Wildemount (2020). Per Wizards of the Coast, the drow of these settings are presented as more "morally and culturally complex". Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com, highlighted a 2021 update on Drizzt Do'Urden by Wizards of the Coast and wrote, "it also notes one major change to D&D canon that relates to the drow culture that Drizzt ultimately abandoned. The website points out that while Drizzt grew up in a 'cult of Lolth' [...], there are two other entire cultures of drow who have no ties to Lolth whatsoever. [...] The reveal of the Lorendrow and Aevendrow seem to suggest that Dungeons & Dragons is officially moving past some long-held canon about the drow". Tika Viteri, for Book Riot, highlighted that Salvatore's Starlight Enclave (2021) "contains a singular shift in the narrative of the story of the drow; Salvatore reveals that drow are not, in fact, the only dark-skinned elves in the Forgotten Realms". Reception Made famous by R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels, these dark elves from the game influenced subsequent works of fantasy. Drow have a gender-based caste system that says "a great deal about attitudes towards gender roles in the real world". The drow originally created by Gary Gygax are now "essentially the drow of fantasy fiction today", according to Ed Greenwood, who believes them to be "arguably Gary Gygax's greatest, most influential fantasy creation" after the D&D game itself. Designer James Jacobs considers the drow to be a rare example of a D&D-invented monster becoming mainstream, with even non-gamers recognizing them. Rob Bricken, for io9, named the drow as the eighth most memorable D&D monster. Drow have been proven to draw additional sales of products which feature them. While Paizo Publishing was printing Dragon and Dungeon, covers featuring drow often sold better than other issues in the same year. The drow, especially when used as player characters, are surrounded by much controversy, especially after the release of R. A. Salvatore's novel, The Crystal Shard. Game designer James Jacobs has said that the drow player characters often spark arguments, with some players refusing to play in a campaign that allows drow PCs. Jacobs says that "even the name" is controversial, having at least two pronunciations. Matthew Beilman, for CBR, highlighted multiple reasons to play as a drow character and wrote "you will love playing a drow if you enjoy making others uncomfortable. In most D&D settings, the drow civilization is