What age is Drizzt? [Archive] - Wizards Community

What age is Drizzt? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ManinDarkness
10-17-03, 08:48 PM I been having this discussion with friends of mine. They assure me Drizzt can't be over 85 years old (at the time of the Lone Drow), I say around 100, and I saw in some web page that he's about 160.

What does canon says?
Kuje31
10-17-03, 09:04 PM Double post
Kuje31
10-17-03, 09:05 PM According to this WOTC article he's 76.

He was born in 1297 and it's 1373, so he's 76.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/beforedod
Cherrn
10-17-03, 09:36 PM Yup that's pretty much true Kuje. As far as I remember it also says in "A Thousand Orcs" that Drizzt thinks ahead 30 years in time with regards to Cattibrie and him and says by then she will be regarded an old woman whereas Drizzt will only just have passed 100 years and still be a young elf.
Shadow_Binder
11-18-03, 10:46 AM Cherrn is right drizzt has about 76 years:D
Wooly Rupert
11-18-03, 11:42 AM The fiction chronology also lists his birth year as 1297. Of course, in his first appearance in The Crystal Shard, it says he's over 200... But everything since then has contradicted that, including the Dark Elf trilogy and at least two web articles.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
11-18-03, 12:15 PM RAS decided to change his age and didn't want to be held back by what came before (ie. was in written in the IWD trilogy).

PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong.
Wooly Rupert
11-18-03, 12:28 PM Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong.

The web articles I referred to in my post were both WotC. One is the one Kuje linked to, another is the fiction chronology that's on the Wizards page: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/fr_timeline.asp
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
11-18-03, 12:32 PM Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The web articles I referred to in my post were both WotC. One is the one Kuje linked to, another is the fiction chronology that's on the Wizards page: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/fr_timeline.asp

I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the topic starter, who mentioned a web page that was most likely a fan site. I'm not talking about WotC websites (they are reliable--maybe not perfect, but moreso than anywhere else).

I should have made that clearer though--it was a general comment not actually directed at you. I did say *fan* websites, Wooly.
Kacesen_Black
11-18-03, 12:49 PM i whould have to say 80
Corthan
11-18-03, 01:13 PM I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
11-18-03, 02:59 PM Originally posted by Corthan
I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100.

The conflict between that girl (Ellifain/Le'lorinel)--an elf--and Drizzt is written about in Sea of Swords, which takes place only a year or so before The Thousand Orcs, not 100 years before it.
ManinDarkness
11-18-03, 05:49 PM Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong.

The site was citing a reference in Heroes Lorebook
Wooly Rupert
11-18-03, 06:10 PM Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the topic starter, who mentioned a web page that was most likely a fan site. I'm not talking about WotC websites (they are reliable--maybe not perfect, but moreso than anywhere else).

I should have made that clearer though--it was a general comment not actually directed at you. I did say *fan* websites, Wooly.

Ah. I wasn't sure if you were referring to me or not... My response was as much to you as it was to anyone else who wanted the info. I was making sure it was known that there were official places to look, and what they were. :)

No offense was intended. :)
Kuje31
11-18-03, 06:18 PM Originally posted by ManinDarkness
The site was citing a reference in Heroes Lorebook

Heroes Lorebook is wrong. :) Besides 3e material rewrites all 2nd edition material unless it isn't some thing that hasn't come yes in 3/3.5 sourcebooks, novels, web articles or in Dragon and Dungeon magazine.

According to the WOTC site, he's 76.

There are many things in Heroes Lorebook that have been rewritten by 2e and 3e material, like the Earthmother of the Moonshaes, for example. :)
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:00 PM 76 in 'drow years,' uh? What does that translate to in human years?
thalious
11-18-03, 08:03 PM it translates to 76.
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:17 PM Originally posted by thalious
it translates to 76.

Uhh... no, I mean the drow years/xx = human standard years.

He can't possibly be 76 in human years, he'll be old and feeble. ;)
thalious
11-18-03, 08:19 PM I think he is 76 actual years old, so he'd still be a teenager by traditional Evlen standards, thought I am not sure.
Kuje31
11-18-03, 08:25 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
Uhh... no, I mean the drow years/xx = human standard years.

He can't possibly be 76 in human years, he'll be old and feeble. ;)

According to one of the old sourcebooks, either Drow of the Underdark or The Complete Book of Elves he would be considered an Adolescence.

Since drow are an adolescent from ages 50 to 79.

