When establishing a character as a good person, there’s often a scene that is called “saving the cat” which is symbolic of someone’s genuine empathy and integrity. In this movie, Xenk is seen literally saving a cat. 😂 I found that funny.
He has a longer history. He first showed up in Drizz't Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark which was a 2nd Edition supplement for the Forgotten Realms setting. Out of the Abyss was where he became well known, though.
the story goes that Themberchaud was first conceptualized when Gygax 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
Regé-Jean Page did a good job. I wasn't really sure how a portrayal of a paladin would go. It would be difficult to take Dudley Do-Right seriously in a fantasy setting, but this take was entertaining. Also, he's amazingly talented. If you haven't listened to the Sandman audiodramas, he plays the voice of Orpheus in Act 2, and his singing voice is amazing.
I don't usually play d&d but I know a lot about the setting of Faerun and such. I enjoyed the movie a lot. Captured d&d very well and it was a lot of fun. Which is what most playing groups strive for. Fun is the major component of role playing. That and telling our equivalent of war stories afterwards.
I love that there is a meta to the whole movie in that each of the characters reflects the kinds of players you will run into. It seems like in every group you have the person who takes the game WAY too seriously. They usually choose a character class that is generally the same, like the Paladin. They also tend to be what has become known as "Rules Lawyers." People who know every convolution of the rules to their advantage and often frustrate the DM. Then they get butt hurt when the DM disregards their inventive use of the rules. I know people like to say Xenk is an NPC, but that is ALSO not true. Had he been the character he was supposed to be, you would be correct, BUT he also represents the player who can't always make the game sessions so has to be written in and out with a strong reason to connect to the players (being a Harper AND his personal relationship with the Red Wizards). Then, you have someone who is just along for the ride. They don't really care to learn about their class, or the rules and just end up hitting everything with their lute. Beyond that, you have the killer who just wants to kill things and they will use an axe to bash their way through every solution. They tend to break out of character with the use of a lot of modern colloquialisms. Then you have the sensitive person who is looking for love among the group, either in, or more preferably out of the game. They tend to, oddly enough, not have a lot of confidence.
44:03 yes he is! Loved that show when it was on. Such a shame NBC screwed it over by scheduling over it so many times during its season with baseball playoffs and that mini series 10th Kingdom. That easily could have been a long running show if they had given it a legit shot and actually aired it regularly.
Please allow me to throw my hat into the ring to run an online game for you and your friends. I run 3 games a week, including two games for children. I always love teaching new players to play. It can be private or streamed - your choice.
The dragon Themberchaud 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.
int is the most common dump stat, it's a pretty rare ability to use, if I remember correctly, the priority for stats in general is: INT (specific skils and only 2 classes need it, rare saving throw) STR (okay common saving throw, useless for any caster or class that uses dex) CHA (key for charismatic characters and the most common casting, saving throw is super rare but most saving throws with charisma are a pain to fail, useless for anyone that doesn't plan on talking a bunch) WIS (passive perception, arguably the best saving throw, everyone benefits from this) DEX (except for tanks, there's no reason this should be below +2, arguably best saving throw, essential for half the martial fighters and offers great skills) CON (despite having no skills and very few checks, it has a great saving throw, and is a world of differences at lower levels. Literally everyone needs this stat to be high enough. It's the only stat I'll tell new players to not make their dump stat. It's not a very class specific stat as only barbarians get a real bonus from it (unarmored defense) but it still ends up being detrimental to most characters).
@@tammymoyer7518 Not just mindflayers. Almost all abberations that can cast spells or have innate abilities require an Intelligence saving throw. So if the big bad of the campaign is abberations and everyone have dumped Int, you're gonna have a bad time.
its much more beautiful when you think about that last part as well, the dragonfly landing on eds arm. His wife wasn't a bad mother, she just didn't get to be one, his wife basically told him that Kira wouldn't know who she was because she was unable to be there, Holga was there, Holga is all Kira knows who her maternal guardian is and maybe Ed told Kira about who her actual bio mother was but again, Holga has been there.
The Line He Says In The Middle Of The Movie “I Know I Said I Wanted To Bring Your Mom Back, I Lied, I Wanted To Bring My Wife Back” In The End, He Brings Her Mom Back 😭 I Cried So Hard
It's great to see so many cool classic D&D monsters on the big screen! The panther is a Displacer Beast. The goo cube is a Gelatinous Cube. And the treasure chest that came alive is a Mimic.
