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Underdark
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Underdark
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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".[1]

Use in campaign settings

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The Underdark featured prominently in the campaign settings World of Greyhawk[2] and the Forgotten Realms.[3] The concept of a dungeon that spanned a planet was first introduced by Gary Gygax in his D-series of game modules[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

A review for Pyramid refers to the Underdark as "one of the most well known facets of the Forgotten Realms".[8] 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.[3]

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.[9]

Features

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The Underdark is a subterranean realm of enormous size inhabited by many different types of creatures such as drow, mind flayers, and aboleths.[5] It extends far beyond the dungeons created by surface dwellers, and consists of caverns, tunnels and large complexes.[8]

Environment

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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.[note 1] 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

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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.[3]

Araumycos houses many other fungal creatures. Travel within it is difficult since many passages and caves are blocked by it and damage regenerates quickly.[3]

Inhabitants

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

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.[10]

Media

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Source books

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  • Boyd, Eric L. (November 1999). Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark. TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-7869-1509-9.
  • Greenwood, Ed (July 1991). The Drow of the Underdark. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-132-6.
  • Niles, Douglas (1986). Dungeoneer's Survival Guide. TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-88038-272-4.
  • Wyatt, James (2007). Lost Caverns of The Underdark: Dungeon Tiles. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0-7869-4709-6.
  • Greenwood, Ed; Niles, Douglas; Salvatore, R. A. (December 1992). Menzoberranzan. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-460-0.
  • James, Brian R.; Menge, Eric (August 2012). Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 9780786960361.
  • Cordell, Bruce R.; Kestrel, Gwendolyn F. M.; Quick, Jeff (2003). Underdark. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3053-5.
  • Heinsoo, Rob; Collins, Andy (2010). Underdark. D&D 4th edition supplement. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0-7869-5387-5.[4]

Game modules & adventures

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Video games

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Parts of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate 3 take place in the Underdark,[11][12] 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

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Underdark

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The Underdark is a concept in the role-playing game referring to a vast subterranean realm beneath the surface world, consisting of an immense, lightless network of caverns, twisting tunnels, abysses, underground rivers, lakes, and sunless seas. In the setting, it lies beneath the continent of , spanning thousands of miles across multiple layers and regions. It serves as a domain of primeval mysteries, unending warfare, and ancient evils, where monstrous races and hidden civilizations thrive in perpetual darkness, far predating human history on the surface. Geographically, the Underdark is divided into three primary layers: the Upperdark (0–3 miles below the surface), featuring relatively accessible rock and dirt tunnels with multiple pathways to the ; the Middledark (3–10 miles deep), characterized by challenging chasms, flooded areas, and fewer connections requiring portals or extensive tunneling; and the Lowerdark (beyond 10 miles), consisting of isolated voids and vast sunless seas like the Glimmersea and Darklake, often necessitating magical or psionic travel. The realm's terrain includes everything from narrow passages to enormous vaults up to 50 miles across, influenced by geological forces, magical radiations such as faerzress (which distorts divinations and teleportations while protecting certain cities), and earth nodes—rare power sources that enhance spellcasting. Notable regions encompass the Northdark, Great Bhaerynden, Deep Wastes, and Buried Realms, dotted with hazards like volcanic areas, fungal ecosystems, undead infestations, and dead magic zones. Historically, the Underdark formed over eons through physical erosion, elemental influences, planar incursions, and divine interventions, with key events including the establishment of ancient empires like the dwarven Deep Shanatar around -8100 DR and the psionic Deep Imaskar in -2488 DR, as well as the collapse of the dwarven kingdom of Delzoun in -100 DR. Migrations and conflicts, such as the founding cities like in -3917 DR and ongoing wars among , mind flayers, duergar, and aboleths over tunnel control, have shaped its turbulent past, often disrupted by seismic events and magical cataclysms. Its inhabitants form diverse, often hostile societies, including the cunning of cities like (population approximately 11,439 free citizens and 20,460 slaves as of 1372 DR, devoted to the spider goddess Lolth); the psionically superior mind flayers of enclaves such as Oryndoll, ruled by elder brains; the industrious duergar of Gracklstugh (26,390 free and 13,678 slaves as of 1372 DR, skilled in forge work); and other races like svirfneblin (deep gnomes), kuo-toa, beholders, aboleths, and grimlocks. These groups engage in , trade hubs like Mantol-Derith, and secretive organizations such as the Affiliated Merchants or Guild of Underdark Guides, amid a backdrop of powerful, alien magic and psionics that eclipse many surface-world equivalents. The Underdark's sinister allure lies in its untamed frontiers, ruined dungeons, and portals to other planes, making it a perilous yet richly adventurous underworld.

