Drizzt Do’Urden in NEVERWINTER: Interview with R.A. Salvatore

There is no doubt among lovers of sword and sorcery that R.A. Salvatore’s stories of the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden is one of the greats of modern fantasy. With the possible exception of Dragonlance’s Raistlin Majere, there is no other character from the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse that has been more popular than this drow ranger. Although his first appearance was during the Icewind Dale Trilogy, I didn’t first start reading about his adventures till I came across The Homeland series, a three book prequel of the origins of Drizzt. Those books had a huge impact on me and on my friends and were a huge source of enjoyment and in a sense, encouragement. Growing up twenty years ago in the poorest parts of The Bronx, we related to the drow’s struggle  to break away from his harsh environment and dysfunctional family to find a place for himself in a new world. I was about 15 or 16 at the time and those stories helped push me out of my own harsh and dysfunctional situation.

R.A. Salvatore’s new book, Neverwinter (Book II of The Neverwinter series), has Drizzt starting anew in hostile lands, friendless. I don’t want to give too much away but I enjoyed this book very much. R.A. Salvatore has such a great hand with language that I lost track of the passage of time.

In this article, we interview R.A. Salvatore about his latest work, including his inspirations and his thoughts about seeing a live action version of his work.

NC: Without spoiling too much, what can fans of Drizzt Do’Urden expect from your new novel, Neverwinter (Book II of The Neverwinter Saga). What surprises are in store?

RAS: The book takes place at the end of Gauntlgrym, so the primary mission is spelled out pretty well. Thus, the new book is about revenge; Drizzt and Dahlia want to pay back a certain Thayan for the trouble and pain she’s caused them. On their way, though, they will discover that the politics and players in the region of Neverwinter are more complex than they had thought, and among those competing forces, they’ll find a few surprises.

NC: For those unfamiliar with the Neverwinter setting, how is this place different or more dangerous than where he traveled in his previous adventures?

RAS: Not so much just Neverwinter, but the world around Drizzt has changed dramatically. In the previous book, I nearly caught him up to the Forgotten Realms time-line, which had advanced 100 years. During that time, magic went awry (the Spellplague) and a shadow world intersected with the Forgotten Realms, marking the return of the powerful Netherese. In short, the Realms have become wilder, more dangerous and with new shadowy enemies all over the place.

In the region of Neverwinter, we’re seeing this over-arching event play out keenly, as the Thayans, the Netherese and just normal Realms’ folk battle it out for control, and all for different reasons.

NC: Are there any scenes in the book that were more difficult to write or that you enjoyed more? What are they?

RAS: There are – both ways – in any book I write, of course. In this one, the most difficult scene for me was in trying to make “prose sense” out of an anatomically correct Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition battle scene. I had the playing cards out for each player in the fight and tried to logically sort through the battle, while trying to make it sound like an actual, you know, fight! I think I got it right, but it left me sweating and exhausted, and swearing “never again.”

The most enjoyable scenes, as usual, came in the interplay between Drizzt and his companions, one in particular when he comes face to face with the guy.

NC: Where did the idea or inspiration of Dahlia Sin’felle come from?

RAS: Mostly as a surprise to me. I knew that I wanted to take the blank slate around Drizzt and fill it with new companions who maybe weren’t of similar moral values. So I wanted him to meet a woman who would intrigue him, would be alluring to him and would, perhaps, not be very good for him. We’ve all [had] that friend who fell in with the wrong crowd, right? Or a family member who started a relationship we knew wouldn’t be good for her. So the question becomes: will Drizzt lift Dahlia, or will she drag him down. Or maybe something in the middle. I don’t know the answer, and that’s what makes it fun for me.

Regarding Dahlia specifically, I knew her general weal, but as I started writing her in the last book, her history came flooding through and it was much harsher and powerful than I had expected. So that’s a good thing!

NC: Roger Ebert once said “Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph.” I believe this can be applied to novels as well. What can you tell us about the villains that face the drow in Neverwinter?