Forgot the Axe Beaks, which they got the size wrong for, those little chickens are supposed to be big enough to fit a whole Orc on their back The Rust Monster also appeared briefly, in the castle (don't know why they didn't exterminate those, critters eat metal)
@@arcojin-carlosh.9435 They also switched the sizes of the rust monster (which are supposed to be about as big as a medium-sized dog) and the intellect devourers (who are brain-sized), but I didn't bump up against any of that... it was just cool seeing them.
Not really a spoiler since it was in the extended view trailer, but the other group in the maze, the Thief, Barbarian, Wizard, etc are characters from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show that came out in the early 80s
I didn't watch any of the trailers...so that was a pleasant surprise to me. It was glorious. I kinda wondered why there'd been a resurgence of those characters in the recent months... hah
I went to see this with my D&D group and we had a blast. Even if you disregard the references, it's such a good movie and I really hope we get a sequel.
had to watch it by myself in the cinema since i didn't want my wife to mock my fanboying. but after seeing it, i figured she was gonna enjoy it too so we watched it a couple of days ago.
That's so right! I watched it with a friend of mine. She didn't know anything about D&D or TTRPGs in general, but the movie still worked for her, and she had a great time.
I just hope they let the bard do his spells, more rage from the barb and more spells from the druid not just shape-shift. Oh and plz more of the pally!!!
They really captured the feeling of playing a cosy short adventure with your buddies, from the slapstick of failing to stupid plans that work too well, and even the cheesy, but charming story. And yes, I have no idea how they got Hugh Grant, but, man, am I glad they did. He's killing it. That "Aaah! Holga! Holga! Holga!" bit had me in stitches.
Fun movie, great reaction! favorite easter egg is 34:25, you just get a glimpse in your reaction, but in the background is the party from the 80's D&D cartoon. I love that they acknowledge a true D&D thing. You give the party an item, (hither-Thither staff) and they find new and unforeseen ways to use it.
The best part about this movie is it truly reflects traditional pen and paper D&D, things NEVER go according to plan. You fail at rolls, get distracted by loot, find a mimic, and the best memories from the game are all the ways you succeed the mission on a wing and a prayer laughing the entire time with your friends.
other times the players get lucky crits and convince the general the guy you are after owes child support and you are here to escort him to prison then roll high enough the guy himself is wondering if the prostitute back in his village somehow got pregnant.
Not to mention the holier-than-thou paladin DMPC that was clearly better than the party members, so of course he couldn't continue the journey with them! Lol
Don't forget the characters narrating their backstory in excruciating detail at the wrong time! It took me out of the story for a few moments the first time until I realized "Oh my God, they're actually referencing this!"
“I’m a Keyleth… I’m a Doric… That’s where I’m gonna be. That’s my people.” You’re a Druid! Welcome! My first several characters were Druids, and it is still my favorite class in D&D.
My favorite thing about this movie as a D&D player is how you can see scenes and see the rolls made. Like how Edgin failed his history check on who Xenk is, but everyone else succeeded, or when Simon failed concentration for the Illusion.
I loved how they handled the Paladin! Those can be very one-note characters, so it was smart to use him sparingly, and with such a funny take on his direct & literal mindset.
@@leonielson7138 I can't think of anything that Xenk did which put his code before doing the right thing, so I'd say that he's an excellent example of Lawful Good and a very poor example of Lawful Stupid.
really enjoyed Michelle Rodriguez's fight scenes. it's like a combo of wrestling and Jackie Chan prop-fighting. found it quite original and entertaining.
What was really good about Holga's fight scenes is that the armor of her opponents worked! It took actual effort to deal with them and she had to knock them down a couple of times. Even then they were alive. So cool.
@@nyghtmoon Also have to appreciate her exclusive use of heavy and blunt weaponry to deal with soldiers rather than easily cutting through armour like so much cardboard.
Simon's component pouch is what he uses to dial up ingredients used to cast certain spells AKA material components. Usually they are simple leather pouches full of goodies, but you can take such creative liberties with D&D. The actor also incorporated ASL into his spellcasting gesture AKA somatic components.
