Drizzt Do'Urden

Template:D&D character Drizzt Do'Urden (IPA: [dʒɹɪtst ˌdoʊˈɝdɪn]) is a fictional character in the Dungeons & Dragons-based Forgotten Realms setting. As a non-archetypal drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home (in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan). Drizzt is one of the most well-known heroic characters of the Forgotten Realms. He was originally intended to be Wulfgar's "sidekick" in The Icewind Dale Trilogy; during the writing of said trilogy, however, R. A. Salvatore thought it became obvious that Drizzt would become the real main character for the series.

Drizzt's story is told in the fantasy novels of Salvatore, including The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, the Legacy of the Drow series, the Paths of Darkness series, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and the short stories "The Dowry" and "Dark Mirror." He has also been featured in some D&D-based computer role-playing games, including the Baldur's Gate Series and the more action-oriented Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone.

Basics

Appearance

Drizzt stands at about 5 ft 8 in (about 162.6 cm) and weighs about 130 lb (59 kg). His eyes are lavender both in the infrared and optical light spectra. He normally wears a fur-lined forest green cloak and high black boots, with a thin silver chain attached to a white unicorn head (made out of Knucklehead trout bone for him by Regis), the symbol of his goddess, Mielikki.

Personality

Outwardly calm and composed, Drizzt has a controlled anger within him, a legacy of the time he spent living in the wilds of the Underdark surviving by instinct alone. While he has mastered that side of his psyche—he refers to it as the "Hunter"—he can still call upon it when he is hard-pressed and under great emotional duress. The "Hunter" is a purely instinctual being, which propels him to an almost invincible fighting state, at the same time stripping him of the compassion that epitomizes Drizzt's character. When not possessed by the "Hunter," Drizzt is a cool-headed peacemaker who is always willing to avoid a fight if he can, except with evil races such as orcs, giants, yetis or goblins. Even then, he looks for exceptions to the stereotypical prejudice of those races. When the situation calls for it, he is incredibly daring, yet controlled. He is extremely confident, to the point that several of his friends are convinced that someday the drow will leap into a situation which he will not be able to escape. He harbors a deep love for the surface world and cherishes his place in it (he loves to watch the sunrise, although it stings his eyes), though many of its other inhabitants are still prejudiced against him. He cares little for the prejudice of those who do not know him, however, understanding that theirs is the flaw, not his (although this was not always so; when he first came to the surface, he tended towards depression and despair after such encounters). He accepts their reaction as being reasonable, considering the vicious reputation of his evil kin. His usual reaction to the initial fear and surprise (without plain aggression) is a kind and comforting smile.

Magical items

Drizzt carries a magical figurine (a "Figurine of wondrous power (Onyx Panther)"), which summons his black panther Guenhwyvar, who is supernaturally intelligent and is a close friend of Drizzt and his allies. Drizzt wears a pair of "Bracers of the Blinding Strike," which increase the speed of the bearer, although he wears them on his ankles, as opposed to his wrists, claiming that footwork is just as important as, if not more than, the speed of the strike (and having found that wearing them on his wrists actually made him worse, not better, as they threw off his timing). For many years, Drizzt wore an enchanted suit of Mithral chainmail provided by Bruenor, but it was damaged recently. He now wears an enchanted spider silk shirt that is more powerful than his chainmail.

Weapons

Main article: Drizzt Do'Urden's scimitars

His main weapons are his two scimitars, named Twinkle and Icingdeath. Twinkle is a magical elven-forged blade. It emits a blue hue when held, reflecting the starlight its creator held dear. It is now known by Drizzt that he can control its light by so willing it. Icingdeath was found in the treasures of a white dragon of the same name, whom Drizzt and Wulfgar slew together. It gives its wielder protection from any form of fire. In the earlier of the series (namely, Sojourn and the Icewind Dale Trilogy), Drizzt used Montolio Debrouchee's longbow in occasions, which he took after the death of Montolio Debrouchee. He also carries a long dagger and two throwing knives in hidden sheaths in his boots.

