However, there are more official playable races than just those in the Player's Handbook. You may want to take a look at What are the playable D&D races in 5e? More broadly, the DMG is largely designed around the concept that D&D should not only allow you to create characters and advent...
Drow were taboo to play because they were a “monster race.” It's hard to imagine it today in 5E, but back when TSR was holding the D&D license you generally didn't get to play monster races. You could only create characters from the “good races” (halflings, elves, dwarves and hu...