Origins and Concept

Historical Development

The concept of the Underdark emerged in the late 1970s through Gary Gygax's contributions to early modules, where he introduced the term and the notion of an expansive subterranean realm in the 1978 adventure Descent into the Depths of the Earth (module D1), part of the "" series set in the campaign world. This module depicted a vast network of caverns inhabited by elves and other underground races. Gygax's vision established the Underdark as a perilous, planet-spanning ecosystem, influencing subsequent underground adventures in original and Advanced (AD&D). The Underdark received its first formal codification in the 1986 AD&D supplement Dungeoneer's Survival Guide by Douglas Niles, which provided detailed rules for underground exploration, ecology, and hazards, transforming Gygax's nascent idea into a core element of the game's cosmology. Niles expanded on geological formations, mining operations, and survival mechanics, emphasizing the Underdark's isolation from the surface world and its role as a setting for high-level campaigns. This book marked a pivotal development, bridging early module-based depictions with broader in AD&D 1st edition. During AD&D 2nd edition (1989–2000), the Underdark evolved significantly through -specific supplements, with —creator of the setting—playing a key role in weaving it into the lore of . Greenwood's contributions included Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark (1992), a comprehensive sourcebook detailing regions beneath the Sword Coast, drow societies, and interconnections with surface realms, inspired by his ongoing world-building for TSR. Other notable expansions included The Drow of the Underdark (1991) by , which focused on drow culture and magic, and Night Below: An Underdark Campaign (1995) by Carl Sargent, an epic boxed set adventure spanning levels 1–10+ and exploring vast Underdark conspiracies. These publications solidified the Underdark's ties to the while allowing adaptations in other settings like . In the 3rd edition era (2000–2008), the Underdark was comprehensively detailed in the 2003 sourcebook Underdark by Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, and Jeff Quick, a 192-page supplement for D&D 3.5 that outlined regions, races, prestige classes, and spells tailored to subterranean play in the . The 4th edition (2008–2014) integrated the Underdark into its points-of-light cosmology via the 2010 Underdark sourcebook by Chris Sims, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb, dividing it into the accessible Shallows and deeper Deeps, with new monsters, domains, and adventure hooks adaptable to the Nentir Vale setting. The 5th edition (2014–present) revived the Underdark prominently in Out of the Abyss (2015), an adventure module by designers including Green Ronin Publishing alumni, where players navigate demon-infested depths starting at level 1 and progressing to 15, emphasizing survival and madness themes. This timeline reflects the Underdark's growth from a module-specific concept to a enduring, multi-edition cornerstone of D&D lore.

Core Definition and Lore

The Underdark is a vast subterranean realm beneath the surface of and other worlds, comprising a labyrinthine network of interconnected caverns, tunnels, and passages that form a shadowy spanning entire continents. This lightless domain serves as a parallel world to the surface, complete with its own ecosystems, waterways, and societies adapted to perpetual darkness, where a pervasive aura of dread permeates the air amid twisting passages and subterranean lakes. In scale, it extends deep into Toril's crust, creating an immense volume equivalent to multiple surface continents layered vertically. Mythologically, the Underdark's prominence in elven lore traces to ancient cataclysms during the Crown Wars, a series of devastating conflicts among the elves around -24,000 DR to -10,000 DR, where dark-skinned Ilythiiri elves allied with corrupting powers and were ultimately cursed by to become the , driving them into the depths as exiles. This retreat, coupled with divine acts like the imprisonment of elder evils such as or other aberrant entities in the planet's core, shaped the Underdark as a prison-like expanse riddled with magical scars from these upheavals. The realm's formation is also tied to primordial forces, including the burrowing of ancient creatures and the collapse of surface civilizations, transforming natural fissures into a fortified haven for outcasts and horrors alike. The Underdark is stratified into three primary layers reflecting increasing isolation and peril: the Upperdark (0 to 3 miles below the surface), serving as the interface with surface realms; the Middledark (3 to 10 miles deep), hosting most inhabited cities and trade routes; and the Lowerdark (beyond 10 miles), consisting of alien, unstable voids where few venture. A defining magical anomaly is faerzress, a wild radiation of residual High Magic permeating the depths, which warps spells—especially divinations and conjurations—into unpredictable effects, enhances innate drow abilities, and infuses crystals that power Underdark artifacts. This radiation, a remnant of ancient elven during the Wars, underscores the Underdark's theme as a of corrupted magic and survival amid existential threats.

