[UPDATED] RAGE OF DEMONS! New D&D Storyline Features Drizzt, Underdark, & Demon Lords!

Following Elemental Evil this fall, Rage of Demons will launch a new storyline featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, the Underdark, and various demon lords from the Abyss including old favourites like Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt. This will feature on tabletop, console, and PC. "The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface." It begins with the adventure Out of the Abyss, which releases on September 15th for $49.95, and is being designed for WotC by Green Ronin Publishing. (Thanks to Charles Akins for that last scoop!)

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Drizzt? WotC's Chris Perkins says: "Drizzt's role in the RoD story varies depending on the platform. In the TRPG adventure, the PCs are the stars."

Inspiration: "My inspirations for RAGE OF DEMONS were Lewis Carroll's Wonderland stories and EXILE, by R.A. Salvatore." [Perkins] So this is the Alice in Wonderland inspired story that's been previously alluded to.

Here's the full announcement.

"Today, Wizards of the Coast announced Rage of Demons, the new storyline for Dungeons & Dragons fans coming in Fall 2015. The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface. Rage of Demons is the story all D&D gamers will be excited to play this fall, whether they prefer consoles, PCs or rolling dice with friends.

Following on the critically-acclaimed Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil stories, Rage of Demons will transport characters to the deadly and insane underworld. Rumors of powerful demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt terrorizing the denizens of the Underdark have begun to filter up to the cities of the Sword Coast. The already dangerous caverns below the surface are thrown into ultimate chaos, madness and discord. The renegade drow Drizzt Do’Urden is sent to investigate but it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations.

Dungeons & Dragons fans will have more options than ever to enjoy the Rage of Demons storyline. The themes of treachery and discord in the Underdark are in Sword Coast Legends, the new CRPG (computer role-playing game) coming this fall on PC from n-Space and Digital Extremes. The epic campaign that drives Sword Coast Legends' story forces players deep into the Underdark and continues well after launch with legendary adventurer Drizzt Do'Urden.

For fans of Neverwinter, the popular Dungeons & Dragons-based MMORPG will bring a new expansion – tentatively titled Neverwinter: Underdark – in 2015. The update will see adventurers travel with Drizzt to the drow city of Menzoberranzan during its demonic assault as well as experience a unique set of quests written by the creator of Drizzt, R.A. Salvatore. The expansion will initially be released on PC and will come out on the Xbox One at a later date.

Players of the tabletop roleplaying game can descend into the Underdark in Out of the Abyss, a new adventure which provides details on the demon lords rampaging through the Underdark. Partners such as WizKids, GaleForce 9 and Smiteworks will all support Rage of Demons with new products to help bring your tabletop game to life. To really get in the mind of Drizzt, fans will have to check out Archmage, the new novel by R.A. Salvatore, scheduled for release in early September.

“Rage of Demons is a huge storyline involving all expressions of Dungeons & Dragons, and we’re excited to bring players this story in concert with all of our partners,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director at Wizards of the Coast. “I can’t wait to see everyone interact with one of the world’s most recognizable fantasy characters: Drizzt Do’Urden. Descending into the depths won’t exactly be easy for him, and D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face-to-face with all the demon lords.”

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[delericho]

Except nobody bothered to actually read the description of the RPG itself...

Or they did, especially the bits where it says:

The renegade drow Drizzt Do’Urden is sent to investigate but it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations.

“Rage of Demons is a huge storyline involving all expressions of Dungeons & Dragons, and we’re excited to bring players this story in concert with all of our partners,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director at Wizards of the Coast. “I can’t wait to see everyone interact with one of the world’s most recognizable fantasy characters: Drizzt Do’Urden. Descending into the depths won’t exactly be easy for him, and D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face-to-face with all the demon lords.”

and proceeded to post 8 pages of complaints about it.

ENWorld has thousands of members. At time of writing, this thread has 110 posts in it. So, actually, what you have is a small subset of ENWorld members saying they don't like Drizzt, mostly once each. People are hardly "up in arms".

