#read: menzoberranzan city of intrigue

[baldursyourgate]

Creating your own drow house — a guide from Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue — DnD 4th Ed.

[meldingintheunderdark]

The Drow twins and Halsin

Notwithstanding Halsin's peculiar predisposition with drow, yet another interesting topic about the man tbh, the foursome is honestly quite sad.

First things first, solo romanced Halsin ends up as a mute bear. There is none of the daring flirt present with Astarion and Shadowheart. Absolutely tragic. While I understand dirty talking to an ever changing PC would have been a logistical nightmare for Larian, the scene feels rather stale. But it's nothing compared with Halsin's behavior before, during and after the "Underdark experience".

Halsin: An intriguing pair. Takes me back to my youth... Sszazar: Interested, Halsin? Halsin: More than interested, if you feel the same. [...] Sszazar: I would like to hire both of you. And I hope my partner will join us as well. Halsin: So long as all are willing, I see no reason why we should deny ourselves...

Whilst I've read comments arguing Halsin is not enthusiastic at all or cocky and happy to show off, I disagree with the lack of nuance.

Clearly, during the initial talk to hire or not the twins, the bear is down to have fun with them and, from my pov, the fact they are drow is the driving force motivating his choice. He craves drow as much as he despises them (Lolth-sworn).

Sorn Orlith: I can't quite believe it - a night of passion with the famous Halsin? I might faint before I can expend myself. Nym Orlith: Legends spread of you throughout the city... We heard tell that you can change into a bear. Halsin: I hadn't realised I was that popular. But we must give the people what they want, mustn't we?

It's interesting to note the first allusion to his traumas happens during said talk. Furthermore, as soon as they're in complete darkness, Sorn immediately admits they know who he is. The twins explain that Menzoberranzan drow (they seem to hint they fled this city) aren't merely spreading rumors about Halsin but legends. In other words, his traumatic years are widely distributed folktales, retold over and over again. We know that legends are altered over time, thus I wonder if details are embellished. Since Nym mentions his wildshape the instant Sorn is quiet, I do believe his traumas are now a bunch of raunchy, bawdy tales Menzoberranzan drow like to share when they're feeling naughty.

Of course, some stories may come from his other visits. Unfortunately, the canon doesn't give sufficient info to differentiate their content, let alone their sources.

So, Halsin is already thinking about his captors, moreover he is physically vulnerable because they're all blind and butt naked, then he is hit with this information.

Halsin: I hadn't realised I was that popular.

This sentence alone is worth analyzing.

Halsin is already aware he is popular amongst drow (and everyone else with good taste in men). This is probably related to one of his statements during his love confession :

Halsin: And I've been to the Underdark. Many times.

He returned to the Underdark despite his traumas (or rather because of them), therefore he has surely been exposed to his fame. Some of it, at least, because the emphasis "[...] that popular" implies he doesn't know how famous he actually is. He is now exposed to the glaring fact that he is (and his traumas as well) fetishized to a certain extent by Menzoberranzan drow.

Halsin: [...] But we must give the people what they want, mustn't we?

English isn't my first language, so my interpretation may be erroneous. Nevertheless, the use of "we" instead of "I" intrigues me. In my opinion, the pronoun is very significant. Why does Halsin switch from "I" to "we" the very next sentence? Because he is diluting the first person with the pronoun "we". He's distancing himself.

"But I must give the people what they want, mustn't I?" sounds harsher. He must do it. It's an obligation. He's compelled to do so. The pronoun "we" helps him feel safer. He's trying to have control in the given situation. People write novels about Astarion dissociating, rightfully so, yet I believe that "I" vs "we" is a form of dissociation too. He sees the twins. He thinks about his captors. He is sexually attracted to the twins. He was and still is trauma-bound to his captors. He learns his traumas are saucy tales in total obscurity, naked.

But it isn't the icing on the cake yet.

If we rewind to the very beginning, who are Sorn and Nym? They're prostitutes. They are paid 1000 gold to service their clients. And yet...

Sorn Orlith: Will tonight at last be the night I die during an act of pleasure? [...] Nym Orlith: Doesn't it...? How does it even fit? [...] *The drow are filled with awe at your and Halsin's habits throughout the night, time and time again.*

In the end, Halsin is servicing them, like he did with his captors. He shifts to a bear because they want it. Their overeager reactions and the narrator line may indicate they are thrilled to get the famed bear and have him at their entire disposal. He is a legend. Do they truly ackowledge him as a common, but thick af, wood elf? Or do they solely see the mysterious hero of some spicy tales? I particularly dislike the scene because it seems Halsin and, in my case, Sszazar are observed rather than pleased by the twins. I suspect that for Sorn and Nym Halsin is an exotic toy and not a normal client.

Also, he only shifts back to his hunk self when the twins are out of the picture. In the closing shot of them all napping, he's still a bear. I assume he spent the whole night as a bear. Is it merely to become the best pillow available? I bet his wildshape make him feel safer.

Halsin: Indeed. Our time with them was... certainly bracing. Takes me back to some youthful misadventures in the Underdark.

Last but not least, the option to ask Halsin about his "misadventures" in the Underdark is available thanks to this encounter. Technically, Halsin can reveal his traumas without ever leaving the Underdark room at Sharess' Caress. His years of suffering are at the forefront of his thoughts and he opens up about them the moment he's asked by the one person who reciprocates care.

To conclude, I think Halsin did not have a grand time during the foursome, even if he appears eager at first. I don't believe the night was downright traumatizing, however it did reopen old festering wounds. His decisions are heavily influenced by his unhealed, unaddressed traumas.

It does bother me to read countless lame takes about Astarion vs Halsin, as if one deserves more care and attention than the other. They're both terribly traumatized. Because Halsin reacts differently to his traumas, because he is not the perfect, ideal victim, too many fans disregard his pain. The way I see it, the foursome is full of hints about his traumas. He's not dumping everything out of nowhere when morning comes. His pain was here all along. It's a fascinating encounter.

[lunastrophe]

I just got my hands on The Drow of the Underdark by Ed Greenwood. It is literally the best book I have read about the Drow. I was just wondering if you've ever read it or could point out any other good source books

Hello! Drow of the Underdark for 2e is a great start - there is also another book with the same title for 3.5e (A. Marmell, A. Pryor, R. J. Schwalb and G. A. Vaughan, Drow of the Underdark, 2007), although it is good to remember that drow lore from various editions can be different in some places.

As for other game accessories with drow lore, in Demihuman Deities for 2e (E. L. Boyd, 1998) there is a lot about drow pantheon. For Underdark in general, there is Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark for 2e (E. L. Boyd, 1999) and Underdark sourcebooks for 3e and 4e.

For Menzoberranzan, there is 4e sourcebook, Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (B. R. James, E. Menge, 2012) and older Menzoberranzan for 2e, a part of boxed set (E. Greenwood, R. A. Salvatore, M. Leger, D. Niles, 1992).

Some general drow lore was also included in The Complete Book of Elves (C. McComb, 1993) for 2e.

In such game accessories, there is mostly "raw" lore - but a tremendous amount of lore-connected information can be also extracted from D&D novels, like The Legend of Drizzt series, or Starlight and Shadows trilogy, for example. They are good choice if you want to explore drow lore, but find typical D&D sourcebooks too boring 😉

[unreadpoppy]

Party Banter #2

Read on AO3

Part 1 here

Series summary: A bunch of short scenarios involving Minthara and Galatea, based on some of the party's in-game banter.

