You seem to be saying that Rangers got Dual Wielding without penalty because of how popular Drizzt Do Urden was and everyone wanted to enter battle with a scimitar in each hand. I am not sure that's true.
I would point out that The Crystal Shard was published in January 1988 while 2e was published in April 1989. So 2e was well under development when Crystal Shard[ came out. That's a really tight window.
I guess it would comedown to when Drizzt became a phenomenon. I can't find evidence that Crystal Shard even made NYT Best seller's list. I think it's equally likely Salvatore saw the new 2e material and incorporated it into the character. I think we have to ask the authors of the 2e PHB to find out where it came from.
I am presenting Cam’s argument and then adding more information as you did here. I state that Drizzt has dual wield because he is a Drow and all Drow have that ability in 1e.
Unearthed Arcana opened the door for dual wielding, which I think stems more from Nasir in the Robin of Sherwood series than Drizzt.
I agree with Cam that more players play Drizzt Rangers, but that the narrative influences on the rules pre-date Drizzt.
I feel like I heard an interview with RA Salvatore in the 00s or early 10s, maybe with Know Direction or the Tome Show, where he explicitly said that rangers started getting Dual Wielding because of Drizzt. It was years ago, though, so I can't really point you in a more accurate direction. But yeah, I think you've got it right there.
That's interesting. I remember a chat at GenCon where he was discussing 4th Edition D&D. He really like playing it and thought it was fun, but did not like it in general because of how difficult he found it to adapt to the Drizzt books. I found that to be an interesting insight into the process. I personally like 4e, as you will see later in this series, but I very much understand many of the critiques and this particular one is one I think about often.
You seem to be saying that Rangers got Dual Wielding without penalty because of how popular Drizzt Do Urden was and everyone wanted to enter battle with a scimitar in each hand. I am not sure that's true.
I would point out that The Crystal Shard was published in January 1988 while 2e was published in April 1989. So 2e was well under development when Crystal Shard[ came out. That's a really tight window.
I guess it would comedown to when Drizzt became a phenomenon. I can't find evidence that Crystal Shard even made NYT Best seller's list. I think it's equally likely Salvatore saw the new 2e material and incorporated it into the character. I think we have to ask the authors of the 2e PHB to find out where it came from.
I am presenting Cam’s argument and then adding more information as you did here. I state that Drizzt has dual wield because he is a Drow and all Drow have that ability in 1e.
Unearthed Arcana opened the door for dual wielding, which I think stems more from Nasir in the Robin of Sherwood series than Drizzt.
I agree with Cam that more players play Drizzt Rangers, but that the narrative influences on the rules pre-date Drizzt.
I feel like I heard an interview with RA Salvatore in the 00s or early 10s, maybe with Know Direction or the Tome Show, where he explicitly said that rangers started getting Dual Wielding because of Drizzt. It was years ago, though, so I can't really point you in a more accurate direction. But yeah, I think you've got it right there.
That's interesting. I remember a chat at GenCon where he was discussing 4th Edition D&D. He really like playing it and thought it was fun, but did not like it in general because of how difficult he found it to adapt to the Drizzt books. I found that to be an interesting insight into the process. I personally like 4e, as you will see later in this series, but I very much understand many of the critiques and this particular one is one I think about often.
Thanks. It was fun to revisit. I added some details and look forward to the AD&D version.