Drizzt Do'Urden

Drizzt Do'Urden (full name Drizzt Daermon N'a'shezbaernon) is an anti-stereotypical drow who has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark. He is one of only a few drow known to live on the surface. More popular than Elminster the Sage, Drizzt is undoubtedly the most well-known hero in Faerûn, and is one of the most widely-recognized characters from the Forgotten Realms. Drizzt Do'Urden means "dreamer who walks in the dark".

Appearance
Drizzt Do'Urden is a dark elf, commonly known as drow. Drizzt stands at about 5′6″ (1.68m) and weighs about 130 pounds (59 kg). His handsome features are sharp and well proportioned and like other drow, Drizzt's skin is black and his stark white hair is long, thick, and flowing. His eyes are a lavender hue (quite different from the drow race's typical red, even when he uses his infravision, which normally causes eyes to glow red) and seem to glow fiercely when he is angry or determined. He normally wears a fur-collared green forest cloak and high black boots, with a necklace attached to a white unicorn head, the symbol of his goddess, Mielikki. This symbol was crafted for him by his good friend Regis. It has been more than 20 years since Drizzt first ventured into the surface world, but his vision, accustomed to the pitch-blackness of the Underdark, has not completely adapted to the bright surface world. At present he is in the neighborhood of 70 years old, having been born in 1297 DR, not even old enough to be considered an adult by elven standards. It is common knowledge that the average lifespan of a drow is not below 800 years, but accounting for displacement of the natural drow habitat, it is yet to be seen if his potential lifespan will be reached.

Personality
Thoughtful and sensitive to others, Drizzt holds himself to the highest ideals but does not expect the same of others. He credits Catti-brie for imparting cultural awareness and tolerance upon him. 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.

The Hunter
Thrice in his life, Drizzt had regressed into a bestial and instinctive state of mind in which he has 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.

Equipment
Drizzt's favorite weapon is the scimitar, and he carries two, nicknamed Twinkle and Icingdeath. He also carries a magical figurine which summons his black panther companion Guenhwyvar. The drow wears a pair of bracers of the blinding strike (obtained from weapons master of the first house of Menzoberranzan who challenged and lost to Drizzt) around his ankles, making 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 and his feet could not keep up, resulting in extremely predictable attacks. Drizzt's attire is generally a cloth tunic, tough pants, soft boots and leather gloves. For many years Drizzt wore an enchanted set of mithral chainmail, but it was damaged recently and he now wears a spider silk shirt under his armour that can magically protect its wearer from all but the most lethal attacks. Drizzt is 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.

Abilities
As a dark elf, Drizzt is innately able to summon globes of darkness at will in an area or attached to a target, 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 sigil 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.

Combat and tactics
Drizzt fights in the two long-weapon style common among drow warriors. 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 most rare cases, Drizzt would go into a self-imposed trance (which he calls the Hunter) where, through pure instinct, he often gains the upper hand, parrying enemy blades and making attacks that find holes in his opponent's defences that they, not used to fighting blind cannot possibly see coming.

When chasing someone or unable to see his prey, 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.

Drizzt never takes 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 gets into too much trouble.

Training
Drizzt received training sessions from his father, Zaknafein Do'Urden, and in the drow warrior school Melee-Magthere, where he favored the use of scimitars. Drizzt also attended Sorcere, an academy for the spell-casters. At Sorcere, Drizzt quickly became extremely accomplished in the magical arts, but he favored the blade rather than magic.

Drizzt was taught the ways of the ranger from Montolio Debrouchee (Mooshie), a blind human, and Drizzt realized he had followed these ways all of his life. From this time on, he made his matron goddess Mielikki, goddess of the forest and of rangers.

Reputation
Early in his surface travels, Alustriel Silverhand welcomed him as 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.

Ellifain
Drizzt is 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.

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.

Shallows
In 1370 DR Drizzt was involved in the battle at Shallows against the invading orcs and frost giants. He distracted five of the ten 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.

Appearances
Drizzt's story is told in the fantasy novels of R.A. Salvatore, including the Icewind Dale trilogy, the Dark Elf trilogy, the Legacy of the Drow series, the Paths of Darkness series, and the Hunter's Blades trilogy. He has also been featured in some computer role-playing games, including the Baldur's Gate Series 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) has been removed from this series and placed within 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)

Hunter's Blades trilogy

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

Fan reactions
Novels with Drizzt as the title character tend to sell extremely well in comparison to other Forgotten Realms-line books, often breaking into the New York Times bestseller lists when first released and often out selling non-Drizzt related first-release products even in the back list version. While perhaps controversial among some Forgotten Realms fans, Drizzt is certainly one of the better-known faces (if not the best-known face) from the Forgotten Realms, and books featuring him are among the most popular of the Dungeons and Dragons inspired fiction. His popularity reaches beyond the gaming community, appealing to a wide range of fantasy and science fiction fans.

It should be noted that among a small group of fans of the Forgotten Realms setting, Drizzt Do'Urden is considered to be a trite character and unrealistic to the setting. Many also mistakenly take umbrage at R.A. Salvatore's changing of the canon of the Forgotten Realms setting in his Drizzt novels (as, according to Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms, anything published is considered canon). This problem often occurs because much of what has been changed has changed after the original publication dates of Salvatore's novels. Many people do not realize that when Salvatore joined "Forgotten Realms" only one other novel, Darkwalker on Moonshae, and very few game products were actually published. Salvatore created Menzoberranzan and the whole of drow society with the creation of Drizzt Do'Urden. Prior to Salvatore's novels there were only three modules and a single paragraph concerning drow found in the Fiend Folio.