So fun fact, Michelle Rodriguez spoke about Vin Diesel having a metric ton of D&D memorabilia, he used to play as Melkor in his home games, named after Morgoth (Sauron's boss). Vin Diesel also guest starred in Celebri-D&D as a witch hunter named Calder with the cast of Critical Role (Vox Machina 's creators)
via the wiki: Massive even for a dragon, Themberchaud was visibly overweight. He had scales as red as lava and bright yellow eyes. His head alone was estimated to be some 20 feet. By the late 1490s DR, he was barely able to walk; he was unable to fly, only hop and flap his wings helplessly like a chicken; and he often only belched flammable gas when he could not produce flame.
To be honest, this would be considered closest to what an actual D&D campaign would be like... especially with the right group. The making of plans, often on the fly, visualizing mentally the results of the dice throws and saves, and the flexibility of storytelling. Even so far as when Simon lost his concentration when he got his foot stuck....the players and dungeon master's mind can draw that conclusion, and makes the game much more enjoyable. I really miss gaming, and have many fun stories from my years of playing.
I was the exact same way at the end with Holga. Almost rolled my eyes when I saw her dying cuz I was like alright kinda cliche that we use the tablet on her, but then it had me crying the moment the flashbacks started. I absolutely loved how they handled that sequence.
I was so pleasantly surprised when I watched this in theatres. Was it the best movie ever? No. Did I have a great time so I didn't care about the flaws? Heck yes! The cast was great, I had so much fun, and the movie even had a nice message going and was more heartwarming than I expected.
Same! I love D&D, but the earlier movies really set my expectations below the floor. And this movie really exceeded those expectations by hundreds of miles. It was so fun and full of heart!
@@funnylilgalreacts Exactly! That's the way movies should be. Yeah, it's not fine art, but I had an absolute blast with it all the same. The best description of it I can come up with is that it's just plain fun.
It's, imo, the best D&D movie, anyway. ;) Not perfect, but better than it could have been in several key moments. The end, I thought was a bit obvious how it unfolded, but the set-up had been done so well, and the acting convincing, that it worked.
This movie is more beautiful than it had to be in the end. I can't believe that we went from "Let their blood rain from the skyyyyyy!" to me weeping at the end of a D&D movie. There are more, really complex, wonderful characters, societies, and history in the Forgotten Realms setting (the one featured in this film) than what you see in the movie. I'd say that the setting has as much history by now as the Tolkein's world, and other major fantasy settings. If producers can keep making D&D movies with great characters that the general public can appreciate for quality, complexity, and relevance, there are endless movies that can come from this IP- and endless money. I'm just saying, it's all about the treasure, right, adventurers?
It'd be cool if they had a new set of adventurers for each movie. As amazing as Pine and Rodriguez are, it'd really fit the actual game where you have thousands of campaigns going at any one time.
The best part of this movie for me were the moments that felt like they were at a table. There are scenes where you can FEEL the crits. I want another one of these movies, but worry it won't happen.
I was sold on this movie once "Jarnathan" came up. That's such a DM move of "you're asking for details I didn't prep for, and I can't just call this dude Jonathan..." Also, Zenk is such a typical DMPC it hurts
I got sold on it when I saw a clip of the cemetery scene. There is little that expresses a pure dnd experience than wasting one of he questions during Speak With Dead. Actually, Xenk using his divine sense do smell the Thay assassins in the Underdark is just brilliant.
@@means_well i mean aarakocra also have no concept of property in their culture and detest any sort of cage or confinement on principal. so you assume they just think jarnathan is a solid vote for their pardon. then all they do is grab him and jump out the window.
I think the fact that this movie was embraced by the audience and did so well commercially means Hollywood will do a sequel without a doubt. Minimal effort, maximum profits...that is the Hollywood way. It might be fun to keep it in the same world but use a whole new group with different classes and races. That's what I would like to see.
@@means_well The moment Edgin finally (and forcefully) reveals why he'd been asking about Jarnathan all this time, I could just SEE the DM's eyes widening in surprise.