Physical and Magical Features

Geography and Environment

The Underdark comprises a sprawling network of enormous caverns, tunnels, and rifts extending thousands of miles beneath the surface of , divided into layers known as the Upperdark, Middledark, and Lowerdark, with depths reaching up to 18 miles or more in some regions. These vast subterranean domains include titanic chambers such as the Great Bhaerynden, underground seas like the Glimmersea located 20 miles below the Sea of Fallen Stars, flowing lava tubes in areas like Cairnheim, and intricate crystal formations lining walls in locales such as Mantol-Derith. Interconnected by treacherous passages, these features form a labyrinthine that spans major domains like the Northdark and Buried Realms, as well as isolated pockets, creating a three-dimensional where horizontal and vertical travel can span hundreds of miles. Environmental conditions in the Underdark are marked by perpetual darkness due to the absence of , with temperatures fluctuating dramatically from frigid in northern sections like Lorosfyr—where depths reach 40 miles and air grows bitterly chill—to scorching heat in geothermal zones such as parts of Fyvrek'Zek, where vents push temperatures to 90°F amid sulfurous fumes. varies widely, from the stable, filtered air in engineered spaces to arid, stale atmospheres in sealed , while fierce winds howl through abysses like Throrgar, a 50-mile-wide chasm 15 miles deep beneath the Chionthar River. Air circulation relies on natural drafts and magical influences, but stagnant pockets often trap heat or , exacerbating the harsh, lightless void that disorients travelers reliant on artificial illumination. Navigation through this terrain presents severe natural hazards, including unstable ceilings prone to cave-ins, toxic gases seeping from fissures, and underground rivers carrying acidic waters that erode stone and flood passages unpredictably. Earthquakes rumble through fault lines, triggering landslides in fragile cavern walls, while phenomena like the regrowth of massive fungal structures—such as Araumycos, spanning 1-3 miles deep—can block routes with resilient, hardened masses. Accessibility is limited, with primary entry points consisting of surface sinkholes, crumbling ancient ruins, and occasional magical portals that connect to the , though descending without reliable light sources amplifies risks of disorientation and falls into bottomless chasms. The Underdark's depiction draws inspiration from real-world topography and deep cave systems, such as those formed by water dissolution in , scaled up to fantastical proportions to accommodate entire ecosystems and civilizations in lightless voids. These analogies adapt features like vertical shafts and interconnected aquifers into immense, hazardous networks, emphasizing the isolation and peril of subterranean .