A/N: Pretend that Lae’zel’s combat romance scene happens in act 3 ok.

Warning: the beggining of this chapter is very steamy.

It was late at night, when Galatea sneaked off into her lover’s tent, making sure not to make much noise. Slowly getting in, she smiled, seeing that Minthara was already naked. While the rest of their companions had all gone to sleep, Minthara and Galatea’s activities were just beginning. 

After all, tonight was the night that Minthara would finally debut her most recent acquisition. 

She had first seen it when the group visited Sharess Caress. While the brothel itself paled in comparison to the ones at Menzoberranzan, the drow was intrigued by one obscured area of the establishment, hidden behind a curtain. Minthara momentarily left the group, and taking one peak behind inside, she soon found out what it was: a small shop, full of sexual objects on display. 

As the vendor happily showed her their items, Minthara found one in particular to be of great interest. The object itself was made of a material she couldn't recognize but it was shaped like a cock, with its tip slightly tilted to the side. It was connected to a bunch of leather straps, of which the vendor was happy to show Minthara how to put it on. 

When she reunited with the group, smirking, Galatea was quick to ask where she had gone off. Minthara’s reply was a simple “you’ll find out soon.”

And now, as the drow relentlessly pounded into her, Galatea grabbed the back of her neck, bringing her close, whispering “This is the best money you have ever spent” before kissing Minthara. 

After they both finished, Minthara slowly dragged the phallic object out of her lover and laid next to her. The two were tired, staying on the ground as they regained their breath, when Galatea heard something.

She sat up, looking around. 

“What’s wrong?” Minthara asked, frowning. 

“I’m hearing a commotion outside” She stood up, taking a peak behind the tent’s opening. “Oh gods…” she whispered, turning her head towards Minthara. “You should see this.”

The drow stood up, a brow raised as she looked in the same direction as Galatea. Soon, Minthara was smirking.

“It seems we aren’t the only ones having fun tonight.” 

…

Minthara, Lae’zel and Galatea had gone out to the city, to buy supplies for the oncoming fights. Usually, Shadowheart would have come along, as she was one of the few healers of the group but she woke up…undisposed. Tired, as she claimed, from a restless night. 

The tiefling approached the gith, a mischievous look on her face. “So, Lae’zel…it seems you and Shadowheart have finally gotten over your little disagreements.” 

The fighter took a deep breath. “That is none of your business.” 

“Oh please, the tadpole connect us all. Hard to keep secrets.” Galatea said. “Just admit it, you found love too.” 

Lae’zel shot her a murderous look, but before she could say anything, Minthara stepped in between them. 

“Speaking of which'' she began “a few pointers, Lae’zel. I heard you and your lover locked in combat, but the test you set was not rigorous enough.” 

The gith huffed. “As if you could come up with something better.” 

Minthara only smirked. “Oh yes. A personal suggestion, if you will.” The drow briefly looked at Galatea before turning to Lae’zel again. “Next time, tie them to the ground, and do not release them until you are both satisfied.” 

“Hm…you have given me ideas.” Lae’zel replied, smirking. She then chuckled as a very red faced Galatea picked up her pace, walking ahead, with Minthara sprinting after her. 

[novarex]

Pinned Stuff

Hello! If you are here, you are probably interested in Baldur's Gate, D&D, the Forgotten Realms, The Legend Of Drizzt, and ANYTHING DROW. Please enjoy.

MY FICS:

KINKTOBER 2024 - Welcome to my BG3 Kinktober 2024 AO3 link! We are going to have lots of fun. Read the tags. 18+ NSFW (duh)

A Personal Blessing - Nere/Tav 18+ NSFW smut/romance/slowish burn fic. Tav is an Eilistraee worshiping drow, and can't get Nere out of her head. She convinced him to leave the Absolute, but where will he go now? Tav is determined to rescue this sad, lost drow man with her vagina.

Unworthy - Kar'Niss/Tav 18+ NSFW Dead Dove fic. Please read the tags. This is not a romance story. Tav stumbles upon a weeping Kar'niss in his nest at Moonrise. She discovers the source of his distress, and through the tadpole she gets a glimpse of his past. Kar'Niss has suffered greatly at the hands of Elnira, his Matron Mother's wicked eldest daughter. Rated Dead Dove for damn good reasons.

Punished - Shadowheart, Viconia DiVir, others - 18+ Dead Dove fic. Shadowheart and two others, a female high-elf and a male drow are caught masturbating - Mother Superior Viconia DeVir administers the appropriate punishment. The Cloister of Somber Embrace has Strick rules against self pleasure, and a clear outline for the punishment. The is pure porn. And I mean... the plot is a wet tissue here. Dead Dove. Please read tags. Really isn't that bad, no body horror or blood.

Balancing the Scales - f!humanDurge/Gortash NSFW Dead Dove Fic - Who wants some absolutely unhinged, vile, filthy, degrading Durgetash smut? Earlier in Gortash and Nyxana's plans, back when Enver was purchasing all the infernal iron he could get his hands on, Nyxana slipped up and murdered their most valuable suppliers. Frustrated with his otherwise brilliant partner's slipup, he teaches her a lesson she will not soon forget. AKA they have some kind of fucked up BDSM humiliation/punishment kink agreement they can use on each other if they mess up. Gortash takes full advantage of this with Nyxana. dom!Gortash in this one, although it's implied that it goes both ways.

Caught In Her Web - Malice/Zaknafein/Rizzen NSFW Dead Dove Fic - Do you like pathetic, crying, suffering drow men? Perhaps with a side of evil femdom drow lady? Well, step right up to Novarex's Crying Jaluk Show. In this tent we get off on torturing sad elves and making them cum. Chapter 1 - Malice calls Zaknafein to her bed, whereupon he arrives and is sucked into her wicked games of punishment and pleasure, of which Rizzen has been subjected to for days already. Bound and in torment, Rizzen is made to watch as Malice has her way with Zak. Chapter 2 - A few days after then events of chapter 1, Zaknafein corners Rizzen in the public baths and make it up to the sulking patron in the only way he knows how.

Discord -

Are you here for all the drow stuff? Obsessed with BG3 drow, especially Nere? How about the Drizzt books? Well, come on down to Dungeons & Drow - Novarex's Drow SIMPosium - its the discord server where you can be free to be an unhinged weirdo about drow with zero judgement.

Other Posts of Note -

Links to digital copies of FR/D&D books with information on drow

List of Menzoberranzan Houses and rankings in the last couple hundred years

List of ADDITIONAL drow houses and names in Menzoberranzan, both noble and non noble

Drow language translator - I don't know how accurate this site is, but I use it anyway.

[artemis-entreri]

[[ This post contains the Introduction section of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Glacier’s Edge, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Way of the Drow: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #38 (#35 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (August 09, 2022)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Glacier’s Edge and used above is originally done by David Palumbo. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

As of this point, I am still finishing this document. I will be posting the subsequent sections. The table of contents will be updated when it is complete.

Contents:

Introduction (you are here)

I. Positives I.1 Sublime Similes and Marvelous Metaphors I.2 Other Effective Imagery I.3 Consistent Lore and Decent Worldbuilding I.4 Respectable and Respectful Characterization

II. Neutrals

III. Negatives (Technical Writing)

IV. Negatives (Characterization)

V. World Breaks

VI. Religious Commentary

VII. Ego Stroking

VIII. Problematic Themes

IX. What’s Next

Introduction

Glacier’s Edge is the second book in a series that is intended to rewrite drow history, both for this series, and within D&D and the Forgotten Realms setting and novels. This process began in Relentless, the final book of the preceding trilogy, the events of which were further hammered into place in Starlight Enclave, the book immediately preceding this one.