Combat/tactics

Matron Malice, his mother, originally wanted Drizzt to be a Mage, to replace his brother, but his hand-eye coordination was so great that he could flip multiple coins in each hand and catch the exact number of coins in each hand, Zaknafein gave him the name "Two-Hands" and Matron Malice allowed him to become a Fighter. Drizzt fights in the two long-weapon style common among drow warriors. He was trained by his father, Zaknafein, "the best weapons master to ever cross swords in Menzoberranzan," who taught Drizzt the movements to transcend the basics of the drow martial art, to think creatively about any fight. His technique was more about training one's muscles to respond, quickly and in perfect harmony, to the calls of the mind, and more importantly, to the calls of the imagination. He taught that improvisation, not rote responses, separated a warrior from a weapons master.

When the tides turn bad, or when facing opponents such as dragons or frost giants, he calls upon his innate drow abilities to conjure up a globe of impenetrable magical darkness that neither himself nor his opponent can see through. Depending on the situation, Drizzt continues the fight from there. In this situation, Drizzt fights on instinct, using sound and even the feel of the air around him to predict enemy attacks and find holes in his opponents' defenses—an act which generally gives him the upper hand, as very few people can match Drizzt in such a situation (the textual equivalent of the Blindfighting feat).

When chasing someone or unable to see his enemies, Drizzt often calls upon his innate abilities to surround his target by faerie fire, purple flames that do not burn but can be seen, even if the target turns invisible, as demonstrated in The Halfling's Gem, on the boat with Captain Deudermont fighting the pirate Pinochet and his lackeys. This ability is also demonstrated in Streams of Silver during the Sky Ponies' attack, in which Drizzt enshrouds two of the tribesmen. Described as "unburning flames," Drizzt uses the faerie fire to simply throw the magic-fearing barbarians into disarray. Drizzt has also been known to use his faerie fire ability to frighten the more superstitious races (goblins, orcs, and some barbarians) into fleeing from battle, or simply putting them into a state of fear to more easily strike. Drizzt has lost his ability to use levitation magic due to his life on the surface, in which the sunlight destroyed his magical drow clothing and items.

Drizzt also carries an onyx figurine of a panther with him, which, on his command, comes to life as a 600 pound cat named Guenhwyvar. Guenhwyvar is a remarkable fighter with more speed and strength than most of her enemies. She is very much like Drizzt in demeanor, and seems to understand his commands. She, at times, was the only friend Drizzt had in the world, and she loves him in return. She is a magical cat from the Astral Plane, and cannot stay on the Material Plane with Drizzt for long. If she is injured or by his side for more than a day or two, she must go back to her homeland to rest. Drizzt calls upon her frequently to assist in battles and hunts, and she is happy to oblige.

Drizzt never takes potions and the like with him on adventures, preferring to rely on his own skills, equipment and friends (generally Bruenor, Catti-brie, Wulfgar, Regis and Guenhwyvar) to help him out if he gets into too much trouble. This has, however, been dangerous at times, especially when Ellifain, an elf Drizzt had met early in his life, cast a fire-shield enchantment that mirrored Drizzt's attacks on his own body. According to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, he is a 16th level character (Fighter 10, Barbarian 1, Ranger 5) with a +2 character level adjustment, due to his being a noble drow; these are his statistics for the role-playing game and do not represent Drizzt in the novels and stories.

Biography

Drizzt was born in Menzoberranzan in 1297 DR as the third son to Malice Do'Urden (then Matron Mother of House Do'Urden or Daermon N'a'shezbaernon) and was originally meant to be sacrificed to Lolth (the usual fate of the third living son of any house), but was spared minutes after he was born, as the eldest brother, Nalfein, had been assassinated during a raid on another house by his second-oldest brother, Dinin. Drizzt was thus the second living son and not the third. His sisters were, from eldest to youngest, Briza, Vierna, and Maya. His father, Zaknafein, was the renowned weapons master of House Do'Urden and secretly hated drow society as a whole. He taught Drizzt the way of the blade, and more importantly, taught him a moral code.

