Drizzt Do'Urden

Drizzt Do'Urden (full name Drizzt Daermon N'a'shezbaernon) was an atypical drow who had forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark. He was one of the increasing number of drow known to live on the surface.

Physical description
Drizzt Do'Urden was a drow. He stands at about 5′4″, (1.63m) and weighs about 130 pounds (59 kg). His handsome features were sharp and well proportioned and like other drow, Drizzt's skin was black and his stark white hair was long, thick, and flowing. His eyes were a lavender hue (quite different from the drow race's typical red, even when he used his infravision, which normally causes eyes to glow red) and seemed to glow fiercely when he was angry or determined. He normally wore a forest-green cloak that was given to him by the Weeping Friars upon his departure to Icewind Dale, high black boots, and a necklace attached to a white unicorn head, the symbol of his goddess, Mielikki, the goddess of rangers. This symbol was crafted for him by his good friend Regis from scrimshaw (bone of the knuckle-headed trout found in Icewind Dale). It has been many years since Drizzt first ventured into the surface world, but his vision, accustomed to the pitch-blackness of the Underdark, adapted to the bright surface world, so when using his infravision, the images, if held for a prolonged period of time, cause headaches and other strained symptoms.

Personality
Thoughtful and sensitive to others, Drizzt held himself to the highest ideals but didn't expect the same of others. He credited Catti-brie for imparting cultural awareness and tolerance upon him. Ever alert for treachery and danger, he spoke little but was apt to be polite (if terse) in his dealings. A perfectionist who yearned to be accepted into places and groups and to make friends widely, Drizzt was haunted by the danger he brought to those he befriended 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 met perceived him as having a grim manner.

The Hunter
On relatively rare occasions, Drizzt had regressed into a bestial and instinctive state of mind which he 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. For those 10 years, he came close to being completely overwhelmed by this animalistic personality, but began learning to master it when he came close to harming some Svirfneblin children. In the heat of battle, when his friends seemed to be in great danger or when he was alone in the wilderness, Drizzt would occasionally lose control over himself or give in to the urges of the 'Hunter' such as when he went back to his homeland to prevent harm from coming to his friends in the book Starless Night and when, 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 was the Hunter, he reached his physical apex, his skills honed to their utmost peak. His scimitars were like extensions of his own arms, and his senses were heightened beyond their normal capacity.

Equipment
Drizzt's favorite weapon was the scimitar, and he carried two, nicknamed Twinkle and Icingdeath. He also carried a unique Figurine of Wondrous Power which summoned his black panther companion Guenhwyvar. The drow wore a pair of Bracers of the Blinding Strike (obtained from Dantrag Baenre, weapon master of the first house of Menzoberranzan who challenged and lost to Drizzt) around his ankles, which made him incredibly quick on his feet. He chose to wear them on his legs instead of his arms because when the enchantment combined with his natural speed, his sword swings became too fast for him to control (making it hard to change directions), and his feet could not keep up, resulting in extremely predictable attacks.

Drizzt's attire generally took the form of a cloth tunic, tough pants, soft boots and leather gloves. Drizzt's Armor was an enchanted suit of mithral chainmail, made by Buster Bracer that he augmented by wearing a spider silk shirt under his armor that could magically protect its wearer from all but the most lethal attacks. Drizzt carried Agatha's mask during his journeys in Calimshan. Drizzt was not above improvising in combat by taking what weapons are available to him. He has also been known to use Mooshie's Longbow and a dagger hidden in each boot.

While Cattie-brie was injured during Drizzt's battles with the frost giants in the attempt to take Mithral Hall by King Obould, Drizzt wielded Taulmaril and its never-ending supply of lightning arrows, which he still had in his possession a hundred years later. He also mastered and wielded Khazid'hea for a time but left it stuck in Obould Many-Arrows' who later tossed the blade into a ravine, where the drow Tos'un found it.

Abilities
As a drow, Drizzt was innately able to summon globes of darkness at will in an area or attached to a target, he could also summon a harmless faerie fire, which outlined a target, making it easier to spot. At one time, he had the ability to levitate, but lost this ability upon leaving the Underdark. This was due to the absence of faerzress on the surface world. He could, 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 described his movements as too fast to follow with the eye, drow or human. In the book, Homeland, it is revealed that after studying under Masoj Hun'nett, Masoj held him in high regard and acknowledged that if Drizzt had chosen to become a wizard, he would have become quite a powerful one indeed.