In Glacier’s Edge, the cliffhanger left at the end of Starlight Enclave is resolved, with Jarlaxle freeing himself from icy entrapment and finding his way back to Callidae. Instead of the reinforcements he’d hoped to find to assist in freeing his friends, Jarlaxle is met with a stubborn refusal of aid, to the extent that he accepts having his memories erased so that he can leave the city. Once more back in the arctic northlands, Jarlaxle contacts Kimmuriel, who brings him back to the Sword Coast, reuniting him with Azzudonna, who had been staying at the Ivy Mansion after Gwenhwyvar pulled her through the planes to deposit her at Catti-brie’s home. The various friends and associates of the missing party had been attempting to find out from Azzudonna what befell them, to no avail. The mystery is eventually solved by Jarlaxle going to the hivemind with Kimmuriel and having his memories restored. Jarlaxle assembles a hand-picked team that returns to the icy cavern where their friends are entrapped, bringing together Pikel Bouldershoulder, Gromph Baenre, Kimmuriel Oblodra, Ilnezhara, Tazmikella, Grandmaster Kane, and of course, the Companions of the Hall. They do battle against the slaad god Ygorl and the legions of icy undead creatures under his control, ultimately triumphing in rescuing all the entrapped people and bringing Drizzt to Callidae for the ultimate validation of one of the greatest Mary Sues to have ever existed in literature.

Glacier’s Edge also shows the unfurling of the civil war that had been brewing for two years following the events of Relentless. Quenthel and Yvonnel Baenre lead a faction seeking freedom from Lolth’s clutches against the rest of the city. They have a chance in the struggle due to the Baenre house being bolstered by the thousand Blaspheme, which is the name given to the former driders. However, the more things change, the more they stay the same, as even after enduring decades, centuries, or millenia of torture, some Blaspheme choose to return to the embrace of Lolth. As the Baenre wage war against tradition and the Spider Queen, the drow of Menzoberranzan reexamine themselves and everything they’ve ever known, all the while engaging in deception, intrigue, betrayal, and other practices most familiar.

When I set out to rate Glacier’s Edge, I thought that it might warrant a higher rating than its predecessor. Much of what led me to give Starlight Enclave the low rating that I assigned it was the horrible worldbuilding and what I feel to be the disaster clusterfuck that is Callidae. Although Glacier’s Edge builds upon what was established in Starlight Enclave, it is mostly set outside of Callidae, meaning that if evaluated on its own, Glacier’s Edge should receive the merit of not containing the god-awful worldbuilding. Unfortunately, Glacier’s Edge finds both old and new ways to fail. The comparatively small portion of time that we spend in Callidae or with the Callidaens does not make either more endearing. Salvatore seems so utterly convinced about the perfection of his newest toys that he’s utterly oblivious to immensely glaring issues with what shows of Callidae and its people. The Callidaens’ behaviors, beliefs and practices are the same as those of egomanical, xenophobic and borderline narcissists, but because it’s Callidae none of those characteristics could possibly be the case (wink wink). It's more than that the city apparently has the same plot armor enshrouding Drizzt, as Salvatore further twists the characters that we’ve known into things that we no longer recognize, all for the sake of boosting Callidae. As such, if anything, the influence of Callidae is greater and worse in Glacier’s Edge than in Starlight Enclave, which is impressive in a sick sort of way given that less than one third of the book takes place in or around Callidae.

A lot of the negative aspects of Salvatore’s writing that had improved in the recent books return in full force. The objectification of female characters is back, made even more disgusting by having male characters put in the same scenarios while having them treated wholly differently, which is to say with respect and consideration. The sexualization of sapphic interactions is back, made more unsettling by not only employing it in a rape scenario, but also positioned in such a way that neckbeards can say that it’s used to contrast against a (positive) heterosexual sex scene that takes place right before the sapphic sex scene. The over-the-top NO HOMO message about Jarlaxle’s canonical pansexuality and profuse explanation in each situation that involves something vaguely resembling intimacy between him and another male character. And of course, double standards all over the place, to say nothing about the profound amount of lore erasure and ridiculous warping of D&D mechanics and history. It would not be a Salvatore book without some, “boo hoo woe is me I don’t deserve to be the whipping boy of fantasy” crying by the author and truly pitifully transparent likening of his critics to the gnolls that Drizzt brutally and indiscriminately massacres (apparently he didn't get the memo that like the drow, gnolls aren't all inherently evil). Oh, and Drizzt reaches even newer heights of Mary Sue perfection, but who’s surprised by that anymore.

There was a time when I thought the final book of the Homecoming Trilogy, Hero, was the worst book Salvatore ever wrote. At the time, I felt this way because of how much it trampled on Artemis Entreri’s characterization. Looking back now, I almost want to laugh, because this current trilogy drops the floor to depths that I didn’t even think existed. That floor might as well be an elevator whose cord is cut, with how it's free-falling into the depths. I’m not holding out a great amount of hope for the as of yet unnamed final book to follow, if it follows the trend set since Boundless, it’s going to be the new worst Drizzt book ever. I guess in some perverse way I admire Salvatore’s ability to set a new low and then exceed his own records by creating the most impressive literary borehole to date. I desperately want it not to be, and although it’s always been foolish for me to hold out hope that the quality of these books will improve, it’s gotten to the point that I’d be a laughingstock among laughingstocks if I continue to trulybelieve that. At the risk of sounding overly pessimistic, I don’t think things with these books will improve ever again, given this is what we’re served. The one upside is that some of the technical writing in Glacier’s Edge is better, so I guess that’s something, even if it's not going to be the reason that Salvatore fanbois will continue to give his horrible writing five stars.

[shaydh]

Where would you recommend people go to read more about drows and they're society? -Like, I know there is War of The Spider Queen but are there any other good books?-

The Starlight and Shadows books are good (though I’ve only read the first two). There’s the Lady Penitent books that take place after WotSQ. Aside from the Legend of Drizzt books that’s all I have.

As for sourcebooks I’ve read Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue. People have also recommended me Drow of the Underdark which I want to get someday...

I think some followers of mine will know more than I do though so if you guys have suggestions please let us know!

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

I’m kicking Middle Grade March off with a big set of reviews. All four books featured today are just a little over 100 pages in length, and they are choose your own adventure stories, so the more I thought about it, the more I doubted my ability to write good and decently sized posts about each of them…so you get one big review featuring them all.

Oh, and apparently this series has done well enough that the author has mentioned that he is working on two more…which have been revealed, and I’ll talk about those adventures later in the review.

So obviously I am a huge nerd, and a big part of my fiance and I’s life together is our shared love of Dungeons & Dragons. Learning that they were bringing back the Endless Quest series for the modern era–I never read the originals–I knew I had to pick them up.

Summaries

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

When evil giants attack your home in Ardeep Forest, your parents think you’re dead and they go hunting for your missing little brother. You wake up and set out after them, helped by a giant wizard who lives in a flying tower. You don’t know where they’ve gone, but you know that if you don’t find them, you’re all in big trouble. Wield your magic wisely against the giants, wizard. 

