- This video contains spoilers
for "D&D: Honor Among Thieves!"
Obviously.
Dungeon masters who have seen
the new D&D movie probably noticed that not everything
that happens on screen lines up
with how an actual D&D game would be played,
or should be played.
And to be honest, I don't think that's strictly a problem.
After all, it's not a game; it's a movie,
inspired by a game.
There are certain rules and mechanics
that are necessary for the game to function,
but aren't necessary to create an enjoyable movie.
Plus, let's be honest,
most of us don't play by all the rules, either.
This is a game where even the rulebook
tells you to break the rules.
But despite all that, I actually do think there
are a few things in this movie
that real-life dungeon masters
can learn some pretty important lessons from.
(adventure music)
Remember after Edgin and Holga break out of prison,
when they make the long and arduous trek from
that icy wasteland back to Edgin's hometown, on foot?
Or when they escape Forge's clutches
and spend days traveling from city to city,
collecting their team?
Or when they once again mount up to ride for the graveyard
where Holga's lond-dead ancestors are buried?
You probably don't remember all that travel,
because it was barely on screen beyond a few wide shots
of the party on horseback.
When we did see the group on the road,
it was only when something narratively impactful happened,
like when, on the way to the graveyard,
they stopped by the town
where Holga's ex-husband Marlamin lived
so she could visit him and get some closure.
This is something I think all DMs can learn from:
Unless something is gonna happen
on the journey that will affect the story,
just do yourself a favor and skip it.
Do the game table equivalent of a montage
and just say something like,
"After three exhausting days on the road,
it's midday on the fourth
when you finally see the great stone walls
of the city rising up before you."
Bam, done.
You might be saying, "But Ginny,
there can be really cool roleplay moments during travel.
Characters can get to know each other."
And I don't disagree!
In fact, we have a nice little character moment
in the movie after Holga reunites with her ex-husband,
where Edgin plays a song to lift her spirits
and show her that he cares.
But the thing is, you don't have to roleplay whole days
of travel in order to have moments like that.
If you're ever worried
that you might be taking away opportunities
for your players to make choices, take action,
and interact with each other or your world,
you always have the option to just ask them.
"You'll be on the road for about three days.
Does anyone have anything they want to do
or say during that time?"
I especially like how this kind
of clear communication prompts players
to be proactive with their roleplay.
Instead of being passive observers,
players have a clear opportunity
to choose how they'd like to interact.
And of course, you as the DM
can also introduce story-relevant moments into your travel.
I'm not by any means saying
that travel should never be an active part of gameplay,
I'm just saying that if it is an active part of gameplay,
it should probably matter to the story somehow.
I have a video all about how to make sure travel
in your games doesn't feel like filler,
and I'll link it in the cards.
(ominous music)
Next up, the party is deep in the Underdark
when they're attacked by a bunch of undead
under the Red Wizards' command.
Zenk single-handedly wipes out the entire group,
but they quickly start to rise back up.
The party realizes, killing these creatures
isn't gonna stop them, it's just gonna slow 'em down.
Then, on top of all this, Themberchaud appears.
This red dragon may be chonky,
but that doesn't mean he's not deadly.
It's very clear that this is a battle
the party absolutely cannot win.
If they stuck around, we would've had a TPK on our hands.
So their goal wasn't to defeat a horde
of unkillable undead and an ancient red dragon,
it was to escape.
I think we've all hit that point
where "attack the monsters until they are out of hit points"
starts to get a little boring.
That's why I think great DMs make sure
that not every encounter has the same goal.
By giving the characters something different to aim for,
they get to exercise different abilities and strengths.
In a conventional combat,
the goal is mostly to deal the most damage
or most effectively control the battlefield.
For example, in the climactic final combat,
the goal is to kill Sofina.
And sure, that includes breaking her concentration,
distracting her, and fighting her animated stone dragon,
but ultimately, the battle only ends
when either Sofina or the party is dead.
In contrast, when the party
is trying to escape Themberchaud
and they get trapped in a sealed stone room,
Holga hitting something really hard
with her axe isn't gonna solve the problem,
and killing Themberchaud isn't a realistic option.
It's Edgin's clever thinking
and the creative use of Simon's cantrip
that enable them to win that encounter.
And escape isn't the only goal DMs
can base an encounter around.
The party could also need to rescue an NPC, obtain an item,
turn two enemies against each other, close a portal,
interrupt a ritual, or any number of creative options.
If you want to learn more about
how to stop combat encounters from getting tedious,
make sure to check out my "Fixing my boring combat" video,
which I'll link in the cards.
Finally, let's look at who the villain is in this movie.
At first, you think it's Forge,
he betrayed the party and stole Edgin's daughter,
only to brainwash her into believing
that her father abandoned her.
But as the movie goes on,
you realize that Sofina the Red Wizard
is actually the one pulling the strings.
In fact, Forge starts to seem pretty harmless next to her.
And just in case you thought Sofina
was the worst of the worst,
you later learn that she's operating
under the command of Szass Tam,
an ancient and powerful lich.
In short: There's always a bigger bad.
I think it's a good idea for dungeon masters
to build this kind of tiered villain structure
for multiple reasons.
First and most obviously,
it builds a natural progression into your game.
By the time the party defeats one villain, they've learned
that there's actually someone higher up the ladder
who will need to be defeated as well
if they want to accomplish their goals.
With each rung of the ladder, the party is more invested
and has more at stake.
That means you don't have to go
from the ground up introducing a whole new villain
with a whole new set of reasons to hate them.
Obviously, you don't want to do this in an infinite chain,
but I think having three or four baddies
who are connected to each other
in this way can make for a really compelling plot arc.
But the second reason I recommend this strategy
is as a sort of insurance policy.
Anyone who DMs long enough
will eventually have a session
where the players surprise you with a wild idea
or a lucky move that allows them
to take down your villain way earlier than you anticipated.
Imagine if the party had come up with some clever way
to trap or ambush Sofina before the Highsun Games,
had landed a few lucky crits, and had somehow defeated her.
Does the whole adventure just end right there?
In this case, the plan doesn't completely fall apart.
It just changes.
Szass Tam is still motivated
to take this opportunity to create a new army of undead
and rule Neverwinter.
Maybe he tries to execute the plan himself,
or he lures some new target into being his instrument.
I'm not at all saying that you can't let players win.
In fact, I think having a bigger bad waiting
in the wings makes it easier to give players those wins
when they earn them.
It's understandable to kind of panic
if you think the whole adventure you've been preparing
for is about to collapse,
which can result in DMs artificially
forcing their players to stay on the rails they've built.
The more you can leave yourself flexibility
to allow your world and your characters
to adapt to whatever unpredictable stuff your party does,
the more agency you can allow them.
Now, before anybody in the comments gets it twisted,
I don't think this movie should be treated as DM advice.
Even though I think there are lessons
to learn from the stuff I just mentioned,
there are also plenty of things that happen
in this movie that would be terrible in a real game.
Like bringing in an overpowered NPC Paladin
to oneshot an entire encounter while the party watches.
Or creating an overly complicated puzzle
with a half page of completely arbitrary rules
in order to cross a single bridge.
For those things, there are better sources of guidance.
Like this video about how to incorporate puzzles
into your games in ways that challenge
and entertain your players.
Make sure to check that one out next!