So in recent years I have seen D&D Style shows done right and I hope the makers of this movie know them and take a few pages from them.... however since its a A-list movie instead of series I fear it will be too compressed and the line between D&D and generic fantasy disappears. I really feel like the move as the Start of a D&D film IP unless they do
crazy_catas suggested.
Examples of what I have seen done right:
1.
Tactics and limited supplies in
Goblin Slayer was awesome!! They ask for a status report everyone once in a while... how many spell slots and arrows do you have, what can you cast? I learned a new spell at the trainer after the last mission I was promoted in the Clerics guild due to our successful missions and my training now allows me to cast 3 spells a day. Trip lines, creative use of spells, and fear of the enemies by having characters die and building tension because they are running out of arrows and spells slots. Its typical they always have the supplies that they need when they need it in movies then try to add tension by creating unbeatable problems which resolve themselves by the luck of the heroes getting what they need to solve the problem. Fighting Goblin is not a problem … until you run out of arrows and spells... that's understandable real tension you don't have to "heros luck" them out of. They instead have to use the resources available, stealing goblin arrows and weapons, caving in doors, trop ropes, choke points, etc.... way more interesting. Even having enemies trick the heroes with valid tactics resulting in deaths makes the tension of fights real and allows the villains not to be stumbling fool henchman with the addition of a 1 competent leader.
Edit: Also, The Adventures guild in Goblin Slayer has 10 ranks so you can kind of count rookie in a rank and veteran in a rank as 2 each then have a relative 1-20 level range to understand the power difference between characters in D&D terms but with a story reason so its not meta language understanding characters skills quantities extra.
2.
The mechanical design of trainers, intelligent targeting of party healers, and tracking low currency survival of
Grimgar fantasy and ash really made the show. So many times the do highlevel fights and unlimited resource quests for the king … etc. I really think that just like D&D playing the level 1 character trying to work their way forward by basic supplies and even showing fundamental training where they mention the learning of new skills and how they work. Then when they use those going forward they have meaning. They don't follow the training of all the characters but they do mention the level up skill and spell choices, why, and how they work which gives them a mechanical limit and ground that they often lack in moves. Its typical that hero characters in shows develop the skills they need in combat right when they need it. Having them require training to learn new skills, having need to pay to get that training when having trouble buying food... real decisions and logistics in a meaningful way. Do we eat well tonight so we can fight better tomorrow or do buy a much need piece of gear and if gear for who? More arrows for the archer who is out? A better helm for our tank who holds the line protecting us from damage? Armor for our healer who is avoiding combat but is currently defenseless and could cost the party greatly if he is targeted, because who heals the healer? … you can only pick one... and make no mistake they will target the healer as soon as they realize you have one.
3. This kind of goes back to #2, for
ground up character development and world rules creating a better story limitations with an older example, but
Naruto also showed his training under each trainer explaining how the ability works and the rules of the world in great detail … then the support characters would show up and have new abilities too but instead of showing their training they would kind of show off their new toy and briefly explain it. I really enjoy that part of the show. Then they would have a "world rule" and appear to break it creating a mystery which then they would explain how it happened. For example in Naruto each person has primary "magic type"/school 1 of 6 types... many people have a second type to a minor degree... extremely rarely you might have some one with a third... but never more. Then they fight a Girl who has all 6 which is impossible... turns out she only has one … she is basically necromancer/mind control type who has disguised multiple bodies to all look like her each in life had a one of each of the primary abilities, she animated them and mind controls them, then uses a teleportation exchange to switch them out when they move out of sight. So it appears like she has all 6 primary types but she really has one and Naruto is fighting zombies not the necromancer... all a cool trick based on world rules that makes the fight more interesting.
I would like a D&D series instead of a movie that reflected these aspects using rules and mechanics we know. This would be an interesting D&D story. We don't need to save the world. We just need a basic reason to fight... money, and interesting minor stories.
. Hey, I thought I heard rumors a while back about a D&D cartoon? Did that get canned? I think that would be more fun than a movie, an actually high quality multi-season animated show.