Sorry the first #'s I had there were from the Cormanthor book, and I forgot it said elves lived longer at that time period.
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:31 PM Originally posted by thalious
I think he is 76 actual years old, so he'd still be a teenager by traditional Evlen standards, thought I am not sure.

Originally posted by Kuje31
According to one of the old sourcebooks, either Drow of the Underdark or The Complete Book of Elves he would be considered an Adolescence.

Since drow are an adolescence from ages 31 to 80.

:cool: :D Thanks for all your help, guys! :) Any one know of a specific age?
Kuje31
11-18-03, 08:38 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
:cool: :D Thanks for all your help, guys! :) Any one know of a specific age?

Specific age?
ManinDarkness
11-18-03, 08:40 PM I'll say 16.
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:43 PM Originally posted by Kuje31
Specific age?

Aye :D.
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:45 PM Originally posted by ManinDarkness
I'll say 16.

That young? :eek: and already a Ftr10/Bbn1/Rgr5 of Mielikki :eek:

So, I guess he would be in his twenties circa 1373, right?
Crust
11-18-03, 08:49 PM Originally posted by Corthan
I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100.

This is an excellent point. If Ellifain was a child when Drizzt saved her, and he battles her and defeats her in The Thousand Orcs, then how old was Ellifain then? In her 40s or 50s? Doesn't seem logical to me.
ManinDarkness
11-18-03, 08:50 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
So, I guess he would be in his twenties circa 1373, right?

Nope, 16 at 1373. That's why his canon age seems a problem with me.
thalious
11-18-03, 08:50 PM Well, that young is relative by whose life span is considered. In general I don't think your average Elf is as experienced as Drizzt, but Drizzt is not an average elf, also his having been raised and chased in Menzobarrazen has something to do with it too.
Kuje31
11-18-03, 08:55 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
Aye :D.

What do you mean by specific age?
Saasiel
11-18-03, 08:55 PM Originally posted by ManinDarkness
Nope, 16 at 1373. That's why his canon age seems a problem with me.

16 as per 1373, now there is a problem with that...
thalious
11-18-03, 08:59 PM why just assign him an age if you're the DM since a clear answer is not likely to be found, unless a Wizo has the "official" answer.
Kuje31
11-18-03, 09:00 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
16 as per 1373, now there is a problem with that...

Why? Drow and elves don't age the same as humans...... he has the experiences of a 76 year old drow, not a "16" year old human......
Saasiel
11-18-03, 09:03 PM Originally posted by Kuje31
Why? Drow and elves don't age the same as humans...... he has the experiences of a 76 year old drow, not a "16" year old human......

I just find it disconcerting, 'tis all. He should at least be in his twenties (standard human years) per 1373.
Kuje31
11-18-03, 09:17 PM Originally posted by Saasiel
I just find it disconcerting, 'tis all. He should at least be in his twenties (standard human years) per 1373.

And I ask again, why? He's not human, he's a drow...... Which is a whole different race.....

He hasn't lived for 20 human years, he's lived for 76 drow years.

Drow and humans do not grow and mature at the same rate, which is why he is still considered a adolescent, going by the drow aging tables from the old material.

Even going by the tables in the 3.5 PHB, you could say a 15 year old human is the same age as a 110 year old elf.

And Drizzt is no where near 110 years old. :)
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
11-19-03, 12:53 AM Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Ah. I wasn't sure if you were referring to me or not... My response was as much to you as it was to anyone else who wanted the info. I was making sure it was known that there were official places to look, and what they were. :)

No offense was intended. :)

And none taken. :)

ManinDarkness: even if the site was referencing a published source, they could have been mistaken (one never knows). But I guess then, odds are it would be OK. I'm not sure if Heroes Lorebook was published before or after RAS made the age change, though.

I just thought of something--if RAS could change Drizzt's age so drastically without changing the character, maybe that's a lesson that it ultimately doesn't matter *too* much what his exact age is? All you really need to know to understand his character is that he is a young drow.
Wooly Rupert
11-19-03, 01:55 AM Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I just thought of something--if RAS could change Drizzt's age so drastically without changing the character, maybe that's a lesson that it ultimately doesn't matter *too* much what his exact age is? All you really need to know to understand his character is that he is a young drow.

There was one other thing that RAS changed about Drizzt -- Drizzt was created to be a sidekick to Wulfgar! But he proved rather popular, and would up taking the spotlight.

