Drizzt Do'Urden Poll: Love Him Or Hate Him?

[Ath-kethin]

I voted "love."

I have never read a single Salvatore book, but the idea of a reformed member of a normally evil group is a classic trope of fiction. While I have a long-running and deep-rooted dislike of the Forgotten Realms stemming from an imagined dichotomy 30 years ago, I have to agree with the sentiment that anything that gets people reading, gets people into D&D, and/or gets people's imaginations running is a good thing.

 

[Eis]

He was fine for the first couple of trilogies, but he lives in a world that literally operates on D&D logic, so it's inexcusable that he hasn't made it to epic levels by now. If a PC had gone through even half of what he has, they would have ascended to godhood already.

they're using slow leveling

 

[DEFCON 1]

No opinion of him either way. And thus I "love" him, because I have better things to do with my time than to put energy into hating a fictional character.

 

[Seramus]

I have nothing against Drizzt.
But now I can’t ever play a Drow Ranger without getting teased.

 

[atherion-foehammer]

I actually like Drizzt. Have all the books, what can I say...

 

[Zilong]

I love Drizzt. He was my first real introduction to the lore of a D&D setting. Those books are one of the primary reasons i got into and love the hobby (yes, yes, I’m a relative noob).

Some of the behavior from people who idolize him and/or try too hard to copy him... that is a different matter.

 

[Irennan]

I don't particularly care for Drizzt. I liked the Dark Elf trilogy, but I didn't feel compelled to go further. I also generally don't like the kind of society that the drow have in the books about him. it's very, *very*, cliché/cartoonish villain. I mean, if even the very sourcebooks tell you that the drow society would collapse if Lolth wasn't there breathing in their necks, and that Lolth is an impairment to their development...

When you have a culture like the Lolthite drow, who harm themselves just like they harm everyone else, then IMO nuance is absolutely needed. When you have an intellgent race, and then they stagnate for millennia, without any significant development whatsoever, languishing in a situation that is legitimately self-destructive, that leads to suffering, self-denial, waste of potential and so on, but no one except a few super-awesome guys ever seeks a different path, or thinks that *maybe*, just *maybe* there's an alternative, then feels cheap, forced, and quite boring.

As far as the portrayal of "exceptional" drow individuals goes, I far prefer Elaine Cunningham's Liriel, and the nuance and depth that Ed Greenwood's Eilistraee and Vhaeraun bring to the table.

 

[Vymair]

I've never read a single Drizz't book, so I'm indifferent. If forced to choose, I'll vote love as some have really enjoyed those books and it enhances their D&D experience.

 

[Sunseeker]

Can't stand the sucker.

 

[Wiseblood]

I read a lot of the books. The early ones were my favorites. After the Dark Elf trilogy I could have done without his monologues. Whiny, preachy and confused.... works better as subtext. I like the supporting cast. Some of them anyway. I also feel like he isn't as skilled as he used to be. I don't like the boomarang companions that don't stay dead.

All that said, I voted love.