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

When you tried to pick the pocket of a civilar in the night-shrouded streets of Waterdeep, you never thought she’d catch you — and you never dreamed she’d force you into her service. Now you must find the baby griffon stolen by the beholder Xanathar, leader of the city’s powerful Thieves’ Guild. And if you should fail . . . you can count on spending the rest of your life behind bars, rogue.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

The Harpers have lost one of their own, a legendary adventurer named Artus Cimber, keeper of the artifact known as the Ring of Winter. They’ve hired you to travel to the jungle-clad land of Chult to find him. If only you can manage to find Cimber before the frost giants do — or the zombies that infest the land get you first. You’re in the jungle now, cleric.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

You awaken in an underground cell, stripped of your armor and your sword. Your fellow prisoners inform you that you’re trapped in the Underdark, soon to be taken to the great drow city of Menzoberranzan and sold off as a slave. But word is that demons are stirring in the underworld’s depth. Perhaps you can use that to break free, fighter.

My Thoughts

Ratings: 5 stars for all

I will be the first to admit that I am not particularly good at choose your own adventure stories. Inevitably I choose a path that kills me, and I do this over and over and over again. But I still enjoy the experience. Well not so much with the horror choose your own adventures of my youth–I was never big into Goosebumps or anything like that, so trying to make my way through one of those choose your own adventures was almost a nightmare.

But these were fun, a little one person D&D adventure. And okay yes, they are definitely written with an intended audience of like 8-11(ish), but I am a 30 year old woman and I still had a fun time with them.

I chose wrong about 5 or 6 times with the Cleric and Fighter adventures, 3 times with the Wizard adventure, and shockingly enough, I made it through the Rogue adventure on the first try. Do you know why this is so upsetting to me? Because I play clerics about 85% of the time, so I know how they work pretty well. The fact that I did the worst with Cleric, in a region where I had actually just finished an actual campaign (Tomb of Annihilation) was just so frustrating.

Oh, and the Fighter adventure…happens to be parts of a campaign that I ran as the Dungeon Master. It did not give me any sort of advantage in decision making.

But what mattered was the fun. There were some wonderful settings in some of D&D’s popular settings, and they included some intriguing characters of various races and creed. The stories were easy to read and they built in a decent amount of action as well as intrigue and even some interesting relationships.

I can see myself picking these up randomly in the future and trying to get through the adventures again, just to see what happens. And I will definitely allow my nonexistent (so far) future children read these when they’re ready. I think they could be a pretty decent introduction for kids to fantasy and/or Dungeons & Dragons.

Upcoming Releases

Both of these adventures will be out on September 3, 2019. I can admit to being a little sad that they are more cleric and rogue adventures. I was hoping for other classes. I want barbarian, bard, druid, monk, paladin, ranger, sorcerer, and warlock. Based on the cover images I would say that the cleric is a human and the rogue is an elf, so again, races that were already featured.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

You have entered the mist-shrouded realm of Ravenloft, where you attract the attention of Count Strahd, who decides to make you one of his vampire spawn. After awakening to find yourself alone within the walls of Castle Ravenloft, you must figure out how to escape the vampire lord’s Gothic lair before you are doomed to become his slave for all time. Keep your wits about you, cleric.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

You have been tasked with stealing the spell book of Halaster Blackcloak, the mad mage who controls the halls of Undermountain. The book is secreted away inside the halls of a magic academy, so you must navigate your way in by posing as a new student. But you need to move quickly in order to locate the spell book, steal it, and get away without being caught by the mad mage himself. Be on your guard, rogue.

Where to Buy

Rogue: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository

Cleric: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository

Fighter: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository

Wizard: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository

Reviews: Dungeons and Dragons: Endless Quest series by Matt Forbeck Hey all, Dani here. I'm kicking Middle Grade March off with a big set of reviews. All four books featured today are just a little over 100 pages in length, and they are choose your own adventure stories, so the more I thought about it, the more I doubted my ability to write good and decently sized posts about each of them...so you get one big review featuring them all.

[baldursyourgate]

House Baenre: The Sable Years and Spellplague Era Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (2012), DnD 4th Edition

The Sable Years: Bladen'Kerst, First Priestess Triel, Matron Mother Yvonnel, Vendes & Weapon Master Dantrag Spellplague Era: Tiago, First Priestess Sos'Umptu, Matron Mother Quenthel, her daughter Myineryl & son Aumon

[baldursyourgate]

House Oblodra. Great to see drow fashion that isn't red purple and black. Also bald-shaved priestess with house sigil tattooed on her head? Slayed.

[baldursyourgate]

First Priestess Quavylene Oblodra from Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue, 2012 // Dominique Sirop - Spring 2002 Couture

[lunastrophe]

Hey! So glad I found your page. I love being able to read up on all this drow lore. Question for you. Since the arachnomancers of Melarn seem to be a specialty brand of wizard, would it be in the realm of possibility that the Matron would want them to train not just wizards, but potentially some of the priestesses-in-training as well?

Hello! Glad to know you like my blog - thank you for visiting 🙂

As for your question, arachnomancers are arcane spellcasters and typically, priestesses of Lolth rarely study arcane magic. Melarn arachnomancers likely train sometimes with warriors and priestesses of their house, to know how to effectively cooperate in battle - but they probably do not train priestesses, at least not on a daily basis.

Although if some priestess is showing a talent for arcane magic combined with fascination with spiders, I suppose that Matron Mother might allow her to be trained as an arachnomancer. It would certainly be an interesting combination of talents!

House Melarn is extremely zealous in following the Way of Lolth, so training a female drow as an arcane spellcaster would probably be seen there as unorthodox at best. On the other hand, arachnomancers are fascinated with and closely connected to spiders - children of Lolth - so they have a bit different status than 'ordinary' drow wizards.

In Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue there is a note about typical Melarn arachnomancer's background:

So, most arachnomancers are male - but not all of them.

Priestesses who receive arachnomancer's training are probably rare. They may also have slightly lower status than ordinary priestesses, especially in House Melarn where divine spellcasting is favoured. They still can become powerful individuals, though, their affinity for spiders strengthened both by devotion to Lolth and by their studies of arcane arts.

[unreadpoppy]

so i was reading Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (a 4e sourcebook) and it has a part talking about each member of House Baenre and the last member talked about is Quenthel's partner and i got smacked in the face with the reveal that they got 7 children (since only two are named).

But hey, at least is makes it even more feasible for Minthara to be one of Quenthel's children

[artemis-entreri]

[[ This post contains Part 3 of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Boundless, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Generations: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #35 (#32 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (September 10, 2019)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Boundless and used above is originally done by Aleks Melnik. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

Contents:

Introduction

I. Positives    I.1 Pure Positives    I.2 Muddled Positives

II. Mediocre Writing Style    II.1 Bad Descriptions    II.2 Salvatorisms    II.3 Laborious “Action”

III. Poor Characterization (you are here)    III.1 “Maestro”    III.2 Lieutenant    III.3 Barbarian    III.4 “Hero”    III.5 Mother

IV. World Breaks    IV.1 Blinders Against the Greater World    IV.2 Befuddlement of Earth and Toril    IV.3 Self-Inconsistency    IV.4 Dungeon Amateur    IV.5 Utter Nonsense

V. Ego Stroking    V.1 The Ineffable Companions of the Hall    V.2 Me, Myself, and I

VI. Problematic Themes    VI.1 No Homo    VI.2 Disrespect of Women    VI.3 Social-normalization    VI.4 Eugenics

VII. What’s Next   VII.1 Drizzt Ascends to Godhood   VII.2 Profane Redemption   VII.3 Passing the Torch   VII.4 Don’t Notice Me Senpai

Poor Characterization

Boundless sees an overall regression from Timeless in terms of quality of characterization. It almost feels as though Salvatore is saying, "I don't have room for character development because Boundless is such a non-stop action novel". Most of the page space is taken up by the many unfolding events, with opponents one after another that Zaknafein has to duel in the past and a full on war fought on at least three separate fronts in the present. However, even putting aside the fact that so many of those pages could've been truncated and space dedicated to character progression, instead, what we find in Boundless is shallow, self-inconsistent, lazy, and really, just mediocre. I'm not sure what effect Salvatore was trying to achieve through the cursory and flat overviews he gives to all of the characters in his Dramatis Personae section that precedes the body of the novel. Descriptions like the one for Briza Do'Urden, which reads, "Malice's eldest daughter. Huge and formidable" makes me wonder if Salvatore was going for humor. Yet, there isn't anything funny about the rest of the characterizations, except in an ironic sense in how bad they are, as though they were the words of someone trying to explain the characters to a not very bright child. I suppose it's an appropriate precedent, given how the "fleshed out" characterizations go in the novel.

