*DUNGEONS & DRAGONS* is better than I thought

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Original Movie: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

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[jaives]

Nat: "The hither tither staff is just a little too convenient for something they just found..."

That's called the DM improvising after party screwed up the bridge puzzle that took him half a day to make.

[michelle]

I love the distinction of "I wasn't trying to bring your mom back, I was trying to bring my wife back." I think it's such a self-aware line, and very humanizing. And then he brought back her mom instead of his wife in the end. Such good writing.

[BrenGunR]

The joke with the Intellect Devourers is my favorite D&D in-joke. All of the characters in the movie are representing classes that typically use Intelligence as a dump-stat - that is, an Ability Score that isn't very vital to playing the characters so players stick their lowest ability scores there (since Simon is a sorcerer and not a wizard he uses Charisma to cast his spells instead of Intelligence in the game). So none of them were characters with a high Intelligence score, so the Devourers just ignored them.

[happyslapsgiving]

The party wasting *all five* questions on the Speak with Dead spell is the most D&D experience ever.
They truly captured the essence of the game. 😅

[lesliechan]

It felt to me that the party only "got" the staff because they messed up the bridge and in a D&D campaign it was a critical challenge that the party needed to complete to move the story forward. As a result the Dungeon Master needed to give them an item to skip the challenge and then the player found very creative uses for it that the DM never intended at first.

[my_randomology]

One of the things that blew me away when I did my reaction was how much this FEELS like a D&D game. Not only do they use actual spells and abilities and monsters from the game, but the dynamics between the characters, the way things shift between drama and comedy, the way that the story and characters lean into just how silly some parts of the game are... When you DO play, this movie serves as a good intro to what a good D&D experience is like.

[jaives]

loved the fact that Bradley could've been just a joke cameo but instead, he was empathic and sincere.

[thegeminidk]

A lot of the D&D references were just creatures and spells, but my favourite was “what did you say the range was” when they were talking about the portal staff. Because I’ve never had a session where someone didn’t ask what the range on a spell or item was. It seems like a throwaway line, but it’s very familiar to people who play D&D

[hjalnelson]

The hither thither staff is a great nod to the game. Eventually the DM creates some puzzle the players cant solve, and the a deus ex machina is invented to keep the story moving...and the players abuse the sh!t out of it for the rest of the campaign

[taejaskudva]

I had never noticed how often the movie explains a D&D until i heard Nat say, "What is...?" or whatever just before the movie coincidentally answers the question or explains the strange thing. "What is that? Bear-bird?" Immediately followed by Chris Pine, "What is that again?" and Justice Smith replying, "Owlbear." It's almost like the writers wanted to make sure that non-D&D players weren't alienated....

[GrumpyOldGuyPlaysGames]

Themberchaud, the pudgy dragon, is actually a legendary part of D&D lore. He's fat because an underground city of evil dwarves effectively "hired" him as a living forge. He would basically lie around all day, using his fire breath to heat up their forges and melt metal for them, and in return they effectively showered him with food and treasure. Without any need to get out and be active, he basically lie on his pile of treasure doing nothing but eating and stoking fires. Hence the chubby dragon.

Themberchaud was inspired by an event that happened in one of the games run by Gary Gygax (one of the two creators of D&D, along with Dave Arneson). Apparently Gygax's cat jumped on the gaming table, scattering dice and knocking things over. Gygax announced that the "fat dragon" had landed and was attacking. Later writers expended on "the fat dragon", giving him a name and a background, and a D&D legend was born.

[andresmurcia]

Fun fact:
Both Rakor and Themberchaud are dragons from dnd lore. (And yes, Themberchaud is known to be a fat dragon because of it’s backstory)

[jonathaneverson]

I have been playing D&D since 2015 and this is somehow the first time I've heard a Sending Stone being called a "Rockie-Talkie".

This is what I'm calling them from now on.

[niravathu]

If you're interested in more d&d based content, the animated series The Legend of Vox Machina is a fantastic show in much the same vein as Invincible, and I for one would be excited to see your reaction to it!

[RichardWalkerBD]

As a DND player, you notice a lot of DND tropes and inside jokes - everyone having a backstory, noticing when someone rolls a nat 20, or a nat 1, Holga going into a RAAAAGE, because she's a barbarian, etc. So, I definitely believe people would've enjoyed it a lot more if they had played before, but it's still a great movie and I'm glad it's getting the attention it deserves

[DanReyesB]

The potato scene was such a D&D moment. It felt like when you interrupt the DM mid speech to try something really stupid and roll a nat 20.
As a DM that scene made me have flashbacks

Edit: Natalie you should give The Legend of Vox Machina a try. It's just as awesome and also D&D based

[MarcoMM]

Hey Nat another awsome reaction like always, the "fat" dragon its called Themberchaud and he appears for the first time in D&D in Drizz't Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark in 1999 which was a 2nd Edition supplement for the Forgotten Realms setting, but in 2015 an adventure called "Out of the Abyss" came out and it was where he got well knowned in D&D in general. And he was basically raised as a living furnace, sitting in place using his breath to heat up metal while being given endless food. That's why he's a lazy chonker! It was really cool seeing him on screen. And a fun fact that Themberchaud was first conceptualized when Gary Gygax (Co-creator of D&D) was running a game and a cat jumped onto the table during the session and started knocking things over, he improvised and used the cat as a fat dragon, who later had their lore expanded to become Themberchaud. God i grew up playing D&D and i love this movie hope it gets a sequel.
Keep up the amazing work.

[anniewanny]

The Jarnathan scene is also a classic: DM creates easy, narrative-appropriate path for the players to follow ... players stick to their own convoluted, crazy plans and force the DM down a side tangent.

[kryptonianguest]

One of my favourite things about this movie is that, even though it's very funny it doesn't do the Marvel thing of undercutting every serious moment with humour. The sad bits get to be sad, the heartfelt moments get to be earnest. It's something I've been missing from big Hollywood movies for many years.

[PierceArner]

As somebody who has played D&D for decades, I think that it's a perfect presentation because you don't NEED to know anything about D&D to enjoy it, but there are so many funny little nuances that are occasionally a bit funnier if you know the setting or if you've played before.

Their dynamic and the events all play out SO much like actually playing through a good campaign, it's just spectacular so it's great ta see you enjoyed it. (Also, if you get a chance to try out playing it, you DEFINITELY seem like you'd enjoy it given all your theater background).