Drizzt left Menzoberranzan in search of a better life, and eventually found his way to the surface after time alone in the wilds of the Underdark and a sojourn with the deep gnomes. Most people he met treated him with hatred and disgust, leaving only the most open-minded and open-hearted people to accept him. One of these people was Belwar Dissengulp, a svirfneblin.

After wandering together with Belwar and a polymorphed pech nicknamed Clacker through the Underdark and fighting off a spirit-wraith (his father was murdered and, through zin-carla, an unholy drow religious ritual, used as a puppet in an attempt to kill Drizzt), he eventually left Belwar and found his way to the surface.

Here he was to meet an important and true friend named Montolio Debrouchee (Mooshie). Drizzt was taught the ways of the ranger from Mooshie, a blind human, and Drizzt realized he had followed these ways all of his life. From this time on, he made his patron goddess Mielikki, Faerûnian goddess of the forest and of rangers.

After the death of his mentor, Drizzt traveled through the realms in search of a new home. Eventually Drizzt found himself in Icewind Dale. There he met some of his best friends (known later as the Companions of the Hall): Bruenor Battlehammer; Bruenor's adopted human daughter, Catti-brie; Wulfgar (Bruenor's adopted human son), son of Beornegar; and Regis, a decidedly unadventurous halfling. A series of events led Drizzt and his friends south, to Mithral Hall, where they currently reside.

Thoughtful and sensitive to others, Drizzt holds himself to the highest ideals but does not expect the same of others. Ever alert for treachery and danger, he speaks little but is apt to be polite (if terse) in his dealings. A perfectionist who yearns to be accepted into places and groups and to make friends widely, Drizzt is haunted by the danger he brings to those he befriends thanks to the scrutiny of the clerics of Lolth and his other foes (notably the demon Errtu and the human assassin Artemis Entreri ). Those he meets perceive him as having a grim manner.

Early in his surface travels, Alustriel Silverhand welcomed him warmly and personally, as she does all in need, but dared not let him openly into Silverymoon at that time. His deeds have, very slowly, made Drizzt Do'Urden more welcome in the Sword Coast North.

Thrice in his life, Drizzt had regressed into a bestial and instinctive state of mind in which he was identified as the Hunter. The first time this happened was after Drizzt had fled from Menzoberranzan and was living in the wilds of the Underdark The second was when he went back to his homeland to prevent harm from coming to his friends in the book Starless Night. The third time was during the war with King Obould Many-Arrows and his horde of orcs. Drizzt had thought Bruenor dead, and wasn't certain if his other friends were alive. When Drizzt is the Hunter, he reaches his physical apex, his skills honed to their utmost peak. His scimitars are like extensions of his own arms, and his senses are heightened beyond their normal capacity. He prefers to carefully think through his actions, to use every opportunity to strike or take toll on his opponent than to fall into the instinctual beast that is the Hunter. There is a great side effect on his and his allies part, because he could strike true on the opportune moment, even though his friends or he could be in severe danger. Occasionally, he summons the Hunter temporarily in combat, coming to his senses soon after. This is likely a textual representation of his barbarian rage ability.

As a dark elf, Drizzt is innately able to summon globes of darkness at will in an area or attached to a target. Because he is a drow noble, he can also summon a harmless "faerie fire," which outlines a target, making it easier to spot. At one time, he had the ability to levitate, but the sunlight destroyed the magic of his House insignia which enabled this feat, and he gradually lost this ability. He can, however, still adjust his eyes to the infrared spectrum, allowing him to see in the dark. His agility and fighting prowess are legendary, and many have described his movements as too fast to follow with the eye, drow or human.

"Driz" means "hard, steel, or unyielding," or "dawn", and the ending "-zt" means "finder or hunter." "Do'Urden" is the family or clan name. "Do" means "walkers in," and "Urden" means "the darkness." Thus, "Drizzt Do'Urden" means "unyielding hunter who walks in the darkness" or "dawn hunter who walks in the darkness".

Literature

Listed in the chronological order of the events in the books.

Note that Drizzt's story is currently being revamped by Wizards of the Coast. The Dark Elf Trilogy, The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow, and Paths of Darkness have been re-released in its chronological order as the Legend of Drizzt series. The Hunter's Blades Trilogy and The Sellswords Trilogy, series are, as yet, still separate. There is also a book by Mark Anthony, Shores of Dusk, set between Siege of Darkness and Passage to Dawn. However, Shores of Dusk was never published.

