Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills (north of the Evermoors and under the River Surbin). It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game (of the same name) and a tabletop RPG setting.

Creative origins

In 1988, the character Drizzt Do'Urden was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy and referenced the character's "years in Menzoberranzan".

In 2018, Salvatore said:<blockquote>Look, I grew up in a sexist, racist society. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood. Have you ever watched The Sopranos? That was my neighborhood. Only without the mob, but that was my neighborhood. It had the same attitudes about life. I grew up with five older sisters, and I saw what they had to endure. And they're also where I got the idea for the bad matriarchal society of Menzoberranzan. [...] I love my sisters dearly. It's funny, because they'll always come up to me and say, "I'm Vierna, right?"</blockquote>

Publication history

Forgotten Realms novels

The Icewind Dale trilogy

Menzoberranzan was introduced in The Crystal Shard (1988) as part of the background for Drizzt Do'Urden. Shannon Appelcline (author of Designers & Dragons) wrote that "from the time of that first book of Salvatore's Icewind Dale trilogy, Drizzt was a breakout success, due in no small part to his mysterious origins and his 'years in Menzoberranzan, or in the wilds of the Underdark . . .' With that one sentence, Salvatore ensured that the Underdark would rise up to unseat Deepearth as the collective name for D&D's underground realms—and that fans would want to know more about those realms".

The Dark Elf trilogy

In September 1990, Salvatore's novel Homeland was released. This was the first novel in the prequel series and was followed by Exile, in December 1990, and then Sojurn, in May 1991. Homeland shows the life and society of Menzoberranzan as Drizzt Do'Urden grows up there. It explores the complex Drow house system in Menzoberranzan along with education system, called the Academy. Cindy Speer, for the SF Site, wrote that "the city is beautifully rendered, a place of danger, as beautiful as a poisonous snake, and the rules of this society are chilling".

Pornokitsch, in their review of Homeland, wrote that "Menzoberranzan is a stunning metropolis - svelte architecture, omnipresent magic and an atmosphere of choking paranoia. [...] It is important to note that the Forgotten Realms are a place of extremely high fantasy [...]. Menzoberranzan is high fantasy to another order of magnitude. Every drow can use magic and their city glows with eldritch power".

While at the end of Homeland Drizzt leaves Menzoberranzan, the city continues to be a secondary location in the trilogy and follows other characters still in the city.

Legacy of the Drow series

The Legacy of the Drow series, by R. A. Salvatore, was written after the Dark Elf trilogy but chronologically it follows the Icewind Dale trilogy. Menzoberranzan is a secondary location in the first novel, The Legacy (1992) and a major location in the second and third novels, Starless Night (1993) and Siege of Darkness (1994). In The Legacy, this "is the first time Salvatore has 'gone home' so to speak since Drizzt left the Underdark at the end of Exile. [...] The chaotic city of Menzoberranzan hosts part of the story with the unexpected return of a member (or two) of the Do'Urden family. This is the catalyst for the hunt for the blasphemous Ranger who turned his back on his family, race and the Spider Queen".

In Starless Night, Drizzt returns to Menzoberranzan to try to prevent an attack on Mithral Hall. In Siege of Darkness, while Menzoberranzan is heavily impacted by the Time of Troubles and magic going awry, the Drow still plan and then launch an attack on Mithral Hall.

Starlight and Shadows trilogy

In September 1995, Elaine Cunningham's novel Daughter of the Drow was released and it is set 21 years after Salvatore's novel Sojurn. Unlike Drizzt Do'Urden, the main character Liriel Baenre is prized member of the top house in Menzoberranzan. Similarly to Homeland, it follows Liriel Baenre's early life and her process of escaping the city. and Windwalker (April 2003).

