Helldritch
Hero
Although I agree mostly with @auburn2 with the chronological aspect of the "Drizzt" through the edition. The real culprit for the dex based dual weilding ranger is... The Unearthed Arcana!
When that book got out, all of a sudden, driw rangers started to appear out of nowhere. And no Drizzt novels were not out yet. The fact is that with the UA, it was now possible to play
1) A good drow, easily identified as good because it was a ranger.
2) A dual weilding character that was not subject to the usual limitations of the normal rule (which sucked hard at that time).
3) A novelty of playing a usually evil race. Before the UA, it was usually on a case by case basis, but when it appeared in the UA, many DMs in my area went with the line:" If it is in the UA, it must be OK..."
So in my area, the drow ranger was out way before Drizzt entered the scene. ( And to be a bit more precise, it a majority of the 20 or so DM that I was in contact with with had at least one drow ranger in one of their groups...)
I can easily imagine that this phenomenon was not unique to my area. TSR must have been aware at some point that drow rangers were a thing at many tables. Only the old grognards of that time (those older than 18...) or those that were playing with them had some reservations about the UA. Almost all the rest ( in my area, at least) jumped to the full acceptance of UA and thus had the drow ranger. Even I had one, but I allowed it on a strict case by case. Justice I did allow a duergard but on a case by case.
So I sincerely believe that the UA I to blame for the turning of the ranger from a strength based class to a dexterity based one.
When that book got out, all of a sudden, driw rangers started to appear out of nowhere. And no Drizzt novels were not out yet. The fact is that with the UA, it was now possible to play
1) A good drow, easily identified as good because it was a ranger.
2) A dual weilding character that was not subject to the usual limitations of the normal rule (which sucked hard at that time).
3) A novelty of playing a usually evil race. Before the UA, it was usually on a case by case basis, but when it appeared in the UA, many DMs in my area went with the line:" If it is in the UA, it must be OK..."
So in my area, the drow ranger was out way before Drizzt entered the scene. ( And to be a bit more precise, it a majority of the 20 or so DM that I was in contact with with had at least one drow ranger in one of their groups...)
I can easily imagine that this phenomenon was not unique to my area. TSR must have been aware at some point that drow rangers were a thing at many tables. Only the old grognards of that time (those older than 18...) or those that were playing with them had some reservations about the UA. Almost all the rest ( in my area, at least) jumped to the full acceptance of UA and thus had the drow ranger. Even I had one, but I allowed it on a strict case by case. Justice I did allow a duergard but on a case by case.
So I sincerely believe that the UA I to blame for the turning of the ranger from a strength based class to a dexterity based one.