Flora, Fauna, and Phenomena

The Underdark's flora primarily consists of fungi and other non-photosynthetic organisms adapted to perpetual darkness and nutrient-poor environments. Phosphorescent mushrooms, such as barrelstalk and trillimac, emit a soft glow that provides dim illumination in caverns, while glowing lines underground water sources, creating eerie bioluminescent displays. Carnivorous like tendriculos thrive by ensnaring small creatures for sustenance, their vine-like appendages mimicking harmless roots. A prominent example is the araumycos, a colossal fungal network spanning miles beneath the High Forest in the , functioning as a living web that supports myriad smaller fungi and possibly exhibits rudimentary . Fauna in the Underdark features non-sentient predators and evolved for subterranean survival, relying on darkvision, tremorsense, or keen senses to navigate lightless expanses. Hook horrors, massive avian-like monstrosities with hooked claws, use tremorsense to detect vibrations and hunt in packs through cavern mazes. Umber hulks, hulking insectoids with powerful digging claws, burrow through rock in search of prey, their confusing gaze disorienting victims in the dim glow of fungal light. , stalagmite-mimicking ambushers, extend tendrils to grapple and reel in passing creatures, favoring humanoid flesh as a . These adaptations, including infravision-like darkvision and echolocation via tremorsense, enable efficient hunting without reliance on surface light. Magical phenomena in the Underdark stem largely from faerzress, a pervasive silvery radiation of unknown origin that infuses the air and rock, remnant of ancient high magic. Concentrations of faerzress trigger wild magic surges, manifesting as unpredictable illusory lights, spontaneous portal rifts to other planes, or auditory echoes that distort distances and sounds. Other anomalies include temporal distortions near faerzress nodes, where time briefly accelerates or slows, and electromagnetic-like pulses that interfere with metal tools. The Underdark's revolves around fungi as the foundational producers, sustaining food chains through and chemosynthetic processes rather than . Magivorous fungi absorb faerzress to grow, forming vast networks that herbivores graze upon, in turn preyed on by carnivores like and hook horrors. Interdependence is evident in symbiotic relationships, such as glowing pollinated by burrowing or fungal spores dispersed by umber hulk tunnels. In 5th edition, Out of details enhanced adaptive evolutions post-demon lord incursions, where demonic influences spurred rapid fungal mutations and creature hybridizations, bolstering resilience in contaminated zones.

Inhabitants and Societies

Dominant Races

The , or dark elves, form one of the most prominent societies in the Underdark, characterized by their matriarchal structure centered on the worship of Lolth, the Spider Queen. These societies are organized into noble houses that compete ruthlessly for power, with rankings determined by influence, military strength, and divine favor from Lolth. Iconic city-states such as exemplify this hierarchy, where a ruling council of eight matron mothers oversees governance, and males hold subservient roles, often as warriors or wizards serving the houses. Social dynamics revolve around intricate webs of intrigue, betrayal, and assassination, as houses vie to ascend the hierarchy or avoid annihilation by rivals. underpins their economy and labor force, with captives from surface raids—such as goblins, kobolds, and humans—comprising a significant portion of the population in cities like , where non-drow residents number in the tens of thousands alongside slaves. adaptations to the Underdark include superior darkvision, allowing them to navigate the perpetual darkness with exceptional clarity up to 120 feet. Duergar, known as gray dwarves, establish militaristic clans in fortified Underdark cities, emphasizing craftsmanship, trade, and unyielding discipline under the deity Laduguer. Gracklstugh, the City of Blades, serves as their primary hub, a sprawling industrial center built into cavern walls along the Darklake, where duergar forge superior weapons and armor for themselves and other Underdark denizens. These clans operate as tightly knit, authoritarian groups focused on expansion through raids and commerce, with a deep-seated resistance to magic and psionic manipulation stemming from their innate abilities to enlarge, , or detect thoughts at will. is integral to their society, as duergar conduct surface incursions to capture prisoners, whom they trade to or illithids, fueling a robust built on metals, fungi-based goods, and enchanted items. Like other Underdark natives, duergar possess enhanced darkvision extending 120 feet, aiding their stealthy operations in the lightless depths. Svirfneblin, or deep gnomes, maintain isolationist communities in remote, rock-hewn caverns, prioritizing survival through stealth, mining, and defensive illusions rather than conquest. Blingdenstone, the City of Speaking Stones, represents a key svirfneblin stronghold, a labyrinthine settlement founded over two millennia ago and focused on gemcrafting, stonework, and earth-based magic to ward off intruders. These gnomes avoid entanglement with aggressive neighbors like and duergar, instead developing intricate illusionary traps and earth elemental summons to protect their hidden enclaves. Their society values communal resilience and craftsmanship, producing finely wrought gems and tools while rarely venturing to the surface except under cover of night. Svirfneblin share the Underdark's adaptive darkvision, reaching 120 feet, which complements their stone abilities for blending into rocky terrain. Among other notable inhabitants, illithids—commonly called mind flayers—organize into hive-like colonies ruled by an elder , functioning more as enigmatic overlords than integrated societal players. These colonies, comprising varying numbers of illithids plus thralls, operate from fortified Underdark strongholds where the elder brain coordinates psionic domination and ceremorphosis—the transformative implantation of tadpoles into hosts to create new mind flayers. Illithids exert influence through enslavement and mental control, preying on other races to sustain their briny pools of tadpoles and brains. Underdark societies lack a , instead comprising fragmented city-states and clans locked in perpetual warfare over resources and territory. Economic systems rely on raids for , in exotic poisons derived from cavern fungi, and slave markets that bind disparate groups in uneasy . This constant conflict fosters adaptations like widespread superior darkvision across dominant races, enabling and predation in the absolute blackness without reliance on artificial .

