# R. A. Salvatore - Maker: Novelist - Date: b. 1959 - Houses: TSR, Inc., Wizards of the Coast, Del Rey Books - Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/r-a-salvatore/ > The former bouncer who auditioned for TSR's second Forgotten Realms novel, invented a scimitar-wielding dark elf named Drizzt on a whim, and turned him into the most famous character in Dungeons & Dragons fiction. **Why it matters:** Salvatore's Drizzt novels made game-setting tie-in fiction a bestselling genre in its own right, and he carried that storytelling back into video games, from Demon Stone to Kingdoms of Amalur. ## Quick answers **Who is R. A. Salvatore?** The former bouncer who auditioned for TSR's second Forgotten Realms novel, invented a scimitar-wielding dark elf named Drizzt on a whim, and turned him into the most famous character in Dungeons & Dragons fiction. **When was R. A. Salvatore born?** R. A. Salvatore was born in 1959 in Leominster, Massachusetts. **What is R. A. Salvatore known for?** R. A. Salvatore is best known for The Icewind Dale Trilogy and Forgotten Realms. **Why does R. A. Salvatore matter to fantasy and games?** Salvatore's Drizzt novels made game-setting tie-in fiction a bestselling genre in its own right, and he carried that storytelling back into video games, from Demon Stone to Kingdoms of Amalur. ## Life Robert Anthony Salvatore was born on January 20, 1959, in Leominster, Massachusetts, the youngest of seven children. At Fitchburg State College he was studying computer science when someone gave him [The Lord of the Rings](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/the-lord-of-the-rings/) as a Christmas present; the gift turned him toward literature, and he switched to journalism, graduating in 1981, and later earned a second degree in English. He worked for years as a bouncer, an experience he credits for the physical, blow-by-blow quality of his fight scenes. In 1982 he began writing seriously, drafting *Echoes of the Fourth Magic* longhand by candlelight. His papers have been held by Fitchburg State since 1997. ## Work Salvatore sent *Echoes of the Fourth Magic* to publishers including [TSR](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/tsr/). The editor Mary Kirchoff, reading the slush pile, disliked the story but liked the writing, and TSR invited him to audition for the second novel in its new [Forgotten Realms](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/forgotten-realms/) line, the campaign world [Ed Greenwood](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/ed-greenwood/) had built. He won the job in July 1987 and wrote *The Crystal Shard* in about two months. Because much of the Realms was still blank, he had room to invent: the frozen Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale, the dwarf Bruenor Battlehammer, the barbarian Wulfgar, the halfling Regis, and, when his editor asked for a last-minute replacement character, a lavender-eyed [dark elf](https://www.lanternhall.org/bestiary/elf/) ranger with two scimitars and a magical panther named Guenhwyvar. Drizzt Do'Urden was a sensation. [The Icewind Dale Trilogy](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/the-icewind-dale-trilogy/) (*The Crystal Shard*, *Streams of Silver* and *The Halfling's Gem*, 1988–90) sold more than 1.5 million copies of its first two volumes, and the prequel Dark Elf Trilogy revealed Drizzt's escape from the matriarchal, spider-goddess-worshipping drow city of Menzoberranzan. A drow who rejects his people's evil, fights prejudice on the surface and keeps a moral code in a hostile world, Drizzt became a template for countless player characters. *The Legacy* (1992), his first hardcover, reached number 9 on the *New York Times* list. Success brought conflict. In the mid-1990s TSR wanted Salvatore to commit to six more books on terms he found unworkable, suggested he use a ghostwriter, and, since the company owned the character, assigned a new Drizzt novel to another author. Salvatore publicly declared Drizzt dead to him and wrote *The DemonWars Saga* for [Del Rey](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/del-rey-books/). After [Wizards of the Coast](https://www.lanternhall.org/houses/wizards-of-the-coast/) bought TSR in 1997, it shelved the replacement book and brought him back; *The Silent Blade* (1998) won an Origins Award. He also wrote *Vector Prime* (1999), which opened Star Wars: The New Jedi Order and, at Lucasfilm's direction, killed Chewbacca. ## Legacy Salvatore's books established that fiction set in a game world could be a mass-market phenomenon in its own right, and Drizzt remains the face of Forgotten Realms fiction more than three decades on; Wizards announced a new six-book deal in 2010, and the saga continued well into the 2020s. The character migrated into games from the start. He cameos in BioWare's [Baldur's Gate](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/baldurs-gate/) (1998), where players can pickpocket or even attack him, and reappears in [Baldur's Gate II](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/baldurs-gate-ii/), the *Dark Alliance* console games, and *Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance* (2021), where he and his companions are the playable heroes. Black Isle's [Icewind Dale](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/icewind-dale/) (2000) was set in the region his first novel had put on the map, and Wizards released a cooperative board game, *The Legend of Drizzt*, in 2011. Salvatore also wrote for games directly. He scripted the story of *Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone* (2004), wrote chat lines for *Quake III*'s bots, and edited a book series based on [EverQuest](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/everquest/). As creative director of Curt Schilling's 38 Studios, he created the world history for *Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning* (2012), which sold more than a million copies before the studio collapsed into bankruptcy three months later, leaving his $2 million fee unpaid. He has said he bears Schilling no ill will. ## Facts - He created Drizzt Do'Urden on a whim when his editor needed a replacement companion in an early draft of The Crystal Shard (1988). - He wrote The Crystal Shard, his first published novel, in about two months after winning TSR's audition in July 1987. - When TSR assigned Drizzt to another writer in the mid-1990s, Salvatore vowed never to return; Wizards of the Coast shelved that book and won him back after buying TSR. - His 1999 Star Wars novel Vector Prime killed Chewbacca, a decision made by Lucasfilm and the editors, not by Salvatore. - He wrote the story of Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (2004) and built a 10,000-year backstory for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (2012). - Drizzt appears as a cameo in Baldur's Gate, where a skilled or reckless player can attack him. ## Sources and further reading - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._A._Salvatore) - [The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/salvatore_r_a) - [Drizzt Do'Urden on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drizzt_Do%27Urden) --- From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.