Questions about various D&D related characters

Remove all ads!

Just be wondering about the backgrounds of various notable Forgotten Realms characters.

Right - I know that Drizz't is a Drow Ranger and Wulfgar is a Human Barbarian.

But what sort of Dwarf is Bruenor Battlehammer? A Gold Dwarf, a Shield Dwarf, or something else? I assume he would be a Fighter.

What sort of Halfling is Regis? Is he a Thief?

Would Cattie-Brie be a Human Fighter?

Whatever they are, as a gaming party they are severly lacking in spell-power - no arcane or divine spellcasters at all. Maybe Cattie-Brie should multi-class to Conjurer or something.

 

I thought Regis was a cleric. And Drizzt actually has all sorts of differant classes, though not as bad as Elminster. Couldn't say about the others.

 

Regis is mostly pretty useless, as far as I can tell. Especially if he loses his 'ruby pendant'. As a thief, he never seems to do any awesoem backstab damage or disarm any perilous traps.

 

I would definately say Regis would be a thief, and not a Cleric. Drizzt does have some spell ability, he can form purple fire around people (non-damaging) and a globe of darkness.

 

Isn't that 'Faerie Fire' just a standard Drow ability (not really spellcasting)?

Maybe Regis' skills are all stacked in Pickpocket.

 

Drizzt isn't a 'pure' ranger. He started off as a fighter, even gained a few levels in Barbarian then became a ranger.

Regis is a rouge, albeit a low level one with skills stacked in 'use magic device', bluff, persuasion, pickpocket and crafting scrimshaw (dunno if its a skill but whatever skill incorporates this).

Bruenor is a Shield Dwarf because Dold Dwarves are from way further south. I think he is pure Fighter.

Wulfgar is a Barbarian with a few levels in fighter.

I think Cattie-Brie is a pure fighter, she might have levels in rogue though.

As for the lack of spellcasters, if you were to make a party you would probably throw in Harkel Harpell. They would have to do without a divine spellcaster, unless you decided to include Cadderly but he would be way overpowered compared to the other members (being a 'Chosen of <deity>').

 

And Wulfgar's stats would be stacked in favour of Strength and Constitution? Maybe his fighter levels come from his training with Bruenor and Drizzt.

What is the difference between a Gold Dwarf and a Shield Dwarf anyway?

That Regis is a complete passenger. He should train as a Bard so he can at least sing a few inspirational songs.

 

Their official stats can be found in various books.

Drizzt is a fighter/ranger/barbarian.

Bruenor is a fighter.

Catti-Brie is a fighter.

Wulfgar is pure barbarian.

Regis I don't know, probably expert/rogue, since he mostly just works behind the scenes.

 

Well HB, that's what the characters SHOULD do if they were powergaming but these are book characters so they just do what they do

Gold Dwarves and Shield Dwarves are very similar yet Gold Dwarves are more inclined to stay away from the 'human lands' and they have a habit of battling the denizens of the underdark since rather than exploring the surface world they delve deeper into the earth.

 

I seem to remember Drizzt being just a ranger / fighter. With a serious fighter emphasis. It's all hard to say though, since they are "real" characters with hard to define characteristics.

Wulfgar manages to equal the strength of a demon, that Errtu thing whatever. That would be impossibe for someone with mere 18 or even 19 strength (which, as per 2:nd edition, is impossible for a human, and at the time the book was made, it was 2:nd edition that was used IIRC).

Drizzt on the other hand has made numerous impossible achievements in his "hunter mode", the latest which was in The Thousand Orcs trilogy part 2. Without spoiling too much, resisting the effects of a neural toxin (can't be sure of its precise nature of course) simply because of pure rage and instinct, is hardly possible. Otherwise any of the Underdark beasts the drow hunt would be immune thanks to their naturally instinctive, agressive nature.

But it's like I said with Shandril a while back, you can't get the characters from the books and put them under the same rules and stats as you do normal game characters. You can try, but you'll never succeed. There's always the odd one with some superhuman ability there, some incredible luck there, etc.

Drizzt's fighter levels were around 10, I think. His total levels of fighters and ranger combined were not much higher. He's known to be one of the best fighters Faerún. Yet, any more powerful playerparty will boast fighters of levels 18-24. Just one of these could take 2 or 3 Drizzt's on at the same time, as per the rules. Yet they wouldn't be any more powerful or dexterous. Just that much more skilled. But would that seem realistic according to F&R lore? Considering Salvatore's description's of Drizzt's fighting, you'd have to reach superhuman speed and ability to defeat Drizzt, let alone easily. He is, afterall, pretty much the peak of what a mortal can be without magical aid.

Poor example perhaps. Still, the stats of these characters are amusement as best, IMO. They should hardly be taken seriously.

[ September 13, 2004, 10:44: Message edited by: Foradasthar ]

 

Actually Wulfgar would be able to equal the strength of a demon... remember that he's a barbarian? What does barbarian rage do? Increases your strength BY a set number, not TO a set number. And we assume Wulfgar has 18/50+ strength so rage would put him at least 20 by 2nd edition yet in 3rd edition he probably has spent his ability points on strength putting him at 22 or higher without rage.

I think Drizzt's 'hunter mode' is accomidated by his level in barbarian but you are right about having more levels in fighter. He was after all trained in Menzoberanzan (or however you spell it) in a fighter guild for a long time. He didn't become a ranger till he started living in the grove.

 

Good point with the Barbarian Rage. I'd forgotten about that. It'd still make reaching demonic strength dubious but at least it is, in a way, possible.

 

I'm pretty sure Drizzt's levels are 10 Fighter/1 Barbarian/5 Ranger.

The 10 fighter levels come from his training in Menzoberranzan.

The 1 Barbarian level from his time living alone in the underdark.

The 5 Ranger levels from Montolio and all his adventures that follow.

 

I agree with Foradasthar, it's definitely nearly impossible to mold the characters to D&D terms. Especialy since D&D really isnt one of the most realistical systems around.

Lemme put out another thingy, now. When in training, Drizzt also spent half a year in Sorcerere. It says there explicitly that he mastered cantrips and a few lower level spells. Now this calls for a wizard class does it not?
He loses these powers later on, but he certainly knew how to cast them back then.
Faerie fire, levitation and globes of darkness are drow nobility innate abilities, but learning spells in Sorcerere is certainly a wizarding profession. There's no mention of it in any stats of his.

There's the other version around as well i belive, featuring him as a pure ranger of 16nth level. Might be 2ed, i'm not sure if this has anything to do with it. Multiclassing rules might've complicated things so making it simpler with a pure ranger in 2ed?
Anyone knows?

 

Surely you jest! This is the most serious thing there is! Just imagine the consequences if Drizz't only had 9 levels of Fighter.....it could be disastrous. He might have less feats and that could mean the difference between life and death when fighting Entreri. And there's nothing more serious than life and death.

 

even if its fictional?