The D&D Movie is Pretty Fun! - Spoiler-Free Thoughts (And Then Spoilers at

[@aaronmartin7858]

The potato felt exactly like the character's running joke. I can just imagine part way through Forge's speech, Holga's player whispering "Hey DM? Are there any potatoes nearby?" and the whole party erupts in laughter.

[@danielcardona2714]

When I saw the potato throw out of pure joy I said aloud “improvised weapon damage!!” One of the best scenes in the movie

[@НифЛим]

@@danielcardona2714 half her damage its going from improvised weqpon)

[@michaelmurphy2112]

Well, there is an old Irish folk story about a warrior killing someone by throwing a half eaten apple at them, so a potato isn't that weird.

[@janTesika]

@@michaelmurphy2112 I need to look this up now! what's the warrior's name?

[@aazhie]

That was such a nice, not overdone joke :D

[@Dreadnought_XIII]

i think the moment i thought "yeah this is DnD" was right at the beginning, the overly tragic backstory...having an elaborate plan to break out prison during a hearing just for the people at the hearing yell after you that you'd have been free to go anyway...very in point

[@Pyre]

You KNOW they rolled like, a 14-16 and weren't convinced it would be enough.

[@InShortSight]

The gm to the bard player pregame: youre just going to need to convince them that you're good and they'll pardon you. The bard player: but what if instead: ridiculous plan.

[@Lazarultos]

@@InShortSight Honestly the most on-brand DnD thing I've ever seen

[@Chaosmancer7]

Also, just from a movie perspective, it makes sense IN UNIVERSE because Edgin is stalling for time, which we keep getting reminded of as he breaks off to ask about Jarkin.

[@GuidingOlive]

Never have I wanted a backstory to be blatant BS so much as that opening speech. I got that later on it was a riff on the "it's in my backstory" bit but man you have no idea how much I wanted Edgin to just be lying to the judges.

[@Archfay]

I worked on this movie, making costumes! Even if most of what I made was just background character stuff, hearing you compliment the costumes has made my day, thanks JoCat!

[@TheThreadWeaver]

You did great, the costumes were amazing!!

[@panpolypuff]

Hard agree - the costuming felt fantastical yet grounded at the same time. I love love LOVED Simon's big cloak full of pockets (for spell components) and his spellcasting focus!

[@miclash013]

The cgi could be hit or miss, but the costuming was AMAZING. Thanks for making a good movie for us nerds.

[@ThePizzaMan48]

One of my favorite parts of the movie was the costumes! Gave me the cosplay itch!

[@zombfish5498]

The costumes including the background characters were great. I loved how none of the background felt out of place with eh costumes, the quality was there in all of them. You and the costume department did a great job

[@chy03001]

I also thought it was bad ass that Justice Smith (Simon's actor) used American Sign Language as a base for his somatic spell gestures.

[@Respectable_Username]

Oh that's neat!

[@5hadow5talker]

I do that at my table too for spells or thieves' cant and I LOVED THAT HE DID IT

[@JayskaTeag]

Came to say this myself lol I'm also really happy to see it, it is amazing to do that

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Didn’t know enough ASL to pick up on that, but that’s pretty neat. Not only is it a cool easter egg for certain viewers, it’s a great way to have a consistent, legitimate-feeling set of spell gestures - because it’s an actual language and not just improvised hand-waving.

[@0Fyrebrand0]

Whoa! So, is he actually saying real words for each spell or just borrowing random ASL movements?

[@theddartcurator4862]

you didnt miss any real post credits scene, there was a small quip about the zombie still waiting for his last question but that was it!

[@nadrahel]

I can confirm that, the funny thing is that when i watch the movie with some friends, they were poeples who still wait for something else to happen xD

[@GG-dt5hh]

@@nadrahel I always tend to wait until the end of the credits, regardless of the film. It's a couple extra minutes of my life, I'm not really going to miss, and I can just spend that time chatting with friends about the movie we just watched anyway. If there's an end credits scene, great, if not, then whatever.

[@sword7323]

Made the movie for my group when a person in our theater yelled out, “What’s your name friend!?”

[@pikaporeon]

@@nadrahel we had a security guard telling us that he cant make people leave but the scene we got was the only one. Nice dude, wasnt shouting it or anything just being polite about it

[@shigerufan1]

The storybook animations had a lot of the one-off jokes visualized too, like the beholder getting stabbed in it's eye by a gourd.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

My favorite part is imagining the rolls that were made to cause certain scenarios. Like Simon realizing what the walking stick actually is because he rolled a high Arcana check, or everyone but Edgin having heard about Xenk because all of them except the bard succeeded on a history check. It's so fun to think about.

[@triforce00111]

I took the magic stick discovery as more of the DM planning this elaborate puzzle and writing themselves into a corner when the puzzle/challenge is failed on the first step and going, "Well shoot, now how do I get them across"

[@Nefidean]

Or him taking forever to cut his binds on the stairs cause he kept rolling too low

[@alliew31]

@@triforce00111 I took it as the dm wanted them to fail the puzzle and have them look through their stuff for a solution so Simon could see the stick Holga didn't show to anyone last session

[@0Fyrebrand0]

Imagine if Doric rolled a 1 on her Acrobatics check to slither out of the gelatinous cube. The party dies and the movies ends there! 🤣

[@chiffon788]

My generous read of the Druid having infinite Wild Shapes was that her player only agreed to play because they liked that shapeshifter fantasy aspect of the class. So the DM worked with them to re-flavor all of her spells as animal forms - instead of the Fly spell, she can turn into a bird, instead of Longstrider, she can turn into a deer, etc. The cat form she turns into for a moment when she falls down a chimney is a Nat 20 Dex save to land on her feet. EDIT: Just saw that Fly isn't actually a Druid spell. This explains why she's a tiefling - she's a winged tiefling and her wings were reflavored as a bird form.

[@ctrlbox]

Omg I want to play this type of druid now.

[@caosisaac]

Or perhaps it was a flavor of circle of the moon druid that gave certain monstrosities as well as archdruid; but in exchange became a purely martial class with no spells.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

That's... actually kinda brilliant. It lasts only as long as the spell and doesn't give temp hp the same way the wild shape does.

[@8BitCerberus]

Oh I like this even better than my interpretation. Mine was just simply trading her spell slots for more Wild Shape uses.

[@adambescos7387]

That is generous but also really fun

[@TheRuneTail]

"So she did become a deer", very much felt like a player gloating their idea woulda "worked". I also loved what happened to the illusion when the caster was losing their concentration. Seriously it took those guards WAY to long to realize what was wrong.

[@Heavenlyhounds96]

To be fair, the spell says that a character, in interacting with the illusion,will realize its an illusion if im correct. But on their initial rolls, they failed. That illusion distortion was horrifying though. XD

[@TheRuneTail]

@@Heavenlyhounds96 i mean when it started deflating is say those were a couple nat 1s cause they still looked confused

[@JoshZanders]

That illusion falling apart had me absolutely ROLLING! I genuinely didn't notice how long the guards were taking to figure it out, because I was very nearly pissing myself laughing.

[@TheRuneTail]

@@JoshZanders same

[@Seergun]

@@JoshZanders Our showing had a couple dozen people, and most were absolutely _hysterical_ when that happened.

[@Koopaperson]

Chubby dragon shall be in my next campaign

[@2wyzegaming97]

My dm said the same thing lol

[@eddiemarohl5789]

Jonathan is finding his way into mine somehow.

