Drizzt Do'Urden

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Drizzt Do'Urden
Drow
ClassFighter/Ranger
AlignmentChaotic good
HomeMenzoberranzan

Drizzt Do'Urden (

drow (dark elf), Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan
.

Drizzt's story is told in Salvatore's fantasy novels in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, the

graphic novels by Devil's Due Publishing. Drizzt has also been featured in D&D-based role-playing video games, including the Baldur's Gate series and Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
.

Concept and creation

Drizzt Do'Urden's stories are set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons.

drow who acts against the drow stereotype, favoring friendship and peace over hatred and violence. His unusual personality creates the conflict that allows Salvatore to create so many novels with stories about courage and friendship.[3] Drizzt therefore fights the dark traits that are inherent in the drow.[4]

Salvatore uses Drizzt to represent issues of racial prejudice, particularly in The Dark Elf Trilogy. For instance, Drizzt is concerned that if he and his love

Cattie-Brie (a human) have children, their offspring will face hostility from both races.[5] Drizzt is also troubled by the lifespan discrepancy between himself and Cattie-Brie.[6]

Drizzt was created by happenstance. In 1987 R. A. Salvatore sent

Moonshae Isles, because at the time I thought that was the Realms. When I found out how big the Realms were, I moved the story a thousand miles to the north."[7]

Salvatore created Drizzt on the spur of the moment.

The Crystal Shard (what would become his first published novel) to TSR, and one day Kirchoff called him. She was on her way to a marketing meeting concerning the book, and informed him that they could not use one of the characters. He asked for time to think, but she was already late for the meeting. Off the top of his head, Salvatore said he had a Dark Elf. Kirchoff was skeptical, but Salvatore convinced her it would be fine because he was just a sidekick. She asked his name, and he replied Drizzt Do'Urden. She asked if he could spell it, and he said "not a chance".[1][8] Recalling Drizzt's creation in an interview, Salvatore said, "I don't know where it came from. I guess that Gary Gygax just did such an amazing job in creating the drow elves that something about them got stuck in the back of my head. Thank God!"[9] Although many readers have assumed that Drizzt is based on one of the many Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns that the author has played, this is not the case. Salvatore's main influences were classical literature and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. "I like to think of Drizzt as a cross between Daryth from Darkwalker on Moonshae and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings."[1] Salvatore calls Drizzt "the classic romantic hero—misunderstood, holding to a code of ideals even when the going gets tough, and getting no appreciation for it most of the time."[7]

Publication history

Further information: The Legend of Drizzt
R. A. Salvatore

Drizzt's story begins in the novel

Zaknafein, a weapons master who secretly hates drow society and teaches Drizzt his martial skills as he reinforces Drizzt's innate moral code. The 1996 short story "The Fires of Narbondel", in the Realms of the Underdark anthology
, describes unrelated events involving Zaknafein as the main character, and a young Drizzt plays a supporting role.

During a raid against a group of surface elves, Drizzt finds himself unable to participate in the slaughter with his fellow drow. He pretends to kill an

Guenhwyvar
. Guenhwyvar travels by Drizzt's side as he makes his way across the Realms.

Drizzt fights off the resurrected spirit-wraith of his father in

Bruenor Battlehammer, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter, Catti-brie
.

The fourth book chronologically in the series, although the first published, is

Captain Deudermont
, to recover Regis. Drizzt ends up in combat with Artemis Entreri, who leaves the battle wounded. At the end of the book the group finds Regis, and Guenhwyvar kills Artemis's employer.

Time of Troubles
. It is eventually repelled and Drizzt returns to his friends.

Abyss
as the demon who had held his soul was destroyed.

Drizzt is the main character in only two books of the

Jarlaxle
as the main characters. Sea of Swords covers the companions' search for Wulfgar's lost magical warhammer, Aegis-fang, and the reunion of the group after an extended separation.

