AfterDungeons & Dragonspublisher Wizards of the Coast acquired Torque Games this fall, it was only a matter of time before a new video game based aroundD&Dwas announced. That’s exactly what happened during The Game Awards last week, during which Torque revealed its next upcoming game:Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, a spiritual successor to the early-2000sBaldur’s Gate: Dark Alliancegames, is set to arrive in 2020.
Not only does this mean that Wizards of the Coast are adding a new addition to the collection ofD&Dvideo games released over the years–some of them now legendary–but the newDark Alliancewill also star familiar faces for long-time fans, Drizzt Do’Urden and the Companions of the Hall. While Drizzt’s history can fill its own page, let’s talk about the few people he trusts with his life and at times much more: his Companions of the Hall and fellow heroes in the lands around Icewind Dale.
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For those who don’t know, the adventures of Drizzt and the Companions of the Hall began back in 1988, with author R.A. Salvatore’s first book of many in his ongoing saga,The Crystal Shard. Therefore, it makes sense that Tuque has establishedDark Allianceas taking place after the events ofThe Crystal Shardandin Icewind Dale, though not much is known beyond that. Still, it’s enough to know thatDark Alliance’s playable characters (besides Drizzt) will be Bruenor Battlehammer, Catti-brie, and Wulfgar, otherwise known as the Companions of the Hall.
The trio earned their name–along with another member of the Hall, Regis–while retaking (and further down the line, defending) Mithral Hall, their iconic base of operations for much of the group’s time together. The retaking of Mithral Hall is also the group’s firstmajor adventuretogether, the event that wraps up R.A. Salvatore’s first trilogy of Drizzt books, theIcewind Daletrilogy. While there are far too many books–and, therefore, adventures–to summarize all in one go, all prospectiveDungeons & Dragons: Dark Allianceplayers really need is a basic sense of who these people are, and how they’re connected to each other. For that, let’s start with one Bruenor Battlehammer.
Bruenor Battlehammer
Bruenor is the fierce leader of the dwarven clan Battlehammer, who first encounters Drizzt while living outside the far northern Ten-Towns. The dwarf and his clan were driven out of their ancestral home (the aforementioned Mithral Hall) when Bruenor was a child, and as an adult, Bruenor and the clan then made a living by supplying the towns with dwarven weapons and armor. He eventually convinced Drizzt to help him retake the hall, and thereby began their long and storied adventures, but before all of that Bruenor is both leader and father.
Though Bruenor has the gruff and stubborn countenance typical of many dwarves, he reserves his softer side for a select few people: his adopted human daughter, Catti-brie, and the human barbarian Wulfgar, who met Bruenor as a young man and went to live with him in Icewind Dale after the dwarf spared his life in a battle. And, while tough, Bruenor is also fair; he’s able to ignore ingrained prejudices for other races, which allowed him to befriend Drizzt long before the other inhabitants of Icewind Dale. Drow elves are hated and feared on thesurface of Faerun, but Bruenor saw Drizzt for who he was–and not as a representation of the drow as a whole.
InDark Alliance, Bruenor is seen wielding the same notched axe that appears in so many of Salvatore’s books.
Catti-Brie
Next, there’s Catti-brie,a fighterbrought into the Companions' fold as a young woman–and yes, it’s pretty much because Bruenor is her adoptive father, so naturally, she ended up assisting his efforts to liberate the Mithral Hall. Like her father, Catti is more notably tolerant than most people; as an adventurer, she’s both kind and pragmatic. That means she’s often the voice of wisdom within the Companions and frequently advises Drizzt in hismanyperiods of emotional turmoil.
She and Drizzt also eventually get married, though this may or may not have happened already inDungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. In fact, Catti originally got engaged to Wulfgar, and though this officially fell apart due to Wulfgar’s apparent death (and actual capture at the hands of a demon), things were already rocky between them before.
Because Tuque hasn’t gone into more details as to thetimeline ofDark Alliance, Catti and Drizzt could be friends, lovers, or possibly married in the game–players will just have to see for themselves. Either way, Catti-brie and Drizzt have always had a strong relationship whether or not it was romantic; for a span of six years, discovering they shared a wanderlust that Mithral Hall couldn’t satisfy, she and Drizzt took to the Sea of Swords together as famous pirate hunters.
In theDark Alliancetrailer, Catti-brie is seen fighting with her iconic bow Taulmaril, which would fittingly carry over no matter the timeline of the game.
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Wulfgar
Thehuman barbarianWulfgar was originally born to the Uthgardt Tribe of the Elk, becoming the tribe’s flag-bearer when he was still a boy. That’s how he came to meet Bruenor; when Wulfgar’s clan attacked Ten Towns, Bruenor knocked him out with one swift blow to the head. After the tribe’s defeat, Bruenor returned to Wulfgar and decided not to kill him, instead bringing him back home and declaring that Wulfgar’s punishment would be five years and a day of service to Bruenor.
Over that time, Wulfgar befriended Catti-brie and began to think of Bruenor as a father figure, and once his service to Bruenor ended, the dwarf asked Drizzt to teach his ward how to fight–thus cementing Wulfgar’s friendship with Drizzt and every other member of the Companions. ShouldDark Alliancetake place after his relationship with Catti-brie has ended–which seems likely, considering that her relationship with Drizzt has been more prominent for a long time–then they’ll still be portrayed as the friends they resolved to be after Wulfar’s return to the Companions.
Wulfgar’s beloved warhammer Aegis-fang, which he’ll use to fight in the game, was crafted for him by Bruenor.
With that, anyone planning to playDark Alliancewithout knowing the characters' history should have all the information they need to pick up the game when it launches. There is another member of the Companions, ahalfling thiefnamed Regis (or Rumblebelly, as Bruenor calls him), though he doesn’t appear to be a playable character in the game. There are periods of time when Regis strikes out on his own, though ultimately settling into his role as an adventurer and advisor to Bruenor, so it’s unclear whether or notDark Alliancewill address this.
Nevertheless,Dark Alliance’s main characters should beall ready to go: Bruenor, the old and grizzled dwarven fighter; Catti-brie, the fierce archer; Wulfgar, the enormous barbarian; and Drizzt, the double-scimitar-wielding hero of legend. Together, this group should delight fans who have followed their exploits for years, and intrigue players just now getting to know them.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Allianceis set to release in fall 2020 for PC and consoles.
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