Who Would Win – Scifi and Fantasy Characters 2018 Bracket Round 1

You’ve seen similar posts before. Pit one fictional character against another in an epic imagined duel and decide who would be the victor. J & K have decided to join in the fun. We argue our points in an interview style.

Round 1

Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Drizzt Do’Urden

K: Look, I like Drizzt. He’s one of my favorite fantasy book characters. But despite his awesome sneak abilities, his great swordsmanship, and even the fact that he can summon Guenhwyvar (which I still can’t pronounce) from another plane of existence, there is no way he can escape someone who wields the force. He’s out matched. End of story.

J: I’m really curious whether Drizzt’s ‘blackout’ magic (aka the globes of darkness that drow can conjure) would have Force-canceling properties similar to a ysalimiri. And whether Icingdeath would be able to parry a lightsaber due to its unique enchantment. Regardless I doubt raw instinct could match Jedi speed, so I’m giving the win to Obi-Wan as well.

K: You bring up two interesting points. Icingdeath could absorb fire and heat, which I think would aid Drizzt more in a battle with a Sith, but as science tells us friction creates heat, therefore, the blade might be able to aid…. somehow. And Twinkle, his other blade, was enchanted to strike with more accuracy and have better parry. The globes of darkness being like ysalimiri is an intriguing idea, and would certainly level the playing field. However, I’m inclined to believe that the darkness would only impact Obi-Wan’s physical sight. Historically in RPGs darkness blinds the character and hinders physical attacks while magical spells are still at the character’s disposal. But for argument’s sake, let’s say a Jedi’s abilities are severely decreased by magical darkness. Couldn’t Obi-Wan simply use Force Light on Drizzt and blind him?

J: I can’t think of any instance where a Jedi conjured light a la Harry Potter and ‘lumos,’ but I suspect you’re right about it only hindering Obi-Wan’s physical sight. When it comes to speed, however, it occurs to me that Drizzt does wear an enchanted item that increases his natural agility. Whether that’s enough to match a Jedi or not, I’m uncertain. For the moment, let’s remove magic and the Force from the equation and focus on swordsmanship. Neither fighter is familiar with the style of their opponent. Obi-Wan uses a defensive form (called Soresu, if memory serves) that was originally conceived for battles against many blaster-wielding combatants. It’s not intended for dueling, and I imagine Obi-Wan would call such contests ‘uncivilized.’ Drizzt grew up in a society where duels and personal combat are second nature, and emerged triumphant time after time. In that sense, he is the more accomplished of our duo.

K: I’ll come back to the duels aspect. But really quickly on Force Light – I’m not sure if it is a literally light as in the physical manifestation or if the term has to do with the “good” quality philosophically attributed to light-side force wielders. I, however, see it as a HP lumos meets super nova, if the super nova was scaled back to fit into the field of vision. But back to dueling. I think Obi-wan has enough dueling experience to not be at a disadvantage were we to remove all force/magic from the equation. Jedi trained to be peacekeepers and if I recall correctly, they dueled with each other as Padawans (under supervision of course). Obi-wan saw his fair amount of duels in the course of the movies. Although you could argue he’s better at coming back after a loss. Lost to Darth Maul, later defeated him. Lost to Count Dooku. Bested Anakin. And Obi-wan isn’t afraid to permanently disable his opponents if he has the high ground. Say goodbye to your legs, even if you were best friends. But I like to think we are talking about an Obi-wan post episode 3 but prior to A New Hope, and now he’s a lot less likely to dismember an opponent. He brings a level of seasoned warrior, but as you say a duel for duel-sake would probably feel uncivilized to him. I think he’d be hesitant, forced into such a duel as we are putting him in, but would eventually find himself at least even in skills. Final comments before we make a call on the outcome?

J: Ah, I now better understand your point about the ‘light.’ Given that Drizzt is not Force-sensitive (to the extent of our knowledge) I do not think he would perceive Obi-Wan as a luminous being the way a dark side-user would. Unless somehow the Force is actually one of the many planes of existence in the Forgotten Realms, in which case we have a whole other crossover conversation to begin…anyway, fair point about Obi-Wan’s dueling experience, but I think my ‘style’ point holds up insofar as his duels have all been against other Force-users wielding lightsabers. A lightsaber has neither a sharp nor dull edge, so the technique involved is considerably different (and perhaps less sophisticated?) than that of a duelist wielding blades. This brings me back full circle to the question of whether or not Drizzt’s blades can withstand the molten intensity of a lightsaber.

K: I’m going to have to vote no. While Drizzt’s blades are enchanted, I don’t think they could withstand extended contact with the power of the lightsaber. Drizzt would have to stay well out of reach of the blade for the majority of the fight, looking for an opening to stab Obi-wan in the back. I love that we were able to make arguments on a more level playing field, but I’m back to my initial answer. Obi-Wan Kenobi as victor. (Although I’m intrigued by the Force actually being a plane of existence in the Forgotten Realms. Maybe we can explore that in another post).

J: Was there ever any doubt? Drizzt would be left saying: “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

Victor: Obi-wan Kenobi!