History Literature / TheDarkElfTrilogy

* KlingonPromotion: The backstabbing society of the drow accepts this to a large extent, though usually they hide it behind some (often very superficial) window dressing. Subverted with Alton [=DeVir=], however: when his master is killed, he [[spoiler:takes over his job by [[KillAndReplace also taking over his identity]]]].

* SkilledButNaive: Drizzt being innocent yet powerful is a rarity among the drow. Even after he leaves Menzoberranzan, the narrative uses his FishOutOfWater nature and young naiveté for conflict.

* VillainCorner: Vierna is supposedly the nicest of Drizzt's sisters, and it is implied that absent the corrupting influences of drow she might have turned good. However, a few KickTheDog moments make it clear that she is, at best, only slightly less ChaoticEvil than the rest of her family.

** Among the drow, Maya is the only character whose name can also be a girl's name in the real world. As for boy's names, Zaknafein is often shortened to "Zak."
** A pair of dragons that come up in ''Sojourn'' ''seem'' like this: their names are the mythologically-derived Hephaestus and the sesquipedalian Mergandevinasander. But actually, Hephaestus is merely [[SomeCallMeTim a name used by other races]]; his dragon name is Velcuthimmorhar.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The canonical racial alignment of the Drow in the game the books were based on was literally this, and Salvatore plays it almost entirely straight, with Zaknafein and Drizzt the only [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch non-evil Drow]] in the series.[[note]]With the possible exception of Jarlaxle Baenre, whose alignment has been given as both NeutralEvil and ChaoticNeutral depending on the source.[[invoked]][[/note]] Even Drizzt's own family are evil.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Just about ''every'' family in Menzoberranzan. Drow society is based on the Klingon Promotion theory, and lorded over by a deity that demands '''regular''' sacrifices of blood. Drizz't is almost [[spoiler: killed at birth because he is a third son, which has no value in their society.]] Wars between Houses are commonplace, as only the top eight Noble Houses have a place on the Council. Children of the Houses that are not killed are made into cousins/slaves of the conquering House, in effect you now get to be a "part" of the family that killed yours. Oh, and the only way to become Matron Mother of your House? Kill the current one.

* BlackWidow: It's said that Malice has had many lovers, but usually ends up sacrificing them to the dark gods when she tires of them. We see this happen "onscreen" to [[spoiler: Rizzen, and arguably Zaknafein]], though she also has other reasons to get rid of the latter.

* CantCatchUp: Drizzt's instructors eventually realize that, because of the training he had already received from Zaknafein, his classmates would never even approach his ability and start having him compete against more senior students. They [[CantCatchUp can't catch up]] either.

* CleanDubName: In the Russian version of the books, Drizzt was changed into Dzirt, due to the original name resembling a Russian slang word for someone with diarrhea. (Of course, in English, the Russian version sounds like he's a delicious confection of some kind.)
* CombatPragmatist:

* DownerEnding: Book one, ''Homeland'' ends on this. [[spoiler: The book ends with Zaknafein allowing himself to be sacrificed in place of Drizzt, and Drizzt ultimately fleeing Menzoberranzan into the wilds of the Underdark - a much nastier place.]]

** A subversion: Drizzt manages to escape the mindflayer's control not by willpower, but by slipping into his "Hunter" alter ego that he developed to survive years alone in the Underdark.

* InterspeciesRomance: For a ''generous'' interpretation of "romance," part of the drow graduation ceremony in ''Homeland'' involves, as part of a regular orgy, the priestess with the highest grades ritually mating with a glabrezu in hopes of producing a half-fiend child. For those unaware, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Drizzt_Do%27Urden_battling_with_a_Glabrezu.jpg glabrezu]] aren't HotAsHell, but towering, four-armed, claw-handed, dog-headed monsters that lack the sort of natural magic to assume a less monstrous form. It's mentioned in other background material that not all priestesses survive such couplings.
* IntrinsicVow: Useless fighter or fighter who can fight your control enough to kill himself? To clarify, [[spoiler: Zaknafein]] under the control of Matron Malice, breaks free just long enough to [[spoiler: throw himself into a pool of acid to prevent himself from killing Drizzt.]]

