![1988 the crystal shard 1988 the crystal shard](https://coverart.oclc.org/ImageWebSvc/oclc/+-+73251126_140.jpg)
Throughout the adventure, the pace and tempo are kept moving at a nice clip from beginning to end, starting with the first act’s preliminary war with the unified barbarian tribes of Icewind Dale, a more short-lived peril which occurs in parallel with the slower introduction and development of Akar Kessell, the wizard apprentice who finds the Shard.
![1988 the crystal shard 1988 the crystal shard](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/18/00/ea/1800ea83a54e33f8afa3627970d68acf.jpg)
The chief threat to the safety of the region arrives in the form of a legion of goblins, orcs, lesser giants, and trolls which serve this evil wizard. The villain is a vain, bumbling wizard who stumbles upon an ageless, evil artifact of great power and sentience (the eponymous Crystal Shard). The main heroes are an elf (albeit a sub-race that was never cast as heroic before this), a dwarf (of the most stereotypical variety), and a human male (though his origin as a barbarian provides an interesting arc for him).
![1988 the crystal shard 1988 the crystal shard](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/fe/Crystal_Shard_comic_issue_1_cover.jpg)
#1988 THE CRYSTAL SHARD PC#
It’s worth noting that while this book provides a lot of world-building for that part of the Forgotten Realms, there’s also no direct story connection between the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the two PC roleplaying games released under the title of Icewind Dale - they simply take place in the same geographical part of the campaign setting.
#1988 THE CRYSTAL SHARD SERIES#
It was also the first volume in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, a slightly misleading name for the series since this is the only book of the three to actually take place in the geographical region called Icewind Dale. While nowadays labeled as Book 4 in the Legend of Drizzt series within the many-authored shared universe of the Forgotten Realms (itself one of a number of campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game), this particular entry, The Crystal Shard, was originally released in 1988 as R. Salvatore (1988)ĭungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms (Shared Universe) BY: LEWIS MEDEIROS Originally posted to a separate blog on January 12, 2016