Combat and tactics
Drizzt fought in the two long-weapon style common among drow warriors. When the tides turned bad, or when facing opponents such as dragons or frost giants, he called upon his innate drow abilities to conjure up a globe of impenetrable magical darkness that neither himself nor his opponent could see through. Depending on the situation, Drizzt continued the fight from there. In rare cases, Drizzt would go into a self-imposed trance where, through pure instinct, he often gains the upper hand, parrying enemy blades and making attacks that find holes in his opponent's defenses that they, not used to fighting blind, could not possibly see coming.

When chasing someone or unable to see his prey, Drizzt often called upon his innate abilities to surround his target with 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, or when Belwar Dissengulp, Clacker, and he fought a group of seven Duergar, even as they started to disappear.

Drizzt never took potions and the like with him on adventures, preferring to rely on his own skills, equipment and friends (generally Bruenor Battlehammer, Catti-brie, Wulfgar, Regis and Guenhwyvar) to help him out if he got into too much trouble. He also had to cope with his racial weakness to light, having a slight adversion to it, so if a great light source was brought upon him unexpectedly it could cause temporary disorientation.

History
Born the night House Do'Urden destroyed House DeVir, the death of Nalfien Do'Urden saved Drizzt from being sacrificed to Lolth. After being trained by his sister Vierna Do'Urden and his brother Dinin Do'Urden, Drizzt's own father, Zaknafein Do'Urden. After refusing to kill a Moon elf, Drizzt caused House Do'Urden to lose Lolth's favor resulting in Zaknafien being sacrificed. Drizzt escaped Menzoberranzan and became a wanderer for many years before being taken in at Blingdenstone. Later he left to live on the surface where he was taught to be a ranger from Montolio Debrouchee.

Drizzt was then chased to Icewind Dale by hunter Roddy McGristle. Drizzt gained the trust of Catti-Brie and Bruenor Battlehammer who chased McGristle away. Drizzt later became good friends with the halfling Regis as well as Bruenor. In the final year of the servitude Wulfgar owed Bruenor, Drizzt became his teacher at fighting and the two became good friends. They even ended up saving Icewind Dale from Akar Kessell and Crenshinibon as well as the demon Errtu.

During the reclamation of Mithral Hall, Drizzt became openly accepted in Icewind Dale and Luskan, he also made an enemy with Artemis Entreri. This would result in Drizzt at being accepted in Silverymoon. He chased Entreri down to Calimport to rescue Regis, but the fight was interrupted by the people of Calimport. Drizzt would then be kidnapped by his sister, vowing to regain Lolth's favor, due to Entreri who was posing as Regis. When the two finally got a fair fight, Regis was the factor that resulted in Drizzt's victory.

After killing Vierna, Drizzt left for Menzoberranzen to learn more of Baenre. Baenre tortures Drizzt, but he manages to escape and trick everyone into thinking that Baenre has lost Lolth's favor. With Entreri's help, Drizzt escaped Menzoberranzen. Drizzts reputation would then spread as far as Waterdeep and

Nojheim
Shortly after Mithral Hall was retaken for Clan Battlehammer, Drizzt ran into a goblin slave named Nojheim. Despite goblins being his favoured enemy, Drizzt despised slavery even more than his wish to see goblinoids eradicated from the realms. Nojheim taught Drizzt much about how others viewed him and Drizzt in turn vowed to free him. He immediately rode to Silverymoon to petition Alustriel to free the goblin but she was away on business to Sundabar. He immediately returned to where Nojheim was enslaved but found him hanging dead by his neck outside the village walls. Nojheim's owner had heard their conversation and executed him, but no one would openly refute his owner's claim that Nojheim attacked him. Drizzt vowed that from that day forth he would attack the owners of slaves first and damn the consequences.

Ellifain
Drizzt was haunted by the memory of a moon elf girl called Ellifain Tuuserail, also known by her male alias "Le'lorinel". On his first visit to the surface, he participated in an attack on the surface elves with his fellow drow. During this experience he began to realise how vile he found his own kin, and saved the young Ellifain by smearing her with blood from her mother's corpse. Ellifain recalled a different account of events and believed Drizzt to be responsible for her mother's death, hunting him down relentlessly.

This culminated in a final encounter between the two, in which both were mortally wounded. Ellifain died believing Drizzt to have also been killed, but Bruenor Battlehammer came to his aid and saved his life.

During the events in Realms of the Elves Drizzt finally releases his guilt after Ellifain's soul is summoned and apologizes for her unwarranted hatred of Drizzt.

Relationship with Catti-brie
Drizzt found himself in love with Catti-brie, although he was unwilling to deal with the emotional implications of this initially. From the end of the Hunter's Blades trilogy and more recently The Orc King, Drizzt and Cattie-Brie are unofficially married, as there was no formalities involved. It is implied within The Orc King that they have slept together, shortly before Drizzt sent out to find Tos'Un, as well as in The Pirate King, on page 50. In The Ghost King, Drizzt and Cattie-Brie had been married for approximately eight years. Her eventual death heralds a significant change in Drizzt's personality.