That's from an interview with RAS, in Dragon 188.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ManinDarkness 10-17-03, 08:48 PM	I been having this discussion with friends of mine. They assure me Drizzt can't be over 85 years old (at the time of the Lone Drow), I say around 100, and I saw in some web page that he's about 160. What does canon says?
Kuje31 10-17-03, 09:04 PM	Double post
Kuje31 10-17-03, 09:05 PM	According to this WOTC article he's 76. He was born in 1297 and it's 1373, so he's 76. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/beforedod
Cherrn 10-17-03, 09:36 PM	Yup that's pretty much true Kuje. As far as I remember it also says in "A Thousand Orcs" that Drizzt thinks ahead 30 years in time with regards to Cattibrie and him and says by then she will be regarded an old woman whereas Drizzt will only just have passed 100 years and still be a young elf.
Shadow_Binder 11-18-03, 10:46 AM	Cherrn is right drizzt has about 76 years:D
Wooly Rupert 11-18-03, 11:42 AM	The fiction chronology also lists his birth year as 1297. Of course, in his first appearance in The Crystal Shard, it says he's over 200... But everything since then has contradicted that, including the Dark Elf trilogy and at least two web articles.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-18-03, 12:15 PM	RAS decided to change his age and didn't want to be held back by what came before (ie. was in written in the IWD trilogy). PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong.
Wooly Rupert 11-18-03, 12:28 PM	Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong. The web articles I referred to in my post were both WotC. One is the one Kuje linked to, another is the fiction chronology that's on the Wizards page: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/fr_timeline.asp
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-18-03, 12:32 PM	Originally posted by Wooly Rupert The web articles I referred to in my post were both WotC. One is the one Kuje linked to, another is the fiction chronology that's on the Wizards page: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/fr_timeline.asp I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the topic starter, who mentioned a web page that was most likely a fan site. I'm not talking about WotC websites (they are reliable--maybe not perfect, but moreso than anywhere else). I should have made that clearer though--it was a general comment not actually directed at you. I did say fan websites, Wooly.
Kacesen_Black 11-18-03, 12:49 PM	i whould have to say 80
Corthan 11-18-03, 01:13 PM	I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-18-03, 02:59 PM	Originally posted by Corthan I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100. The conflict between that girl (Ellifain/Le'lorinel)--an elf--and Drizzt is written about in Sea of Swords, which takes place only a year or so before The Thousand Orcs, not 100 years before it.
ManinDarkness 11-18-03, 05:49 PM	Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin PS: Don't put too much stock in fan websites. They are not always regularly updated, and sometimes the info is just plain wrong. The site was citing a reference in Heroes Lorebook
Wooly Rupert 11-18-03, 06:10 PM	Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the topic starter, who mentioned a web page that was most likely a fan site. I'm not talking about WotC websites (they are reliable--maybe not perfect, but moreso than anywhere else). I should have made that clearer though--it was a general comment not actually directed at you. I did say fan websites, Wooly. Ah. I wasn't sure if you were referring to me or not... My response was as much to you as it was to anyone else who wanted the info. I was making sure it was known that there were official places to look, and what they were. :) No offense was intended. :)
Kuje31 11-18-03, 06:18 PM	Originally posted by ManinDarkness The site was citing a reference in Heroes Lorebook Heroes Lorebook is wrong. :) Besides 3e material rewrites all 2nd edition material unless it isn't some thing that hasn't come yes in 3/3.5 sourcebooks, novels, web articles or in Dragon and Dungeon magazine. According to the WOTC site, he's 76. There are many things in Heroes Lorebook that have been rewritten by 2e and 3e material, like the Earthmother of the Moonshaes, for example. :)
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:00 PM	76 in 'drow years,' uh? What does that translate to in human years?
thalious 11-18-03, 08:03 PM	it translates to 76.
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:17 PM	Originally posted by thalious it translates to 76. Uhh... no, I mean the drow years/xx = human standard years. He can't possibly be 76 in human years, he'll be old and feeble. ;)
thalious 11-18-03, 08:19 PM	I think he is 76 actual years old, so he'd still be a teenager by traditional Evlen standards, thought I am not sure.
Kuje31 11-18-03, 08:25 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel Uhh... no, I mean the drow years/xx = human standard years. He can't possibly be 76 in human years, he'll be old and feeble. ;) According to one of the old sourcebooks, either Drow of the Underdark or The Complete Book of Elves he would be considered an Adolescence. Since drow are an adolescent from ages 50 to 79. Sorry the first #'s I had there were from the Cormanthor book, and I forgot it said elves lived longer at that time period.