[@dagmarbelesova4284]

He's in Out of the Abyss as well

[@Yummymarshy]

players asked me to put one in strahd welp guess Argynvost is a chonker

[@abaddonarts1129]

My characters are actually near Neverwinter at the moment and while I don't know how I'd do it, if they ever go close to that area he's definitely going to be there

[@LoZfan03]

I interpreted Xenk as a guest character that only stayed for one session rather than a DMPC and thought it worked well in that sense - help the party temporarily, get to be the focus for a bit, make an excuse to leave. (for a comparison point, I'm thinking Shakäste from Critical Role season 2.) I've been that guest player for my friends occasionally, even as a paladin one time, so it resonated with me

[@TheThreadWeaver]

Yeah, this! It felt like a “my friend from the last game is in town for a day and wants to play” or “dm pc” like Jo said, and it’s not perfect but it IS part of D&D in a meta and silly way.

[@PlanetDefeated]

I like how he just walks off like "K i must go now bai". Perfect for guest characters and temporary party members

[@pink_parade2900]

This is a really good interpretation.

[@mylesmiller7108]

I came here to say exactly this. DMPC feels like a bad faith interpretation. Guest PC makes a whole lot more sense: a temporary player shows up with a bunch of knowledge from the DM to guide the party, says some things for the party to think about moving forward, then disappears. Plus, Xenk's fight scene with the assassins was just par for the course. Literally every other main character got a scene of them fighting or showcasing their abilities solo.

[@FenTastic18]

My interpretation was: after the party split and Ed and Hulga wind up in jail, there was an IRL time gap between sessions, where Forge’s player ended up leaving the campaign, allowing the DM to use him as an NPC for Plot; and following that Xenk was their “I’m in town for the night, mind if I join?” guest spot, which also makes the last time we see Forge and Xenk even funnier (to me at least) (Edited: reread it and changed a word so it makes more sense)

[@jacquelyngomez292]

I absolutely loved the chunky dragon. He doesn't run but he can slide and roll

[@Pyre]

Not only that, but if you think back to the scene he never wastes motion either. There's not one shot of him flailing around because of being the Bestest Chubby Boi, save maybe a few seconds when he's adjusting to try and lunge at Doric. He was a big chunky dragon who knew exactly how big and dangerous he was and decided to hunt using that to his advantage. Coming *up* with that concept, let alone executing it, is pretty awesome. Chubby Dragon plushy when? Hasbro is a toy company, SOMEONE has to be thinking it.

[@dylanwatts9344]

I call animals and pets that chunky, Barrel Pets. So when I saw it, I whispered "Barrel Dragon" to my partner XD

[@LordDawnWreaver]

Me and family have come call the dragon "Red Garfield"

[@grimnir8872]

Yeah, Draghon's being colossal jokes is the first thing I think about in DnD.

[@MarkD5678]

I adored how the dragon scene was essentially handled as an in-game skill challenge encounter

[@swordsman111982]

I feel having each character just randomly go into a deep backstory lore dumb, is one of the most DnD things they did. We have all been at those sessions before with our new characters starting a new campaign

[@auraknight98]

True, but for me it was the lost annoying part of the movie, my friend and i sighed when the last expostion dump came.

[@fenmio13370]

@@auraknight98 But then they turned it around at the end when forge tried to give his backstory to get pardoned and the judges cut him off

[@Nortarachanges]

@@fenmio13370 to be fair, the whole movie could have been Forge telling the story ^_^

[@joeanderson8707]

@@fenmio13370 And the window is blocked after the whole Jarnathan thing lol!!!

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

I really respect them for actually making Holga a proper Barbarian, meaning a colossal meathead Any other movie would have made super sensible and quick witted making Ed redundant The party felt like an actual DND party, with them all covering for their strengths and weaknesses. I appreciate the herbo representation

[@prasiolite]

I loved that she was the muscle of the group and clearly didn't understand magic/etc, but still wasn't just "UNGA BUNGA BARBARIAN SMASH". Honestly, she was a perfect Barbarian PC.

[@geroni211]

Amazing to see someone say "herbo" when "himbo" was the male version of bimbo

[@Gloomdrake]

​@@geroni211 bimbo comes with unwanted sexual connotations, though. Calling Holga one calls to mind the wrong mental image. Herbo makes it more clear what's going on

[@adrianrandom3448]

​@@geroni211 also bimbo doesn't imply beefy, kind and stupid for women, it just implies sexy, and really stupid or air headed, so yeah not good connotations.

[@linkmaxwell]

The deer joke was absolutely what an 8 INT idea looks like.

[@rockfan243]

I absolutely LOVE that the main leads had ZERO romance and they even make fun of the idea. MORE PLATONIC GUY GIRL RELATIONSHIPS PLEASE. Ediit to add The MAIN leads are Edgin and Holga who have absolutely 0 interest in eachother and even state their like siblings. I KNOW the druid cand sorcerer are exes and decide to hook up again at THE VERY END.(it is literally just used as an excuse how they know eachother) My point is it is not a major plot and the movie is not trying to force Edgin and Holga together and the idea is dismissed early and never brought up again. Thy are amazing platonic friends and STAY that way.

[@mollymcallister1671]

I cannot count how many times I've rolled my eyes at stories that ground what I found interesting to a halt so they could get side-tracked with, "He issa Boy, She issa Gurl. They Must Be In LURRVE!"

[@rockfan243]

@@mollymcallister1671 I know right? I'm a girl and I have TONS of guy friends because I happen to like a lot of things with a larger make fanbase (anime, video games, table top rpgs, comics, hard rock music, high fantasy, star trek). I feel lucky most of the guys I'd made friends with understood I was just genuinely being a nice person and not flirty or romantic or we're completely fine when I said that I am just not interested in getting into a relationship. I have had the awkward moments here and there but it is FAR less then just dudes happy to have a friend. I actually think this movie handled romantic relationships in an actually real and not overdramatized way.

[@hartthorn]

Right? Like, they absolutely, 100% LOVE each other down to their very bones. Without one single hint of smooching. And lets the other two party members have a much more entertaining romantic arc.

[@rockfan243]

@@hartthorn yes and their entire character Arc didn't even revolve around the romance it was just a footnote of how he knew her and then just a small little thing at the end. Also the Sean with Holga and her ex was BRILLIANT. no drama, no forced subplot about her winning the guy back, and he was perfectly secure in his. Ew relationship who didn't fight with him about his ex. Just people having a mature conversation. Sure she was obviously still sad and there was some awkward feelings but overall it wasn't dragged out into a completely annoying rom-com subplot

[@BioroidPilot]

Eh I like it when there is a romance in the main group but I am just a sucker for that kinda thing and like seeing a nice relationship for chars I like. But to each their own.

[@SleepyTreant]

Something that I absolutely adored that wasn't mentioned in the video, was how absolutely lore-accurate this movie was. As an aspiring Forgotten Realms historian, all the things that are used in the movie are ripped straight from source material. Some of my favorites include: - The painting they use to sneak into the vault is a painting of Volothamp Geddarm, of Volo's Guide. - All town/cities names they drop are real, and the way in which they proceed (Icewind Dales down to Neverwinter) are correct. - The random shot of a Volcano while riding down from Targos to Neverwinter was not just a random volcano to make it look cool. Mount Hotenow was a Volcano that had once covered a lot of Neverwinter in ash. - Everything about the Red Wizards pretty much. And tons more I didn't mention, but yes. Everything about this movie makes it feel like D&D, but all of the attention to detail to anchor this movie to the lore of the Forgotten Realms made it feel like it had much more love and heart added into it, than just a standard fantasy affair.

