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 Why Doesnt Drizzt Cast Spells?
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archmagestar
Acolyte

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  02:10:04  Show Profile Send archmagestar a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Hello all. Can somebody out there please tell me why Drizzt has never cast a ranger spell? He is surley high enough level to cast many.

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silverwolfer
Senior Scribe

789 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  02:50:28  Show Profile Send silverwolfer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
His wisdom stat is to low, he doesn't even cast the usual drow spells due to how long he has been in the sunlight supposedly.
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  03:08:44  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by silverwolfer

His wisdom stat is to low, he doesn't even cast the usual drow spells due to how long he has been in the sunlight supposedly.



This and 99% of the time he doesn't act like a ranger at all.

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  03:51:02  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Actually, I do believe Drizzt did cast faerie fire several times in the original trilogy. Usually on opponents in combat, to make them a bit easier to see and to hit.

[/Ayrik]
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archmagestar
Acolyte

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  03:56:10  Show Profile Send archmagestar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I did not realize that wisdom affected your casting of ranger class spells.
Drizzt is always wandering the woods, tundra, mountains, wherever he may be I have always found him to refernce how much more at ease he feels when around nature. That is ideal representation of a Ranger yes?

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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  04:24:45  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Because he's a character from a novel would be my guess.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Diffan
Great Reader

USA
4425 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  08:29:34  Show Profile Send Diffan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

Because he's a character from a novel would be my guess.

-- George Krashos




Yep, pretty much this. As its said, they can write it anyway they want.
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1600 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  11:46:05  Show Profile Send Barastir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think there is another topic mentioning this, somewhere here in CK. In fact, Drizzt used to cast his drow spells (darkness, faerie fire and levitation) until he lost these powers, or most of them. I don't recall seeing him cast his ranger spells, though, probably because of Bob's writing style. As for him being a ranger, he is a quite nice one when he is in Icewind Dale, specially in The Crystal Shard but also in other books.

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."

The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood)
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The Red Walker
Great Reader

USA
3563 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  13:18:54  Show Profile Send The Red Walker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

Because he's a character from a novel would be my guess.

-- George Krashos




Bingo!

And with him picking up a new high level magic item or two every trilogy, who needs spells?

A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka

"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -

John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore

India
1591 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  14:42:57  Show Profile Send Thauranil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Actually he did once cast a admittedly botched summoning spell to summon Errtu in the Crystal Shard and even in Homeland a lot of people mentioned that he had a lot of magical potential. So I think the main reason is that he wants to stay true to the legacy of his father from whom he learnt how to truly master his blades.
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Firestorm
Senior Scribe

Canada
826 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  19:23:40  Show Profile Send Firestorm a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Mostly because some Ranger spells do not need to be portrayed as spells?
Just natural abilities which have been honed over time?

Drizzt is a ranger, but only a minor one compared to the rest of his abilities. Most of his levels would be in fighter or Rogue. He learned up as a ranger after the fact and did not get as deeply enmeshed in it as true rangers.

look at some of the low level Ranger spells. Camouflage(+10 hide in the wilds), Hunter's Mercy(chance for crit strike with arrows), Surefoot(Balance +10), Branch to brach (+ 10 to climb and movement in trees), Easy trail(tracking), one with the land (+2 on nature skill checks), Calm Animal, Detect animal or plant, Delay poison, speak with animals/Charm animal(he did it with the seal in Passage to dawn)

Most of the ranger "Spells" come across as natural
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silverwolfer
Senior Scribe

789 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  20:16:41  Show Profile Send silverwolfer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think instead of the term natural, you may want to use well in this case, "swift", which is more it takes no outer action or thought, and just happens, but only happens so much.
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  20:45:17  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Is Drizzt a "poser"? Does he just call himself a ranger because he thinks it sounds kewl?

"Oh, yeah . . . I'm also a ranger. See this nifty forest green cloak? That's a ranger cloak."

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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silverwolfer
Senior Scribe

789 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  20:55:03  Show Profile Send silverwolfer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
no silly he is a hipster, he was a good drow before it was cool
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  21:11:47  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
His wisdom stat is to low, he doesn't even cast the usual drow spells due to how long he has been in the sunlight supposedly.


Drizzt has a Wisdom 17, how is that low? That's high enough to cast 7th-level divine spells.

Perhaps Drizzt is a variant ranger that doesn't cast spells (see Unearthed Arcana). Of course, my source is 3.x not 4e so my info could be outdated.

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Dreamstalker
Acolyte

USA
47 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2013 :  23:28:16  Show Profile Send Dreamstalker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
One thing to keep in mind is that the primary inspiration for the D&D ranger class are the rangers of Middle Earth, specifically Aragorn. Which in turn is inspired by the English ranger tradition of frontier soldiers with different skill sets than the standard infantry. Beyond this inspiration, the ranger class is meant to encompass a variety of such similar concepts in history, myth and legend. Drizzt himself is one of the possible inspirations for how the class evolved being a rather early character in D&D history. Historically, rangers were soldiers assigned to a range of land so they tended to be skilled in all sort of survival techniques and were often given specialized martial training. Imagine groups such as the Texas Rangers, Colonial-era British troops specialized for the American frontiers, later era scout and infiltration military groups sent into to hard to live areas. The other historical and older usage of the word ranger basically meant wanderer or nomad.

So while Drizzt is a ranger, the minor magic using and general widely talented version of the ranger class from AD&D onward is not always the perfect fit. Just the closest thing to what RA Salvatore was creating.
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  00:03:42  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Maybe Drizzt just still holds a major grudge against the mage Masoj Hun'ett, who enslaved Guenhwyvar and tried to kill him in Menzoberranzan, so Drizzt avoids all magelike behaviors, altogether.

