbn=0-7869-3053-5}}

{{cite book | first1=James | last1=Wyatt|author-link=James Wyatt (game designer) |last2=Baker|first2=Keith|author-link2=Keith Baker (game designer) |last3=Johnson|first3=Luke|author-link3=Luke Johnson (game designer) |date=January 2006 | title=Player's Guide to Eberron | publisher=Wizards of the Coast}}

{{cite book |last=Baur |first=Wolfgang | author-link=Wolfgang Baur |date=2019 |editor-last=Silverstein |editor-first=Janna |title=Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design, 2nd Edition |publisher=Kobold Press |pages=143-146 |chapter=The Underdark |isbn=978-1-936781-03-4}}

{{cite magazine | first=John | last=Baichtal | date=February 26, 2010 | magazine=Wired | publisher=Condé Nast Digital | title=D&D's Underdark Describes a Vast and Perilous Realm | url=https://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/dds-underdark-describes-a-vast-and-perilous-realm/ | access-date=2010-07-16 }}

}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20021015112506/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/underdark Information at the official Forgotten Realms website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070629190604/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070627 Psionic Races and Classes of the Realms]

Category:Fictional subterranea

Category:Dungeons & Dragons locations

Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1978