[@WBento75]

I absolutely loved that too but at the same time it was the one thing that also absolutely infuriated me too…and it’s because I am that fanboy but…how do you show Icewind Dale and NOT have a quick cameo or silhouetted shot of Drizzt Do’Urden, the most heroic character to come from Icewind Dale and all of Forgotten Realms really? Especially when the character’s anniversary just hit and there have been tie ins in other forms of media to celebrate that (like the MtG cards for both Drizzt and Guenhywvar)….I legit stayed all the way thru the credits just hoping against hope that my fanboy heart would be rewarded, but alas…outside of that, it was sheer joy to gleefully watch all the name drops and then have to explain to my wife after the movie why I was so giddy 😁🥰😀

[@VinceValentine]

One thing I thought weird by Thayan standards was that Sefina, as a follower of Szass Tam, the Zulkir of Necromancy, didn't use any Necromancy spells (apart from the Horn). She could have killed off everyone with Finger of Death or Wail of the Banshee, yet she used Animate Objects and Bigby's Hand.

[@corinneeaglebridge]

@@VinceValentine I’m pretty sure she did attempt finger of death right before they put that bracelet on her! (Or at least, that’s my interpretation of that darkened finger when she approached them)

[@VinceValentine]

@@corinneeaglebridge I totally missed that finger. Still, as a Necro, I would have started with that.

[@derimperator3847]

​@@VinceValentine true, i am half convinced she's actually evoker by the spells she uses

[@Geostelar4920]

Ok Xenk may just be the DMPC made to guide the characters but I really, really hope that there becomes a DND Movie Anthology and Xenk is just the stoic DMPC that shows up every adventure and is like, the one person that everyone just knows cause I think that'd be funny.

[@LaZodiac]

Xenk always struck me as an old Level 20 character (maybe Forge's player) coming in to help with this plot beat, getting to finish off a baddy from his old days, and letting Forge's player do something while he's completely off screen

[@jakeryker3751]

Here’s how I interpreted this movie. It was a group of friends that played in highschool. But the rogue player left for college so he told the dm he could take the rogue over as an npc villain. In need of another player the sorcerer invites their partner to play, and that’s how the Druid is added to the party. They play through, but the rogue player returns for the summer, and comes in as a guest character, a very straightforward paladin, the opposite of their sly rogue. The Paladin is given heavy plot relevance because the rest of the players got more time in between and to integrate them quickly into the party. Then the arc ends and the rogue/paladin player returns to school. The fact the paladin catches the rogue at the end is a funny campaign wrap up of the players 2 characters meeting up.

[@connorjohnson8590]

The scene in the exposition with them all escaping on a stolen cart had 'great 1st level session!' vibes with everyone smiling and having a good time.

[@CrownofMischief]

Also the bard is really good at roleplaying but keeps forgetting he has spells besides Charm Person

[@johanoskarsson8209]

This is an odd things maybe, but the druid being a flat character worked well for me *because we've all had those players at our tables!*. They aren't character actors, they don't really know what to do. In the tale of the great heroic band they are "and Bob was there too." So the fact that she was withdrawn worked for me. Fact is, Simon playing off her was like the one at the table really comfortable with playing a character inviting the less comfortable one to build off connections they had. Maybe a boyfriend inviting his girlfriend along and he spins some yarns to help her along with the roleplaying. As you say though JoCat, as a character in a movie she was flat, but as a character played by someone... I've seen it, you probably have too, and I can't help but appreciate her in that way.

[@Alacaelum]

I like that view. I understand why Jo said all that about her but i think that she is perfect for the band exactly because she is "flat", there is already enough personality, she being a little deadfishy makes creates a little buffer so that we don't get burnout from the banter. Personally... with her being badass stoic that still plays in the team was perfect, and there is only so much character development you can put in a movie before it gets slow, you need to cut somewhere, you just need to compensate and they did.

[@MayHugger]

I thought she was funny.

[@altroxx]

I agree with this coz I used to be that one Druid Tiefling who doesn't roleplay as much as others but is still game to do whatever the party wants to. I dont mind her not being able to banter with them all the time because I can connect with that as a new player who wanted to experience D&D for the first time. Also I kinda chalked it to the fact that she has a slight distrust with humans given her backstory.

[@JoCat]

This is pretty different from the content I normally make because I really just wanted to talk about it and it felt relevant, so don't expect this kind of video very often as I want to put a bit more effort and try not to rely too much on content that is just me shouting my opinions (not that there's anything inherently wrong with that type of content) but it was a fun snack of a video for me to work on while between larger ones

[@happyninja42]

I thought it was a fun time too. It wasn't great, it wasn't terrible, but I was laughing so often I had to cover my mouth to keep from disturbing the other people in the theater. And they were GOOD laughs, not "omg this is so stupid!" (though it did have a few of those, but in a good way), but just genuine amusement at the tone of the film. I LOVED the Paladin. Just, that actor nailed the "GM Insert PC" used to fill out the gap in the party, and exposition depository SO well. Is there a term for the inverse of scenery chewing? Where you are so subtle with your performance, but it's so earnest that you are like a black hole of scenery chewing? EVERY time he was on screen, he had my complete focus and attention. And it was glorious. I didn't like Michelle Rodriguez that much. To me she's like the female Keanu Reeves. Almost zero acting ability, but just something about them is beloved by the movie going community, so they keep putting them in stuff. Near the end, in a scene where she is acting next to the young girl who plays the daughter, I was struck by the fact that this veteran actress, of...what 30+ years? Was being out acted by a 12 year old. That's just sad to me. Though I did think they nailed her barbarian in one mechanical way. After the second combat sequence with her being this solo badass, grabbing shit all around her to fight, I turned to my friend and said "Ok she's DEFINITELY got the Improvised Weapon feat" he chuckled and nodded, in full agreement. Also someone on that development team REALLY loves Wild Shape Druids. That entire character felt like someone saying "NO they ARE OP and if I ever get a chance to make a film I'LL SHOW YOU HOW OP THEY CAN BE!!" and then actually made good on that promise to their table of friends. Overall though, I had a lot of fun with it. It was sort of like Aquaman for me, as far as tone, and level of serious investment. It was goofy, it KNEW it was goofy, it leaned into the goofy when it needed to, and came out a better product for it.

[@sadlobster1]

Here's my big question After watching this, would you want to see ANOTHER D&D movie from this studio in the future? More importantly, would you watch any of the potential D&D related media said to be released someday (ex. a TV series, Season Three of Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein etc.)?

[@happyninja42]

@@sadlobster1 For myself? Yeah I wouldn't be adverse to the idea of another film. Not sure I'd want to see these same characters again, but like if they switched to another party of adventurers doing something else in another corner of the world, I'd be down for it. I wouldn't like froth at the mouth in eager anticipation of it's release, and prowl the internet for every scrap of information about it's pre-production. But I would make a point to grab my wife and ttrpg friends one weekend (likely opening weekend) and see it at a matinee showing. It would actively hold a place in my brain as "Something I will make an effort to go see once it comes out."

[@sadlobster1]

@@happyninja42 That is precisely what I meant, friend; perhaps it wouldn't/didn't have to involve the same party as THIS one. But I would LOVE to see more D&D material in film, television AND animation in the future. Heck, given how successful Critical Role has been with TWO of its campaigns gaining the animated treatment; I would LOVE to see a series based off Fantasy High from Dimension20

[@happyninja42]

@@sadlobster1 Can't speak to the Dim20 show you mentioned, haven't watched their stuff, but yeah, if they made this D&D setting into an anthology franchise kind of thing, I'd be down for it. Of course if you open it up like that, you run the risk of "too many cooks" or just very different levels of quality from one installment to the next. But if they are all self-contained stories, with maybe some references to the other films' Big Events that would become global news, I'd be ok with it. I definitely don't want to see Michelle's barbarian again, though to be fair, I just don't think she's a good actress, like at all. Like the lady herself, think she's perfectly cool as an actual human, but she is NEVER a reason that I go see a movie. I've never been like "oh boy! Michelle Rodriguez is in this! I'm SO ready for some top tier acting and drama from her!" But yeah, overall, it was fun, I'd give it a 7.5/10, maybe even as high as an 8/10. It's a fun film, I didn't feel like I wasted my time and money. I got more positive vibes out of it than negative ones. And for me, that's the important bit. No movie ever escapes with zero complaints, but as long as they don't outweigh the good bits, then I don't mind.

