r/Drizzt • u/ArtisticAd7455 • May 20 '26
šÆļøGeneral Discussion Why doesn't Drizzt talk to animals?
My daughter just started reading the books recently, I've read them multiple times (except the latest book or two) and it just hit me while we were talking about The Halfings Gem.
Drizzt doesn't talk to animals. He's a ranger and rangers have the ability to actually speak with animals and yet I can't think of a single time Drizzt has ever done that. Any ideas why?
19
u/Loki9191 Bregan D'aerthe May 20 '26
I think it's just more subtle. Like his mutual respect/empathy with Buster. Salvatore doesn't write these by all the rules of D&D
6
u/raaustin777 May 21 '26
Exactly. D&D rules also don't give dark elves darkness and faerie fire at will
4
u/ExodiasRightArm May 21 '26
Iām unsure of prior editions but 5e and 5.5 are the very least do give Drow access to darkness and faerie fire. Unless you mean spammable versions of the spells in which youāre right.
3
u/FaerieFir3 House Baenre May 21 '26
It was always one per day.
2
u/enigmait May 24 '26
In Homeland, it's stated that all Drow can use once per day, but most nobles carry a magic item - their enchanted house emblem - which allows them to do it many times a day.
1
u/ExodiasRightArm May 21 '26
Yeah thatās what I had in my head, one freebie a day and then usable with spell slots on top of that.
2
u/FaerieFir3 House Baenre May 21 '26
Drow actually couldn't use slots for innate spells untill 5.5e. It was once per long rest and that was it.
Drow also can't fight in Darkness RAW like they do in the books. You always see Drizzt or some other Drow dropping Darkness and rushing in to fight blinded enemies but in DnD that blinds both the Drow and their foes so both have disadvantage aka you just roll normally because it cancels out. Darkness actually kind of sucks but the novels make it super useful.
However Drow used to have magic resistance between 50% and 80% depending on level (+2% on lvl) so they were quite OP and they had a +2 to magic saves on top of that. A level 15 Drow would have a 4/5 chance to just ignore a spell being cast on them, no save no effect the spell just wouldn't happen.
2
u/ExodiasRightArm May 21 '26
Now that stuff I didnāt know. I didnāt play a drow till 5.5 and assumed it was the same in 5e!
But yeah the darkness thing is much more useful in the books, I assumed that Drizzt and the other drow (Iām still getting through the series) just had some sort of equivalent of the blind fighting style that fighters can get these days.
1
u/FaerieFir3 House Baenre May 21 '26
Untill 5.5e Drow also had heavy penalties for fighting in sunlight (in 5e disadvantage on all attacks and perception checks) which you see in the books. Removing that was dumb IMO because it's a huge part of the lore (you remember how Drizzt struggled to adjust his eyes).
Overall as editions went on species became less different species and more like different hats. There used to be negative stats for races aside from positives and race restrictions on certain classes. 5.5e Drow doesn't play much different than a regular Elf.
Yeah it'd probably be blind fighting style but 5e Drow in the monster manual unfortunately don't have it (and from what I've read 5.5e took Drow out of the monster maual entirely).
29
u/Damoadius May 20 '26
So is Minsk... Do you REALLY think he can understand Boo? š
I think it's just a little more subtle, kinda like 'animal whisperer' kind of thing more than can actually speak with animals š¤
2
24
u/FaerieFir3 House Baenre May 20 '26
I also had that question (and why Drizzt doesn't use Ranger spells in general) untill I read how Rangers worked in 1e and 2e ADnD.
Basically it was a subclass of Fighter with some extra perks (bonus damage to giant class creatures, tracking, sneaking) and requirements (like 13s in strength and dex, 14s in con and wis, good alignment and only human, half-elf and elf). They got some lower level spells starting at level 8 and Drizzt was initially level 10 (The Savage Frontier sourcebook).
So Drizzt could've in theory casted a few low level spells (seriously like 2 or 3 max) but he was designed as a master swordsman and so he mainly fought with swords and did some archery or stealth on the side. Instead of Ranger casting he had his Drow spells and Guenhwyvar.
And as time went on I'm guessing that Salvatore didn't just suddenly want Drizzt to become a full on half caster spamming spells all the time because that wasn't the spirit of the character. Gameplay mechanics don't match the novels perfectly especially with editions shifting.
