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I want to make a drow paladin in D&D 3.5 edition from the Forgotten Realms; however, I am having some trouble picking a deity.

My DM has already told me that I cannot make a paladin of Eilistraee because (1) she does not have any paladins in 3rd edition, and (2) she is a chaotic good deity who does not support order. In 3rd edition, Paladins must be lawful good, so they should not worship a chaotic deity.

Are there any other Underdark deities that are neutral good, lawful good, or lawful neutral that an outcast drow paladin might follow in 3rd edition?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Is there a reason it has to be a deity from the Underdark specifically? I'm not sure if there even are any good ones besides Elistraee. \$\endgroup\$
    – RevanantBacon
    Sep 9, 2020 at 17:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ I suppose it could be some other deity that makes sense, however I want this drow to be fresh from the underdark. Which makes justifying other deities very difficult. I thought to try the deep gnome deity, but he is true neutral. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tyler S. Loeper
    Sep 9, 2020 at 18:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ Are the variant paladins from Unearthed Arcana an option? If so, would being Chaotic Good be enough to solve your DM's objection to Eilistraee? \$\endgroup\$
    – John Montgomery
    Sep 9, 2020 at 19:22

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Unfortunately, the best answer I can give, seems to be that none of the other Drow deities, appear to have any alignment like that.

Other than Lolth and Elisatree: Zinzenna is Chaotic Neutral (3e portfolio: chaos, luck, trickery). Kiaransalee is Chaotic Evil (3e portfolio: Undead, vengeance). Vhaeraun is also Chaotic Evil (Drow males, evil activity on the surface, thievery). Even Ibrandul, an underdark but not drow deity, is chaotic neutral (Caverns, dungeons, skulks).

None, would fit specifically as a lawful good diety, if that is compulsory.

But alternatively: The drow as a society, canonically have a lot of slaves. Including those from the surface. Kidnapped during raids.

I see from a comment, that they're fresh from the underdark your PC. But, depending on their experiences: that does not necessarily rule out, that they could have met someone in the Underdark who's from the surface. Meaning they would be familiar with the gods there.

So potentially, if you're open to that possibility: you could have a surface deity as the patron of choice. A more likely example of them, could perhaps be the Lawful Good surface deity Ilmater (Endurance, Martyrdom, Perseverance, Suffering).

Ilmater is explicitly said by his lore, to be popular amongst slaves. Making it a high possibility that surface-born people, who were abducted to be slaves in the underdark, could worship him. Here is a quote from the forgotten realms wiki:

His faith was popular among the poor in big cities, and with serfs and slaves

Which would make him a deity "present" there, even if not from/of there.

Ilmater could potentially appeal, to a radical/outcast lawful good drow (especially if they're male too) with his sort of purported ideology:

He was the god of those who suffered, the oppressed, and the persecuted, who offered them relief and support, encouraged them to endure, and who encouraged others to help them,

Although, of course, this would most likely require some form of interaction with these slaves. Or at least one, to have learned about the deity. As they would have had to have told the character about him somehow.

So, whether that's compatible with the character's backstory is also important to consider.

Unfortunately this is the best answer I can give, to hopefully help.

(Citation: all quotations are from the forgotten realms wiki: which also cites specifically where they got this information from.)

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    \$\begingroup\$ This is a great answer. It so happens that this character's back story includes a brief period of slavery, so Ilmater works splendidly. Thanks for the great idea! \$\endgroup\$
    – Tyler S. Loeper
    Sep 10, 2020 at 14:23
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Segojan Earthcaller is a neutral good Underdark deity

Segojan Earthcaller, a 3.5e-compatible Svirfneblin god, is a neutral good Underdark deity. While no self-respecting mainstream drow would worship him, you state that this character is an outcast. As with Drizzt Do'Urdan, the first good society that an outcast drow is likely to encounter after being expelled from drow society would be that of the Svirfneblin. A Svirfneblin deity embracing an outcast drow as one of his paladins would make for a fairly interesting background and provide great fodder for the paladin's conflict with the drow.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Besides Segojan (who specifically has portfolio including the Underdark), a Svirfneblin community would still venerate other deities in the gnomish pantheon, likely including Gaerdal Ironhand, a Lawful Good deity of protection and war; possibly a better fit for a typical Paladin than the nature-focused Segojan. \$\endgroup\$
    – Carcer
    Sep 10, 2020 at 13:29
  • \$\begingroup\$ Possibly, but the question specifically asked for an Underdark deity, which I took to mean a deity primarily worshipped in the Underdark. Also, a deity's focus doesn't determine whether they have paladins. The "typical" paladin one pictures might tend toward war or protection gods, but a LG/NG/LN nature deity can have paladins whose focus is protecting nature (a role normally filled by rangers and druids, but I've seen paladins played this way too). \$\endgroup\$
    – ruffdove
    Sep 10, 2020 at 13:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ sure, I'm not trying to say your answer was bad - I'm just suggesting that the same logic that justifies the character knowing of Segojan Earthcaller can justify the character knowing of the other gnomish deities (and Gaerdal is explicitly a patron of some gnomish paladins). More options for the asker! \$\endgroup\$
    – Carcer
    Sep 10, 2020 at 13:49
  • \$\begingroup\$ This is a great answer. Thank you for finding a compatible under-dark deity. I would mark this as the accepted answer, except for the fact that I will probably be trying the deity from the other answer first. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tyler S. Loeper
    Sep 10, 2020 at 14:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Tyler: You bet, The important thing is you have fun. Good luck! toCarcer: Gotcha, thanks. \$\endgroup\$
    – ruffdove
    Sep 10, 2020 at 14:30

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