* ISurrenderSuckers: Since the drow have a reputation for this, the gnomes in the novel ''Exile'' thought Drizzt was trying to pull one of these when he was actually ''honestly'' trying to surrender to them. [[spoiler:It worked out eventually thanks to Belwar's intervention.]]

* KlingonPromotion: The backstabbing society of the Drow accepts this to a large extent, though usually they hide it behind some (often very superficial) window dressing. Subverted with Alton [=DeVir=], however: when his master is killed, he [[spoiler:takes over his job by [[KillAndReplace also taking over his identity]]]].

* MentorOccupationalHazard: Zaknafein and [[spoiler: Mooshie]] both end up dying after teaching Drizzt.
* MookHorrorShow: Zombie!Zaknafein, being Undead, is [[NoSell immune to]] psionic attacks. He comes looking for Drizzt in the middle of a Mindflayer city. Your garden-variety Mindflayers are dependent on their psi abilities for combat. [[CurbStompBattle This does not end well.]]

* PlausibleDeniability: The Drow society works on the basis of [[KlingonPromotion families killing each other out to gain status]]. Everyone knows it's happening, and it's perfectly acceptable unless you happen to leave behind a witness who can accuse you.

** Briza gets one of her KickTheDog moments when she bullies relatively-more-sympathetic Vierna for [[WouldHurtAChild not whipping little Drizzt enough]] when she trains him in basic Drow magic.

* ARealManIsAKiller: Drizzt's family enforces this trope in an effort to break Drizzt's morality.
* RebelliousPrincess: Drizzt, a gender-inverted case. Since the drow are matriarchal, Drizzt even shares the "no say in his own life" role that many princesses run from.
* ReligiousHorror: Along with ReligionOfEvil. Lolth treats her worshipers as basically slaves, and encourages their infighting.

* SpareAMessenger: ''Homeland'', a drow patrol which includes Drizzt wipes out a svirfneblin group which was mining minerals too close to their city. However, since the leader treated Drizzt well when he was briefly captured, Drizzt wants to spare him. Aware that his kin [[AlwaysChaoticEvil won't understand mercy]], he points out that someone needs to come back and tell the gnomes about the drow strength and the folly of approaching Menzoberranzan. The other drow cut off the gnome leader's hands and send him off.

* UnknownRival: For most of the novel ''Homeland'', House Do'Urden is completely unaware that [[spoiler: House Hun'nett]] is plotting against them. The readers, however, are fully aware of it (as soon as Alton hears about it. Which is pretty much from the start).

* VillainCorner: Vierna is supposedly the nicest of Drizzt's sisters, and it is implied that absent the corrupting influences of Drow she might have turned good. However, a few KickTheDog moments make it clear that she is, at best, only slightly less ChaoticEvil then the rest of her family.

* WhipOfDominance: The domineering Drow priestesses of Lolth all use whips, as it is the favored weapon of their goddess. Six-thonged, living, [[SnakeWhip snake-headed whips]] that deliver poison when they bite. As a tyrannical {{Matriarchy}} society, drow priestesses often whip young male drow to hammer in their status as second-class citizens. Drizzt was raised and mentored by his older sister Vierna Do'Urden (a priestess of Lolth) and while she was a [[SternTeacher stern and authoritative teacher]], she was considered "soft" on him by their elder sister Briza (a ''high'' priestess of Lolth who was far more sadistic) who pressured Vierna into starting to using the lash when he made mistakes to "motivate" him and teach him how to have been submissive to the supremacy of female drow. Vierna reluctantly complied and started to whip him when he made grave mistakes, which wielded results, but also damaged their relationship.
* WideEyedIdealist: Drizzt at the beginning of the first novel; then he gets a nasty taste of reality. This breaks him of the idea that everyone in the world follows those ideals, but not of his desire to follow them himself.