The next Drizzt Do'Urden novel has a planned release date of September 25, 2007 and will return where Hunter's Blades left off. The title as of now has been confirmed to be "The Orc King" and is part of a set of books under the tentative name "Transitions". It will be followed by "The Pirate King" and finished with "The Ghost King".

The Dark Elf Trilogy

Main article: The Dark Elf Trilogy

The trilogy was a prequel to the very successful Icewind Dale Trilogy. Oddly enough, Drizzt Do'Urden was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Series. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and he became the main character.

Works included

1. Homeland (1990) — Homeland follows the story of Drizzt from around the time and cicumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow (dark elves).
   1. The Fires of Narbondel (1996) - A short story in the Realms of the Underdark anthology. Zaknafein is the main character, but a young Drizzt has a supporting role.
2. Exile (1990) — Exile tells the story of Drizzt outside of the Drow Cities in the open Underdark.
3. Sojourn (1991) — Sojourn is the story of Drizzt coming onto the surface of the world, how he became a ranger and ultimately ended up at Icewind Dale.

As of right now, the comic book studio DDP has made several novels into comic book. They are working in order, and have completed the first trilogy, and are half way through The Icewind Dale Trilogy

The Icewind Dale Trilogy

Main article: The Icewind Dale Trilogy

Works included

1. The Crystal Shard (1988) — This book tells the story of the battle between the Ten Towns (located in Icewind Dale) and Akar Kessel, a mage aided by the crystal shard. It also explains how Drizzt, Bruenor, Catti-brie, and Regis met Wulfgar.
2. Streams of Silver (1989) — Tells the story of the journey that Drizzt, Bruenor, Regis, and Wulfgar set upon to search for Mithral Hall, Bruenor's boyhood home. This is the first novel in which Artemis Entreri appears.
3. The Halfling's Gem (1990) — This is the story of Wulfgar and Drizzt's journey to rescue Regis, who was captured by the hired assassin Artemis Entreri. Entreri's employer was Pasha Pook, a very powerful Pasha in Calimport (the capital of the empire of Calimshan), who wants revenge for an enchanted ruby that Regis stole.

Legacy of the Drow

Main article: Legacy of the Drow

The Legacy of the Drow is the third series about the character Drizzt Do'Urden.

Works included

1. 1. Dark Mirror — A short story about Drizzt and Nojheim the goblin published in Realms of Valor. (1993) It describes events just prior to The Legacy.
2. The Legacy (1992)- Tells the story of a party of drow who infiltrated the tunnels under Mithril Hall, aided by Artemis Entreri, and the apparent death of Wulfgar.
3. Starless Night (1993)-The story of Drizzt traveling back to Menzoberranzan, with Catti-Brie following him closely, Drizzt's capture, and his rescue by Catti-Brie with the aid of Artemis Entreri.
4. Siege of Darkness (1994) - The story of the companions of the Hall preparing for and pushing back Matron Baenre's assault on Mithril Hall.
5. Passage to Dawn (1996) - Picking up 6 years after Siege of Darkness, the story of Catti-Brie and Drizzt's work on a pirate hunting vessel, the return of Errtu and the Crystal Shard.

Paths of Darkness

Main article: Paths of Darkness

Paths of Darkness is the fourth series about the character Drizzt Do'Urden.

Works included

1. The Silent Blade (1998)
2. The Spine of the World (1999)
3. Servant of the Shard (2000)*
4. Sea of Swords (2001)

*Servant of the Shard (2000) is also the first book in the The Sellswords series, which follows Jarlaxle and Artemis Entreri.

File:Lonedrowcover.jpg

The cover of The Lone Drow, showing Drizzt in Hunter mode.

The Hunter's Blades Trilogy

Main article: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy

Works included

1. The Thousand Orcs (2002)
2. The Lone Drow (2003)
3. The Two Swords (2004)

The Dowry — A short story appearing at the end of the novel The Highwayman (2004).