"Maestro"

As suggested by Boundless' cover art, there's a lot of Jarlaxle in the book. Sadly, this manifests as a sort of butchering of Jarlaxle's capability and characterization in both the past and present timelines of the novel. Overall, Jarlaxle is very flat-footed, constantly doing the proverbial rocking back on his heels and falling on his butt. A character rocking back on their heels is one of Salvatore's favorite descriptors, and while, ironically, that phrase doesn't appear in Boundless, Salvatore does an excellent job of showing that Jarlaxle does it a great deal. This would be great in terms of showing instead of telling, except that, unfortunately, it happens when Jarlaxle's supposed to be doing something clever or there's some great revelation that manages to escape his masterfully strategic mind. I'd often joked that Salvatore isn't smart enough to write a character who's supposed to be as smart as Jarlaxle is, and this is very much evident in Boundless, except there's nothing funny about it. It's really just disappointing to see a character who is actually a nonconformist dragged down and forced to conform to Drizzt. Jarlaxle is also becoming more like Drizzt in the sense that he acts very differently from how he's supposed to be, all while we are being told over and over how he is truly, for real, pinky swear that certain way. In Drizzt's case, it is a judgmental, sanctimonious, pretentious, self-aggrandizing and presumptuous twat hailed to be the shining hero of goodness and virtue. And now, sadly, in Jarlaxle's case, a dopey, shortsighted, reckless, inattentive and not very bright clown wrapped in the cloak of one whose flair is matched only by his genius. 

As he is presented in Boundless, Jarlaxle would've been wholly consumed by the perils of Menzoberranzan almost immediately. The Jarlaxle in the past timeline should be closer to how he was in the Legacy of the Drow trilogy, but he's been tempered to beyond how he is in The Sellswords trilogy. He's even more tame than how he appears in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, where he features as a genteel, at worst mischievous, sort of villain. Jarlaxle has become closer to Drizzt than even Zaknafein, with Zaknafein being more brutal. The Jarlaxle of the past is nearly identical to the Jarlaxle of the present, as though he were transcribed across the hundreds of years. I don't understand the reason that Salvatore did this. The current version of Jarlaxle is unpalatable enough, with all of the "intrigue" and the being for himself stance as nothing but empty posturing. It makes no sense that Jarlaxle would be that way in the past, for supposedly, experiencing the personality-altering phenomenon that is Drizzt Do'Urden hadn't even happened then. 

That said, let's look at some details. First, Boundless introduces an activity that Jarlaxle and Zaknafein enjoyed together, "cavern jumping", which is what we call free running or parkour in our world. They first partake of this activity in a super inspired and uniquely-named chapter entitled "Running Free". I was sarcastic just now, but I'm absolutely not sarcastic when I say this: parkour is dangerous. Even in our world, experienced traceurs can and do get hurt, and they don't normally run in an environment where many individuals stand to benefit if a fatal accident befalls them. Despite Jarlaxle saying that the risk is what makes the activity fun, this seems like a weak justification injected by a paranoid narrator who's aware that they're recounting a very unlikely event. For, the reality is, it's already dangerous that Jarlaxle and Zaknafein perform risky acrobatic maneuvers in one of the deadliest cities of Faerûn, they're doing it without any of their magical equipment. The very fact that Jarlaxle engages in this activity is reckless, and what makes it even more unlikely is the lack of assurances that are put in place to minimize potential "accidents". Zaknafein and Jarlaxle's cavern-jumping escapades aren't at all like when they pillaged Barrison Del'Armgo's armory. Although both are adrenaline-seeking activities, the latter was a controlled simulation that Jarlaxle had engineered and pulled strings to achieve. Jarlaxle might be a daredevil and an excitement-seeker, but he's not stupid, and he's supposed to be prudent, else everything that he's worked for would be for naught. He takes risks but we've been told that they're calculated ones, ones in which he's already figured out and examined every possible outcome. There's nothing calculated about cavern-jumping, and the only aspect that's even approaching consistent is their route. Even then, "consistent" can hardly be applied, for the two are constantly one-upping each other, pushing one another to quicker paces and more daring maneuvers. There aren't even Bregan D'aerthe scouts watching every turn, keeping an eye out for any parties of ill intention that might target the two high profile male drow. Heck, Jarlaxle isn't even aware of who's watching them, and he should both know and care, especially since Zaknafein is big enough of a target that many individuals wouldn't care about implicating Jarlaxle while attempting to "cavern-jump" Zaknafein. In fact, we even see in the same chapter one such interested party, and given that so much of the book is about people wanting to kill Zaknafein, I feel like the whole free running thing was just an excuse for Salvatore to show off his action scenes, except that there isn't anything to show off there. Simply showing off to this degree puts both of them at a disadvantage given how cutthroat and scheme-based drow society is supposed to be. Shouldn't Jarlaxle be worried about illustrating how flexible and agile he is, and doesn't Zaknafein want opponents to underestimate him?

Far from being circumspect, Jarlaxle doesn't seem to think at all. Even obvious things that would've occurred to a novice strategist escapes the one indirectly dubbed as "maestro". Following the fight between Zaknafein and Duvon Tr'arach, a holder of a century-long grudge against the weapons master who destroyed his house and humiliated him in combat, Jarlaxle is surprised to find that the drow whom he thought were ambushers were actually reinforcements brought by Zaknafein. This is not evocative of a streetwise genius maestro super spy. Of course Zaknafein would bring back-up, he knows the way of his society and knows how many want him dead. It would have been more reasonable for Jarlaxle to be surprised if Zaknafein hadn't brought anyone from his house with him. Salvatore has Jarlaxle thinking Zaknafein clever, but what should've happened is that Jarlaxle should have known about Zaknafein's backup in the first place, and have had agents monitoring them the whole time instead of embarrassing himself with his lack of foresight. Even better would have been if he feigned being surprised and impressed while we see Jarlaxle's agents melt back into the shadows without them alerting Zaknafein's assistants.