** To put that in context, [[spoiler:the ''heads of Menzoberranzan'' have come to kill them. Even if anyone survives, nobody will take up their claims for revenge. House Do'Urden is ''screwed.'']] Even worse. The ones coming to kill them [[spoiler:are already there]]. Early in the book, Matron Malice accepted help from [[spoiler:House Baenre, augmenting Do'Urden's defenses with their guards.]] When Malice fails in her attempt to regain Lolth's favor, the enemy is [[spoiler: already inside the walls. Jarlaxle helped too.]]

* CainAndAbel: Quite common among the drow, as the only way to gain status is to [[KlingonPromotion kill the person above you. The opening alone has Drizzt's brother Dinin kill their older brother Nalfein for this purpose, as well as [[spoiler:Masoj and Gelroos Hun'ett]].

%% * CainAndAbel: Quite common among the drow; the opening alone has Dinin and Nalfein Do'Urden and [[spoiler:Masoj and Gelroos Hun'ett]].

* CombatPragmatist: Zaknafein, to a surprising extent despite his skill. He carries little glass spheres on him that bathe the room in blinding light when shattered, which to the drow who normally live in complete darkness can be quite detrimental, and uses one against Drizzt in a particularly vicious battle. He also has no qualms about [[GroinAttack kicking a male opponent where it hurts.]] When Drizzt calls him out on it, Zaknafein brilliantly replies with this:

%% * NonHumanSidekick: Guenhwyvar.

** To put that in context, [[spoiler:the ''heads of Menzoberranzan'' have come to kill them. Even if anyone survives, nobody will take up their claims for revenge. House Do'Urden is ''screwed.'']] Even worse. The ones coming to kill them [[spoiler:are already there]]. Early in the book, Matron Malice accepted help from [[spoiler:House Baenre, augmenting Do'Urden's defenses with their guards.]] When Malice fails in her attempt to regain Lloth's favor, the enemy is [[spoiler: already inside the walls. Jarlaxle helped too.]]

** The third-born male child is always sacrificed to Lloth on the day of his birth. Zaknafein also witnesses the children of House [=DeVir=] being slaughtered without mercy.

* InterspeciesRomance: For a ''generous'' interpretation of "romance," part of the drow graduation ceremony in ''Homeland'' involves, as part of a regular orgy, the priestess with the highest grades ritually mating with a glabrezu in hopes of producing a half-fiend child. For those unaware, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Drizzt_Do%27Urden_battling_with_a_Glabrezu.jpg glabrezu]] aren't HornyDevils, but towering, four-armed, claw-handed, dog-headed monsters that lack the sort of natural magic to assume a less monstrous form. It's mentioned in other background material that not all priestesses survive such couplings.

* BigDamnVillains: At one point in the second book, Drizzt and his friends are captured by illithids (mind flayers) and made into the creatures' brainwashed slaves. Zaknafein, who's been revived as an undead monstrosity sent to kill Drizzt, eventually tracks him to the illithids' lair. The mind flayers ''try'' to mentally enslave him the way they did Drizzt, but since he's an undead monster who's being controlled by an external force he's pretty much immune to it. Zaknafein slaughters the illithids, and ends up freeing Drizzt and his friends from their enslavement.

* AdaptationalSelfDefense: In the brief backstory given in the Icewind Dale trilogy, Drizzt backstabbed Masoj to get Guenhwyvar's figurine after the svirfneblin massacre. Here, Masoj tries to kill him first.

* KarmaHoudini: Roddy [=McGristle=] leaves Icewind Dale at the cost of his dog's leg, and nobody finds out he killed Kellindil.

%% * InTheBlood: Though in this case Drizzt is acutely aware of his origins. Sub-trope might feasibly be named 'Putting on the Drizzt'.

* HonorBeforeReason: Subverted. In his first grand melee, Drizzt was defeated due to {{BackStab}}: he never expected such a dishonorable tactics So, in his second grand melee, Drizzt marches out into the open and challenges his final opponent to an honorable fight while his brother and his teacher FacePalm in the observation area. The opponent takes advantage of this to attack him from behind... and trips over the wire Drizzt set up for just that eventuality.

'''Drizzt:''' ''(Puts his sword to the other drow's throat)'' Yes. [[CombatPragmatist I know.]]