Relationship with Artemis Entreri
Artemis Entreri was the arch-nemesis of Drizzt Do'Urden. Despite his human nature, Entreri was one of the few matches for Drizzt in combat. Drizzt believes Entreri to be his alter-ego, and the person he became when he takes on the mindset of the Hunter. He also sees similarities between Entreri and his beloved father, Zaknafein - both killed only those they believed deserved it, were the best at their craft, and fought against a world they perceived as evil. However, he believes that Entreri is unjustified, and that there were some aspects of his reality that were deserving of mercy - he also sees a glint of compassion hidden under the "impenetrable shell that he [Entreri] now wears". For this reason, Drizzt spared Entreri when he managed to best him in combat. Drizzt hoped that Entreri would find a way out of the emotionless, empty existence he lived.

Shallows
In 1370 DR, Drizzt was involved in the battle at Shallows against the invading orcs and frost giants. He distracted five of the nine giants, leading them on a chase which led to him entering a cave system through a narrow gap. The giants were unable to follow him inside, and blocked off the entrance with boulders. Drizzt spent several days looking for an alternative way out, and when he found one, he returned near to Shallows to witness the collapse of its wizard tower, with a figure he thought to be Bruenor on it. He assumed that Bruenor had been killed, and this had a profound emotional effect on him.

Behind the Scenes
The 1st edition sourcebook, The Savage Frontier, declares Drizzt a worshiper of Gwaeron Windstrom, Drizzt declares himself a follower of the hero of Mielikki, Gwaeron. though several later R.A. Salvatore novels clearly depict him as a worshiper of Mielikki.

Gwaeron Windstrom was a demi-god in service to Mielikki so he could concievably serve both at the same time.

Images
Since his debut in 1988, Drizzt Do'Urden has been illustrated by many different authors. However, since 2004 and the reissue of many of R.A. Salvatore's books under the Legend of Drizzt series, all artwork of the drow has been done by Todd Lockwood.

Pronunciation
The pronunciation of Drizzt Do'Urden is given as Drist Doe-URR-den in the revised 2nd edition of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This pronunciation is given in the Running the Realms booklet on page 33.

The pronunciation is also given as "Drits" instead of "Drist" in the book The Crystal Shard, wherein he teaches a child how to pronounce his name, and in interviews with the author R.A. Salvatore.

The pronunciation is also given in the book The Legend of Drizzt, Book 3:Sojourn, wherein he teaches a child how to pronounce his name; whereupon the little boy runs for his mother yelling "It's a drizzit!".

Appearances
Drizzt's story is told in the fantasy novels of R.A. Salvatore, mostly in the novels listed below. His popularity has also inspired appearances in some computer role-playing games, including the Baldur's Gate Series, Neverwinter Nights, and the more action-oriented Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone. Listed in the chronological order of the events in the books:

Dark Elf trilogy

 * 1) Homeland (1990)
 * 2) Exile (1990)
 * 3) Sojourn (1991)

Icewind Dale trilogy

 * 1) The Crystal Shard (1988)
 * 2) Streams of Silver (1989)
 * 3) The Halfling's Gem (1990)

Legacy of the Drow

 * 1) The Legacy (1992)
 * 2) Starless Night (1993)
 * 3) Siege of Darkness (1994)
 * 4) Passage to Dawn (1996)

Paths of Darkness
* Servant of the Shard (2000) branches off as the first book in the Sellswords series, which follows Jarlaxle and Artemis Entreri.
 * 1) The Silent Blade (1998)
 * 2) The Spine of the World (1999)
 * 3) *Servant of the Shard (2000)
 * 4) Sea of Swords (novel) (2001)

The Sellswords

 * 1) *Servant of the Shard (2000)
 * 2) Promise of the Witch-King (2005)
 * 3) Road of the Patriarch (2006)

* Servant of the Shard was first published as the third book in the Paths of Darkness series.

Hunter's Blades trilogy

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

Transitions

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

Neverwinter

 * 1) Gauntlgrym (novel) (2010)
 * 2) Neverwinter (novel) (2011)

Other books & Anthologies

 * Realms of Valor -Dark Mirror (1993)
 * Realms of the Underdark -The Fires of Narbondel (1996)
 * The Stowaway (2008)
 * ''A Reader's Guide to R. A. Salvatore's the Legend of Drizzt (2008)
 * The Shadowmask (2009)
 * The Collected Stories: The Legend of Drizzt Anthology (2011)