Jarlaxle being blindsided by the relationship between Zaknafein and Dab'nay, while more reasonable than the previous example, nonetheless doesn't belong to the same drow  who, during the Crenshinibon era, knew immediately that his two lieutenants were conspiring together against him. It's true that Jarlaxle is younger and less experienced during the flashback scenes of Boundless, but there's already a rapport between him and the members of his band, a trust that would not have built up solely based on individuals sharing the same plight. Jarlaxle's followers are fiercely loyal to him, and not solely because of his charisma. Jarlaxle shows these second-class citizens of his society something they've never known before, that someone is interested in who they are. He wins their favor because all they've known previously is that their worth is measured by their bloodline, their aptitude in combat and their aptitude in the bedroom. Even if Jarlaxle's intellect wasn't enough to allow him to foresee Dab'nay and Zaknafein hooking up as a possibility, his personal knowledge of Dab'nay should've suggested the probability to him. There's another poor characterization in that if Zaknafein's hatred of priestesses was as absolute and blinding as we've been told that it is, the only dagger he'd have plunged into Dab'nay wouldn't have been the one that's permanently attached to him. However, the relationship between Dab'nay and Zaknafein being what it's forced to be, surely, Jarlaxle would've known Zaknafein well enough to at least suspect the possibility. 

Although Jarlaxle is only literally stated to have "for once, seemed at a loss for words", his demonstrated lack of cleverness fails to back this up. Even in the scenario in which that is explicitly written, it's uncharacteristic of Jarlaxle to not know what to say. The passage reads:

So, from this we are to believe that the genius Jarlaxle can't produce an answer to that simple statement, when even I can think of a number of things to say on the fly: that Jarlaxle's not just any drow, that there are varying levels of trust that should be adjusted based on the circumstance, that there's such a thing as "trust but verify", that, fundamentally, the drow word for "trust" isn't as black and white as what Zaknafein is demanding. Jarlaxle's int score is a staggering 20, and he should easily come up with everything I've come up with just now and many many more answers that I can't even begin to think of with my far less staggering intellect. Things like these are just downright embarrassingly inept portrayals of Jarlaxle's alleged brilliance.

In the current timeline, Jarlaxle is even more dull, which I suppose is appropriate given the nerfing of who he was in the past. In addition to being just as flat-footed and shortsighted as his past incarnation in Boundless, Jarlaxle draws some really inaccurate conclusions. For instance, "Jarlaxle knew, of course, that Bruenor was more friend to Drizzt than Zaknafein had ever been, and indeed, more father to Drizzt than Zaknafein had ever been." Really? He knows, of course and indeed, this totally untrue assessment, does he? The first might be true, for Zaknafein wasn't present in Drizzt's life for nearly as much as Bruenor was, and even while he was there, the interactions between him and his son was restricted. But when did Bruenor risk his life on numerous occasions to simply ensure that Drizzt's moral compass and free will were not tainted? When did Bruenor sacrifice himself so that Drizzt might live? Bruenor was never even in a position to entreaty an assailant to take him instead of Drizzt. Perhaps if Salvatore defines father figures as aloof and distant presences in one's life who give tough love but never direct validation, then certainly Bruenor has been more of a father to Drizzt than Zaknafein was. However, the reality is that Bruenor never protected Drizzt the way that Zaknafein did and never guided Drizzt the way Zaknafein did. The only way that it would make sense for that assessment to belong to Jarlaxle is if Jarlaxle's own understanding of parent and child relationships is so incomplete that he doesn't know better, or if he's as stupid as he is shown to be in Boundless. The first possibility is most likely true from a personal angle for Jarlaxle, but Jarlaxle has lived long enough on the surface, mingling with enough surface folk to know, especially with what should be his level of perceptiveness, what it means to be a good father. He would need to have a good understanding of those kinds of dynamics, because they contain weaknesses that can be exploited. So, really, the only thing that would make all of this consistent is the latter possibility, which sadly, is where everything is trending anyway.

I'm not very emotionally invested in Jarlaxle, though I prefer him to most of the rest of the somewhat bland characters we see in Boundless. So when this many things make someone like me unhappy about Jarlaxle's characterization, I'd hate to see what someone who feels towards him like I feel towards Artemis Entreri will take away from Boundless. I'm sure that I'm missing a lot of irksome things, but the ones that I've pointed out are what stood out to me, and I'll end the discussion of Jarlaxle with one final example. In both Timeless and Boundless, Jarlaxle has this strange and decidedly non-Menzoberranzanyr perspective regarding "married couples" of drow. The usage of "husband" and "wife" in these books is extremely weird, because as we know from all D&D and Forgotten Realms source material, including Salvatore's own books, that there is no formality in Lolthite drow relationships. Females take males at their pleasure, abandoning them as whimsically as they pick them up, and being a Patron of a house means nothing. What's even more strange is that Zaknafein isn't even the Patron of House Do'Urden, Rizzen still holds that title while Zaknafein and Malice are sexually active together, yet since Timeless, Zaknafein has been referred to as Malice's husband. Furthermore, while, as far as we know, Jarlaxle has never slept with the partners of people that he likes, it was always more of a strategic decision rather than a moral one. For instance, he found Calihye and Dahlia unstable, thus not cuckolding Entreri and Drizzt, and the closest he'd come to showing interest to a "taken" partner was with Catti-brie, but even then, morals aren't what prevent him from pursuing her. Yet, steeped in the degenerate society of Menzoberranzan, Jarlaxle prefers not to have sexual contact with Malice because Zaknafein is his friend. Where did this belief come from? It certainly doesn't exist in drow culture, males are sex objects for the females, perhaps sometimes rising to the rank of favored toy, nothing more. In a society like that, the toy doesn't have delusions of possession. Jarlaxle is one of the few, if not only, male drow in Menzoberranzan who even has a choice, who can even say no to a female without being killed horribly. I get that Salvatore is trying to show that Jarlaxle is honorable towards his friendship with Zaknafein, but he doesn't have to break the character in addition to his own world-building, as well as that of other creatives', to do so. There are so many ways to do it, but I suppose those are less obvious and require more thinking.

Lieutenant

The poor characterizations extend beyond what's done to Jarlaxle. The number of times that an inconsistency arises between what a character is supposed to be/know and how they perceive things or act is staggering. In the past, there is Arathis Hune, Jarlaxle's first and only lieutenant for a long time, and presumably, one of his most trusted friends. Arathis and Jarlaxle should understand each other quite well, so the fact that Arathis didn't foresee that Jarlaxle would assist Zaknafein during Zaknafein's rigged duel with Duvon Tr'arach is unlikely. Arathis might've had an ace in the form of psionic assistance in swaying the match, but unless he is a total fool, he wouldn't think that Jarlaxle wasn't aware of his dalliances, especially with potential allies as powerful as Oblodrans. Furthermore, Jarlaxle's fondness of Zaknafein is enough of a thorn in Arathis' side that Arathis would've certainly anticipated Jarlaxle intervening on behalf of Zaknafein, even if Arathis didn't specifically guess that Jarlaxle would do so by means of lending Zaknafein his eyepatch. Even if Jarlaxle had never explicitly told Arathis about the functionality of his eyepatch, Arathis, who would've certainly witnessed Jarlaxle constantly escaping the various mind-manipulating magics of the priestesses of Lolth, should've been able to deduce that Jarlaxle has a magical item that protects him against such intrusions. Arathis might not be a master genius like Jarlaxle, but he is a drow, who are supposed to be masters of intrigue in their own right as being able to survive in Menzoberranzan requires such of them. Moreover, he is a capable enough drow that Jarlaxle chose him to be at his side, rather than tending the bar at the Oozing Myconid. Yet, Arathis doesn't foresee any of what he should've known immediately, nor did he have a backup plan, which to a drow is something that one possesses as certainly as keen eyesight.