Creatures and Conflicts

The Underdark teems with aberrant creatures that exert profound influence through domination and predation, chief among them the mind flayers, or illithids, who establish sprawling empires beneath the earth. These psionic humanoids form colonies governed by a central elder brain, a massive entity that coordinates their hive-mind society and directs conquests across vast tunnel networks. To propagate their kind, illithids employ ceremorphosis, implanting parasitic tadpoles into humanoid hosts that consume and reshape the victim's brain over seven days, emerging as a fully formed mind flayer with fragments of the original's memories intact. This process not only sustains their numbers but also expands their influence, as failed transformations can yield aberrant variants that serve as additional thralls. Mind flayers manipulate slaves through innate telepathic domination, compelling other Underdark denizens—often including or duergar as unwilling allies or victims—to perform labor, guard colonies, or shield them in combat. Their predatory raids extend to surface worlds, where they harvest brains to feed the elder brain, disrupting surface societies and drawing adventurers into ambushes involving mind blasts that stun groups with waves of telepathic force. Similarly, aboleths dominate underwater domains within subterranean lakes and rivers, ancient aberrations that lair amid ruined cities from lost epochs. These elongated, fish-like entities emit a transformative cloud that causes air-breathing creatures to become unable to breathe air (requiring them to breathe only underwater) for a short duration, while creatures that already breathe underwater are unaffected, while their enslave ability charms targets via telepathic commands, binding them indefinitely as slaves until the aboleth's death or planar separation. Aboleths' regional effects foul waters and project illusory hazards, preying on intruders with assaults that erode wills and memories, often turning explorers into unwitting agents in their schemes of eternal domination. Other tyrants, such as beholders, carve out fortified lairs in cavernous strongholds, their floating, eye-stalked forms enforcing absolute rule through paranoia-fueled eye rays that disintegrate or petrify dissenters. These aberrations enslave local populations, including lesser Underdark races, to mine resources or expand their domains, viewing all others as threats to their singular genius. Derro, degenerate dwarven offshoots warped by ancient experiments, form insular societies riddled with psionic-induced madness, where savants wield telepathic powers to subjugate kin and raid neighbors for captives. Their erratic savagery manifests in ambushes using crystalline rods that induce insanity, posing constant threats to travelers by destabilizing mental fortitude and sparking uprisings. Conflicts in the Underdark arise from territorial rivalries, such as the perennial wars between and duergar city-states over trade routes and resources, exacerbated by raids from aberrant overlords seeking s. Demonic incursions further ignite chaos, as seen in the events of the 5th edition adventure Out of the Abyss, where demon lords like —the Prince of Demons—breach the material plane into the Underdark, unleashing hordes that corrupt landscapes and provoke slave revolts against weakened masters. These entities prey on adventurers through coordinated assaults, such as mind blasts combined with swarms or aboleth-induced hallucinations that lead parties into submerged traps, while their ecological roles as apex predators fragment societies, forcing dominant races into fragile alliances amid the perpetual struggle for survival.

