Drizzt's gear is great. And there are ways to kill him to get that gear that shamelessly metagame and/or exploit the game engine's AI. Eg, you can prepare traps for him. (Lay traps, rest, rinse and repeat.) Or you can (or at least could in the vanilla game) lure him to one side of the lake and drop him with arrows. (He can't figure out how to get to the other side of the lake.)
But for RP oriented players who wish to try to win the fight without blatant metagaming or 'cheese' tactics, this is a major strategic challenge. Ideally, you want to tackle this fight early enough in the game to benefit from Drizzt's gear for the bulk of the game. As early as possible, really. So we're talking about taking on an epic level character at around levels 2-5.
The justification for even for Good aligned characters killing Drizzt in this game isn't a tremendous stretch in the Forgotten Realms. Most everyone in Faerun has heard the legend of Drizzt. (The manual says that too, essentially.) If the guard Fuller at Candlekeep refers to him, we may assume that you've heard the tales of Drizzt, even given your cloistered upbringing in Candlekeep.
But regardless, the drow are an evil race. And a monster race. And many if not most surface dwellers in Faerun would reasonably react to drow as 'kill-on-sight'. You have the dialogue option to respond as unfriendly towards Drizzt, refusing to aid him, after which he turns hostile. And you could arguably choose it as much simply because he is a drow (regardless of your alignment) as if you are evil. That's a rationalization that you can use anyway. :) (Now whether your PC could or would make a good guess as to who this drow is, and respond accordingly in the dialogue, is another question. But that is on your RP conscience. ;))
You can also choose a dialogue option that rejects his plea for help yet doesn't turn him hostile. But if you speak to him after he defeats the gnolls he will identify himself and depart, ignoring your attacks, quickly disappearing. (Traps would be cheese here.)
So with that framework established:
How do you kill Drizzt with a party at level 2-5, using tactics that flow from legit RP in that moment of encountering him/turning him hostile?
or, alternatively,
If you're playing an Evil level 2-5 party and scout ahead, guessing that it may be Drizzt, and you choose the dialogue option to leave him neutral after defeating the gnolls: How do you then cunningly kill him without cheese tactics?*
You can use metagame knowledge but your tactic has to be believable more or less from the standpoint that you stumble onto this fight. It is certainly plausible that a stealthy scout would hear the commotion of Drizzt's battle with the gnolls. So you could well have some idea that a big fight lies ahead. You can spy it and see that a drow is surrounded by a dozen gnolls.
* If you're playing an evil PC or party, perhaps after scouting you do make an educated guess that it just might be Drizzt. And perhaps you then you're bold enough to attempt killing him for his treasure. But if you're Good aligned and make the guess that it's Drizzt you really should choose the dialogue option to help him.
But for RP oriented players who wish to try to win the fight without blatant metagaming or 'cheese' tactics, this is a major strategic challenge. Ideally, you want to tackle this fight early enough in the game to benefit from Drizzt's gear for the bulk of the game. As early as possible, really. So we're talking about taking on an epic level character at around levels 2-5.
The justification for even for Good aligned characters killing Drizzt in this game isn't a tremendous stretch in the Forgotten Realms. Most everyone in Faerun has heard the legend of Drizzt. (The manual says that too, essentially.) If the guard Fuller at Candlekeep refers to him, we may assume that you've heard the tales of Drizzt, even given your cloistered upbringing in Candlekeep.
But regardless, the drow are an evil race. And a monster race. And many if not most surface dwellers in Faerun would reasonably react to drow as 'kill-on-sight'. You have the dialogue option to respond as unfriendly towards Drizzt, refusing to aid him, after which he turns hostile. And you could arguably choose it as much simply because he is a drow (regardless of your alignment) as if you are evil. That's a rationalization that you can use anyway. :) (Now whether your PC could or would make a good guess as to who this drow is, and respond accordingly in the dialogue, is another question. But that is on your RP conscience. ;))
You can also choose a dialogue option that rejects his plea for help yet doesn't turn him hostile. But if you speak to him after he defeats the gnolls he will identify himself and depart, ignoring your attacks, quickly disappearing. (Traps would be cheese here.)
So with that framework established:
How do you kill Drizzt with a party at level 2-5, using tactics that flow from legit RP in that moment of encountering him/turning him hostile?
or, alternatively,
If you're playing an Evil level 2-5 party and scout ahead, guessing that it may be Drizzt, and you choose the dialogue option to leave him neutral after defeating the gnolls: How do you then cunningly kill him without cheese tactics?*
You can use metagame knowledge but your tactic has to be believable more or less from the standpoint that you stumble onto this fight. It is certainly plausible that a stealthy scout would hear the commotion of Drizzt's battle with the gnolls. So you could well have some idea that a big fight lies ahead. You can spy it and see that a drow is surrounded by a dozen gnolls.
* If you're playing an evil PC or party, perhaps after scouting you do make an educated guess that it just might be Drizzt. And perhaps you then you're bold enough to attempt killing him for his treasure. But if you're Good aligned and make the guess that it's Drizzt you really should choose the dialogue option to help him.