What races would the drow be using as slaves?

Question

I'm running the Second Darkness Adventure Path under Pathfinder rules. I have had to make many changes in the 3rd book to have a more balanced game, partly because my party size is 8 people.

I own the Drow of the Underdark book from 3.5 and have started using it as a reference for different aspects. Both Pathfinder and 3.5 agree that Drow are slavers, and that they willing use slaves for combat as expendable troops. But for the Golarion setting I'm having a real hard time coming up with what races their slaves should be. So far the book has had some trog's working for them, and the rest are slaves.

What races should I be using? I know they're willing to enslave pretty much anyone but I'm not really coming up with what would be good slaves (and their stats) when they're being used for a city combat. The city is an old city on the surface that belonged to the elves before the drow existed, something happened and some went underground and became the drow. The city remained abandoned for a very long time and now the drow are trying to take over the surface and this is their first staging area.

Why are people down-voting this question? What is wrong with it? Please leave in the comments.

Answer 1

There is no "generic" answer, like everything else about D&D it varies by game world.

In Paizo's Golarion campaign setting, then your key references are the Second Darkness Adventure Path and the Into the Darklands campaign setting book. Generally they keep as slaves "whoever they can get their hands on that is useful and tractable." This includes everything from troglodytes to other drow to surface folk to driders to dark creepers to "balor-possessed greater water elementals" (all these are listed as slaves in that drow city you're talking about).

To drow mores, anything and anyone who is not a drow is a candidate for slavery. Their word for servitor is anquestra, while their word for outlander is jenanquestrok, which means “not yet a slave.” Sentients that are spoils of war are always considered slaves, especially if the purpose of the war is to gather more servitors. Similarly, non-drow trespassers can be declared anquestra, and this can happen even to non-drow offered protection from a noble house, should another noble house want to enslave them.

In the drow culture part of The Armageddon Echo it says "drow don't enslave other drow, but some do become servants" and then in Endless Night it refers to drow slaves about a zillion times, who seem to meet the standard end of slaves, so YMMV.

If you want a list of other darklands races that might be good candidates, consider checking out the Pathfinder Wiki's Darklands and subsidiary entries, or the list of creatures whose habitat is underground from the d20PFSRD.