Integration in Campaign Settings

Forgotten Realms Implementation

In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, the Underdark manifests as a sprawling, multi-layered network of caverns, tunnels, and realms beneath the continent of Faerûn, particularly concentrated under the Sword Coast region. This subterranean expanse extends from the underbelly of major surface cities like Waterdeep downward into deeper, uncharted depths, forming a dark mirror to the surface world with its own ecosystems, societies, and magical anomalies. Connections between the surface and the Underdark often occur through natural fissures, ancient portals, or engineered dungeons, allowing for perilous trade, raids, and migrations. Key locations within the Underdark highlight its role as a hub of intrigue and conflict. , the renowned city-state known as the City of Intrigue or City of Spiders, serves as the political and cultural capital of society, housing powerful noble houses devoted to Lolth and commanding a formidable army of warriors and mages. Skullport, a notorious smuggler's port nestled within the third level of Undermountain, acts as a neutral trading hub for illicit goods, attracting , duergar, and other Underdark denizens while offering a rare safe haven amid the dangers of the depths. Undermountain itself, the colossal dungeon beneath Waterdeep, provides a primary gateway from the surface to the broader Underdark, its labyrinthine levels teeming with monsters, treasures, and portals that link to distant realms like the Buried Realms in the northern Underdark. The Underdark's lore in the Forgotten Realms is deeply intertwined with drow history and cataclysmic events. Drow origins trace to ancient elven exiles banished to the depths following a rebellion led by the goddess Lolth (formerly Araushnee), who transformed a faction of elves into the dark-skinned drow amid divine conflicts on the surface, embedding myths of betrayal and descent into their cultural identity. The Silence of Lolth, a pivotal event around 1372 DR, saw the Spider Queen's clerics lose access to divine magic, plunging drow societies like Menzoberranzan into chaos and sparking internal wars and opportunistic uprisings across the Underdark. The Spellplague of 1385 DR devastated areas like Skullport with cataclysmic blue fires and exposed ancient Netherese ruins—remnants of the fallen empire that litter the depths, influencing local powers through lost artifacts and haunted enclaves—while ancient elven retreats from pre-drow eras persist as shadowed sanctuaries; however, the Second Sundering (1482–1487 DR) largely restored magical stability to the region, mitigating many of these lingering effects. In fifth edition materials, the Underdark's integration expands through adventures tied to Faerûn's campaigns, emphasizing its accessibility and narrative potential. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist explores the city's undercity sewers and connections to Undermountain, portraying the Underdark as an immediate threat and resource for urban intrigue involving factions like the Zhentarim and Xanathar Guild. Out of the Abyss (2015) presents a full campaign set in the Underdark, featuring demon lords unleashed in the depths following the Second Sundering. Broader campaigns, such as those in the , position the Underdark as a foundational element of regional lore, influencing surface events through incursions, aberrant incursions, and the lingering effects of events like the Second Sundering, which reshaped magical stability in the depths.

Adaptations in Other Settings

In the Greyhawk campaign setting, the Underdark exists as a vast network of subterranean layers beneath the continent of Oerik, featuring classic elements such as drow societies in regions like the Worm Crawling and strong illithid influences in deeper caverns. This portrayal draws from early Advanced Dungeons & Dragons materials, where the Underdark serves as a perilous expanse for mid-level adventures involving abductions and monstrous threats. Eberron reimagines the Underdark concept through Khyber, known as the Dragon Below, which forms the world's foundational underworld and embodies one of the three Dragons in its creation myth. Khyber's caverns teem with daelkyr-spawned aberrations from the plane of Xoriat and fiends bound by ancient pacts, shifting the focus from typical fantasy intrigue to cosmic horror and existential dread. Unlike standard Underdark ecosystems, Khyber's tunnels connect to manifest zones of other planes, allowing aberrant incursions and demonic influences to warp its depths. In the setting by , the functions as an analog to the Underdark, infused with Norse-inspired mythology and deep magic, encompassing layered realms of empires, derro enclaves, and shadowy city-states. This adaptation emphasizes themes of ancient curses and planar bleed from the Shadow Realm, with inhabitants like darakhul ghouls dominating necrotic domains. For Dark Sun's post-apocalyptic Athas, underground realms provide rare refuges from the surface desert, sheltering various societies amid the harsh environment. These adaptations highlight thematic variations, such as Eberron's horror-infused cosmology versus Greyhawk's traditional monster-filled expanses, allowing dungeon masters to emphasize cosmic origins or as needed. Cross-setting portability enables DMs to transplant Underdark elements—like fungal ecosystems or psionic threats—into custom worlds by aligning them with lore, such as integrating colonies into planar anomalies or reskinning as desert-adapted raiders. The advises modifying environmental hazards and societal conflicts to fit thematic differences, ensuring seamless integration without disrupting core mechanics.