[@whitneypatterson8744]

Just the fact I recognized the Displacer beast and I was just so happy since it's considered a rare creature

[@mollymcallister1671]

I loved what they did with the Displacer Beast in the movie. It's technically not lore-accurate, but it makes for much better visual storytelling than how it'd actually work if it were rules-faithful.

[@tobistein9831]

@@mollymcallister1671 What about it wasn’t lore accurate? Because I loved what they did with the displacement ability. The little grabby tentacles as hologram projectors was a very cool detail.

[@aaroncunningham8307]

I personally prefer the movie interpretation of the Displacer Beast as it just makes more sense. It actually uses it forepaws (which, reminder, it has FOUR) to pounce and pin prey like a cat does rather than slapping people with spiky noodles. Plus, actively projecting its image at a distance is way cooler than just appearing a foot to the left.

[@whitneypatterson8744]

I agree it's the reason I like a little bit more for homebrew were you only change a creature a little bit but keep it mostly the same

[@Kyla-Stormhazard]

I call them Kitty Whippins

[@babbymammoths]

There was a Yuan Ti in the prison, it was cool to see the uncommon and exotic races

[@imgeniusish]

WHAT i really need to see it again and look out for the yuan ti, i was just thinking about how cool it would be for yuan ti to appear bc my first character is a yuan ti pureblood and i love his stupid snakeface

[@Tetsuza_3]

Oh and don't forget there's a githyanki who gets tripped at the start of the film while trying to run from some guards

[@mm-kk6nt]

I was like that Leonardo Di Caprio meme when I saw that lmao

[@themarkktv]

I know very little about D&D but are you referring to the snake person that was in the prison?

[@derimperator3847]

​@@themarkktv yep

[@shadoweddragonfilms4424]

Chonky dragon is Themberchaud! He's from one of the modules in 5e, one of my personal favorites in fact! He's like that even in the module, don't worry. A little more talkative, but....

[@connorjohnson8590]

He's the best chonky death oven.

[@frostyfoster7267]

which module?

[@connorjohnson8590]

@@frostyfoster7267 Out of the Abyss. He's in the chapter about Gracklstaug (dunno if I spelt that right), the city of the duerugar. He's actually kind of helpful. You arn't supposed to fight him or touch his treasure, which is an easy way to get burned to a crisp at this point in the story, because I don't think the character are even level 5 by then.

[@FieldMarshalFry]

But why should a dragon talk to his lunch? It's not like it's going to have anything interesting to say!

[@Pyre]

@@FieldMarshalFry And he was having so much FUN chasing them!

[@ZeoffArcaneOfficial]

The fortunate/unfortunate thing about the druid was that she was chosen to be "the book character" Unfortunate because that means she's just here to do cool shit and wrap up her story from the book. Fortunate in that there's a whole book of her to be fleshed out in.

[@ZeoffArcaneOfficial]

@@froyothewolf Basically. Sort of like how a lot of stuff, video games included, have tie-in novels or comics or stuff like that. Mass Effect and SwTor are my go to examples, with entire book series that play behind the games

[@CooperSummersVA]

Both Edgin and her have books don't they?

[@nathanielleon4163]

One is the group's origin minus Doric from Edgin's perspective (Holga is there for like, the whole thing too). The other is Doric's origin. You'll be surprised to know that Doric's is actually kinda better. There's more action and capital L Lore in Edgin's but Doric's feels more intimate and (ironically) human.

[@fearjunkie]

For whatever gripes I may have about the movie, it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of D&D.

[@Login2play]

Except for the fact that everyone looked human. Every dnd group has at least one person who plays something really out there

[@saratoga6663]

@@Login2play where’s the svirfneblin representation

[@gregvs.theworld451]

@@Login2play As the player with the lizardfolk or Kobold fondness, I take your point. Maybe if we get a sequel they can invest some money in a really good practical effect suit so we can have a more colorful character in their roster.

[@ThePizzaMan48]

@@gregvs.theworld451 I would say to get someone to try and act with tons of energy like Jim Carey in the Grinch, so the expressions come through even with tons of makeup! I'm sure it would be extremely difficult, but it could be absolutely great!

[@gamerguy10101]

My favourite part was Simon creating an illusion of Edgin to allow them to sneak past the castle guards. Not only was it hilarious but is also made me think about Illusions failing in ways I hadn't before, I always imagined illusion failing as them sort of flickering and fading in and out of existence. The idea that an illusion could be "glitchy" was really interesting and something I hadn't ever considered

[@fizzles5]

It was neat in the way dnd campaigns often do tongue-in-cheek jokes where magic mimics modern technology. the sending stones having walkie talkie feedback is ABSOLUTELY something we've joked about in campaigns I've played in. the glitchy illusion felt like that, I loved it.

[@Meganedere]

I think my favorite fanservice wasn't even for the game, it was including the kids from the DND cartoon in one of the scenes, and in a life or death scenario no less.

[@8BitCerberus]

My friend pointed that out when they came on the screen. I would have totally missed it! And the theater even showed some clips of "D&D in pop culture" before the movie, and the opening credits to the cartoon were part of that. I blame my old, bad, near sighted eyes 😅

[@Thevampman24]

I know that was soo great!

[@semi_enigma]

THIS

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Yes! I had that exact thought right as that scene moved on, so I wasn’t able to really look and confirm it for myself. Glad someone else picked up on it quicker.

[@Patrick-pw3rz]

I like the subtle ways they worked the bardic inspiration into Chris Pine's role. If you stretch the imagination a bit, when he sings to the barbarian, it could be considered a healing spell to mend her broken heart and to try to save her in the final act... Maybe? I also like seeing Tavern Brawler in action.

[@PerthScienceClinic]

I too saw a lot of what the bard was doing as Bardic Inspiration.

[@Elderdawg2]

I kind of thought the same thing. Like it's not hard to believe that that scene with the bard singing to the barbarian after her breakup in order to cheer her up may have been him casting calm emotions.

[@daggergaming3943]

My personal grief with Xenk is that I wished he had a bit more time as an actual member of the party instead of seeming like a DMPC or a character that showed up for one session and then left That being said, I really appreciated a lot of the small details in the movie. For instance, the costume design did a good job making each character feel unique. Holga wears furs of her former tribe, Doric wears Emerald Enclave armor stylized with leaf imagery, etc. It was also interesting to watch the movie and imagine it from a game perspective. Like, the beginning scene was definitely the DM arguing with the bard who made this whole plan and the DM is making him go along with the story first.

[@scifisyko]

I liked Xenk because he totally seemed like a person who built the wrong kind of character for that campaign and its tone but decided to run with it anyway because there wasn’t time to make another character. :p

[@entropy11]

Xenk was such a DMPC

[@FFKonoko]

I loved him being the dmpc. Showed up to teach the main character a narrative lesson and point them the right way. Even was there to try and help them solve the dungeon puzzles, before they just broke and skipped them.

