“For face designs, we wanted both a more relaxed facial expression and a battle-mode expression. It was also important to have a hair style for the classic Icewind Dale wind-blown ‘look’—which can also be used to show him leaping into battle—and a second, relaxed hair design. To give fans even more variety, we made the hair removable and interchangeable with the different heads,” Jones explains.
“The team also provided different hands for punching or sword attacks, as well as magical sword effects inspired by the special effects in the video game. We worked closely with the game design team to make sure his iconic swords were instantly recognizable. In order to decide which hands to include, the team focused on what the character needed to do, such as wielding his swords, punching, and holding objects such as the cat figurine.”
CAT POWER
Fans of Drizzt will know that the “cat figurine” Jones refers to is the
Figurine of Wondrous Power that summons the panther Guenhwyvar from the Astral Plane. Those buying this premium Dungeons & Dragons action figure won’t have to imagine Guenhwyvar springing forth from the tiny sculpture, as she’s also been included as a scale figure to stand beside the six-inch version of Drizzt.
“Guenhwyvar is critical to Drizzt’s story. We wanted to capture the moment of Drizzt summoning his cat companion, so including the small cat figurine along with the full cat figure was a must,” says Jones, revealing that the team referenced panthers and several other large cats to accurately create muscle and bone structures.
“We took a more fantastical approach to capture her powerful presence. We enlarged Guenhwyvar’s scale and packed on the muscle, so she looks coiled and ready for action. The team also made the Guenhwyvar figure fully articulated so that fans could have a vast range of poses for her lunging, crouching, and leaping into battle.”
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As if posable versions of Drizzt and his feline companion weren’t enough, additional bonus items continue to push the notion of “Premium”. On its release in December the box will include an unlock code for an exclusive item in the
Dark Alliance video game. Artist Max Dunbar, who drew the beautiful packaging artwork, has also created six monster cards. These double-sided cards featuring exclusive illustrations of Icewind Dale’s creatures as they appear in the game have the art on the front and Drizzt quotes from Salvatore’s Icewind Dale saga on the back.
“They’re typed up in a cool, authentic D&D elven font, so it’s not something that can immediately be read but it’s a fun little Easter egg for those people who want to go down that rabbit hole and figure out how to decipher it,” says Jenna Hoffstein, Senior Play Designer at Hasbro.
“We had a huge amount of conversations about what should be included in the box and a d20 always rose right to the top of the list. We went back and forth to find one that looked incredible and our oversized, iridescent blue-green and purple d20 is going to be a beautiful addition to anyone’s dice collection.
“Our goal was to make this an incredible fan experience. It’s the first time we’ve created something like this so we wanted to swing big right off the bat and come up with something the fans can get really excited about. Drizzt is such a cool character and adding in Guenhwyvar made this a truly premium experience.”
The Dungeons & Dragons Drizzt & Guenhwyvar Premium Action Figure is released in December 2020 with an MSRP of $39.99. It’s available to preorder now exclusively on Hasbro Pulse. 
