Who is the most well known character to you? (Conan, Drizzt, Elric, Geralt)

[Slit518]

When you vote on the poll, vote for who you know as a character, not who you believe is the most well in a worldwide sense.

In your response you can post who you think is the most well known worldwide, despite what you voted for your answers.

Conan the (Barbarian, Destroyer, Slayer, etc...) was created in the early 1930's by Robert E Howard, he has been across more media than the other 3 combined (as far as I know), ranging from magazines, comics, graphic novels, novels, movies, video games, MMOs, his own Pen & Paper game, cartoon, etc... He is a great warrior that uses every fiber of his being (strength, speed, toughness, wit, etc...) to overcome challenges, and he carries a BIG sword.

Drizzt was created in the late 1980's by R.A. Salvatore. He has been across several bits of media, books, comics, graphic novels, and video games. He is a dark-elf (Drow) that wields two swords, and has a panther companion.

Elric the White Wolf was created by Michael Moorcock in late 1970's. I don't know much about him, except that he's physically weak and his sword makes him strong. As far as the media he's been in, I am only aware of novels and comic books.

Geralt of Rivia (also the White Wolf) was created by Andrzej Sapkowski in the mid 1980's. He has gone through special Witcher training, he can makes potions, bombs, uses an iron blade, and a sliver blade, he also knows a variety of fighting styles. He has been in novels, graphic novels, video games, and a TV show.

If you don't know who one or more of these characters are, take a moment to Google them.

You can also tell me out of these 4, who are your favorites?

My favorites, in order:

1. Conan
2. Geralt
3. Drizzt
4. Elric

P.S.
I put this topic in this section because some of these characters were either created because of a roleplaying game, or have transitioned into roleplaying games.

 

[Morrus]

I know who all four are. So all of them I guess? Maybe Geralt I know less about than the others.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I know Elric best, with Conan second of those on that list. I’ve read almost all of the Eternal Champion stuff.

Conan, for me, is less important than the Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories. But I’ve seen the original Schwarzenegger movies and read several of the short stories. I’ve even read a few issues of the Conan comic books.

Drizzt I know of because of chatter- I’ve never read any of the books. Some people who played with me THINK I have because one of my longest runnning PCs was a Drow, but I created him @1+ years before the Salvatore novels hit the shelves, thanks to an article in Dragon magazine.

Geralt is completely unknown to me.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I am Brannich Blacksmoke.

 

[Slit518]

As of now (with the small amount of votes) I am surprised how many people Know Elric, and how little people know Conan. I thought for sure Conan would be leading in votes.

 

[TwoSix]

People don't know all 4? I've read books with Conan, Drizzt, and Elric, and although I haven't played any of the Witchers, it's hard to be at all involved in gaming and not know the series.

 

[Slit518]

People don't know all 4? I've read books with Conan, Drizzt, and Elric, and although I haven't played any of the Witchers, it's hard to be at all involved in gaming and not know the series.

This is what I am saying. It baffles me.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

People don't know all 4? I've read books with Conan, Drizzt, and Elric, and although I haven't played any of the Witchers, it's hard to be at all involved in gaming and not know the series.

I don’t find it difficult at all (gamer since ‘77). Nor, I suspect, do many others, especially the younger gamers.

My cousin T is in his early twenties, and has been gaming...8 or so years? Staying in our house post-Katrina, he learned about RPGs, but I didn’t include him on game night. He started playing with his school buddies, which continues to this day. He knows Conan (TV & movies); he knows Amber. But he’s entirely unfamiliar with any of Moorcock’s writing. Or Fritz Lieber. Or Vance.

Ask him about fantasy-themed anime, however...

So I googled the character & novels. Here’s a good clue as to why he’s not known to me:

The first short story, "Wiedźmin" ("The Witcher") (1986), was written for a contest held by the magazine and won third place.

Said contest was in Fantastyka, a Polish science fiction and fantasy magazine. And not all of the Witcher material has been translated into English.

When “The Witcher” was published, I was graduating from high-school, had been gaming for nearly a decade, and reading mythology and sci-fi/fantasy/horror since 2nd grade. A short story that hadn’t yet been translated into English was not going to be on my radar.

 

[TwoSix]

I don’t find it difficult at all (gamer since ‘77). Nor, I suspect, do many others, especially the younger gamers.

My cousin T is in his early twenties, and has been gaming...8 or so years? Staying in our house post-Katrina, he learned about RPGs, but I didn’t include him on game night. He started playing with his school buddies, which continues to this day. He knows Conan (TV & movies); he knows Amber. But he’s entirely unfamiliar with any of Moorcock’s writing. Or Fritz Lieber. Or Vance.

Oh yes, I can definitely see gamers under 30-35 not knowing Elric. Didn't really make the cross-generational jump.

Not knowing Geralt was the one surprising to me, but I guess the Venn diagram between TTRPGers and PC gamers has less overlap than I assumed.

 

[Sunseeker]

It's a real close tie between Drizzt and Conan, contextually it's probably Drizzt, even though I was exposed to Conan at a younger age and watched his movies with my dad and am generally a fan of Arnold and the Conan material, there's simply more publicity around Drizzt and I have a much stronger negative opinion of him (bad publicity is good publicity).

I like Conan dramatically more. I'm probably more familiar with Drizzt though just due to over exposure within D&D.

I have no idea who the other two are.