Rise of the King exists in interesting times.

In the original saying, “interesting times” were a bad thing, or at least a difficult thing. The world has changed in the many years since Drizzt made his debut – both his world of Faerun, and the world of roleplaying games. The Forgotten Realms have been racked by social, political, and cosmic upheaval, not all of which went over very well with the fans. Once, a Dungeons and Dragons novel like Rise would have been the only game in town. But now, the fanbase has split (you might say there has been a Sundering), and we bore witness to the rise of Pathfinder with its bizarre mashup of pulp fantasy tropes, and Tumblr-active writers. Dungeons and Dragons continues, but you’d be forgiven for wondering what its course in such interesting times must be.

In the Companions Saga, the franchise seems to set out its choice. The series is a multi-part story set in D&D’s greatest world – in addition to Drizzt and friends, Faerun gave us the genre-defining CRPGs Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. The series marks the return of Drizzt and his companions – not everyone is a fan of the drow ranger, but everyone knows who he is, whether they revere him or parody him. Faerun’s future is, it seems, very much connected to its past, and it shows in Rise of the King, from the explicit references to 3^rd and 4^th Edition Realms lore down to the divine intervention trick used to restore Drizzt and his friends to life in the current era.

This choice is notable, and is far from a given. Even the other arm of Wizards of the Coast seems intent on making Magic: the Gathering more and more divergent from its own history and the experience of its long-time fans. It is a deliberate choice, and it is also a statement. They are staking out an argument that while the edition number has changed, and the game mechanics have changed, this is still the Dungeons and Dragons of legend, and is still capable of telling the stories that a past cohort of roleplaying gamers fell in love with.

And judging by Rise of the King, that statement is true.

If this is your first Companions novel – much less your first Forgotten Realms novel – you’ll find the story very much in motion starting from the first page, and you may not see the significance of all the characters and points. And there are a lot. In general, though, the story is drawn in sufficient detail that you will catch on soon. Besides, as befits a middle volume, Rise of the King sweeps readers into the action. The book soon introduces at least two characters to whom the title might apply, though only one can prevail. Armies march, magic surges, and cities burn almost from the word go. To longtime Faerun players, a lot of this may seem like things they have seen before. Still, there are some surprising twists and revelations, especially when it comes to the drow factions’ convoluted politics; and Salvatore goes out of his way to illustrate explicit conflicts between good-aligned individuals and groups, a feature that has not always been emphasized in the lore of the Realms (or other role-playing games, but that’s a point for another time).

If you didn’t approve of the edition-related changes to Faerun, this book probably won’t change your mind. If you think Drizzt is a dyed-in-the-wool Mary Sue, you probably won’t be swayed from that view. But Rise of the King might just remind you of what has made Faerun such an amazing setting for all these years: the high-stakes conflicts, high-speed action, and likable characters are as you remembered them. Salvatore is to be commended for avoiding a dramatic tonal shift in the post-Spellplague stories, a choice that makes Faerun stand out for a different reason, among other settings that attempt to be gritty, depressing, and jarringly realistic.

Some RPGs were designed to resolve mechanical and structural issues identified by their designers. Others were designed to promote a certain vision of roleplaying as a practice, and certain styles of storytelling. But in the end, an RPG and its tie-ins must be judged on the simplest of questions: is this a world the players and readers care about? A world they wish to be a part of, to play a role in? If Rise of the King is a snapshot of Faerun as it is now, then the Realms have plenty to offer. Some things may have changed, but Drizzt and friends have lost none of their power to compel your attention, keep you turning the page, and let you into the world of Faerun with all its wonders, threats, and magic. May certain things never change.