[@riverofunholystakes]

My father also mentioned that possibly one of the reasons he walks in a straight line, even when encountering an obstacle, is because he’s an NPC like from a video game that’s just following a set path. So also more of a nod to him being a DMPC 🤷

[@Stargazeer]

I do think that he could have been received a lot better if his scenes weren't as rough and jarring. A lot of that middle part could have been slimmed down. Regardless, I will absolutely be getting "I will not be complicity in the ilicit use of ill gotten booty" on a t-shirt.

[@roguedruid3465]

I think one of the benefits of not explaining all of the 'game mechanics' for spells and classes, is that you can justify things as homebrew or house rules. For instance: the druid could easily be a homebrew that mono-focused on wildshape and combat. Or Chris Pine's 'inspiration' being shown much more as 'planning the scene and tactical advantage' instead of magic.

[@templarw20]

I looked at it as spells aren't always spells for the non-mage/priest types, but can just be tricks they do, or passive stuff in the background. Sure, they didn't overtly cast spells, but the Bard and Druid did pull some stuff that would work as spells. Simon was the guy casting spells in combat, the other two were the ones that buff the party beforehand. As for the Druid... eh, some editions Wild Shape was limited not by shapes but by time shaping, so as long as there was time, the person could shift around, so I had no problem with the rapid shapes in the escape sequence. It would make no sense, in my mind, to have a shapeshifter limited like they are in RAW, not when you're competing with Mystique from the Xmen films or Odo from Star Trek.

[@QuestionQuestionMark]

Chris Pines character was a rogue

[@VinceValentine]

@@QuestionQuestionMark He's a bard. It's in the official stat block. The fact that he doesn't cast has been covered by Jocat - the writers simply didn't want to overwhelm the casual audience with too many casters.

[@SynchronizorVideos]

There’s also the fact that this is a film, and not a tabletop game. The movie doesn’t have to be concerned with hard limits on gameplay to keep classes or encounters balanced; it can let some of that slide in favor of pacing and storytelling.

[@OathOblivio]

I think the DM PC part was hilarious bc they were actively making fun of DM PCs and the tropes that come with DM PCs. I think it's a great addition to the movie and didn't take away from the experience. It felt like dnd campaign that was manifested into a movie, like the obvious DM explaining a puzzle to the table moment through the DM PC moment. Absolutely hilarious

[@drive_6665]

The thing that I most liked in the movie is that the characters felt like dnd PCs, I really loved how creative the party was to solve some of problems and a lot of the time I was thinking to myself "oh yeah, I can see my players doing that lol"

[@Pyre]

Per the directors, this was the primary focus of pretty much the whole script. Including things going hilariously but catastrophically wrong several times.

[@vulgarlittlepuppy2431]

They needed an after-credits sequence that showed the lead actors and the director all seated around the table dressed in regular clothes, all packing up their books, dice and character sheets and chatting about the game/movie.

[@azazelreeds]

I agree they should've had more variety in the main cast, but at the same time it was kind of nice to see a tiefling with human tones because that is an actual thing people tend to forget

[@brainstormsurge154]

It would also have been nice to to blue, red or purple skin just so it's easier to tell she's not human. Sure, the horns and tail gives it away but but an inhuman skin tone would just make such a nice impact. I could easily see a blue skin tone with her red hair and green eyes, which maybe they could have made greener, give a more striking appearance. It would also emphasize her being outcast and play into that better.

[@marvintg2002]

my favorite part of that movie was the amount of hidden references and nods, like a painting the party used for one of their plans had Volo Geddarm, THE Volo, on it! I was so exited when i noticed during the movie!

[@a_level_70_elite_raccoon]

I was wondering why that face looked so familiar! It bugged me the whole time.

[@StealthMarmot_]

It was nice to see JoCat cameoing in the movie as the halfling with a type.

[@Nencha.K]

I know it wasn't accurate but I kinda like the idea of a druid that goes deep into wild shape, so much so that they give up there spell slots just to get more uses or maybe using spell slots to power up their transformations

[@garuelx8627]

That would actually be a neat homebrew, spontaneous wild shape.

[@Pyre]

@@garuelx8627 This exists. I know anyone newer to the hobby must get REALLY tired of this, but 3.5 and 3.0 had this concept almost exactly. To give actually *useful* information, 3.0's softcover supplement Masters of the Wild offered a Druid prestige class that, when mixed with...I think it was a feat from 3.5's Complete Divine, let you have infinite Wild Shapes as a free action. This also accidentally breaks the game clean in half because per RAW you recover a night's rest worth of hit points on a change back from Wild Shape, and Free Actions take basically no time. There were also alternative takes in 3.5 for having classes that mixed martial and magical abilities be purely martial-focused. That was Complete Warrior, if I'm remembering right, and I don't think Druid had one. But if you want to look up PDFs of the supplements they might provide a guideline to adapt a 5e subclass to make that homebrew out of. And honestly, it really *should* exist.

[@GideonGleeful95]

That would also explain how she can change into an Owlbear. It would be cool if there was a Druid subclass that sacrificed spellslots just for more transformations and a wider variety of them.

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Giving up all healing, offensive, & utility magic and just being a pure shapeshifter could certainly be a viable class subtype.

[@dustthewanderer6756]

One thing I liked was with Simon being a kind of bad sorcerer is that I rationalized it as him being bad is linked to his lack of self confidence (Having a low or perhaps penalized CHA score), and he improves a lot when he finds that confidence to believe in himself (Improving his CHA score or removing that penalization.)

[@LaZodiac]

It also felt to me a bit like Wild Magic Sorcery.

[@sw4ahl]

I don't think Zeke's a DMPC. I think his player is going on deployment next week, so we have to give him a really good session (and a fight that ultimately doesn't matter) because we're never going to see him again. And the Druid had a positive COVID test the week of her scene. Since it was a pass or fail thing, the DM just had her describe it over zoom.

[@skates180]

My favorite moment is definitely summed up by imagining the DM saying "I'm sorry, you place your miniature WHERE?!"

[@samuelevans738]

Wait, which scene is that?

[@connorjohnson8590]

I'm going to guess it's when they ALL jump into the gelatenous cube to cheese the maze. They had a suspicious amount of time to escape that cube before the maze starting to get perilous, which I choose to interpret as the DM improvising on his feet as hard as he possibly can to avoid having to make a new map on the fly.

[@samuelevans738]

@@connorjohnson8590 oh yeah, that bit!

[@skates180]

@Connor Johnson nah it's when the paladin is trying to talk them through the bridge puzzle and the sorcerer steps on the button that makes the bridge collapse

[@shelbyherring92]

​@@connorjohnson8590"Do NOT _ the Gelatinous Cube!" I repeat, "Do NOT _ the Gelatinous Cube!"

[@blindoutlaw]

I liked how OP the Paladin was. It was like they were making a joke about how over the top DMPC’s are or just how terrible the main characters were compared to a “real hero”. I mean it said it all in his over dramatic entrance. Slow mo cape removal and all

[@dingding12321]

It's always hilarious when a Mary Sue/Gary Stu isn't a main character lol

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Yeah, the film felt super self-aware about him, even down to little things like the low angle & lighting when he shows up again at the end. They were clearly being tongue-in-cheek with him, and I thought it was fun.

[@Azakamak2401]

One of the scenes I love is right at the beginning when they're getting out of the prison. You know that that would have been a case of the DM going "well that sure as hell wasn't how I planned this going, but okay, we'll run with it."

[@ethanrose9682]

They succeeded the check to get out, the Dragonborn even went "We approved your pardon" as they were tackling Jarnathan out of the window.

[@phryg2035]

The movie was a great intro to D&D for my friends who have never played before, and right afterwards we had an irl session with them which was a blast. I think the movie strikes a good balance between D&D nerdery and general accessibility.