I'm not surprised they did put him front and center though.

Yeah, they put him front and centre to get a reaction. Well, they got one. But the thing about doing that is that the reaction isn't always going to be 100% positive.

 

[ronaldsf]

"it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations."

I agree with a commenter several pages ago that there is a possibility of facing Drizzt himself. (And get his swords!)

Also, if WotC is thinking bigger than the tabletop D&D game (which they have officially said they are), then they're thinking about a broader market of people who aren't burned-out over Drizzt. And people who play computer RPGs are less concerned about railroading.

 

[delericho]

"it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations."

I agree with a commenter several pages ago that there is a possibility of facing Drizzt himself. (And get his swords!)

Yep. And, actually, that could be quite a cool twist on the story - rather that being the quest-giver or the Mary Sue, if Drizzt turned out to be the BBEG (possibly while possessed).

Also, if WotC is thinking bigger than the tabletop D&D game (which they have officially said they are), then they're thinking about a broader market of people who aren't burned-out over Drizzt.

Agreed again. And rightly so, actually.

 

[JeffB]

This just keeps getting better and better


Edit- I'm calling it now, next AP Undead focused. Vecna and/or Acererak as the BBEG(s)

 

[Raunalyn]

I really didn't have a problem with the Icewind Dale trilogy...it was a fun read, and had some great moments in there. The Exiles prequels are where I started to have problems with Drizzt. And then, in the subsequent novels, his Gary-Stuedness (it's a real word...I just made it up!) became more and more apparent. It's not so much that I hate him...it's just a lot of fun to poke fun at him and remark on his invincibility.

So, having him involved in the adventure is a big negative in my mind. If he's just a quest-giver and does nothing to over-shadow the party, I can accept that. More than likely, though, I'll just end up stripping him out entirely and using the material in my own way.

 

[mflayermonk]

Any chance for a pajama set as well?

 

[Wicht]

ENWorld has thousands of members. At time of writing, this thread has 110 posts in it. So, actually, what you have is a small subset of ENWorld members saying they don't like Drizzt, mostly once each.

And some of us are ambivelent about Drizzt and merely think its a mistake to write adventures centered around icons.

 

[DMZ2112]

Has this ever been done before? Does Drizzt show up in any other published FR modules?

I agree with the assessment that he will be a lot more prominent in the digital games -- he's been a fixture in those since he gibbed all those ogres in Baldur's Gate.

This is probably (once again) not a purchase for me, but I look forward to the player PDF and will at the very least leaf through it to see if the setting treatment of the Underdark is expansive enough to be worth picking up.

 

[Remathilis]

I think people are still thinking in terms of the RPG being prominent. Is only one facet of the RoD story. Drizzt will do battle, but his part of the story will mostly be in the novel. I don't think he will appear accept as a small cameo in the module. The PCs will handle one part of the quest, Neverwinter players another, Drizzt (via the novel) a third and SCL played the fourth. All separate parts of an interconnected story.

When the ad text says "fight next to Drizzt" they probably don't mean it literally. Drizzt handles his part of the war, the PCs handle theirs. You're still on the same team, just different battlefields.

We'll see soon enough I suppose

 

[the Jester]

In any case, I think the whole hating on the character Drzzt has become a movement of its own. It's just not cool amongst D&D nerds to like Drzzt. One must mock and poopoo Drzzt at any opportunity lest one be thought of as less cool.

Or, you know, instead of being shallow twits, maybe Drizzt haters hate Drizzt not because they think it makes them cool, but because Drizzt is a perfect example of what they perceive of as the worst of D&D- the Mary Sue, never-gonna-die-cuz-DM-fiat, special-snowflake-Underdark-evilbadrace-good-guy, the uberNPC that dominates the game. Instead of having anything to do with "cool", Drizzt hate is, simply put... Drizzt hate.

Not to say that Drizzt lovers are in the wrong; it's a matter of personal taste. But claiming that Drizzt-haters are just trying to be cool is absolutely ridiculous.