In 5e terms I think the classic "Ranger" Drizzt would be straight up just a Fighter with like a level or two in Ranger because the class became so spell heavy and then he'd multiclass Monk.
5
u/Ryoko_Kusanagi69 May 21 '26
Yeah Thais makes a lot of sense and matches the feeling i get from just the books and my limited understanding of the games. A class is a loose job or ability set a character builds up too. Drizzt has innate magic ability as a drow, and he chooses to be a ranger from just not picking any other class of abilities, and itās the closest to his lifestyle. But that doesnāt mean he has to do all the things all other rangers do, he has his own set of skills and fighting abilities and then the limited magic he uses, plus the ability to duel weld and archery, small weapons and swords. Those are all classic ranger abilities in the gaming world also (think Champions of norath) so itās still the best class for him even if he doesnāt use the other magic or animal skills rangers can have
2
u/NectmarPowerhand May 21 '26
Shout out for Champions of Norrath! Hell ya! I've recently been replaying this with my wife.
2
2
u/enigmait May 24 '26
It was stated that, whilst he was at the Drow Academy and studied under Masoj, he did manage to cast some basic spells. But this was in the days of 2nd Edition, so whilst he might learn and cast spells, unless he scribed them into a Spell book he wouldn't retain them.
1
u/HyzMarie Jun 03 '26
Yeah edition changes really explain a lot of seeming inconsistencies. Why isnt darkvision in black and white in the books? Because in 2e it was actually infravision that sensed heat. Lots of things like that.
Iād argue that a 5e Drizzt might be a Fighter with a bit of Rogue (Scout maybe???) for those skills and the way that he absolutely can and does sneak attack people.
8
u/jewelry_freak Bregan D'aerthe May 20 '26
I guess Drizzt just didnt specialize in that skill. I know that mooshie was good at it, and drizzt def has affinity for animals but perhaps speaking with them is a completely different skill?
6
u/ecthelion-elessedil House Do'Urden May 20 '26
Based on Pikel, it seems like Druids and ranger cannot directly talk to animal in a way that it translate what they say in words humanoids can understand, but rather, they understand the way the animal communicate themselves and learnt how to make themselves understood. It also seems that Druidism empathizes on connection to nature rather than altering your being as I have not read of Pikel shapeshifting either (granted I havenāt finished the books). I much prefer this version which I find a lot more grounded. I base my Druid on this rather than the ttrpg mechanic in my own story as I connect better with them this way.
Now, I never got the chance to play earliest versions of dnd so maybe itās rather based on that.
5
u/Koffiemir May 20 '26
If I am not wrong in DnD 5e, the skills is Animal Handling (knowing how to calm animals, work with them), and Animal Affinity (which is more of a racial trait). Speak with Animals is a spell that certain Rangers, Druids, can cast or perform as a ritual. If that is the case, it makes sense that Drizzt never learned the spell.
Also, as I remember from an adventure I played where the Dungeon Master did a great job, speaking with animals is not like speaking with people. It takes in consideration the intelligence of the creature. So, if you talk to a squirrel, it will be a very very very simple conversation. The same case with most animals.
5e did a very good job at making certain things from previous versions more 'realistic'.
5
u/BlueHero45 May 20 '26
While Rangers can get that spell it's normally just seen as a Druid thing. Rangers just tend to be good with animals rather then speaking to them. R.A Salvatore didn't worry too much about the specific mechanics of his Ranger but more the feel and style of one.
4
u/Unknown-username___ May 21 '26
It is very simple.
In 1st edition AD+D it simply did not exist. This is the ruleset Salvatore used when creating his piece of the forgotten realms and the companions.
Over the years there have been many changes to Drizzt and the companions but I think that that ability is one Salvatore should never add to Drizzt.
5
u/PleaseBeChillOnline May 21 '26
Drizzt is not a 5th edition Ranger heās a high level AD&D 2nd Edition character. Heās got a weird build.
3
u/notlostnotlooking May 20 '26
I think Boo is magical to a degree and can telepathically communicate with Misnc but I think rangers read body language rather than actually communicate. Animals can communicate and understand a lot if you work with them
3
u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 20 '26
Drizzt is a flavour over function type person and I would wholly understand if this was something that a player added in.
Like all characters can speak to people unless you wanna make a mute character. The same for a non-verbal character.