One of the subtle things that I really loved was how the dialog felt like how players at the table actually talk. For example, that moment when Edgin was trying to negotiate their release from the prison and he turns to Holga, "You have anything to add?", "I'm good". The banter between characters was super relatable. P.S. When Edgin's illusion started to go wonky while playing a song and when I saw the chonkers dragon, I just about died from laughter in the cinema
So to answer a few questions : The panther beast is a displacer beast a niche but popular creature from DnD. The movie has a few iconic of thes like the owlbear, the cube and the mimic (chest). This is one unique fat dragon. This one is both a tyrant and protector to some residents of the underdark, keeping them alive in exhange of some food and loot. The main theory is that the resident overfeed him so he would be less of a threat. The joke about the intellect devourer is also a gameplay joke as Intelligence is a stat in the game and all class represented doesn't really have a use for it. So the party does lack an intelligence character. There are a lot of references to the rules of the game in the movie. Fresh Cut Grass is also the name of a Critical Role character that probably won't be in the animated serie before a long time.
It's not going to off the box office alone (196 million off a 150 million budget without advertising expenses), and that is a shame. All because the writers made the dumb mistake of saying they intentionally emasculated the male characters for whatever odd reason. Even though I didn't see that in the characters (all of them had their flaws and perks with actual character growth as well, imo). It wasn't a movie I would say everyone HAD to see, but it was a fun time and if you've ever had an interest in D and D, this film actually captured the feeling of going through a campaign exceptionally well. Only hope now is that the people who initially skipped it for whatever reason find it and watch it at home. If DvD/Digital sales are strong we may have a chance at another.
The thing that made me smile the biggest in this movie, other than watching my wife squee the entire time Themberchaud was on screen, was the heroes of the Original Dungeons & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon making a cameo in the maze scene. I almost hopped out of my chair the very first frame they were raised from below in the background and kept looking for them throughout the rest of the movie. I had a feeling the post credit scene would be the corpse in the graveyard, but I was really hoping that the kids would still be in the cage in the empty stadium asking for help. Bonus points if a certain voice from off screen told them to "Fear not young ones."
Oh, that would be a great end credit tease! I would be standing on the chairs and cheering and clapping if they had that at the end. It was kind of sad they did not have any speaking lines in the movie. And it would be great if they had the voice actors play the characters in the cameo - kind of like how they had the Pink and Green Rangers in the Power Rangers movie. Easy ideas to please older fans.
I'm honestly not sure how I even realized that's who they were. I barely remember that show and literally the only reason I knew that's who they were was the blonde kid with the horned helmet.
"If it's gonna be people-y I'd rather it be people-y with people like you" is one of the sweetest things an introvert can say. Whenever you are ready to play, any table would be lucky to have you.
At 24 minutes : the bridge and the Ither-Tither staff is a classical move from a PC and then the save from the DM in an actual DnD game. There is an unnecessary complex list of instructions to get on the bridge, a player didn't listen and his character put one foot of the bridge, making it to collapse... but the PCs have to go to the other side of the chasm to pursue the adventure... so the DM create a "Deus ex machina" magic item to allow them to cross the chasm... I think the "good save" from Doric at the end of the scene is her saying what the players (or the spectators of the movie) are thinking right at this moment. In any other movie, this would have been a lazy writing... In a DnD movie, this makes totally sense.
In order to cast many spells in the D&D rules, you require a material component. Some usually small thing that powers the spell. Throwing a fireball needs a pinch of sulfur, casting fly requires a bird feather, etc. Simon's gadget is a (probably gnomish) device that holds some of the components and turning the wheel lets him access some of them depending on which spell he is casting. Themberchaud is in fact a real dragon in the game universe. He is notable for being very lazy, so yes he's a giant chonk. The large panthers with the tentacles are called displacer beasts, they are much more intelligent than typical big cats, and have the ability to project an image of themselves several feet away. Their tentacles also inject a paralysis toxin when they hit you. The race that Bradley Cooper played is called a Halfling. They were originally based on Lord Of The Rings Hobbits, but have evolved over time (in part because of legal complications with Tolkein's copyrights). The "Goo" is called a gelatinous cube. There is a whole range of carnivorous jelly creatures in D&D, most of them are blobs of goo, but the cube is...well, cubical. They are used to clean dungeons by roaming the corridors sweeping up the dust and bugs, and being nearly invisible they make good guardians.