[@relic5752]

18:33 My buddy had a realization after watching the movie that Chris Pine was less a bard and more a *Mastermind Rogue.* For one thing, like you mentioned, he never casts a spell nor cantrip even though vicious mockery would've been ripe for abuse given how many barbs he throws out there. Then there's the fact that we see him hide and take advantage of his surroundings than we ever see him actually inspiring his team. And finally, there's the fact that despite his charismatic flare, his contribution to the team, and what ultimately allows them to succeed, is his *plans,* some of which he uses his prior knowledge of their foes to guarantee their success

[@PerthScienceClinic]

As a rogue, he was probably happy to disguise himself as a bard...

[@asolem2266]

16:10 The scene went by pretty fast but i'm pretty sure it was a Yuan-Ti was shown in the prison as the Orc was being led to "his" cell.

[@ethanrose9682]

I think it was a Hobgoblin. No tusks

[@tonevr6648]

I wish Doric had a little more story meat to her , But otherwise she did carry her weight. She is VERY A-Doric-able. She had me simping for Teflings >.

[@Pyre]

Yes. The Correct Response. Good. Now read Brimstone Angels.

[@tonevr6648]

@@Pyre i presume that is a book yes ?

[@paulenan9636]

Everyone simps for Tieflings. It came free with puberty.

[@Zephrame]

Regarding "aspects of the movie coming from a writer's campaign" or something like that you said towards the end, the movie was actually written with a campaign played by the actors in mind. Like, they played a campaign, and the script was constructed around it. Pretty much everything about the characters is directly from that campaign, and I love every little bit of it.

[@johncmousley]

on the 'lots of humans' point, it is the sword coast; human mchuman towm

[@marvintg2002]

Apparently everyone in the party has a challenge rating of 5, and the Paladin has a challenge rating of 10, according to the Forgotten Realms Wiki.

[@GKplus8]

Paladin was totally a "oops, my encounter was overtuned, better have the NPC take care of it to avoid a party wipe"

[@Pyre]

Given that the Final Battle starts with spamming really inaccurate Meteor Swarms? Yeah that sounds about right.

[@roboblob6591]

That's not possible :\ at least...the Sorcerer is surely not level 5: Bigby's hand(the stony hand) is a 5th level spell(and you have only up to 3rd level at 5 level). Moreover, the red wizard is kinda of level 18 mage: Time Stop + Meteor Shower are both 9th level spells(2 slots, just like lv 18/19. At least...in a 3.5 version. For 5e 9th level magic is very limited to one slot only)

[@christopherfloody5555]

@@roboblob6591 I think the stone hand was Maximillions Earthen Grasp, which is only a 2nd level spell. The Thay wizard lady cast Bisbys hand, and he countered with his own. which then got wrecked. Also like that he counterspelled the time stop, pretty funny way to beat the bad guy.

[@queencyrys6309]

@@roboblob6591 considering the lack of destruction I don’t think she cast Meteor swarm

[@MarineS0n2]

If anyone's really experiencing a disconnect from the druid wildshaping a bunch, it could just be a homebrew subclass that foregoes spells in order to wildshape more often. Other than that, I loved the movie. The mimic on a cart was fun foreshadowing imo.

[@GKplus8]

Another comment gave the suggestion that the wildshapes outside combat are actually spells like fly or Longstride, but reflavored as more animal forms for the theme.

[@jessicawoodley9577]

I saw someone saying that they might have just said that wildshaping outside of combat didn't require separate rolls per shape

[@miclash013]

In an interview with the creators of the movie, the main topic that stood out to me was that they were creating a movie foremost, and a D&D movie second. To them, creating a good movie came before following all the rules of D&D. Hence why they made the Druid able to wildshape as many times as they wanted, because it added agency to the "players" where limiting it would remove a lot of solutions and gatekeep cool parts of the story. I think this style of storytelling is great, and should be more wildly followed. (Looking at you, Marvel) First and foremost you should make a good film, and care about source material, etc. afterwards.

[@nicecream6621]

Honestly one of my fav parts of the film is the Paladin continuously walking straight and you can still see him in the background until he's out of shot, 😆

[@shelbyherring92]

Dumbest DM/PC joke ever made, but damn it was so funny.

[@brunograndis7]

My main nitpick is that the Potato thrown looked baked, and that was weird for potatoes in a loading basket

[@Gloomdrake]

Fair, but at the same time baked potato carnage is more satisfying than raw potato carnage. Give and take

[@codycarney2311]

Even though the potato scenes weren't quite that funny they were to me. I have one hell of a potato D&D story. So my old DM needed us drugged and kidnapped by the BBEG of the campaign so we wandered into the city that was secretly controlled by them and the way he drugged us was by the way of the potato, once we escaped capture we made a vow to destroy every single russet potato we came across. At first it small things like knocking a passing potato on a plate then smashing a whole bag or two. You would expect that a weird joke would die. It didn't. By the end of the campaign, we had sundered millions upon millions of potato plants, our DM created a holy potato city, FRI, which held an ancient potato blessed by the gods themselves, the king had heard of a great plight, russet potato being destroyed left, center and right but had no idea who was behind the attacks, so he had no idea that he hired the very ones who caused the destruction, once our deception uncovered we smashed his prized potato gollem(Earth Elemental reflavored) we held a successful coup, we made him renounce the russet, by smashing the planes most holiest relic and guess what supplanted the russet potato with. The Sweet Potato

[@wh1pla5h]

Yeah a raw potato would not have broken up on impact

[@donhoverson6348]

So, would that make that a pick-a-nit basket?

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Looked raw to me; they even had some dirt coming off when she threw it. And a raw potato will definitely break up if it hits something hard enough. What was missing was more deformation of the guy’s face with an impact that hard. Should’ve looked at some SloMoGuys videos as reference.

[@fallentitan9811]

Most D&D I’m in is home brewed at least a little so honestly that was never gonna worry me. Most DMs I’ve met have basically agreed that the books are guidelines to help, not real rule books that have to be followed to the letter. Honestly the movie was a blast and I’m glad you liked it too. Still have never been Druid before but I might finally make one.

[@FairlySadPanda]

This is a really fair review, although personally I liked the 'DMPC' bit as I liked the character. He was used to keep the party alive when they had to go to a super dangerous place and got to do two cool things before going "my work here's done, you lot got this" and leaving. The 'DM' left solving how to survive getting out of the Underdark to the PCs and used the guy as important lore context. Oh and the Sorceror being called Simon I took as a reference to the adventure games, which are about an equally hapless wizard. I don't mind too much that the druid tiefling didn't get a tonne of development - she got over her dislike of humans, made some friends and was also a badass.

[@amyhardigree7075]

Lol my group has a druid and all she ever does is wild shape and always into a dire wolf and it's really hard to get her to change back. One time she had to tell us something but refused to change back so she acted like frickin lassie while we are all guessing incorrectly like "The well!? Timmy is stuck in the well!? Use your words damnit!!!"

[@desflat]

When a certain spell went wrong during a distraction, I almost passed out from laughing 😂 Also I love that Holga used improvised weapons so OFTEN.

[@KaminoZan]

Hey! I loved watching Jeremy Irons "chew up the scenery". It looked like he was having the time of his life on-set, it was amazing!

[@shelbyherring92]

To be fair, Jeremy Irons was probably the only redeeming quality of that movie.

[@templarw20]

Good overview, Jo. I look at it as an example of how a heist/caper story can be told in a fantasy setting. And yeah, Doric got the short end of the stick a lot. She was awesome, and managed to (to paraphrase Red's categories) out powerhouse the barbarian...