War of the Spider Queen series

Menzoberranzan appears prominently in the War of the Spider Queen series, particularly as the setting of the first novel in the series Dissolution (2002), as well as Condemnation (2003), Extinction (2004), Annihilation (2004), and Resurrection (2005). The War of the Spider Queen series is written by six authors with two editors; Philip Athans and R. A. Salvatore. The series "returns to Drizzt Do'Urden's homeland, the Underdark, to spin a tale of a ragged band of four dark elves on a desperate quest to find , drow goddess and the demon Queen of Spiders, and save their subterranean city of Menzoberranzan and the entire dark elf race".

Neverwinter Saga

Menzoberranzan appears as a secondary location in Charon's Claw (2012), the third novel of the Neverwinter Saga, where "at the beginning of the book, the Drow from Menzoberranzan are plotting to take Gauntylgyrm and the ancient fire being under their own power and have sent out forces to do just that". The release of this book was part of the Wizards of the Coast coordinated marketing campaign called "Rise of the Underdark". A few weeks after Charon's Claw was published, a Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook on the city (Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue) was also released as part of this campaign.

Salvatore said he came to understand that Artemis Entreri, a main character in the book, "was who Drizzt might have become had he remained in Menzoberranzan. Entreri sees the surface world as wretched and evil as Drizzt viewed his homeland, except for Entreri, there was no escape. So he gave in to cynicism and hopelessness".

Companions Codex

Menzoberranzan appears prominently in the Companions Codex series by R. A. Salvatore, particularly in the first novel in the series Night of the Hunter (2014). The Drow of Menzoberranzan and Q'Xorlarrin, a settlement in Gauntylgyrm founded by the Menzoberranzan Drow from House Xorlarrin, are plotting war against the surface world because Menzoberranzan is on the brink of civil war and the Drow goddess Lolth is angry at the city. This leads to a conflict called the War of the Silver Marches which continues throughout the rest of the series, Rise of the King (2014) and Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf (2015).

Salvatore said that "the War of the Silver Marches seems straightforward from afar - the orcs of Many Arrows, prodded by the drow, have decided to take on the alliance known as the Kingdoms of Luruar. Up close, however, it gets much more complicated, as the drow tease the frost giants to the side of the orcs, then throw in a couple of dragons (who have their own ulterior motives) for good measure. And of course, at a higher level, we've got a feud between a pair of goddesses, Lolth and Mielikki, kicking up the dust as well".

Homecoming trilogy

Menzoberranzan appears prominently in the Homecoming series by R. A. Salvatore, particularly in the first two novels Archmage (2015) and Maestro (2016). At the start of the series the War of the Silver Marches is over but the fate of Gauntylgyrm, a satellite settlement of Menzoberranzan, has yet to be decided and "the dwarven kings and their allies are marching to reclaim Gauntlgrym, a dwarven stronghold lost some decades past. [...] Meanwhile, the drow of Menzoberranzan, led by their scheming Matron Mother, Quenthel Baenre, are planning the defence of Gauntlgrym, which they've claimed for their own. The first half of the book deals with what happens before the dwarfs reach Gauntlgrym, and the second half deals with what occurs when the two sides come into conflict. Weaving throughout this tale are a number of disaffected drow, of particular note are Jaraxle, of the Bregan D'aerthe mercenary company, and the eponymous Archmage, Gromph of House Baenre".

Archmage highlights the politics of Menzoberranzan with a focus on the Archmage Gromph Baenre. The events of the book setup the Dungeons & Dragons "Rage of Demons" storyline and the adventure Out of the Abyss (2015) as at the end of the novel, Archmage Gromph Baenre accidentally summons Demogorgon, the Prince of Demons, to Menzoberranzan. The second book, Maestro, deals with the fallout of the "Rage of Demons" storyline in Menzoberranzan with a particular focus on Drizzt Do'Urden returning to the city and the story concludes in Hero (2016).

