It established Drizzt as a hero out to prove to the surface dwellers that he had shunned the evil ways of the drow elves of the Underdark. The first published Drizzt novel covered a lot of ground. More recent stories feature her as Drizzt’s wife, but she was previously betrothed to Wulfgar, prior to the barbarian's apparent death in later books. Catti-brie was given relatively little time to shine in the first book of The Icewind Dale Trilogy, and the early books in the series cast her and Wulfgar as a romantic pair. The five-year span of The Crystal Shard saw Wulfgar adopted by the dwarf Bruenor following a defeat in battle, and forging Wulfgar’s signature weapon, the magical hammer Aegis-fang. At the time of The Crystal Shard, Drizzt was still establishing himself as a hero on the surface world, and an altriustic drow elf was an oddity in the setting. Major events like the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague, and the Sundering altered the Forgotten Realms deities and flow of magic, providing in-fiction rationalization for the rule changes each edition brought to the game.ĭuring that roughly 140-year period in the novels, three of D&D: Dark Alliance’s playable characters - Catti-brie, Bruenor, and Wulfgar - have died and returned through reincarnation into newly born, younger selves. The time jump accounts for changes in the Forgotten Realms setting that took place alongside new editions of D&D. In the Forgotten Realms timeline, the events of The Crystal Shard took place between 13 DR (Dalereckoning), while current 5 th edition D&D modules in the Forgotten Realms are typically set in the 1490s. But it also recalls a time where the status quo was notably different for the characters. Setting the new game so far back in the timeline of the Drizzt stories is an interesting move by developer Turque Games, as it appeals to nostalgia for longtime fans of the series. Related: Dungeons & Dragons' Newest Rule Changes, Explained This places D&D: Dark Alliance between the fourth and fifth books of The Legend of Drizzt in chronological order, and between the first and second book in published order.

Chronologically, The Dark Elf Trilogy (despite being published later) takes place first, revealing Drizzt’s backstory and his escape from the Underdark. The Crystal Shard was the second Forgotten Realms novel ever published, following 1987’s Darkwalker on Moonshae, and it was the first book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy.

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