[@Lrbearclaw]

I will point out that as per the LORE of Toril, Owlbears are Beasts. So Druids (lorewise) should be able to Wildshape into one. Now with the chase sequence, I argue they followed the Rule of Cool. She changed multiple times from animal to animal and not back to her normal form. If a Druid wanted to do it as part of their skill challenge escape, I would probably allow it. In battle? Nope. Edit: Also, Holga made Tavern Brawler look amazing.

[@carolynwilliams5918]

I went to see it with my fellow DMs (Which by the way, DMing for other DMs is VERY chaotic and fun - especially because my DM hubby is happy to figure out the most amusing ways to use the rules to his advantage), and we spent the entire movie with big grins on our faces. We all loved Xenk - we knew he was a DMPC, but he was a very FUNNY one. Also we all decided we want chonk boi dragon. I know he has a proper name, but he's forever chonk boi dragon in my heart.

[@Richard_Tophat]

😂 Yes! My wife and I immediately identified the paladin as the "cooler then you" DMPC with a wooden personality, and cackled madly at the "see how cool he is!" moments. And the dragon... "Oh lord, he comin'" *laughter*. 😂

[@Lorekeeper_GGuy]

I do think it’s more likely he’s a DMPC, but if Xenk isn’t one, he could be a character from the group’s previous campaign brought in as a cameo, possibly even the former PC of Edgin’s player given how much banter they had

[@jessicawoodley9577]

he is themberchonk

[@VinceValentine]

They have plushies of chonky dragon on the official website.

[@SiminaDar]

@@VinceValentine Thank you for this. I needed this information

[@asgerrasmussen1386]

also the character sheets can be found on D&D beyond, and they have special traits like the extra wildshapes, so it is just special to them :).

[@arctechs3863]

I kind of thought of the paladin as the DM's NPC that joins the party for one mission that would be really hard without him, and then leaves immediately after. Especially with the fact that he was basically an OP self-insert that has a tragic backstory.

[@Wreckur4203]

Respect the DM for knowing when to make the DMPC leave 😁

[@arkleuss]

im convinced that the speech that Edgin gives to Simon before atunning to the helmet was a bardic inspiration, and you cant change my mind

[@steveaustin2686]

Also to Holga in the alley when he rolls a Nat 1 to get out of his bonds.

[@arkleuss]

@@steveaustin2686 yeah, those extra d6s change the movie XD

[@steveaustin2686]

@@arkleuss Based on their +3 proficiency bonus from their D&D stat block, he had at least d8 Inspiration. If you go off his HD & hp, he had d12's.

[@jpag_grey497]

I watched with my DnD group and yes, we were discussing how much she shapshifted and what lvl you had to be to do that. Other then that it was funny to see moments that made us say, "oh that's basically us in a nutshell" 🤣 or parts of the movie that gave us ideas to put in our campaign (the thicc boi dragon was our favourite and left-field part)

[@PlanetDiablo16967]

I don't think I needed a movie to tell that the class that can turn into a bear is cool. Druids have always seemed pretty cool to me.

[@lunchboxcomiks]

A main character as a Changeling with one actor playing their changeling form and the shape shift forms being other actors. could be fun for cameos.

[@ceridwenaeradwr8105]

The creativity that went into this (especially in regards to the problem-solving and the majority of the combat scenes) was brilliant. As you said - that alone made it feel VERY DnD, regardless of canon or rule loyalty.

[@JLocke0113]

I would love to see Joecat as a shop owner or barkeep in a D&D movie.

[@3ndlessL00p]

Let's be honest, JoCat would be a catboy (tabaxi?) waiter in a cute outfit at the tavern, if anything.

[@JanTuts]

But JoCat _was_ in the movie: Xenk saved him from the toothy maw of that big fish... :P

[@JLocke0113]

So he grows up, becomes a barkeep, and flirts with the 7 foot barbarian until at least one of them is beet red.

[@VinceValentine]

@@JanTuts "tOoThY mAw" - Matt Mercer

[@grayKT]

I liked seeing that one guy referred to as a dm PC as a veteran player that was brought in as a guest, that loved the lore and was only available for a few sessions before life stuff

[@Drizzerey]

We just sat this and we had so much fun watching. I also love the very subtle references to pop media. The way they were incorporated was just *chef's kiss* it fits within the world so well without taking you out of the moment. Also the comedy was just so good, and the Barbarian is so on point I just loved everything about her.

[@Yotta_Guns]

"There's a lot of exposition"... it's almost like players find excuses to talk about their characters backstory. Lol I thought it was a very subtle gag. And I loved it.

[@AnonYmous-mc5zx]

The Rule of Cool is a core part of DnD imho. I always took Doric to be a player who wanted to make a character all about wildshape, who talked with their DM to sacrifice the rest of her combat effectiveness in favor of maximizing beastmode. She gets a slingshot, which seems like it was more a compromise since it looks like it can't deal lethal damage, if anything more than a d2s to begin with. She was a roleplaying toolbox character who ended up being a murdergremlin. It happens.

[@Earendilgrey]

I agree with this 100%. From the previews, I honestly thought the Paladin was going to be in the movie longer, but no, he was a true DMPC. Which isn't a bad thing all the time. Or that he was going to come back at the end for the big showdown and have some connection with the BBEG other than just almost being one of them. Kind of glad they skirted that trope.

[@ceruleanwalker1069]

I really hope they do more films, with a new party each time in this world.

[@Heavenlyhounds96]

Next stop, Waterdeep

[@samuelevans738]

@@Heavenlyhounds96 Dragonheist, HO!!!!

[@Arisorio]

I laughed so loud at the aarakocra scene and the dragon scene, i really didn't see those coming.

[@Nefidean]

My husband and I saw this over Easter, but I do think Edgard casted a few spells just not in a so obvious over the top way like Simon does. Like after Olga picks up stuff from her old house and leaves angry and furious. He starts singing to cheer her up. My husband leaned over and claimed it was Calm Emotion which I agree. Some of his diplomacy things could also be Fast Friends. Motivational Speech could be another spell as well as Aid.

[@barongrimoire9043]

As someone who has only played a very small amount of DnD because meeting new people clashes with my social anxiety but I still really like the world and lore and kinda might like to maybe try more some time because I did have fun, I love that it really felt like there could be or was a DM telling this story to the players above the table, and the way everything went absolutely could’ve been the players trying their best to work through the adventure in a serious way but still having fun with it. It captured the magic of what DnD is to me and that makes me happy, even with the imperfections

[@lovelessbadger7197]

I mostly agree with you, though one core disagreement... I loved the DMPC bit. It was very much everything you said, but I loved that it happened, because it is a very D&D thing. The fact that it is bad for story telling, bad in D&D, and its inclusion is literally a meta reference to the fact that doing it is bad? Amazing.

[@wyrm_]

Good JoCat. Good content. I watched this saturday and it made me low key want to fully rework wild shape to fit the movie, because that was so much cooler than normal wildshape. WIP concept is: Wild shape has a total amount of hitpoints that is based on your level instead of the beast type. You can wild shape any number of times while you retain your 'wildshape hp'. Wildshaping directly from one shape to another without passing through your regular form costs... idk, a hitpoint, or 1d4, or something. You can still get hit.

[@ProduccionesPaquito]

Me and my d&d group loved the DMPC because he’s the most lawful good character that has ever paladine’d and was fun to see what bs was he going to pull out next to be as preachy as possible to the gang. One of us silently screamed louder and louder every time he had a “paladin one-liner” to throw

[@Pyre]

"I find that irony is a blade that cuts its wielder most deeply." "Please stop talking but also never stop you are delightful."

[@SynchronizorVideos]

I really enjoyed how they went so hard with him.

[@riftwalker9296]

In the spoilers section I'm surprised you didn't bring up a surprise cameo that made me nearly fan squeal in the theater.