"Throwing a fireball needs a pinch of sulfur..." And, at least in older editions (don't know about later ones), bat guano. Fun bit of trivia - saltpeter can be extracted from guano, and saltpeter and sulfur are two of the main ingredients of early gunpowder. A lot of the spell components were hidden gags like that. The feather for fly is obvious, but there's also stuff like a coper piece for detect thoughts (a penny for your thoughts), a magnifying glass to focus light for sunbeam, scrying takes a piece of cut glass that just happens to be the same price as a spyglass...
@@egosomnio In 5e as well. But as long as material components cost nothing, are not consumed on cast or both, they can be replaced with an Arcane Focus.
I was afraid they already gave away the best part of that gag when they released it as a preview, but what came after that part was also hilarious. The guy who fell and died on the edge of the bathtub was hilarious
Being a D&D player, I ADORED this film. I saw this with my gaming group and we all had a blast. (We had finished our big campaign late last summer, and we had a Thayan bladesinger, turned necromancer in our party and our party even travelled to Thay at one point.) One thing I appreciated in this film was having Edgin and Holga being just in a platonic friendship rather than becoming the usual friends to lovers tope/cliche that most movie relationships fall into. It was just a refreshing take to see, and I hope more movies do this in the future. I do wish that Doric had a character arc or more character development, rather than just being a druid doing cool wildshape stuff. And that Edgin, being a bard, didn't cast a single spell! (He makes up for it for using his inspiring speeches, which does give a nice nod to the bard's ability in the game.)
I don't have a problem with Doric. Not all D&D players are that big into roleplay and more into exploration and/or combat, and therefore some D&D characters don't have that much of an arc, if any.
@@feralart I'd say he's a bard/rogue multiclass. It's just that his abilities aren't visually represented like the sorcerer's are. But I definitely noticed points in the story where he used Bardic Inspiration (every inspiring speech he makes to the party), and he may have used Suggestion in convincing Saphina and Forge to put them in the High Sun Games instead of just killing them. He may have used Calm Emotions when he was cheering up Holga after their visit with Marlamin. So I'd say he has at least a few levels of Bard in there.
They added character sheets for every character. They are plausible and playable. He is a bard. He has at will: friends, message 3/day : charm person, disguise self 1/day : suggestion Reactions: 3/day inspiring words You can look up official character sheets for a bunch of the characters in this movie. Just google image search d&d honor thieves character sheets and you should find them all pretty easily
Hugh Grant having the time of his life by playing the bad guy is just one of the highlights of this movie. Just saw it yesterday too and didn't think it'd be as fun as it was. Kinda hoping Vox Machina would make a cameo somehow. Xenk just walking off in that scene was apparently a blooper--he didn't hear the director yell cut so he just kept walking! "Fresh cut grass" was also a reference to Critical Role (it's the name of Sam Riegel's character in the second campaign).
I only got into DnD about 3-4 years ago and in my late 30’s now, so it’s never too late and not too hard to learn. I don’t hardly know much lore in DnD but this movie makes a lot of references of how you would play or how people act during games and still had fun with it without knowing any lore.
RIP Gary Gygax. I wonder if he had any idea how much of an impression his game would have on the world. I miss playing. I still have a bag of dice and a Player's Handbook. Geeks unite!!!!
Don't forget Dave Arneson and Robert Kuntz as well. Gary Gygax is kind of the Stan Lee of Dungeons & Dragons - he tends to get almost all of the credit, despite others doing most of the heavy lifting in actually making the game. In particular, Arneson was really the main drive in turning D&D into it's own game, rather than just a modified version of the Chainmail miniature wargame.
@@KthulhuXxx Thank you for the reply! My first handbook was misplaced (read: stolen) during a long session of playing, smoking various things, and Mountain Dew. The one I currently have was printed in 1995. AD&D, obviously. I also bought a Plane Scape set, but sadly, never got to organize a game. I'm almost 50 now, so the chances of ever being a DM are slim.
@@KthulhuXxx 1983 Basic D&D set, Yes that's the one. I bought that for my cousin back when it came out and he asked me to "Help" later on , He needed a DM and I never played it before I bought it, So it was a new experience for me. I became DM for our friends and went through all the changes learning and playing for quite a few years..