Barbarian

In the present timeline, Wulfgar suffers from the same treatment given Arathis, which is really saying something since Wulfgar's characterization has been all over the place even before his rebirth. Nonetheless, two things that Wulfgar is supposed to be, are one, a good guy if not a hero, and two, not dumb, if not intelligent. Yet, Wulfgar's portrayal in Boundless shows him as possessing none of these positive traits. For the first trait, it wouldn't be the first time that a member of the Companions of the Hall thought or performed something dishonorable. In Hero, this manifests as Regis and Wulfgar literally kicking people who were already down. In Boundless, Wulfgar is surprisingly nonchalant about the possibility of Kimmuriel committing casual murder, even hoping for it: 

The only thing that Calico Grimm is guilty of, that we're shown anyway, is being boisterous and foolish, which is hardly grounds deserving of death, unless it was early Artemis Entreri doing the adjudication. But this isn't early Artemis Entreri, or even current Artemis Entreri harboring such thoughts, it's Wulfgar, a returned hero. Calico Grimm might be obnoxious, but he's still a comrade in arms whose ship Wulfgar boarded. Even if it were the case that Calico Grimm is actually a pirate, one of the ne'er-do-wells that gives Luskan its shady reputation, it doesn't change the fact that they are on the same side. After all, the Companions of the Hall are supposed to stand for noble self sacrificing values like not randomly murdering people that are even temporarily on the same side as them. 

Not only is Wulfgar's moral compass unaligned with how it's supposed to be, apparently, the damage that he'd done to his brain during his The Spine of the World alcoholism managed to stay with him through the reincarnation. That, or Drizzt and his supposedly tight-knit group of friends aren't as close as they're made out to be. During Wulfgar's duel with the demon-possessed captain of the fleet besieging Luskan, Kimmuriel imbues Wulfgar with a psionic shield that absorbs all damage and releases it all at once at the absorber's will. It's the same mechanic that's been used countless times in the past, including but not limited to saving  newborn Jarlaxle from Matron Baenre's sacrificial dagger, preventing Calihye's blade from piercing an otherwise defenseless Entreri's heart, and, of course, allowing Drizzt to strike down Demogorgon with one hit. That last scenario is pretty monumental, and the kind of thing that Drizzt would've told his friends every detail of, for even if he didn't volunteer, surely they and others would've pried and pried about how he defeated Demogorgon. Yet, Wulfgar has no idea what's happening when his opponent's blows fail to scratch him. It's just mind-boggling that he doesn't make the connection, especially since psionicists are rare enough already in the Realms, even more so in Salvatore's corner of the Realms; Kimmuriel is literally the only psionicist that the Companions of the Hall know. Wulfgar's failure to put one and one together really leads me to wonder if the whole purpose of making him so obtuse is to perform yet more tedious review and Drizzt-flattering.

"Hero"

Most painful to me, of course, is Artemis Entreri, who only appears a bit more in Boundless than he does in Timeless, but what's done to him in Boundless is pretty bad. Entreri's characterization kicks off on the wrong foot from his entry in the Dramatis Personae section, which reads:

For the umpteenth time, Entreri would not have a concept of "friend", especially how it is presented in the Drizzt books. It's an oversimplification and kills the nuance of a character who would still have significant psychological scars and trust issues, even if he were truly and completely over his childhood traumas, which in itself is highly unlikely. I can forgive this bad summary of Entreri, but I can't overlook how, quite frankly, melodramatic, he's presented to be in Boundless. While the assassin seems to talk the talk, calling Regis a fool and ridiculing him for his naiveté, he definitely no longer walks the walk. The aura of intimidation that's so integral to his character no longer feels present. Entreri is quick to reassure Regis about the safety of Donnola, something that even his tempered down self seems unlikely to do. Regis and Entreri have history, and not all or even most of it was pleasant. It's as though Salvatore forgot that Regis found a helpless and broken Entreri dangling precariously from a branch, and rather than finishing him off quickly as would be the honorable thing to do, Regis stole Entreri's most prized possession, then cut him loose so that his final moments would be spent in fear and helplessness. One as fiercely protective of his own free will as is Entreri would not forget that so easily, and even if he doesn't actively hate the Companions of the Hall anymore, just as it makes sense that Regis is uncomfortable about the stub of his pinky that Entreri had inflicted on him in his previous life, Entreri should've let the little rat squirm before perhaps mentioning off the cuff that all the citizens of Bleeding Vines survived.

The worst thing done to Entreri in Boundless, however, is worse than the physical trials and travails that befall him. Given that the situation that ensnares him is that he's trapped in an unbreakable cocoon being stung on every mentionable (and unmentionable) part of his body by vicious demonic wasps, more and more I feel that it'd be best for Entreri if Salvatore just killed him off before ruining him more. While Entreri's plight is pretty dire, still, it doesn't seem like enough for him to launch into Drizzt journal entries' level of melodrama. Entreri has high levels of pain tolerance, as we've seen countless times in the past with him losing none of his agility or fighting prowess even after taking a blade through the ribs. Furthermore, the amount of psychological punishment he's endured far outweighs what he's gone through physically, such that he shouldn't resort to wishing for death right away, or cursing everyone, including himself, so quickly. I can maybe accept that he'd do so after a couple of tendays, but we only see him in the cocoon for a few days during Boundless. Furthermore, the impression given by how the pain is described in Boundless is significantly less than the pain that Herzgo Alegni inflicted upon Entreri by striking a tuning fork against Charon's Claw. It's more likely that someone of Entreri's discipline and willpower would've found some way to put his mind above the constant pain to focus on figuring out how to get out, if not simply detaching himself from the sensation. Instead, right from the get-go, the first soliloquy we see from him in the cocoon is:

In addition to being too weak, Entreri's portrayed as being too dependent. As a person who's lived twice as long as he should have and endured much more than his fair share of torment, one who is used to depending on no one save for himself, how quickly Entreri cries out for Dahlia, how quickly he wishes for death to be spared the pain, just doesn't fit. Instead it simply completes Salvatore's neutering process, now not only is Entreri a good guy, but he is no longer even a disciplined warrior. Salvatore's handling of Artemis Entreri is akin to what I'd said about Salvatore being not intelligent enough to write someone as brilliant as Jarlaxle. It's clear that Salvatore doesn't have enough understanding of trauma and physical pain thresholds to do justice to Entreri. 

Mother

Another poor characterization in Boundless has to do with Dahlia, who seems to have completely forgotten about Effron. Effron doesn't make an appearance, or is even so much as mentioned, despite some portion of the novel dedicated to the Hosttower of the Arcane, where he currently resides. While I can buy that Effron isn't significant enough for Gromph to even think of him when declaring the position the Hosttower will take, he is, or at least should be, important enough to Dahlia for her to at least think of him. The relationship between Dahlia and Effron might have started off at a badly, but throughout the entirety of the Neverwinter Saga, Dahlia is tormented by guilt over her son. Seeing what she believed to be the remains of Effron broke Dahlia's mind and will, causing the normally fiery and irrepressible elf to docilely accept being dragged away for further torture. Seeing that Effron was safe and being reunited him would've granted Dahlia closure, but closure doesn't mean that she wouldn't want to see him and be near him. We've seen that Dahlia tends to be very clingy to those she cares about, so it seems unlikely that she'd accept living in a different city from Effron. Given what Dahlia's like, she should be torn between her love for Entreri and her love for Effron, especially as the two male characters don't much care for each other and most certainly wouldn't want to live together, which Dahlia would likely prefer so that she can be close to both. It should be a cause for tension, not Dahlia simply following Entreri around like a pet, not that Entreri would've allowed that anyway. For all of his dislike of Effron and his brusqueness with the general populace, Entreri has shown himself to be extremely devoted to the women that he's loved. Just as he looked for Calihye after she tried to kill him and accepted her back into his life years later, Entreri would've made certain that Dahlia wouldn't be miserable choosing him over her son. 