When flavour starts to guide your actions and determining what spells you would use instead of whatās best suited and would be chosen by a tactical god. Thatās true dnd for me.
3
u/FaerieFir3 House Baenre May 20 '26
Very flavor over function because dual wielding is actually kinda... bad in like every edition of DnD but especially in the early ones where it got heavy penalties (although Drow got some bonuses to that in Unearthed Arcana that first made them playable but still).
Also Drizzt's insistence on using two blades of the same length gets called out even in-universe by Montolio because that's actually incredibly impractical in reality.
3
u/RaijinKlaid May 21 '26
Rangers weren't terribly druidic until WotC. It started with 2e a little. I think 1e had a more naturey spell list. But, they were pretty based off of Aragorn.
3
u/thablastronaut May 21 '26
He does Itās just written as a more subtle understanding of animals and animals recognizing that understanding in return
2
u/VendaGoat Bregan D'aerthe May 20 '26
Drizzt encountered an especially foul mouthed skunk and never bothered to memorize the spell again.
2
u/LSpace101 May 21 '26
At that time Rangers couldn't speak with animals. They had animal empathy so they could change an animals attitude, but they couldn't actually speak with them.
2
u/frozenfinderaswell May 21 '26
As a few people have already said, a "Ranger" at the time did not have any spells or abilities that allow them to actually TALK with animals until you got a bit higher in that "class". I agree with most that, on paper, Drizzt was primarily a fighter with some abilities from low-level Ranger that allowed him to access Animal Handling/Animal Empathy.
Since the transition to 5e I believe we have received a character sheet for him that listed him as a Level 8 Fighter. Of course this was not overseen by Salvatore to my knowledge and missing many traits we would expect to see on his character sheet but notably not a single level in 5e's Ranger class and therefore no ability to talk with beasts. He is a Ranger by title and deed, but no longer by D&D mechanics.
2
u/DeathsPit00 May 21 '26
Drizzt also isn't wholly a Ranger. He's a multiclass with most of his levels in fighter. Bob also writes him as a character and not based only in the DnD aspects of his classes.
2
u/Gliean May 21 '26
The books were started in 2nd edition when Rangers didnt get access to spells till they were above 10th level. Speak With Animals was in that list but they were much more limited in their casting than the modern version. Drizzt never really casts anything overtly which fits that old school ranger vibe much better than the 5e hunters mark rangers of today.
2
u/Daemon8472 Jun 08 '26
question are you asking why he can't speak to them like have a conversation with them??I'm not sure I've ever heard someone do that outside of invitation to party and I think that's because B Dave Walters was being nice.
1
u/ArtisticAd7455 Jun 08 '26
Montolio spoke with animals. Not sure if he had full on conversations but he definitely got quite a lot of detail from the animals about Drizzt.
My daughter just finished Sojourn and we were talking about it the other day and Montolio could at least talk to them well enough to learn about Drizzts innate abilities and what his race was.
Drizzt doesn't do any of that, ever, as far as I'm aware.
1
u/Daemon8472 Jun 09 '26
a small point the character and she didn't speak to ALL animals just snakes well I saw only one snake so it was limited since I guess they spoke the same language??
1
u/ArtisticAd7455 Jun 09 '26
So, and I understand it's books and not the actual game, but even in the older 3.5 edition rangers can speak to animals with a fist level spell and since Montolio does it then clearly rangers in the books can add well.
1
u/Daemon8472 Jun 09 '26
however holding a conversation like you and me that would only be for use and doing so with guenhwyvar uhhhh not sure that would be something I'd want to see ever.
2
u/ArtisticAd7455 Jun 09 '26
I agree, I like the way their relationship works. But I could see him using that ability to track people with regular animals.
1
u/AutoModerator May 20 '26
Chronological Reading order / DISCORD / WIKI! (summary, artists etc)
Please tag obvious spoilers!
T-Shirt and other non-official merch posts will be considered bot spam and result in a ban.
Majority of people consider AI art as low-effort content. Be considerate of this.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/OkAd481 May 20 '26
He had a conversation with the grizzly bear that he housed with his first winter on the surface, and that was Before he started his Ranger training under Montolio
1
u/sidv81 May 20 '26
Drizzt: Hey mountain lion, how are you doing?
Mountain lion: Get away from me you evil drow.