Intentionally delving into ranger divine spells would also entail exploring religion in more detail, and Drizzt has never been too keen on that. His reluctance to explore his faith any further is probably preventing him from learning, or at least from practicing, any divine spells that he might've picked up along the way.

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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Diffan
Great Reader

USA
4425 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  01:52:44  Show Profile Send Diffan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach

[quote]

Perhaps Drizzt is a variant ranger that doesn't cast spells (see Unearthed Arcana). Of course, my source is 3.x not 4e so my info could be outdated.



In v3.5 I'd make allow him a spell-less variant (Unearthed Arcana is a good choice). In 4E Rangers don't cast spells so by that measure, it wasn't a problem.
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archmagestar
Acolyte

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  02:32:04  Show Profile Send archmagestar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like Firestorm's idea of ranger spells not being cast in a normal manner of casting and that the just are. I also like the idea of Drizzt being more of a fighter and rouge then leveling up as a ranger. This seems to make the most sense to me, for Drizzt was trained as a fighter for many years. So it is quite possible that he can only cast the 0 level spells. Thanks for the feedback!

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archmagestar
Acolyte

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  02:33:16  Show Profile Send archmagestar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like Firestorm's idea of ranger spells not being cast in a normal manner of casting and that the just are. I also like the idea of Drizzt being more of a fighter and rouge then leveling up as a ranger. This seems to make the most sense to me, for Drizzt was trained as a fighter for many years. So it is quite possible that he can only cast the 0 level spells. Thanks for the feedback!

Forgotten Realms Junkie
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  03:27:00  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

Actually, I do believe Drizzt did cast faerie fire several times in the original trilogy. Usually on opponents in combat, to make them a bit easier to see and to hit.



How about non-innate drow magical ability spells?

Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin

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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  03:58:27  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
No, I can‘t recall Drizzt casting spells. I‘m inclined to agree with above posts which state
1) Drizzt‘s drow racial abilities may be inaccessible after enough time (a trilogy or soL outside the Underdark, and
2) Drizzt is a character in a novel, technically unconstrained by D&D game rules

Perhaps he does use ranger magic but the fiction describes these actions holistically rather than in spellcasting terms ... this seems in tune with a ranger‘s outlook.

[/Ayrik]
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  05:02:44  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Drizzt can still use lower-level innate drow magical abilities, such as faerie fire or globes of darkness.

But he lost levitation early on.

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1600 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  12:54:46  Show Profile Send Barastir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The first Drizzt books were written in 1e times, or just after 2e was released, and he has some 1e ranger abilities (like his hatred/bonus against "giant-class" creatures, which he used against many giants and other creatures, like ogres, trolls and even a barghest). I don't recall if 1e rangers had spellcasting abilities, though.

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."

The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood)
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Dreamstalker
Acolyte

USA
47 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2013 :  16:40:07  Show Profile Send Dreamstalker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
1e AD&D rangers had access to both druid and mage spells. They also had the strange hit die progression that started at 2d8 and went to 11d8. Fighters and Paladins went from 1d10 to 9d10 if I remember correctly.

The Crystal Shard was released in 1988, just a year before AD&D 2ed, but well after Unearthed Arcana introduced elvish rangers and drow as playable characters. At the time, Drizt's dual wielding was more of a drow thing than a ranger thing. The development of 2ed rangers being dual wielders seems to be an outgrowth of how dual wielding worked and a need to distinguish rangers from fighters and paladins. It was a nice synergy that a new famous ranger was showing the world dual wielding right before it became a standardized rule.
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MrHedgehog
Senior Scribe

688 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2013 :  08:18:38  Show Profile  Visit MrHedgehog's Homepage Send MrHedgehog a Private Message  Reply with Quote
He has a wisdom of 17 in Heroes Lorebook.

Perhaps Ranger spells are effects rather than explicitly magic. Perhaps you can use ranger magic only if you learn how regardless of your skill. (Maybe he doesn't "pray" for spells. Does he know he can like we do? He does not know himself as well as we can being omniscient and all...)

In third edition he has 5 ranger levels. On a chart I looked up online (rather than getting a book out of storage) it said 5th level rangers get 0 spells. The author may not reference his abilities when crafting a story. The realms in the novels are a real world with a working system not a set of game mechanics. We play the Dungeons and Dragons game...but the realms are a world like any other for the characters.

EDIT: In the 3e campaign setting Drizzy can cast "Detect animal or plant". He may use this power without it being said in the story. The author may not think he has this power but since he was given stats this was stuck in?

Edited by - MrHedgehog on 13 Sep 2013 08:21:43
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1600 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2013 :  12:35:31  Show Profile Send Barastir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
In 2e Heroes' Lorebook, Drizzt stats say:

"Priest spells (3/3/3): Drizzt is a follower of Mielikki. Spells
that he prefers or that he most often finds it necessary to carry
include:
1st) animal friendship, entangle, pass without trace;
2nd) charm person or mammal, speak with animals, warp wood;
3rd) hold animals, snare, spike growth."


In 1e Hall of Heroes he is a 10th level ranger, and I've seen no spells available.

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."

The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood)

Edited by - Barastir on 13 Sep 2013 12:36:33
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2013 :  14:23:46  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
damn, MrHedgehog, you beat me to it. I was about to say "yeah, he has SOME ranger, but doesn't he have fighter, maybe barbarian, maybe some prestige classes like whirling dervish, etc...."

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1600 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2013 :  18:37:51  Show Profile Send Barastir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Dreamstalker

1e AD&D rangers had access to both druid and mage spells.

I know it, my question was if a 10th level could already cast those spells.

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."

The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood)
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Askeladd
Acolyte

Sweden
3 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  23:02:48  Show Profile Send Askeladd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
He did use a few spells in the first books

Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature.
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