Comrades at Odds — A short story appearing in the Last Mythal Anthology Realms of the Elves (2006).

Transitions

Main article: Transitions (book series)

Works included

1. The Orc King (October 2007)
2. The Pirate King (October 2008)
3. The Ghost King (October 2009)

The Legend of Drizzt is also being published as graphic novels.

Fan reactions

It should be noted that among a portion of fans of the Forgotten Realms setting, Drizzt Do'Urden is considered to be a trite character and unrealistic to the setting. Prior to Salvatore's novels, drow had appeared almost exclusively as foes in the Dungeons & Dragons game possessing powers and abilities that were not commonly available to player characters as well as a violent and genocidal culture. They were the primary villains in the popular classic adventure series Against the Giants and first featured in a relatively brief write-up in the Fiend Folio. The appearance of Drizzt, his popularity, and the unbalanced rules mechanics for drow (the game's rules at the time has not considered the possibility of a drow joining a group of "normal" player characters) led to an explosion of Drizzt look-a-like characters in Dungeons & Dragons games. Indeed, it has been joked that the entire drow population is composed of angst-ridden chaotic good drow rebelling against contemporary drow society, which was featured in many web comics including the popular The Order of the Stick, which features a character named Zz'dtri (anagram of Drizz't) who is defeated by being accused as a copyright infringement. Looking For Group features an elven hunter named Cale, who wants to be a defender of good, although the rest of his race is evil. Cale also uses two swords and has a panther named "sooba." The web comic Goblins initially had three drow adventurers who followed the archetypical rebellious drow, two of them even claimed relation to Drizzt while the other was an unrealistically sexual female. Similarly, the webcomic Elf Only Inn has a character modeled at least tangentially after Drizzt. Another popular webcomic, 8-Bit Theater, features "Drizz'l", a reference to Drizz't, as one of its four Dark Warriors.

In addition to many significant rule changes, the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game introduced a system for playing races that balanced drow relative to the weaker player character races, which had a significant impact on the frequency of appearance of Drizzt look-alikes; however, D&D is a game and people emulating Drizzt is a direct result of the popularity of both R.A. Salvatore and Dungeons & Dragons.

Some fans of the Forgotten Realms setting also take umbrage at R.A. Salvatore's changing of the canon of the setting in his Drizzt novels (as, according to Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms, anything published in novels is considered canon). This problem is hardly limited to Salvatore's books as novels that share a setting with roleplaying books often contradict canon, likewise roleplaying supplements often can and do contradict published novels as well as previously published materials. Some of Salvatore's defenders also point out that he began to write novels set in the Forgotten Realms at a very early stage in the development of the setting; only one other novel and very few game products were actually published at that time. Salvatore can be credited with the creation of Menzoberranzan, which fleshed out the typical drow society originally presented in the Against the Giants modules.

There has also been some criticism of the relationship between Drizzt and Catti-brie. Over the length of several novels, Drizzt comes to realize that he's fallen in love with Catti-brie, but can't (or won't) act on his feelings, due to his incredibly long elven life-span compared to the human Catti-brie. There was no real romantic development during the course of these events; Drizzt's constant complaining that "they could never be together" began to grate on even the most dedicated Drizzt fans after the third repetition. Drizzt does, however, come to terms with the idea of loving someone who will die of old age while he is still young by the end of The Two Swords, having entered into a romantic relationship with Cattie-brie.

See also

Related characters

• Artemis Entreri
• Belwar Dissengulp
• Bruenor Battlehammer
• Cadderly Bonaduce
• Captain Deudermont
• Catti-brie
• Clacker
• Ellifain
• Gutbuster Brigade
• House Baenre
• House Do'Urden
• Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder
• Jarlaxle Baenre
• Montolio "Mooshie" Debrouchee
• Obould Many-Arrows
• Regis Rumblebelly
• Roddy McGristle
• Thibbledorf Pwent
• Weeping Friars
• Wulfgar

External links

• rasalvatore.com Official R.A. Salvatore message boards
• Forgotten Realms series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Lavender Eyes — large Drizzt fansite