RAS: Like any good villains, I try to keep mine more than two-dimensional. I spend as much time in the heads of my antagonists as in the heads of the protagonists, and I always go along with the understanding that people don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I think I’ll be evil today.” In this book, as in the others, I try to keep in mind the reasons a bad guy acts the way he does, not just focusing on what he does, but really coming around to why he might do it.

Sometimes, of course, they’re just monsters. Demons and dragons and such carry motivations that can be second simply to what they are. But more often, there’s a scar or an ulterior plan driving my antagonists. Same is true here, and true, as well, for those “friends” riding beside Drizzt.

NC: Why do you think Drizzt Do’Urden has endured in popularity through two decades? What elements of his character and his story do you feel make him timeless?

RAS: From the beginning, I went into the Drizzt character with the understanding that the hero isn’t the guy with the biggest gun, he’s the guy with the biggest heart, the biggest sense of right and wrong, and who has the courage to do what’s right even when, especially when, it’s tough to do so. The popularity of Drizzt, then, might be a testament to the notion that people salute and cheer those who just do what’s right.

I was watching a baseball highlight where a kid caught a foul ball, right next to a younger kid who tried, but failed. As the youngster who caught the ball ran off to celebrate with his friend, that younger kid started crying. So the kid who caught the ball walked back down and gave the ball to the smaller kid.

Well done!

That’s Drizzt.

Throw in the fact that he’s misunderstood because of his heritage, that he’s the classic romantic hero outcast, and I guess it works. I didn’t plan it that way. All I knew of him, and the other heroes in my books is that they would give the ball to the younger kid. If Drizzt found a wallet full of cash on the sidewalk, he’d return it to the owner. He’d do what’s right. Period.

NC: Although you have written the adventures of Drizzt for over 20 years, some of your other characters have departed. In the last novel, one of your oldest characters sacrificed himself for the greater good. Is it difficult letting go of characters after writing them for so long?

RAS: Well, yeah, it hurts like hell. As tough as it might be for some readers, it’s a hundred times tougher for the author. These characters are like old friends by now, and saying goodbye is never easy. If you read the forward to The Ghost King, the book before Guantlgrym, you’ll see what I had to do to myself to get in the right frame of mind to write this transition. I wasn’t lying when I wrote that forward.

Hurts like hell.

NC: We’ve seen your books translated to graphic novels with success. With the works of George R.R. Martin and Terry Pratchett finding an audience in television, do you think we’ll see a televised series based on Drizzt Do’Urden? Does your work being translated to television sound like a good idea to you? What actors would you choose for the roles?

RAS: I do expect that we’ll see something – TV or movies – around the Drizzt character. He’s been so popular for so long that the interest has only climbed in recent years. Sometimes I’m shocked when I hear that this or that celebrity is a big Drizzt fan – like when Curt Schilling called me up and told me I was his favorite author and asked me to come and create a world for his video game. This happens with Hollywood folk, as well. After nearly a quarter of a century, I guess many of my readers have grown up and moved into positions where they can get something like a movie done.

So we’ll see. I only hope they do it soon and ask me to be very involved!

NC: A fun question I have always wondered about: Do other players feel intimidated when you play D&D or Dungeonmaster with them? What race and class do you usually pick?

RAS: I rarely play outside my own group – which includes two of my sons, a couple of nephews and dear friends of many years. So they certainly aren’t intimidated by me; they know better.

The first time I tried to play a game at a convention, people got frustrated with me, although they remained polite. A bunch of folks were heading out of the convention and wanted me to sign their books before they left, so they kept interrupting the game. That’s one of the reasons I don’t play outside my own group; it just wasn’t fair to those other players. When I play in charity games, or some other special circumstances, I try to lay back and let the others dominate the game, so they’re probably more disappointed that I’m not some super-gamer than they’re intimidated.

When I play, I usually DM, but when I’m a PC, it’s usually a human monk.

*****

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