Michelle Rodriguez is such a treasure. And Chris Pine was awesome in this movie. It just seems like a movie everybody had a lot of fun making. I took my son's to the theater to see this without any expectations. And we all really love the movie
Bradley Cooper's character is a Halfling, basically a D&D hobbit. The cat creature that was attacked by the fish was called a Tabaxi. The ooze is called a gelatinous cube. The cat with the Venus fly traps as you called them is called a Displacer Beast. One of my games ended up with our characters having Displacer Beast kittens; my character was a pixie and she hated them because she was terrified of cats. Them being ignored by the Rachnon is really fitting. Bards, Sorcerers, and Paladins are Charisma-based casters, Druids are wisdom-based casters, and barbarians rely on Strength.
The "little men" are called halflings, and they're basically hobbits from Lord of the Rings. In fact, in the original D&D game they were called hobbits, but then the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien made them change the name for copyright reasons.
I'm so happy to see you getting into D&D! Critical Role is defini9tely great. I know it's pretty long, though, so I usually consume it by way of background audio. If you ever have the time/chance, I would HIGHLY recommend the different campaigns of Dimension 20!! The episodes are shorter and lean more towards comedy. They're on a service called Dropout, however you can catch at least the first episode of most of their campaigns on RU-vid. I feel like those stories would be right up your alley.
Hugh Grant has really grown into the perfect casting choice for a smarmy villain. A veteran character actor, but unlike most character actors, everyone knows his name.
I had a great time seeing this in the theater. It's really too bad the movie didn't do well at the box office as it had positive critic and audience scores.
I'm working my way through your Vox Machina reactions, and boom! This pops up! Nice little diversion. One of my friends is a huge D&D fan, and she messaged me when she heard I'd gone to see it. She asked, "Is it going to piss me off?" I don't know much about D&D but I said I would be very surprised if she didn't love it. And I was right! It's an amazing balance between "tons of things for die-hard fans to love" and "completely accessible to newbies who know nothing." Fantastically done.
I appreciate the anxious with things too peopley, I'm struggling with trying to get back into functioning in a world of people again too. As for the 'monsters' you enjoyed: the panther with tendrils is called a displacer beast, there's artwork out there from a game book with a kitten version of one. owl bears are a species that was created by wizards for who knows what purpose, but now are a classic D&D beast to encounter in the wild. the cube gelatin is fittingly known as a gelatinous cube, then move down dungeon hallways and dissolve organic matter for food. they are classic monsters. the treasure chest monster is called a mimic and is also a classic, and has made many a party paranoid of treasure chests and doors (yes they come in door shape too)
I actually went to the theater to watch this. Been ages since I went to the movies. It is so fun. Being a d&d nerd for 43 years, it was awesome to see and hear all the easter eggs. It was destiny for your reaction to drop just before I'm going to go play some d&d.
Ooooh! Now that it’s here it seems obvious that you would have watched the dnd movie since you loved vox machina, but I still didn’t expect this! This is my favorite movie to come out this year so far!
Something that I really enjoyed about the movie that is not in the game is how attunement is portrayed. In the game it's basically a matter of time and you just attune to the magic item. I loved the narrative aspect of it being a challenge to attune, and I want to incorporate that into my games. I just need to figure out the mechanics of how that will work.
There is actually a small Easter egg in the movie..during the maze scene, there are six characters from the DnD animated series from the 80s..they are a Magician, Ranger, Acrobat, barbarian, Cavalier and Thief.
I loved this movie, shame it doesn't seem like it will get a follow up but greatful we got one nice outing. EDIT: Also yes a displacer beast (projection panther thingo) and the little brain dudes are def dnd staples (as are owlbears).
The creatures in the maze are three classic D&D specific monsters. The Displacer Beast is the cat with the tentacles that can appear to be in a place separate from its actual position. The Mimic was the treasure chest with the tongue, they can appear as anything and wait for adventurers get close and then they attack. The Gelatinous Cube is the big acid cube that is hard to see in a dungeon so it waits for adventurers to stumble into them or it traps them and slowly moves towards them to consume them. Doric’s favorite form of the Owlbear is also a D&D monster that Druids usually can’t change into but she’s a special case. Bradley Cooper plays a Halfling, basically a Honbit but the creators of D&D were sued by the Tolkien estate for using specific names so they had to change some of the names of their creatures. Simon’s great great grandfather is named Elminster, he is the character the Ed Greenwood played and Ed is the creator of the Forgotten Realms where this movie is set. Elminster is essentially the Gandalf of this world.