[@javikdisapproves1767]

I really enjoyed Xenk. He does look like this super-obnoxious paladin-in-shining-armor DMPC, but that's why he's so fun. That bit where he just walks in a really straight line??? If we're talking campaign, that's what happens when DM introduces an NPC and the party just decide that he's this stereotype and the DM just rolls with it to the max. I loved him, he's so stupid. Also his dagger-sword is really neat. My gripe with Doric is that she's just such a toned-down tiefling. Human skin, small horns, and I wasn't even sure she had a tail until that carriage scene. I think they could've at least make her red (and not just red-headed).

[@lunarwings4481]

There's this one part in the final fight against this Red Wizard lady (forgot her name). Ed gets the sentient statue that she's controlling to run into a fruitstand, and a piece of cloth gets stuck on its face and it goes running away blind. But then Ed realizes he's standing in a loop of rope from that fruitstand that's stuck to the statue, and proceeds to get dragged by the legs behind it. I imagine the table convo would have gone something like DM: okay. The statue runs into the fruit stand and gets a piece of fabric stuck on its face. It runs around wildly, blind and confused. But I need you to roll a Perception check. Player: what? Oh. Uhh.... I rolled a 9. DM: you fail to notice that you're standing in a loop of rope stuck on the statue that's tightening as it runs. Dex save, quick! Player: aw man, rolled a 3. DM: you're too slow on the reaction, and the rope tightens around your legs and you get dragged off by this statue.

[@shelbyherring92]

DM: You're now Entangled/Grappled, tethered to the stony pain train and must now use your action roll to see if you can get out... Also, you'll also need to make a CON roll every turn until you're untangled or take 1d4 damage from road rash. Edgin player: CON roll first, right? DM: Yup. Edgin player: (sighs) Alright.

[@TokyoKoolProductionz]

In regards to the bard thing, my friends and I headcanon it that he is a Mastermind Rogue with expertise in Performance and also took Charismatic Leader as a feat.

[@valritz1489]

I think the only thing I would change is shifting the "I'm bad at attuning" dialogue to "I'm going to have to convince this sentient magic item to let me attune." It clears up a weirdness in that attunement isn't really something you're "good" or "bad" at in the game, and doesn't really materially change what the character in question has to do.

[@SynchronizorVideos]

Maybe, but attunement is pretty much just a game mechanic that is meant to limit exploits. If they had played it straight in the film, it would have contributed nothing.

[@irishspartanstudios]

As a bard myself, both on and off the table top, I am so happy Pine's guy wasn't made overly horney.

[@kennethkates3140]

Honestly, I think they used one of the primary abilities of the Bard, not music, but inspiration. There are a couple of times where he did something, sing a song, say something, or did something that made the next action from another character better, when previously they had failed or didn't succeed that well.

[@PerthScienceClinic]

Now see, if there was a druid subclass that let you wildshape more or less continuously for a period of time (say, 10 minuts) like we saw in the movie, there would be incentive to use it more tactically and not save it up for combats.

[@thomashull7776]

Chris Pine feels more like a Variant Human Mastermind Rogue with Inspiring Leader feat and Entertainer background. The druid I'm OK with after accepting her as an unpublished subclass that can Wild Shape into monstrosities and trade spell slots for additional uses of Wild Shape. Hugh Grant was so obviously a villain just from the trailers. Not mad at it, just a common movie experience that was easy to recognize before watching it. Holga was amazing and I love how well they treated barbarian.

[@bluedimined]

I appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning Jo cat

[@JKSSubstandard]

1) chonk dragon is best dragon 2) Chris pine hits someone in the face with a lute. And while the antithesis of metal.... That's pretty metal

[@kennethdennis8907]

Minor spoilers there is a nod to the DND cartoon in the movie. That I thought was fun.😊

[@FFKonoko]

Yeah, spotted that pretty quick, even listed their names in the credits. It did make me wonder if the other group in the arena was a different reference.... Oh, and fresh cut grass seems like a reference too.

[@Ahrpigi]

@FFKonoko I'm positive that's the name of a Ginny Di character

[@Earendilgrey]

​@@Ahrpigi No, but she did a cosplay of the character.

[@KilleRoy_NL]

​​@@FFKonoko I agree and choose to believe so blindly. The amount of options for 'nice smells' or other distracting stuff you can do with prestidigitation, and you choose something a little robot from Critical Role campaign 3 is named after? Definite reference. 🙏🏻

[@Ahrpigi]

@@Earendilgrey ah, that's right! Thank you for reminding me :)

[@MeonLights]

I'd definitely argue that the Bard of the group is constantly using his abilities. He is cheering people up, giving them inspiration (especially Simon like, you can imagine the players and Simon's player has just bad luck rolling so the bard's player has to keep saying things to give him inspiration 😊) I had a lot of fun watching this movie and a very similar experience to yours about having fun and having moments of an imaginary session in my head)

[@MrKamikaz37]

Spoilers below: The fact that they threw a potato at the big bad mid monologue is the most dnd thing in the movie, in my opinion

[@revenantravings]

Hear me out- Chris Pine was a Mastermind Rogue/Bard multiclass. Started as a rogue, comes up with the plans, joins the harpers and takes bard levels, but isn't comfortable enough with magic yet but is more than happy to give inspiration to his allies

[@argus2389]

Saw it yesterday and it was awesome. A very solid 8/10

[@pikakia1237]

I loved this movie too as a D&D player. If there was 1 thing I would add though is maybe at the end of the credits, you know where they typically show a last-minute scene, I would have loved just a small scene where it cuts to the actual players and DM, them talking about the finished campaign for a bit, and then zoom in to the miniatures of the characters.

[@manifaction777]

I went into the movie with the mindset that I would look at it not as a regular film but as the players and DM's retelling of the long campaign they just finished up and from that lens this movie was an absolute blast. Almost every gripe I had with the movie, and a few of the ones you touched on, I felt were almost necessary to have in to really give it that feeling. For instance you mentioned the long backstory segments, the DMPC taking over and winning a fight singlehandedly for the party, one of the "players" (Druid) being not so into the story but getting to do the cool things their class was meant to do, I feel that all of that at least for me is classic DND-ism. Did the lore dump/backstory drops kind of bore you? Of course they did, they have to get those out of the way before you can get into the action of the story and they're told as if we're going around the table to each player to give them a turn to info dump. Did you not like how the DMPC had unknowable knowledge and could easily defeat a group of powerful assassins explicitly without the party? Of course you did, no one likes that kind of DMPC in their games. Did you wish the druid has some more story impact than just the action they were part of? Yeah so did the rest of the party/DM they were playing with, but maybe that player wasn't as interested in that part as the cool things they wanted to do with their character. Overall I loved this movie and I'm really excited to see the next one from this same point of view, I also agree with the majority of your points as well because as a movie it has flaws of course, but I figured I could share my view point to the discussion. Thanks for the great video as always! Sorry for the word wall 😁

[@dothackninja]

Druid wise - something I do in campaigns I run - I allow druids to exchange spell slots for wild shapes, so maybe that's why her wild shaping everywhere was fine to me....

[@ryanbarham8464]

I like to think that the Druid is a homebrew subclass a lot like Circle of the Moon that can use spell slots to transform into animals, with her biggest slot available letting her take on the form of an Owlbear. She's probably got 3rd-level spell slots, allowing her to transform into a CR 3 monster by level 5, and that means she's got seven 1 and 2 slots, making it easy for that escape scene to happen. Personally, I find it a fun and intriguing concept!

[@padraig548]

I love the idea of wildmagic sorcerers being seen as "bad at magic" because wild magic is chaotic.