Drizzt returns as the main character throughout The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. In The Thousand Orcs (2002),[17] Drizzt and his friends encounter the powerful orc Obould Many-Arrows, who has employed frost giants to aid him in gaining control of the region. After a battle at the town of Shallows, Drizzt believes the other Companions of the Hall to have fallen in battle, and he sets off into the wilderness to fight all orcs in vengeance. The Lone Drow (2003)[18] continues this storyline as the still-living Companions protect Mithril Hall from orc attacks without the aid of Drizzt. He is reunited with his friends in The Two Swords (2003).[19]

R. A. Salvatore's next series of Forgotten Realms books,

The Sellswords Trilogy, focus on the further adventures of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle, with Drizzt only being mentioned in them. However, Drizzt is once again the main character in the Transitions trilogy, consisting of The Orc King,[20] The Pirate King,[21] and The Ghost King.[22] Drizzt is the main character, along with Bruenor, in R. A. Salvatore's next series in the Forgotten Realms, Neverwinter Saga; the first book in this series, Gauntlgrym, was released October 5, 2010.[23] The second book in the series Neverwinter, was released October 4, 2011,[24] with the third installment entitled Charon's Claw released August 7, 2012.[25] The fourth book in the series "The Last Threshold", was released March 5, 2013.[26]

Other media

Drizzt Do'Urden has been featured in several accessories and one book for the

Sword Coast North.[30]

Drizzt has also appeared in a number of

ENnies.[38]

A special Icewind Dale adventure was featured as the centerpiece at the November 3, 2007,

Worldwide Dungeons and Dragons Game Day event, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the creation of Drizzt.[39]

Drizzt made a brief cameo in the 2011 one-off comic Unit:E, produced by

Transformers, M.A.S.K., Jem and the Holograms, Micronauts, Action Man, Battleship Galaxies, and even Candy Land
), as summoned for Micronauts characters Biotron and Acroyear by the alien AI Synergy (a reimagined version of the AI from Jem).

Drizzt features prominently in the D&D Adventure System Cooperative Play board game

The Legend of Drizzt,[40]
released October 18, 2011.

Drizzt has also been seen in the game Neverwinter by Cryptic Studios. He appears as part of the Neverwinter: Underdark expansion that allows players to travel to the drow city of Menzoberranzan and play several quests written by R. A. Salvatore.[41][42]

In 2021, Drizzt was featured on two cards in the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms line from the

animated short to promote the "Summer Of Drizzt" marketing campaign. The short features scenes from the story of Drizzt; it was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and animated by The Sequence Group.[44][45][46]

Reception and legacy

Salvatore mixes neatly choreographed battles with philosophical musings from self-styled "renegade soul" Drizzt, lending a little depth to an otherwise straightforward hack-and-slash adventure.

Publishers Weekly review of The Orc King[47]

According to PopMatters' Andrew Welsh, Drizzt is Salvatore's attempt to create a multifaceted character who faces internal struggles, in hopes of standing out from the drow, and fantasy fiction in general. Welsh feels that Salvatore fails in this regard, saying "any blood Drizzt finds on his hands is quickly justified and most 'internal' conflict is superficial at best."[3] A review for Pyramid refers to Drizzt as the "most famous denizen" of Menzoberranzan, identifying him and the city as "some of the most famous pieces of the Realms".[48] Rob Bricken of Kotaku called Drizzt "one of the Mary Sue-iest characters in all of fiction".[49]

The Drizzt Do'Urden books are popular with fantasy fans,[50] and the Drizzt character is author R. A. Salvatore's best known creation. All 34 novels featuring Drizzt by Salvatore have made The New York Times Best Seller list, starting with The Crystal Shard.[21][51] The Orc King, which marked the 20th anniversary of the character, made it to #7 on the list, as well as #9 on The Wall Street Journal list, #6 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list, and #36 on the USA Today list of top sellers.

The Two Swords peaked at #4 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2004.[51] It reached the top of The Wall Street Journal's hardcover bestseller list after only two weeks, a record for its publisher Wizards of the Coast. It also debuted at #4 on The New York Times's bestseller list and #2 on Publishers Weekly bestseller list.

