First announced in 2019, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is an action-RPG currently in development at Tuque Games. The game will be set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the legendary tabletop RPG, and is being published by Wizards of the Coast. There will be four characters for players to choose from in Dark Alliance, but the most famous among them is Drizzt Do’Urden.
Drizzt first appeared as a supporting character in R.A. Salvatore’s Icewind Dale trilogy of novels, before going on to star in his own series. To date Drizzt has taken the leading role in 36 novels, as well as over a dozen short stories. As one of the most well-known and beloved characters in the Forgotten Realms lore, Tuque Games will have to be very careful with bringing Drizzt into Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. As we’re discussing such a storied character, beware of spoilers ahead.
Drizzt Do’Urden is a character defined by the rejection of his heritage. He is a Drow, a race of subterranean elves who dwell in the Underdark, miles below the surface world. Drow in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting are ashen-skinned, white-haired, and utterly ruthless. As worshippers of the evil spider-goddess Lolth, they have a strict matriarchal society with a focus on slavery, cruelty, and ambition.
Despite being born into a noble house, Drizzt spent his childhood as a pawn in the plots of his mother and sisters, with little agency of his own. The small amount OF freedom he did gain came from his father, Zaknafein, the weapons’ master of the Do’Urden household. From an early age Drizzt showed an incredible talent for the Drow dual-scimitar style of sword-fighting. So much so that Zaknafein was able to convince Drizzt’s mother, Matron Malice Do’Urden, to allow the young Drow to attend a school for fighters, rather than go to the wizard’s school as she had originally planned.
Throughout the rest of his life, both in the Underdark and after his exile to the surface, Drizzt continued to hone his natural talent for combat. He mastered many weapons, but remained at his most deadly when dual-wielding swords. At the same time, he learned to embrace his own morality, and rejected the cutthroat outlook and hateful resentment of his fellow Drow. In the end, what makes Drizzt a great character is his independence, his compassion, and his ability to overcome the prejudices of his people.
When it comes to doing Drizzt justice in Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, there are two major pitfalls that the developers will have to look out for. Neither is easy to avoid, and could well turn long-term fans against the game. The first is simply that Drizzt is a beloved literary character, who has never been fully-realized in other media. Many fans will have their own ideas of how the unusual Drow should speak and act.
Managing to do justice to a popular character, particularly one with decades of characterization to call on, is never easy. Many adaptations, both in movies and games, have drawn criticism for their failure to respect a character’s history and growth.
The other pitfall when it comes to doing Drizzt justice involves the gameplay of Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance. From everything released by Tuque Games so far, it’s clear that Dark Alliance is going to focus on party-based action with four unique characters. While it’s clearly a well-loved subgenre, this choice does give Drizzt a particular problem.
The four characters in Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance will be Drizzt and three of his closest companions in the books: Cattie-Brie, Bruenor Battlehammer, and Wulfgar the barbarian. The problem here is that for the gameplay to feel balanced and fair, the four characters need to be fairly equal in power. While Cattie-Brie, Bruenor, and Wulfgar are all formidable warriors in their own right, none of them are equal to Drizzt’s skill in the books.
In the past, critics have referred to Drizzt as a Mary-Sue, the term for an overpowered character in books and movies. Even taken early on in the books, following his departure from the Underdark, Drizzt is an extraordinarily gifted fighter. As R.A. Salvatore’s stories progress, he only gains in power, with his summon-able panther Guenhwyvar, his enchanted scimitars Twinkle and Icingdeath, and a host of other magical tricks and trinkets.
It will be up to Tuque Games to find a good balance for Drizzt in Dark Alliance, both as a character and as a fighter. Fans of R.A. Salvatore’s books are already waiting anxiously to see if the studio can do the lone drow justice, but perhaps the bigger challenge will be to do it without over-shadowing his three companions.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance releases in 2021 for PC and consoles.
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