One of the most surprising announcements made at The Game Awards was the return of the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series, with a new entry that is just called Dark Alliance. What is even more surprising is that one of Dungeons & Dragons most famous parties is finally taking on the starring role in a game after years of sitting on the sidelines, as the Companions of the Hall are finally getting the video game outing that they deserve.
Dark Alliance will include four different playable characters, all of which were shown in the trailer. The dual-wielding dark elf is Drizzt Do'Urden, the woman with the bow is Catti-Brie, the dwarf is Bruenor Battlehammer, and the hammer-wielding barbarian is Wulfgar. These characters debuted in Dungeons & Dragons novels that were set in the Forgotten Realms, starting with The Icewind Dale Trilogy, written by R.A. Salvatore.
Icewind Dale is one of the most remote locations in Faerun and it served as the location for a novel called The Crystal Shard. This was the book that introduced Drizzt Do'Urden to the world and he would go on to become one of the most famous characters in Dungeons & Dragons. Drizzt is a member of the drow race, who are evil dark-skinned elves who live in underground cities. Drizzt wanted to escape from the wicked ways of his people and he journeyed to the surface world in the hope of finding acceptance. It was obvious from the start that Drizzt was the breakout character of the series and most of the later novels would focus on his adventures.
Streams of Silver was the second book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy and it follows the characters on a quest to find Bruenor's lost homeland - the dwarven kingdom of Mithral Hall. It's from this quest that the Companions of the Hall took their name. At that time, the group was also joined by a halfling named Regis, who possessed a magic gem that could influence the minds of others. Regis did not appear in the Dark Alliance trailer, as his style of adventuring wouldn't gel with a hack and slash game. Catti-Brie would join the group in their later adventures and she became a major part of the series, so it's no surprise that she took Regis' place in Dark Alliance.
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2019, yet it has few iconic characters of its own. Drizzt Do'Urden is probably the most famous Dungeons & Dragons character, due to his books reaching the New York Times Best Seller list. Drizzt has also appeared in other Dungeons & Dragons video games in the past (most notably the first two Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games), while all of the Companions of the Hall appeared as potential allies in Baldur's Gate 2, as they could join the protagonist during the fight against Bodhi in the later chapters of the game.
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise is seeing unprecedented levels of success, thanks to the fifth edition capturing the imaginations of people around the world and the growing online presence of the game. The fact that the Companions of the Hall are being given a starring role in a video game after all of these years suggests that more things could be planned for other iconic Dungeons & Dragons characters in the future. There are rumors that Vecna is going to be an important part of the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie, while Baldur's Gate 3 can bring back many classic characters from the Forgotten Realms. Between all of these Dungeons & Dragons games, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, and the recently announced Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, it has never been a better time to be a fan of tabletop RPGs.