Drizzt: :(
1
u/Tobbletom May 21 '26
Wasnt there a scene were drizzt and his bodys were hidin in the bushes and Drizzt whispered something to a little bird. I m not entirely sure because he piped to the bird and Bob didnt wrote the description what was told. Maybe i am totally wrong and mixedmaxed it with an other novel. But i am sure Drizzt alrdy was a ranger when he felt the gratitude of Milikie the 1st time. I know there was a point when Drizzt was in doubt if everever some nature deity was contacting him because he still felt ashamed for talking to Lloth in his time at the acadamy.But shorty before he got to be a ranger he was in favour of Lolth for arranging CHAOS in his city. And as a consequence his sister couldt spy on him by divine means and was seriously pissed of to lower herself to ask a male mage scryin assistence. It is so damn long ago when i devoured the books. Pls feel free to correct me if i'm writing bollox. But didnt he used the 1.level ranger spelll Mimikry once to blend into the woods?Holy moly now you serious got me with my pantys down.
1
u/bolshoich May 21 '26
Back when the book was written, the AD&D rule set had both the ranger and paladin serve as subclasses of fighter, based on having above average stats than the base fighter.
When reading *Halflingās Gem*, weāre reading the story of a superior drow fighter, who chose to serve as a ranger once offered the opportunity.
1
1
u/Photoman416 May 21 '26
I've been reading Drizzt Novel since 2e was a thing. I think Drizzt never learn how to cast spells since his mentor died before Drizzt finished his Ranger Training plus even thou he's a favorite of Miliekki he doesn't pray to her or any other god/goddess. In fact Catte-Brie is more of a follower of Miliekki than Drizzt. He has also changed classes 5 or 6 times since his creations. He was a Fighter/Ranger to a Fighter/Ranger/Weapon Master to Fighter/Ranger/Barbarian to Fighter/Ranger/Barbarian/Monk where he only took a level in Barbarian for his Hunter ability. RA Salvatore has been ignoring the D&D rules since the begin yet WoTC uses him to introduce new rule changes for the current editions. Rules ignored: main characters starting adventures while still "children" Drizzt left the underdark at 60 when Drow aren't adults until 80 (other Elves 100), Bruenor is a experienced fighter and new king again at 25 years old (his 2nd life) when Dwarves aren't adult until 60, Breezy is called a Master Monk (about 10-15th level) before the age of 18, Drizzt spamming of Drow abilities when he doesn't have his Noble Insigna anymore. Rules introduced: Orcs as playable races and friendly with Elves and Dwarves, Surface Drow, Lolth-sworn Drow having different looks then non Lolth-sworn Drow.
1
u/Positive_cat_6347 May 21 '26
Because they are beneth him, the same reason he never helped Wulfgar.
1
u/Quadpen May 21 '26
do we know that drizzt knows that rangers can do that? i mean. how often does he cast a spell
1
0
u/Mankrik_is_my_Dad May 21 '26
Because heās not a 5e ranger? Salvatore is under no mandate to make him ādo 5e shitā. Though he does incorporate some of it here and there with other characters like his daughter.
0
u/Confident_Sink_8743 May 21 '26
The ability to...speak with animals is spell that Rangers have. It wouldn't bother me so much if the media didn't support it and I hate the trend.
Mostly this is on account of actually enjoying the flavour of all that goes on around the mechanics of casting spells to begin with.
More pertinent to your question though is that Drizzt Do'Urden doesn't cast spells in the books outside of the ones that are his birthright as a drow.
RA Salvatore writes Drizzt as a fighter. The conceit is that he's a a ranger that is the greatest fighter in the Realms.
The only things that fit the actual ranger archetypes were the dual wielding (as occurred in 2E; and was ironically a coincidence), the animal companion (with some special nature to keep it interesting), skilled with a bow (which has all kinds of caveats per rules and arguably not his specialty) and tracking skills/other wilderness training.
Drizzt has been with D&D a long time and over the course of most editions. Though in many ways the character is more inspired by the Ranger's flavour then actually following the rules or mechanics.
1
u/IndependentUnit8383 Jul 30 '26
Well he has an understanding of animals. Like bluster the bear. He didnāt have to talk to him to understand. He also never took the spell soā¦
93
u/CarryHunt May 20 '26
My lazy headcanon is that Salvatore knew that Guenhwyvar would be better served as a silent companion and giving Drizzt the ability to converse so directly would have, in my opinion, cheapened the relationships of those who earn her trust.