I believe the spinny thing Simon is always using is a fancy component pouch. A bag with bits for spells. You either need the components for a spell (which is stored in a component pouch) or you need a spellcasting focus (like a wand or staff). We never see Simon use a focus so yeah... my guess is a component pouch.
Finally watched the movie. It was a ton of fun. Felt like an adventure that was shortened down in a retelling, but kept everything important. The DMPC paladin Xenc guy stayed as long as he needed, and left as soon as he wasn't. The party was pretty fun though i do wish the bard character way actually able to do something more with his music. The sorcerer was pretty cool, I liked that as he got more confident his magic seemed to get more powerful as well, like his charisma based magic came from his confidence that his spells would work. The more sure if himself he was, the stronger the magic was. And i like he was a wild magic sorcerer as well. I like they used the actual dragon from the canon in the underdark part and kept that he was a chonky boy. I'd definitely let the druid turn into an owlbear if they had seen one. Rule of cool is worth it sometimes. Sofina was a fun boss character setting up the bigger boss. Forge was just what i expected when they introduced him as a conman. One of my favorite jokes in the movie is near the beginning when they're escaping using the arococra and the judges reveal they were going to be released if they hadn't. Feels like something a DM would reveal at that specific time.
Great movie & great reaction! My only regret is that Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting and the ENTIRE WORLD where this D&D movie was set, didn't get a single shout-out, or special thanks, or acknowledgement from the filmmakers or the studio. He basically built the whole setting for this movie, he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet (a fellow Canadian!), and he even looks enough like an old wizard now that he could have made a fine cameo. Maybe I'm spoiled by how many Stan Lee cameos there were in the Marvel movies, but it seems that an appearance and line or two from Ed would have been a lovely homage. He was kind enough to write a very generous cover blurb for my first novel when I was just starting out, and I wish Hasbro & Wizards of the Coast had shown the same generosity here that he's shown me.
Asking bad five questions! Happens all the time. And the creatures were right out of the D&D: Tiefling (Doric with the horns), Owlbear, Aarakocra(bird person), Tabaxi (cat person), Dragon (obviously), Mimic (the chest that's not a chest, but a creature), Displacer Beast (the panther with the tentacles, BUT they don't project holograms, they teleport at will), and the Gelatinous Cube (which does acid damage every few seconds you're in it). The last three monsters are something that every D&D adventurer can expect to run into. Hugh Grant was such a great imbecile in this movie. He's genuinely so charming and nice that you still kinda liked him even though he was actively evil. Also Doric played by Sophia Lillis is legitimately my kind of crazy hot.
I don't know if I should be happy or ashamed that i knew all the monsters. Owlbears are part of D&D. When I saw the tentacles coming up my exact words were "Uh! Fuckin Displacer Beasts." The big blob they get caught in is a Gelatinous Cube and the treasure chest monster is called a Mimic.
You can actually get a plush of Themberchaud to have your own chonky dragon boy! Also early on Holga called Forge a son of a bitch, and Xenk took it literally. Then at the end Forge is telling his story about being raised by a very strict mother. That little payoff to such an offhand joke was fantastic!
When i first saw the trailer for this i thought there couldn't be anyway that it would be good. But somehow, shockingly it was bloody good. Funny, fun and moving at times. I loved it. Glad you did too :)
If you're a fan of light sabre battles, search up To The Death. A group wanted to make a short film with more realistic fight coreography, so they consulted with a fencing expert. It's really great.
This movie was a delight. Went to see it with some friends I've been playing D&D with for decades and it was just a feast of recognition with us constantly nudging each other and laughing. Not just the direct references, but all the crazy antics of the party feel like they're right from the table to the screen. Xenk is totally the kind of overpowered character that's thrown in by the dungeon master to nudge the party in the right direction. And yes, Themberchaud is canonically a chonky dragon in the Forgotten Realms.
Maybe. I thought Simon rolled a one on his stealth, getting his foot stuck, and that broke his concentration. Either way, I love how that played out and then later when Doric broke Sofina's concentration. Really great way of illustrating bad rolls without stating it..
