D&D 5E Drizzt as a LG 8th Level Champion

[Ancalagon]

He was tenth level oh and Cattie Brie did not have a 19, her best stat was a 17 cha. Drizzt was not even close to the best fighter type in that book, Bruenor would have been a good fight, but the king of Cormyr would have mopped the floor with him, not even close.

One thing I noted was the characterization of Drizzt changed somewhat over time. (First of all an admission, yes, I read a lot of Drizzt books when I was young. I got better okay? ):

In the first novel (The Crystal Shard) published in 1988, Drizzt was depicted as a skilled and determined warrior, but he wasn't amazingly good - he could be defeated, and Bruenor and Wulfgar were his match (or perhaps even better).

However, in the Dark Elf Trilogy (published in 1990-1991... sheesh a lot of books in a short time) Drizzt was shown to be an increasingly skilled fighter. By the time we returned to the "present" in "The Legacy" novel, Drizzt was now the near unstoppable whirlwind of blady death we are familiar with.

To be honest, I think that the original characterization was more interesting and "balanced".

 

[Ancalagon]

Yeah, he played it pretty well too. Oh and he also took the second roles of rules lawyer and chief complainer (when he couldn't get what he wanted). All tongue in cheek

I definitely have to watch this one!


As far as Drizzt's "design", I was wondering if it would be possible to give him skills outdoor with a background (not having to multi-class), but it doesn't match the character history. He grew up and gained several levels while inside his home city, I don't think "outlander" works at all.

 

[Prism]

I definitely have to watch this one!

I won't spoil who DMs but its worth the watch

https://www.twitch.tv/pax/v/62618865

 

[Valetudo]

Its funny to see how his stat change for every edition. Did perkins how he got these stats?

 

[Valetudo]

I get the feeling that perkins might not be R.A.s biggest fan. I also get the feeling that R.A. is a whiner behind closed doors.

 

[Quartz]

Hmm... 8th level with no fewer than five epic-level items. Hmm...

 

[RotGrub]

Hmm... 8th level with no fewer than five epic-level items. Hmm...

Why are they epic level? As I understand it, magical items are not tied to level. A character can have any number of magical items at any level in 5e. The DM has the final say over this.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I don't think it should be any shock that Driz'zt's stats changed throughout his published history. When he was first created, he wasn't even meant to be nearly as important as the other characters. But then fans loved him (ah, the 90s where EMO ruled supreme, and the dark and broody Louis (from Anne Rice's novels) type was super appealing), and he quickly morphed into the Gary Stu that readers wanted.

 

[Rottle]

I don't think it should be any shock that Driz'zt's stats changed throughout his published history. When he was first created, he wasn't even meant to be nearly as important as the other characters. But then fans loved him (ah, the 90s where EMO ruled supreme, and the dark and broody Louis (from Anne Rice's novels) type was super appealing), and he quickly morphed into the Gary Stu that readers wanted.

You think that type of character's appeal ended? They can't make a superman movie without doom and gloom, he can't be even a little happy.

Still I think some of the appeal was drow were very different and forgotten realms was becoming the mainstay world. Add in the 2e ranger pretty much allowed you to clone him, whether on purpose or not, and people just loved the character. He was unique and people do love that.

As an aside I believe you could kill him in balders gate game and get his awesome swords and armor....that was fun....he wore chainmail back then. Not sure what he wears now.

 

[Sacrosanct]

You think that type of character's appeal ended? They can't make a superman movie without doom and gloom, he can't be even a little happy.

I'm not saying it ended, I'm saying at the time (start of the 90s), goth and emo were the thing. It was a fad that skyrocketed. Vampire seemed to take over D&D in popularity. Some of those things have appeal now, sure, but in the early 90s, it was huge. And Driz'zt fit perfectly into that dark, gloomy, pretty boy, emo caricature. "Nobody really understands me and my torment!!! I'm such an outcast! Now I will show them all by kicking everything's ass and all the women want to be with me and all the men want to be me!"