Is Drizzt destined to become a Classic?

[Nightfall]

Stats don't lie; it's just that if you torture them enough, they'll say whatever you want.

Still lying!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Heh, the Net once again reveals itself to be the supreme research tool . Maybe they should re-tool that old saying,

"There are lies, damn lies, and the internet."

not really it all comes down to presentation and showmanship. You just have to present the numbers to your advantage and then move along before someone looks too close.

 

[Orius]

In fact, I'm willing to bet that a lot of the knee-jerk RAS bashers out there haven't even read any of his novels, they're just tired of seeing good-aligned drow pop up in their campaigns.

Yep, you're probably right. I don't allow drow PCs IMC, and good-aligned drow are exceedingly rare. However, it has little to do with RAS or Drizzt. It's more a matter of not liking how the drow are used in general in FR, and the whole existance of Eilistraee and her attempts to "redeem" the drow. The FR article in Dragon #315 was about the only part of the magazine I didn't like. IMC, Eilistraee is dead, and Lolth tolerates no rivals. Drow are almost all evil, and those who aren't get hunted down. They're the villainous race they were meant to be from the moment the were introduced to D&D.

 

[Turjan]

The statistics given in http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/greatest/alltime are quite obviously wrong, because they have several periodicals in the list. The sales figures contain books that looked different every year and were sold over decades.

Well, the point was that LotR was a classic before Peter Jackson made the film. And this point has been unambiguously proven.

 

[Orius]

That's a good point. Now that I think about it, gamers tend to be far more accepting of Conan, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, and Elric knock-offs than Drizzt knock-offs.

Well, those clones are usually based on standard D&D PC races. Drow isn't an allowed race in every campaign, often because of Drizzt, but also because drow have innate spell resistance and so on that makes them a little more powerful than the normal races.

Remember, when Drizzt clones started popping up in late 1e/early 2e, there were no ECLs like we have now.

 

[Alzrius]

I don't think that Drizzt will ever be considered a classic character that will become a "must read" for people who like sword & sorcery novels. I say this not out any dislike for the character (I've read every book about him gladly), but because his character isn't original.

"Classics" to me are works that are the best of their particular archetype; the questing barbarian (Conan), the Lonely Wanderer (Elric), and others are the ones who best personified character types in S&S literature. In that regard, Drizzt doesn't measure up. It's not that Salvatore's writing isn't good, it's just that it's not better than these, and it's nothing that hasn't been done before.

Drizzt is a good character, but his is a character we have seen before, and done just as well by other authors. Because he doesn't rise above similar literary beings, he won't become a fantasy classic.

 

[Nightfall]

Not to mention I still think Druss could take him.

 

[Endur]

Sadly, if my memory is correct, those lists are incomplete. I read somewhere that LOTR has sold 45 million copies. Making it at #8 on those lists and the #1 fiction book of all time.

Unfortunately, this is completely untrue.

http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/greatest/alltime

It is not even in the top 10.

And again here,

http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10_60/62_top_10_list.html

 

[Nightfall]

Lies! All lies! Statics lie!! But then I do occasionally too, unintentional.

 

[Endur]

Of the characters on that list, A-list characters are Conan and Gandalf. Elric, the Grey Mouser, John Carter, and Drizzt are B-list characters.

Elric. Conan. Grey Mouser. Gandalf. John Carter. Drizzt.