[artemis-entreri]

[[ A new title appeared on publication websites today. Timeless by R. A. Salvatore is slated to be released on Sep 18, 2018 through HarperCollins. Earlier, a book synopsis was posted with the page count, book dimensions and ISBN on Edelweiss’ entry for Timeless, but it has since been taken down at Salvatore’s request. 

Before it disappeared, the synopsis read:

At long last, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore returns with one of fantasy’s most beloved and enduring icons, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, in an all-new trilogy full of swordplay, danger, and imaginative thrills Centuries ago, in the city of Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, the City of Drow, nestled deep in the unmerciful Underdark of Toril, a young weapon master earned a reputation far above his station or that of his poor house. The greater nobles watched him, and one matron, in particular, decided to take him as her own. She connived with rival great houses to secure her prize, but that prize was caught for her by another, who came to quite enjoy the weapon master. This was the beginning of the friendship between Zaknafein and Jarlaxle, and the coupling of Matron Malice and the weapon master who would sire Drizzt Do’Urden. R. A. Salvatore reveals the Underdark anew through the eyes of Zaknafein and Jarlaxle—an introduction to the darkness that offers a fresh view of the opportunities to be found in the shadows and an intriguing prelude to the intriguing escapes that lie ahead in the modern-day Forgotten Realms. Here, a father and his son are reunited and embark on adventures that parallel the trials of centuries long past as the friends of old are joined by Drizzt, Hero of the North, trained by Grandmaster Kane in the ways of the monk. But the scourge of the dangerous Lolth’s ambitions remain, and demons have been foisted on the unwitting of the surface. The resulting chaos and war will prove to be the greatest challenge for all three.

There’s still much uncertainty, and the many questions abound can only be answered definitively with officially released information as the release date draws closer. Salvatore and anyone else in the know are bound by NDAs to not reveal anything, be it confirmation or denial. When asked about the appearance of this new title, Salvatore had this to say:

This kind of placeholder has been put up a dozen times before for me (even in negotiations, a publisher will often slot a potential book) and I've never heard a peep.

Furthermore, James Lowder added:

To further emphasize that nothing can be known for certain currently, Lowder explained:

When asked why the placeholder already has a name, Lowder further explained:

However, here is what we do know, some of which are recaps of things that I’d already shared in the past:

- Wizards of the Coast stopped renewing novel contracts in 2016, leading many to believe that the Forgotten Realms novel line was officially dead. The total number of novel releases had already been massively cut down from what they were in the past. There was no news of anything on the horizon following the  “final” book releases from Erin M. Evans, Ed Greenwood, and R. A. Salvatore. Furthermore, these books had conclusive tones, which further supported the theory that novels were being stopped. It wasn’t until late last year, October 6, 2017, did D&D Director Nathan Stewart reveal in a Fireside Chat session that new fiction was definitely forthcoming. Aside from this, there’s been no information.

- Timeless will be published by HarperCollins, whose website includes “drizzt” in the URL (see above screenshot from HarperCollins’ website, Harper Voyager). This would be the first time that we’re seeing an official Forgotten Realms novel published by someone other than WotC. While WotC and TSR before it published their own novels, WotC is owned by Hasbro, which is a game company that probably isn’t the best suited for (or most interested) in novel publication. WotC has licensed its intellectual property through other publication companies in the past, and it’s not unusual for a game company to license its novels to other publishers.

- In the past, there had been Forgotten Realms novels that were similarly previewed and set up for publication, but ended up never released to the public (i.e. Shores of Dusk). Work had always been put in to the point of draft manuscripts first.

- Hero was released on October 25, 2016, and along with Maestro, released on April 5, 2016, offset the March/September release schedule for the biannual Drizzt book releases by a month. Timeless, slated to be released on September 18, 2018, would recommence the original publication schedule. Salvatore takes a little under a year to write a novel, and the release date is for 7 months from now.

- Salvatore has long expressed interest in writing a Jarlaxle and Zaknafein prequel, however publication of such a work had been rendered difficult by both the termination of the novel contracts as well as WotC’s stance on focusing in the current timeline moving forward and not backtracking to revisit older lore. However, workarounds to this policy do exist, in which past lore was revisited alongside present lore, as seen in Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Hell. 

So, what does all of this mean? Here is my personal take on it. Please note that the following is SPECULATION. While I try to make my most educated guesses, I don’t know any more than what I’ve presented already in this post.

I believe that we are indeed seeing the return of the Drizzt franchise. The drow ranger generates revenue, and so long as people continue buying the books, which it looks like they will for the foreseeable future, it would make good business sense to milk the franchise for all that it’s worth. Salvatore also likely wouldn’t need to prepare as much as he usually does when writing a new book, he probably has Jarlaxle and Zaknafein prequel material already written, so it’s just a matter of splicing that into new material that he writes of Jarlaxle, Zaknafein and Drizzt adventuring together, which the now-deleted synopsis suggests will happen in Timeless.

The fact that a release date and a plotline have both been announced most likely means that there is a legally binding contract that exists. Whether Salvatore has signed it yet or not is another matter. It also makes a lot of sense for WotC to contract an experienced book publisher to handle their future novel releases. This allows them to satisfy the consumer base that demands more novels, gather revenue from this consumer base, and not have to delegate as many resources to handling something that they’re not as well-equipped to handle as a company that’s completely set up for it. It’d be a win-win all around for them.

The timeline for the “present time” as described in the synopsis for Timeless is a little odd, because while the mention of demons aligns with the Rage of Demons storyline and where Hero left off, it’s pretty old as far as the current Forgotten Realms setting is concerned. The world has moved far away from the threat of the demon princes to frost giants and then the death curse in Chult. While it isn’t unusual for the Drizzt books to drag behind the “current” campaign setting of the Realms, and it even makes sense for it to do so especially with two years away, it’s still a little strange, given WotC’s stance. Furthermore, a lot of loose ends were wrapped up, some of them all too cleanly and conveniently, that the thought of starting anew is a bit awkward and contrived. For instance, when we last saw, Catti-brie is pregnant with Drizzt’s child, and to me, it seems unlikely that he’d leave her side even if it is to fend off the threats to the world. The Companions of the Hall have their own lives now, with Regis settling down with his beloved Donnola Topolino and Bruenor ruling Gauntylgrym with his twin queens at his side. The Companions of the Hall might not assemble, for the synopsis suggests that it’s only Jarlaxle, Zaknafein and Drizzt going out and about, but if the CotH were to rise and be the heroes they were once more, they, like Drizzt, would be uprooting themselves to once again pursue the habits of a previous life, which I think is very unlikely. But, much of Salvatore’s plot choices have stopped making sense to me for a while now, so I suppose we’ll just have to wait to see how that goes. 

I can’t help but feel a sense of dread at how much this new endeavor is an act of fan service. Similar to Drizzt’s fight with Grandmaster Kane, in which he shouldn’t have had a chance at all, Drizzt, Jarlaxle and Zaknafein traveling together to fight the forces of evil seems to be more of that cool thing that people want to see rather than making logical sense. As always, I hope that I’m proven wrong. ]]