DnD is always a little intimidating at first. It really sounds much more complicated than it really is when you try to explain it. I usually recommend just diving in, because once you start playing all the complicated rules become a lot clearer and even intuitive.
the panther like things with 6 legs and the things you talked about coming off its back, is called a displacer beast. their gimmick is that they are actually a little bit displaced from where they actually are, so they are hard to hit. they dont so much create an independent image of themselves, more like they are a few feet to the left or right of where they are, that said, the way they did it in the movie wasnt a bad representation to them
Truthfully only rented this movie because I saw you reacted to it. 😅 Actually enjoyed it quite a bit even without knowing much about D&D. Another great reaction!
This movie was way better than I feared it would be.😄 This movie is a bit like the first Guardians movie, but surprisingly the D&D had great villains. :) If you haven't seen it Hugh Grant was super in The Gentlemen.
I saw a behind the scenes thing about the Speak with Dead scene, and the writers originally wanted to use the remaining cast of Monty Python for the skeletons answering the questions, but that would have been way too expensive. But you can see how the jokes would have been funnier and harkened back to some of the bits from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
I love this movie and people might say, "oh this wasnt how its supposed to be in D&D" etc. but the truth of the matter is yes all of this can be! The DM makes the rules and tells the players what they can and cant do, D&D books are guidelines and can decide to follow them and add things wherever they want!! This seemed more like a friendly home game that was more focused on the rule of cool over rule and written and I love it for that!
Two little fun facts: They purposefully included Simon’s “Fresh Cut Grass” joke as a reference to Critical Role campaign three, in which Sam, who played Scanlan in campaign 1 and the Legend of Vox Machina, plays a little cleric android character named Fresh Cut Grass. Additionally, you’ve been watching Ted Lasso which features Anthony Head as Rupert, the villain. This movie features his daughter, Daisy, as Sophina the Red Wizard. And she did a great job!
Well, that was an absolute, unexpected delight. Thank you for reacting to the movie and sharing it with us. I absolutely loved watching it-- and got to enjoy it a 3rd time by listening and watching you react to it. You mentioned a chonky hamster--- and there is such a thing in D&D. It's called a Giant Space Hamster. (And then, of course, there are Miniature Giant Space Hamsters, the most famous of which is Boo, the animal companion of Minsk , the Ranger.) Please add me to the list of folks would would love to introduce you to D&D in your first on-line game. I'm a professional game master with training in therapeutic gamemastering, and I specialize in teaching new folks how to play. I run a weekly game for younglings and another for youth, and a game every two weeks for at-risk older youth. Either way, I can't wait to hear about your first experience playing.
The cats are Tabaxi or cat folk (humanoid cats) and they were practical, I believe done by animatronics, which I was sure the big fish was as well, I'm not 100% sure on that tho. SO NO ONE QUOTE ME DAMMIT! 😝
The creature cameo I really liked was when Holga and Edgin are walking up to the place where they're going to get their heads chopped off, you can see two little rust monsters fighting over a piece of metal
Themberchaud the dragon goes way back in D&D lore. He first came about during the early days of 2nd Edition of the game (1989 - 00). He was explained as a descendant of generations of red dragons who kept the furnaces running in the Underdark city of Gracklstugh (from the forgotten realms campaign).
BTW, the metal disc you wondered about contains Simon's spell components. Many spells need a bit of something (like cat fur, sand, sulfur, or whatever) that is a vital part of the casting process. Apparently rather than keep them all in a bag like most people, he has a fancy gadget which he can 'dial' to get the specific material he needs to cast his spell.
Zenk was pretty close to the stereotype of a Paladin. Though more of a comedic straight man than most people play them. There is a wiki page on Themberchaud that gives an overview of his history. As a long time player & DM (since the early '80s) I thought the way they handled not only the monsters but the non-human player races was absolutely fantastic. To me this movie felt very close to what playing the game is like. Plans go wrong. Players get silly ideas. Things get crazy. And with a bit of ingenuity and luck of the dice. Players can get epic results that they will reminisce about for years. Also, there were so many things that were great to see. But I think the biggest surprise for me was seeing all the characters from the 1980's D&D cartoon in the maze at the end. Totally an unexpected reference. :)
One of my favorite aspects of the movie was Simon's difficulties attuning to the helmet. In game, it's kind of a throw away mechanic that you can do during down time. Having that be a central point of his character growth would be the mark of a great DM IRL. It was some great role-playing for something that gets skipped over a lot.