The Lone Drow debuted at #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list in October 2003.[2] Publishers Weekly felt that The Lone Drow was clichéd, but that some of the characters did achieve "some complexity". They singled out two characters for praise: Innovindel, an elf who talks "pensively" of her long life in contrast to the short lived humans, and Obould the orc king.[6]

Drizzt Do'Urden was #3 on Game Rant's 2020 "10 Must-Have NPCs In Dungeons & Dragons Lore To Make Your Campaigns Awesome" list — the article states that "A skilled ranger in his own right, Drizzt remains equally-adept in conversation. He's always wary of danger, strives for perfection, and held himself to the highest standard. Meeting one of the most iconic figures in D&D could help make players feel important in their campaign."[52]

In the Io9 series revisiting older Dungeons & Dragons novels, in his review of The Crystal Shard, Rob Bricken referred to Drizzt as "arguably the most famous and beloved D&D character of all time" and noted that Wizards of the Coast had finally begun combatting the stereotype of the drow as a "super-evil, subterranean race", which Drizzt forsakes "to become a noble Ranger on the surface world". Bricken noted that "Drizzt ends up overshadowing almost everyone and everything" but comments that "Drizzt and Wulfgar are so preternaturally badass they beat 25 giants by themselves (well, with help from Drizzt's magic panther Guenhwyvar, because of course he has a magic panther pal)".[53] In his review of Homeland, Bricken explained that "when Salvatore introduced Drizzt in 1988's The Crystal Shard, players/readers who hadn't been bothered this by were forced to acknowledge the correlation because characters in the Forgotten Realms judged Drizzt by the color of his skin. He was distrusted, despised, and discriminated against, often even by those he helped."[54]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Weinlein, Sue (December 1992). "Novel Ideas". Dragon Magazine (188). TSR: 79, 80, 84.
  2. ^ a b "The 'Two Swords' Debuts at #1 on the Wall Street Journal's Bestseller List; R.A. Salvatore's..." Business Wire. All Business. November 8, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-09.[dead link]
  3. ^ a b Welsh, Andrew (March 2006). "Sojourn: The Legend of Drizzt Book 3". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
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  5. ^ "Salvatore, R. A. The Thousand Orcs". School Library Journal. February 1, 2003. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ^ a b "The Lone Drow: the Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book II". Publishers Weekly. September 1, 2003. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. ^ a b c Varney, Allen (October 1998). "ProFiles: R.A. Salvatore". Dragon (#252). Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast: 120.
  8. SciFi.com. Archived from the original
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  9. ^ "R.A. Salvatore on Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (PS2)". GameSpy. April 15, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  10. ^ Sojourn reached 13 on The New York Times bestseller list on May 26, 1991. "Paperback Best Sellers: May 26, 1991". The New York Times. May 26, 1991. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  11. ^ The Halfling's Gem reached 12 on The New York Times bestseller list on March 4, 1990. "Paperback Best Sellers: March 4, 1990". The New York Times. March 4, 1990. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  12. ^ The Legacy reached 10 on The New York Times bestseller list on October 4, 1992. "Best Sellers: October 4, 1992". The New York Times. October 4, 1992. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  13. ^ Starless Night reached 12 on The New York Times bestseller list on September 19, 1993. "Best Sellers: September 19, 1993". The New York Times. September 19, 1993. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  14. ^ Siege of Darkness reached 13 on The New York Times bestseller list on September 18, 1994. "Best Sellers: September 18, 1994". The New York Times. September 18, 1994. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  15. ^ Passage to Dawn reached 15 on The New York Times bestseller list on September 8, 1996. "Best Sellers: September 8, 1996". The New York Times. September 8, 1996. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  16. ^ Sea of Swords reached 14 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 18, 2001. "Best Sellers: November 18, 2001". The New York Times. November 18, 2001. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  17. ^ The Thousand Orcs reached 11 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 3, 2002. "Best Sellers: November 3, 2002". The New York Times. November 3, 2002. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  18. ^ The Lone Drow reached 7 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 16, 2003. "Best Sellers: November 16, 2003". The New York Times. November 16, 2003. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  19. ^ The Two Swords reached 9 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 14, 2004. "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. November 14, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  20. ^ The Orc King reached 17 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 11, 2007. "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. November 11, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  21. ^ a b The Pirate King reached 8 on The New York Times bestseller list on November 2, 2008. "Best Sellers: Fiction : Sunday, November 2nd 2008". The New York Times. November 2, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  22. ^ The Ghost King reached 11 on The New York Times bestseller list on October 25th, 2009. "Best Sellers: Fiction: Sunday, October 25th 2009". The New York Times. October 25, 2009. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  23. ^ Gauntlgrym reached 13 on The New York Times bestseller list on October 24, 2010. "Best Sellers: October 24th 2010". The New York Times. October 24, 2010. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  24. ^ Neverwinter reached 8 on The New York Times bestseller list on October 23, 2011. "Best Sellers: October 23rd 2011". The New York Times. October 23, 2011. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  25. ^ Charon's Claw reached 13 on The New York Times bestseller list on August 26th, 2012. "Best Sellers: August 26th 2012". The New York Times. August 26, 2012. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  26. ^ The Last Threshold reached 20 on The New York Times bestseller list on March 24th, 2013. "Best Sellers: March 24th 2013". The New York Times. March 24, 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  27. ^ Grubb, Jeff, Kate Novak, David E. Martin, Jim Lowder, Bruce Nesmith, Steve Perrin, Mike Pondsmith, and R. A. Salvatore. Hall of Heroes (TSR, 1989)
  28. ^ Donovan, Dale and Paul Culotta. Heroes' Lorebook. (TSR, 1996)
  29. Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark
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  30. ^ Greenwood, Ed, Sean K. Reynolds. Skip Williams, and Rob Heinsoo. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, (Wizards of the Coast, 2001).
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  39. ^ Baichtal, John (October 26, 2007). "Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day". Wired. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  40. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Board Game | Board Game". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  41. ^ "Rage of Demons | Dungeons & Dragons". Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  42. ISBN 9781588381606
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  43. ^ Hall, Charlie (2021-05-20). "D&D's Drizzt is coming to Magic: The Gathering, these are the first preview cards". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  44. ^ "D&D's Summer of Drizzt: TV Rumors, Magic Cards, Benedict Cumberbatch". Gizmodo. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  45. ^ Henry, Joshua (2021-05-20). "Dungeons & Dragons Kicks Off "Summer Of Drizzt" With New Animated Short". TheGamer. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  46. ^ "The Legend of Drizzt". The Sequence Group. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  47. ^ "Forgotten Realms: The Orc King". Publishers Weekly. Barnes & Noble. 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  48. ^ Boyd, Eric L. "Pyramid: Pyramid Review: Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark (for AD&D)". www.sjgames.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  49. ^ "The 13 Strangest Deities In Dungeons & Dragons". kotaku.com.au. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  50. ^ "Wizards of the Coast Publishing Caps Record Year With Two New York Times' Best-Sellers". Business Wire (review). Berkshire Hathaway. Jan 28, 2003.
  51. ^ a b "R.A. Salvatore's The Orc King Makes Top 10 Rankings on Bestseller Lists: Publishers Weekly..." Business Wire. All Business. October 11, 2007. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  52. ^ Taguiam, Rhenn (2020-08-15). "10 Must-Have NPCs In Dungeons & Dragons Lore To Make Your Campaigns Awesome". Game Rant. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  53. ^ Bricken, Rob (June 26, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons & Novels: Revisiting The Crystal Shard". io9. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  54. ^ Bricken, Rob (November 15, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons & Novels: Revisiting Homeland". io9. Retrieved 2022-12-01.

External links

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