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

[Bitbrain]

Reply to OP.

Drizzt is okay. It's the continued obsession with all the other drow that I dislike.

The Companions novel focusing on Catta-Brie, Regis, and Bruener's reincarnations was truly a beautiful story. I cried during the scene where Catta-Brie smiles at the realization that no matter what Regis looks like now, she'll recognize him immediately. Because nobody else fishes by tying the line directly to their toes.

 

[TheSword]

I don’t understand the reactions. It bemuses me. Sure we’ve removed nuance from the poll for effect. I like him and enjoy the books but I don’t think he is the best thing ever.

On the other side there are people who genuinely loathe him, somehow blaming a fictional character and his creator for flaws that they see in a game written by totally different people. It bemuses me. Sure people call him special snowflake, but no more so than Bel Garion, Link, Bilbo, Rick Grimes, Allanon, Ged, Agis and all the rest.

I can understand him not being people’s cup of tea but seriously I don’t get the loathing. Perhaps a desire to be ‘counter-culture’ rather than anything Drizzt has done. I don’t really enjoy reading David Gemell but it doesn’t mean I’d go on forums saying how much I hate him and his stories. It’s a mystery.

I blame George R. R. Martin (for most things )

 

[Tallifer]

I hate double-wielding as much as I hate superhuge anime swords and axes.

 

[Burnside]

The novels are painfully bad.

But these days tieflings are the new Drizzt, so the irritation with him is not as acute.

 

[cmad1977]

Hate. Only because the books are awful. I guess they’re ok if you’re a tween.

 

[The Old Crow]

I hate the effect he had upon the ranger class... but I love that the character has resulted in people wanting to play D&D.

By All The Hackneyed Fantasy Gods Ever, I had forgotten that he was the one responsible for mucking up my favorite 1e class.

So much for my indifferent!

 

[Satyrn]

There’s two big problems with Drizzt:

1) The fans. Too many people making clones of the character. But this is less of a thing now that more varied fantasy fiction is popular. Jon Snow clones are probably more common.

2) Limted Writers. Bob Salvatore isn’t the strongest writer or plotter. Imagine what Batman would be if only a single creator wrote the character. Or Sherlock Holmes if no one other than Conan Doyle worked with him.
Lot of potential for different Drizzt stories that we just don’t see.

I fear you're suggesting that 100 years from now there will have been innumerable Drizzt movies, several television shows, including a modern day version set in NYC starring Lucy Liu's head in a jar as the panther.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

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.

 

[Saplatt]

Meh - he's okay, but I'm not crazy about his supporting cast or villains.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I've read most of the Drizzt books, and the Clerical Quintet and can easily say he might be my least favorite character in them. He's a borefest.

Wulfgar has some nuance to him at least, and a pretty good take on PTSD. Entierri has more substance. Pwent more fun. Cadderly's examination of his own faith gave me an interesting look at a Cleric I never would have considered before. And Danica had some of the most entertaining fight scenes.

But Drizzt? It was just so much sameness. Every fight started to feel the same. The little first person tidbits in the books felt the same. After heavyhandedly resurrecting the other Companions of the Hall it's even more pronounced to me.