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:31 PM	Originally posted by thalious I think he is 76 actual years old, so he'd still be a teenager by traditional Evlen standards, thought I am not sure. Originally posted by Kuje31 According to one of the old sourcebooks, either Drow of the Underdark or The Complete Book of Elves he would be considered an Adolescence. Since drow are an adolescence from ages 31 to 80. :cool: :D Thanks for all your help, guys! :) Any one know of a specific age?
Kuje31 11-18-03, 08:38 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel :cool: :D Thanks for all your help, guys! :) Any one know of a specific age? Specific age?
ManinDarkness 11-18-03, 08:40 PM	I'll say 16.
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:43 PM	Originally posted by Kuje31 Specific age? Aye :D.
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:45 PM	Originally posted by ManinDarkness I'll say 16. That young? :eek: and already a Ftr10/Bbn1/Rgr5 of Mielikki :eek: So, I guess he would be in his twenties circa 1373, right?
Crust 11-18-03, 08:49 PM	Originally posted by Corthan I started reading "One Thousand Orcs" last night. It told of a young girl that he rescued on his first masacre at the surface. It also told of how he had to fight her later on and she died. She was a girl when he found her and a woman when she died. Just a few sentences later I read that the when she died it was nearly a century before the book. So I am thinking he has to be over 100. This is an excellent point. If Ellifain was a child when Drizzt saved her, and he battles her and defeats her in The Thousand Orcs, then how old was Ellifain then? In her 40s or 50s? Doesn't seem logical to me.
ManinDarkness 11-18-03, 08:50 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel So, I guess he would be in his twenties circa 1373, right? Nope, 16 at 1373. That's why his canon age seems a problem with me.
thalious 11-18-03, 08:50 PM	Well, that young is relative by whose life span is considered. In general I don't think your average Elf is as experienced as Drizzt, but Drizzt is not an average elf, also his having been raised and chased in Menzobarrazen has something to do with it too.
Kuje31 11-18-03, 08:55 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel Aye :D. What do you mean by specific age?
Saasiel 11-18-03, 08:55 PM	Originally posted by ManinDarkness Nope, 16 at 1373. That's why his canon age seems a problem with me. 16 as per 1373, now there is a problem with that...
thalious 11-18-03, 08:59 PM	why just assign him an age if you're the DM since a clear answer is not likely to be found, unless a Wizo has the "official" answer.
Kuje31 11-18-03, 09:00 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel 16 as per 1373, now there is a problem with that... Why? Drow and elves don't age the same as humans...... he has the experiences of a 76 year old drow, not a "16" year old human......
Saasiel 11-18-03, 09:03 PM	Originally posted by Kuje31 Why? Drow and elves don't age the same as humans...... he has the experiences of a 76 year old drow, not a "16" year old human...... I just find it disconcerting, 'tis all. He should at least be in his twenties (standard human years) per 1373.
Kuje31 11-18-03, 09:17 PM	Originally posted by Saasiel I just find it disconcerting, 'tis all. He should at least be in his twenties (standard human years) per 1373. And I ask again, why? He's not human, he's a drow...... Which is a whole different race..... He hasn't lived for 20 human years, he's lived for 76 drow years. Drow and humans do not grow and mature at the same rate, which is why he is still considered a adolescent, going by the drow aging tables from the old material. Even going by the tables in the 3.5 PHB, you could say a 15 year old human is the same age as a 110 year old elf. And Drizzt is no where near 110 years old. :)
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-19-03, 12:53 AM	Originally posted by Wooly Rupert Ah. I wasn't sure if you were referring to me or not... My response was as much to you as it was to anyone else who wanted the info. I was making sure it was known that there were official places to look, and what they were. :) No offense was intended. :) And none taken. :) ManinDarkness: even if the site was referencing a published source, they could have been mistaken (one never knows). But I guess then, odds are it would be OK. I'm not sure if Heroes Lorebook was published before or after RAS made the age change, though. I just thought of something--if RAS could change Drizzt's age so drastically without changing the character, maybe that's a lesson that it ultimately doesn't matter too much what his exact age is? All you really need to know to understand his character is that he is a young drow.
Wooly Rupert 11-19-03, 01:55 AM	Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin I just thought of something--if RAS could change Drizzt's age so drastically without changing the character, maybe that's a lesson that it ultimately doesn't matter too much what his exact age is? All you really need to know to understand his character is that he is a young drow. There was one other thing that RAS changed about Drizzt -- Drizzt was created to be a sidekick to Wulfgar! But he proved rather popular, and would up taking the spotlight. That's from an interview with RAS, in Dragon 188.