Generations trilogy

The Generations series by R. A. Salvatore follows the Homecoming trilogy. In the first novel, Timeless (2018), Menzoberranzan is one of the main locations and "it follows the tumultuous life of Drizzt's father, mentor figure, and idol Zaknafein, both in the past, when his friendship with the infamous mercenary captain Jarlaxle opened the door for his heresy, and in the present, after he is resurrected and reunited with his son". The series continues in Boundless (2019) and is concluded in Relentless (2020).

Salvatore said: "I can tell you that for many years, and a lot of readers have agreed with me, I've said I really wanted to write a book about Zaknafein and Jarlaxle, but before Drizzt was born. How did they get to know each other? What was Menzoberranzan like? [...] So half the book takes place back before Drizzt was born, so I can reintroduce people to the dark elf city, through different eyes. Slightly different perspective on the dark elf city".

Dungeons and Dragons

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition

Ed Greenwood, Salvatore, and Douglas Niles collaborated to release a three-book box set in December 1992 called Menzoberranzan: The Famed City of the Drow. Ashe Collins, for Diehard Gamefan, wrote "originally published by TSR in 1992, following the successful Homeland Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore, which featured the Drow city in great detail there, TSR sought to capitalize on it by providing far more detail to the actual city than they had before for GMs and players, and the Forgotten Realms setting".

The first two books cover the history of the fictional setting, while the final book serves as an adventure module:

  • Book One: The City
  • Book Two: The Houses
  • Book Three: The Adventure

John ONeill, for Black Gate, wrote that "one of my favorite RPG settings of all time is Menzoberranzan, the 1992 boxed set from TSR that drew liberally from R. A. Salvatore's best-selling Drizzt Do'Urden novels. [...] Packed with 20,000 drow inhabitants, hundreds of thousands of humanoid slaves, and countless secrets and simmering rivalries, the home of the drow was an ideal adventure site for intrepid (and suitably high level) players".

In November 1999, Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark (1999), by Eric L. Boyd, was released. Appelcline wrote that it "is the single-most comprehensive sourcebook on the realms of the Underdark that lie beneath the Sword Coast. It talks about the major peoples of the Underworld and details dozens of cities, including Menzoberranzan" and that "Boyd's extensive research results in Underdark being full of tiny references. For example, drow cities are drawn from the list in Drow of the Underdark and from obscure references in Menzoberranzan".

A review for Pyramid identifies Menzoberranzan as one of "the most famous pieces of the Realms".

3rd Edition & 3.5

Menzoberranzan is briefly described in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001).

In August 2012, Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (2012), by Brian R. James and Eric Menge, was published. This was an edition-neutral campaign setting book and was announced as part of the Rise of the Underdark event. Appelcline wrote that the book includes reprinted material from earlier sources "covering the setting of Menzoberranzan, the houses of Menzoberranzan, and the drow of the Realms" and it "also advances the timeline of the city. This includes details on how the War of the Spider Queen (2002–2005) changed the city and totally new material on the Spellplague. The result turns the system-neutral Menzoberranzan supplement into an era-neutral supplement that allows players to run Menzoberranzan in any era, from its 2e origins to the 4e present-day".

Ed Grabianowski, for Io9, wrote that "the most famous of drow cities hasn't received the splatbook treatment since 2nd Edition. [...] Plus, physically, Menzoberranzan is one of the coolest, most unique fantasy cities ever".

John ONeill, for Black Gate, wrote that after it was released "nearly 20 years ago for second edition AD&D, Menzoberranzan has not seen an update since and has been out of print for over 15 years. It was featured in the popular Menzoberranzan PC game from SSI/DreamForge, part of their Forgotten Realms product line, in 1994, and very prominently in the six volume War of the Spider Queen novels, but it's been far too long since my favorite underdark city-state appeared in a new edition". Wired included the book on a seasonal gift guide and wrote that "it's a wicked underground city packed full of scheming dark elves and their henchmen and slaves. The illustrations of the noble families are particularly excellent, and you really get a sense of the personalities of these houses. [...] This book is just the resource you need to run a campaign in the city or to inspire you to create your own evil city".

