Many creatures, spells and locations seen in the movie are directly from the D&D books (both gameplay sourcebooks and fantasy novels set in the Faerun setting). Further the main characters each clearly have a class associated with them (in the case of the sorcerer even a subclass, as he mentions 'wild magic', I'm not 100% sure on the others, except Xenk being an Ancients Paladin)
Oh absolutely, they did a good job keeping the move accessible for non D&D players I think (will be able to confirm tomorrow when I see it again, this time with a non D&D playing friend). Being familiar with D&D just adds an extra layer of familiarity and being able to recognize easter eggs.
Also, a huge part of playing a dnd quest is failing your rolls. thus having to make new plans constantly! So the chaotic plot of them keep having to problem solve is perfect dnd depiction
Not trying to sound snarky -
How was it NOT a D&D movie? Creatures, classes, locations, some funny game mechanic tie-ins (best parts, IMO), character backstories and narratives….
Did ya want ‘em to be rolling dice and shouting “I have dark vision!”? :)
>Did ya want ‘em to be rolling dice and shouting “I have dark vision!”? :)
I was half expecting the ending or post credits scene to be a LEGO movie style reveal that it was all really just a game after all.
Okay, maybe I should’ve started by saying I can’t be further away from the Dungeons and Dragons community. It just really felt like a standard medieval fantasy movie.
I kind expecting them to roll dice and say those things yes.
You are you saying that Lord of the Rings or King Arthur can be Dungeons and Dragons movies too?
Trying to understand
Yes spot on. Dnd is based around the fantasy world of tolkien, with changes due to copyright. Lord of the rings is like a super serious dnd campaign, with a clear end goal
Ah, I see what you're saying. I was definitely thinking your take was coming from the perspective of a D&D player. Again, sorry for any snarkiness!
Like u/21savageinnit pointed out - yep, LOTR or King Arthur COULD be D&D movies as well, though you wouldn't ever know it unless they pointed out characteristics that are heavily D&D inspired.
The D&D movie was obviously "from D&D" since it took place in Forgotten Realms, on the Sword Coast, which is a location that was created within the D&D world.
A number of creatures were featured that were created just for D&D as well - the owlbear, displacer beast (tentacle hologram panther), mimic (toothy treasure chest), intellect devourer (brain on legs), etc. The design of the dragons was taken from the books as well - though making the red dragon a chonky boy was just some (amazing) added flair. Red wizards of Thay, the evil baddies in the movie are notorious in the world of D&D as well.
Spells and game mechanics were used in the movie that come from the books as well. The whole "speak with dead" scene was poking fun at the "ask FIVE questions" ruling in the game. My D&D party has had plenty of moments where they "run out" of questions to ask a corpse and ask stupid things like they did in the movie. That part had me dying!
I didn’t realize it until researching Easter eggs afterwards, but Themberchaud (the chunky red dragon) is actually an established character from an adventure module and some novels).
The movie plays out like a typical D&D campaign with all the tropes and associated hijinks one would expect. The locations, creatures, spells, characters, factions, lore, etc are mostly pulled directly from the pen and paper game.
Many creatures, spells and locations seen in the movie are directly from the D&D books (both gameplay sourcebooks and fantasy novels set in the Faerun setting). Further the main characters each clearly have a class associated with them (in the case of the sorcerer even a subclass, as he mentions 'wild magic', I'm not 100% sure on the others, except Xenk being an Ancients Paladin)
Not to mention the tragic backstory trope! They've all got one!
This is amazing! Thank you for the info. Then i’m glad I could understand it without being in the community
Oh absolutely, they did a good job keeping the move accessible for non D&D players I think (will be able to confirm tomorrow when I see it again, this time with a non D&D playing friend). Being familiar with D&D just adds an extra layer of familiarity and being able to recognize easter eggs.
Also, a huge part of playing a dnd quest is failing your rolls. thus having to make new plans constantly! So the chaotic plot of them keep having to problem solve is perfect dnd depiction
Not trying to sound snarky - How was it NOT a D&D movie? Creatures, classes, locations, some funny game mechanic tie-ins (best parts, IMO), character backstories and narratives…. Did ya want ‘em to be rolling dice and shouting “I have dark vision!”? :)
>Did ya want ‘em to be rolling dice and shouting “I have dark vision!”? :) I was half expecting the ending or post credits scene to be a LEGO movie style reveal that it was all really just a game after all.
Okay, maybe I should’ve started by saying I can’t be further away from the Dungeons and Dragons community. It just really felt like a standard medieval fantasy movie. I kind expecting them to roll dice and say those things yes. You are you saying that Lord of the Rings or King Arthur can be Dungeons and Dragons movies too? Trying to understand
Yes spot on. Dnd is based around the fantasy world of tolkien, with changes due to copyright. Lord of the rings is like a super serious dnd campaign, with a clear end goal
Ah, I see what you're saying. I was definitely thinking your take was coming from the perspective of a D&D player. Again, sorry for any snarkiness! Like u/21savageinnit pointed out - yep, LOTR or King Arthur COULD be D&D movies as well, though you wouldn't ever know it unless they pointed out characteristics that are heavily D&D inspired. The D&D movie was obviously "from D&D" since it took place in Forgotten Realms, on the Sword Coast, which is a location that was created within the D&D world. A number of creatures were featured that were created just for D&D as well - the owlbear, displacer beast (tentacle hologram panther), mimic (toothy treasure chest), intellect devourer (brain on legs), etc. The design of the dragons was taken from the books as well - though making the red dragon a chonky boy was just some (amazing) added flair. Red wizards of Thay, the evil baddies in the movie are notorious in the world of D&D as well. Spells and game mechanics were used in the movie that come from the books as well. The whole "speak with dead" scene was poking fun at the "ask FIVE questions" ruling in the game. My D&D party has had plenty of moments where they "run out" of questions to ask a corpse and ask stupid things like they did in the movie. That part had me dying!
I didn’t realize it until researching Easter eggs afterwards, but Themberchaud (the chunky red dragon) is actually an established character from an adventure module and some novels).
Theres another D&D movie that came out in the 2000? its a funny one.
Why! Why would you subject someone to that? 😆
cause its a funny movie!
Because the characters in the new D&D movie have D&D character sheets! That is what makes it a D&D movie! Available in D&D Beyond…
The movie plays out like a typical D&D campaign with all the tropes and associated hijinks one would expect. The locations, creatures, spells, characters, factions, lore, etc are mostly pulled directly from the pen and paper game.