Representations in Media

Tabletop Publications

The tabletop publications for the Underdark in primarily consist of sourcebooks and adventure modules that expand on its geography, inhabitants, and narrative potential, providing Dungeon Masters with tools for underground campaigns. One of the earliest core sourcebooks, Dungeoneer's Survival Guide (1986), introduces foundational rules for subterranean exploration, including hazards like cave-ins, darkness navigation, and encounters with underground ecosystems, establishing the Underdark as a perilous realm distinct from surface adventures. This 1st edition accessory emphasizes practical mechanics for spelunking and survival, influencing later depictions of the Underdark's environmental challenges. The Underdark sourcebook (2003) serves as a comprehensive 3rd edition supplement for the setting, detailing regions such as the Buried Realms and Wormwrithings, along with new monsters like the gloomwing and prestige classes tailored to Underdark denizens. It includes lore on societies, magic anomalies, and ecology, enabling detailed campaign construction in the subterranean world. Edition-specific expansions further specialize the Underdark's portrayal. The boxed set (1992) for 2nd edition focuses on the iconic city, providing maps of its noble houses, political intrigue mechanics, and adventure hooks involving spider cult rituals and house wars. In 4th edition, the Underdark sourcebook (2010) integrates demonic influences, describing abyssal incursions and layers connected to the Demonweb Pits, with themes of chaos from demon lords infiltrating realms through portals. Major adventures highlight narrative arcs in the Underdark. Night Below: An Underdark Campaign (1995) is a 2nd edition epic spanning levels 1–10+, where players uncover an aboleth conspiracy threatening the surface, featuring extensive travel mechanics, random encounter tables, and maps of layered caverns. Out of the Abyss (2015), a 5th edition module for levels 1–15, centers on a demon lord invasion led by Zuggtmoy and , with survival-focused travel across the Northdark, madness effects from demonic exposure, and encounters involving escaped prisoners allying against aberrations. Post-2023 updates tie the Underdark into broader 5th edition cosmology, such as the : Adventures in the Multiverse (2023) sourcebook, which details portals linking Underdark regions to outer planes like , facilitating cross-planar campaigns without major errata to prior materials, and the Adventures in (2025) sourcebook, which provides new monsters and stat blocks tailored for Underdark campaigns, including aberrations and deep dragons, along with pick-up-and-play adventures in subterranean settings, as of November 2025. These publications enhance gameplay by supplying reusable elements like regional maps (e.g., multi-level city layouts in Menzoberranzan), randomized encounter tables for travel (as in Out of the Abyss), and lore compendiums that allow customization of conflicts between drow, duergar, and illithids, fostering immersive, long-term campaigns centered on isolation and betrayal.

Video Games and Adventures

The Underdark has been prominently featured in several video games set within the , particularly those adapting mechanics. In Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000), developed by , Chapter 5 transports players to the Underdark following their escape from Irenicus's asylum, where they navigate caverns filled with , mind flayers, and beholders while seeking a way to the surface. The expansion Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (2003), also by , centers its entire campaign in the depths of Undermountain, a vast Underdark dungeon beneath Waterdeep, emphasizing encounters with undead hordes, demons, and aberrant creatures as players delve deeper into the labyrinth. More recent titles have expanded the Underdark's role in interactive storytelling. (2023), developed by , dedicates much of Act 1 to the Underdark, accessible via multiple entrances such as the Defiled Temple or Whispering Depths, featuring key locations like the Grymforge duergar outpost and the Ebonlake Grotto myconid colony. Players engage in quests involving fungal spore circles, negotiations with sovereign myconids, and conflicts with duergar slavers, highlighting the region's bioluminescent ecosystems and moral dilemmas. Digital adaptations of tabletop adventures have also incorporated Underdark elements. Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms (2017), a strategy management game by Codename Entertainment, draws inspiration from the Out of the Abyss adventure module in events like "The Demon Lords of the Abyss," where players assemble formations to battle demonic incursions and navigate subterranean threats in the Sword Coast campaign. Gameplay in these titles often emphasizes the Underdark's hazardous environment through mechanics like limited visibility in perpetual darkness, requiring light sources or darkvision abilities for navigation; puzzle-solving with bioluminescent fungi and spore clouds; and tense encounters with patrols or ambushes that test stealth and combat tactics. These elements, inspired briefly by tabletop publications such as core D&D sourcebooks, underscore the Underdark's isolation and peril. Post-2023, coverage remains limited, with no major new titles announced as of late 2025, though ongoing patches for —such as Patch 8 adding subclasses—offer potential for expanded subterranean content tied to fifth-edition updates, presenting opportunities for .

References

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