5th Edition

In September 2015, Menzoberranzan received a dedicated chapter in the 5th edition book Out of the Abyss (2015). Henry Glasheen, for SLUG Magazine, wrote that the adventure "leads through some of the most famous locations in The Underdark—if such places can be said to be famous. Many players will remember Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, but even lesser-known areas such as Blingdenstone and Gracklstugh are fully developed and ready to be explored".

Fictional description

Menzoberranzan is an underground city populated by the drow, and ruled over by the priestesses of Lolth. The city has 20,000 drow inhabitants and hundreds of thousands of humanoid slaves such as goblins, kobolds, bugbears, duergar, svirfnebli, orcs, ogres, minotaurs, and giants, as well as herds of rothé kept as livestock. The city trades poisons, mushrooms, riding lizards, spell scrolls, wine, and water.

On one edge of the city the family houses are located in their glory, while the edge near the lower level Drow houses there is a lake used to water the rothé. An island in the center is used to as an outlook post to help defend the city.

Founding

Menzoberranzan was founded by a priestess of Lolth named Menzoberra the Kinless in −3917 DR.

In the Io9 series revisiting older Dungeons & Dragons novels, in his review of Homeland, Rob Bricken says that "where Homeland really shines—what hooked me as a kid, and what I still find fascinating now—is how thoroughly Salvatore examines drow society and the city of Menzoberranzan. From the cult of Lolth, the spider-goddess, to the matriarchal houses constantly scheming to destroy the others, to their equally Machiavellian education system, to the brutal class structure, Salvatore explores it all. He gives equal attention to the architecture and art of Menzoberranzan, and he's gained enough skill to describe it with aplomb. What would look like utter darkness to us is a world of vivid color for the drow, whose nightvision (the D&D term for being able to see the infrared spectrum) is unparalleled. It's augmented by magic and the elves' ability to shape stone into works of art, ornate houses, and more".

In other media

Board games

  • In 2011, the Legend of Drizzt Board Game was released. The adventure book in the game is inspired by the R. A. Salvatore novels and "the first adventure, Exile, is inspired by the book of the same name and features Drizzt's journey from Menzoberranzan to the surface".
  • In 2016, the Tyrants of the Underdark board game was released. Players act as competing Drow houses trying to take control of locations in the Underdark such as Menzoberranzan and Blingdenstone.

Video games

  • The city was the main location of the video game Menzoberranzan (1994). Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games said "the last TSR-licensed game SSI published is the infamously wretched (and hard to spell) Menzoberranzan, which appeared in 1994 for DOS. [...] [It] had all the ingredients necessary for a hit. [...] Nevertheless, gamers quickly complained about the endless number of boring battles that drag out the game and ruin its pacing".
  • In 2015, players in the MMO Neverwinter could accompany Drizzt to Menzoberranzan during its demonic assault in the Underdark Campaign. In 2023, the game's Neverwinter: Menzoberranzan module featured the city as a new adventure zone and campaign.

Miscellaneous

  • In 2014, Matt Hummel's essay Menzoberranzan: A Perfect Unjust State appears in Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy, a new volume in Wiley-Blackwell's long running Philosophy and Pop Culture series. Hummel "uses the infamous Drow city to discuss notions of justice and injustice".
  • Sleep Sound (2021) is a poem by R. A. Salvatore which received an animated short to promote the "Summer Of Drizzt" marketing campaign. The short features Menzoberranzan; it was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and animated by The Sequence Group.
  • Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) producer Jeremy Latcham stated that the city seen at distance in the Underdark portion of the film was intended to be Menzoberranzan – Latcham commented that "I don't know if we actually ended up leaving it that on the map, but when we designed it originally, that was going to be Menzoberranzan. There was some controversy about it based on where we were with Dolblunde, which was kind of a made-up place".

See also

  • Menzoberranzan (video game)
  • Underdark

References

  • Poster map of Menzoberranzan created by Mike Schley for Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (2012).

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