Menzoberranzan

• Title — Menzoberranzan • Developer — DreamForge Intertainment • Publisher — Strategic Simulations • Designer — John McGirk • Programmer — Don Wuenschell • Artist — Jane Yeager Frank Schurter • Composer — Jamie McMenamy • Genre — Role-playing • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — MS-DOS, PC-98, FM Towns

Menzoberranzan, a subterranean city where the Drow live, and had been introduced in the tabletop game materials two years earlier in December 1992 in a three-book box set called Menzoberranzan: The Famed City of the Drow by Ed Greenwood, R. A. Salvatore, and Douglas Niles. The game also features Drizzt Do'Urden as one of the main characters. The game begins with the only two survivors (both chosen by the player) of a monsters-killing quest returning to a village situated somewhere in Icewind Dale, where they are celebrated for their success. However, after a night of heavy drinking, they pass out and only wake up when the village is attacked by Drow, who kidnap a number of villagers. The survivors ask the adventurers to rescue their friends and family, with the adventurers being directed towards the Underdark, where Drow civilization is situated. On their quest, the two adventurers eventually meet a number of adventurers and creatures that helps them in their mission, with them eventually joining forces with Drizzt Do'Urden, who reveals that the attack on the village was done under orders of his mother; Malice Do'Urden, in an attempt to draw him out to capture and punish him for abandoning his people. Upon arriving to Menzoberrazan, Drizzt is teleported away and captured by his mother, forcing the party to ask help from the Drow, who are in the middle of a civil war between the two most powerful families. With the help of some sympathetic and/or opportunistic Drow, they are able to defeat Malice, prevent the ritual sacrifice of Drizzt, and rescue the kidnapped villagers. Upon returning to the village, they are once again celebrated with Drizzt congratulating the adventurers for saving him.

• Illustration — Combat scene The game has elements of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (3d world and real-time action) and its game concept is somewhat similar to Westwood's Eye of the Beholder series. The player initially creates two player characters (PCs) and can acquire non-player character (NPC) allies later in the game.

Menzoberranzan was published in 1994 by Strategic Simulations. The game was later included in the 1996 compilation set, the AD&D Masterpiece Collection. In August 2015, game distributor GOG.com released the PC version of the game along with several other Gold Box titles.