Salvatore, Perkins, & Mearls on Drizzt in RAGE OF DEMONS

There's a brand new video up from WotC in which author R.A. Salvatore and D&D designers Chris Perkins and Mike Mearls discuss the role of Drizzt Do'Urdeon in the Rage of Demons storyline. Note that some spoilers lie within! "Drizzt Do'urden, famed drow ranger and creation of R.A Salvatore, heads into the Underdark to hunt down the madness that threatens to bleed up to the surface world. In the process, he goes a little mad himself. R.A. Salvatore, Chris Perkins and Mike Mearls discuss Drizzt's path so far and hint at what the future might hold in the new Rage of Demons story."

[video=youtube;srgg-rSKuGw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srgg-rSKuGw[/video]
​

 

[delericho]

Huh. I've been pronouncing Menzoberanzan incorrectly all these years. (Not sure about Drizzt - Salvatore didn't say it, and Mearls and Perkins differed. If Mearls is right, so am I.)

 

[Queer Venger]

This is something we see in Exile, and seems like they expanded it for this storyline. Really looking forward to reading Archmage.

 

[MerricB]

I rather enjoyed Archmage, although Drizzt is mostly peripheral to the tale. Gromph, Catti-Brie and Bruenor have the bulk of the action. It has the explanation as to why there are lots of demon-lords in the Underdark (and that's done well), while meanwhile the dwarves are trying to take back Gauntlgrym (again!) Everything comes together in the last half and if you read Archmage, you're all set to understand Out of the Abyss and the rest of the Rage of Demons storylines.

All of the stuff in the video about Drizzt will likely come in the second volume (which also closes the Rage of Demons storyline).

Cheers!

 

[KevinB]

Huh. I've been pronouncing Menzoberanzan incorrectly all these years. (Not sure about Drizzt - Salvatore didn't say it, and Mearls and Perkins differed. If Mearls is right, so am I.)

Salvatore pronounces it "DriZZt" in every interview I've ever seen, much like Mearls did, and he made up the name... so it's pretty safe to say that's the definitive "correct" pronunciation. Perkins says it more like "DriSt" in this video, but I noticed in the last AI video he kind of wavered back and forth between the two. Really, though, the difference is so slight it's kind of irrelevant.

However, anyone who claims it's "Drizzit" is just flat wrong. Salvatore cleared this up definitively in the short story "Dark Mirror" where Drizzt himself actually corrects someone when they pronounce it that way.

 

[darjr]

Is there a required prequel to Archmage?

 

[Wuzzard]

I always find myself saying Dritz for some reason. Can't stop it!

 

[turkeygiant]

I just tried reading the new Companion's Codex novels, I wanted to pick them up and love them the way I used to, but I got half way through "Night of the Hunter" and just quit reading. There's nothing original in these books anymore, they are just shuffled up rehashes of plot lines and characters Salvatore wrote 25 years ago, and you can't forget that for a moment because he make allusions to those past adventures on every other page reminding you of just how stale these stories are. Drow are always backstabbing, Dwarves are always fighting to take back some even more special mcguffin fortress, the Orcs are at the gates, Regis doesn't have a to give, Cattie Brie is a stone cold sociopath for some reason, and Wulfgar will never have a original thought in his head because "of that day Bruenor spared me on the battlefield...", you are 150 years old you can live your own life now...

Frankly these books are insulting, Salvatore obviously has no new ideas in regards to what to do with this world or these characters, but he must be on contract for two books a year because he keeps on churning them out. I want to see him write about new characters, new places, or even just a plot line that he hasn't used 2 or three times before...

 

[Shasarak]

Is it just me, or has Mike got a Trump hair style going on?

 

[Ricochet]

Huh. I've been pronouncing Menzoberanzan incorrectly all these years. (Not sure about Drizzt - Salvatore didn't say it, and Mearls and Perkins differed. If Mearls is right, so am I.)

Me too! Perked up from my sleepy morning screen-glaring when Salvatore pronounced it like that.