D&D Movie/TV There's A New Trailer For D&D: Honor Among Thieves

A brand new trailer for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie has just been released! The movie comes out March 31st. This trailer very much highlights the tongue-in-cheek nature of the movie and is filled with one-liners. The trailer also gives us a good luck at the Red Wizards of Thay, along with the mimic, the owlbear, and other iconic D&D monsters.

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[FrozenNorth]

As someone who sometimes finds themselves teaching chemistry, I really hate the green acid trope.

But remember, Green acid is normal. It’s the barbarian fighting off the guards with a brick that is unrealistic.

 

[FrozenNorth]

And can Earthen Grasp "grab" a Bigby's Hand? That is some wacky homebrew rules there...

Wait? Max’s Earthen Grasp being able to interact with objects is a “wacky homebrew”?

That seems pretty dismissive of what I would consider a pretty “plain vanilla” gaming style.

 

[pemerton]

Wait? Max’s Earthen Grasp being able to interact with objects is a “wacky homebrew”?

That seems pretty dismissive of what I would consider a pretty “plain vanilla” gaming style.

It's "wacky homebrew" because the Earthen Grasp spell references creatures only, and Bigby's Hand is an object?

That seems more like an unremarkable ad hoc adjudication than a "wacky homebrew".

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I think you have to allow a little creative licence for a different medium. Imagine how sad Counterspell would actually look.

 

[Undrave]

Dude being similar to D&D makes it more likely, not less!

Like…when a thing does well, studios put out clones of it. It’s one of hollywoods more pervasive strategies.

And PF has a solid name, diverse iconic characters, a dedicated fanbase, and is a natural competitor to a D&D franchise.

Yeah but it's not a trend with a good reputation... considering how many TERRIBLE b-movies got made in the wake of stuff like Star Wars, Conan, Alien... there's such a thing as TOO similar.

Or remember that time in the 90s where, after the success of Tim Burton's Batman, studios decided to adapt characters like Dick Tracy, the Shadow, or the Phantom and how well that went?

Maybe you can understand my apprehension? OH well, it's not like it's an issue until we get troubling news like 'Netflix developing Pathfinder series' or something, it's all hypothetical.

I still think game systems with a different feel might be more likely pick for movie studios... can't wait for the BESM movie

 

[MwaO]

I think I would note two general issues:
The trailers are showing too many 'cool' details that in a good film, would be great to see in the actual film — as a very specific point, there's a mimic in a trailer. On what planet do I need to know there's a mimic in the movie given that a point of a mimic is to surprise.

They're introducing a ton of characters all at once, each with special abilities that need to be explained to non-D&D players. This is unlike Lord of the Rings(Gandalf is special and not even really a 'PC', everyone else just fights well) or Marvel(characters introduced first in solo movies, then move forward) or Star Wars(Jedi special, but all function basically the same way with one special trick each). Producers are clearly convinced that the general audience is not going to get this, so they're trying to define the PCs in the trailers. Barbarian has molten ax? Check. Druid can turn into an owl bear? Check.

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A movie the studio is confident that is going to do well doesn't need to show you this much. They're not confident.

 

[FrozenNorth]

It's "wacky homebrew" because the Earthen Grasp spell references creatures only, and Bigby's Hand is an object?

That seems more like an unremarkable ad hoc adjudication than a "wacky homebrew".

To be fair, it’s a guess on my part that the “objects” clause is what the original poster considers “wacky homebrew”. Otherwise, I can’t imagine why a Max’s Earthen Grasp wouldn’t be able to grasp Bigby’s Hand.

Personally, I would consider it awesome if one of my players did that.

 

[LordEntrails]

each with special abilities that need to be explained to non-D&D players

Yeah, I don't think so. I haven't seen anything in the trailers that needs to be explained. Sure, there are lots of things that we as D&D players know more about. But none of the flash or weirdness needs to be explained to non-players. Just look at Stranger Things, now that had a lot of weirdness and none of that was explicitly explained and yet viewers loved it. Did they explain why they were rolling dice when playing D&D? No. Did they explain the BBEG or the otherside? No, not really and certainly not early on.
IMO, there is nothing about magic spells or weird monsters that need explaining. Who cares if it's earthen grasp or bigby's hand or firebolt? It's cool magic that makes something happen. It is visually dynamic and flashy.

 

[bloodtide]

Wait? Max’s Earthen Grasp being able to interact with objects is a “wacky homebrew”?

That seems pretty dismissive of what I would consider a pretty “plain vanilla” gaming style.

Yea, having higher level spells be blocked by low level spells is not my style. I see this as one of the worst styles: you make a weak game where the weak heroes would be slaughtered by the Hand spell. So backed into that corner the earth grasp spell gets a boost to high level effect just so the heroes can be saved.

Just answer the question: Would WotC be willing to print an errata saying "max's earthen grasp can automatically hold and deflect other spells" and "Bigys hand can be blocked and held by any low level spell effect". Or things to that effect? Oh, I wonder why not? Or add a rule "the heroes spells act like the wish spell effect to do whatever they want"?

Only if Realmslore had a spell SPECIFICALLY made to counter them Hand spells...but then can't expect anyone involved with the movie to know any Realmslore.

 

[gban007]

I meant book series that get movie or show adaptations, yea.

I'm curious which book series you're thinking about here - may be ones I've completely missed somehow
Main ones I'm thinking of for show adaptations at least, outside of Rings of Power, are Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones, and I have difficulty imagining Pathfinder is more well known than those two were ahead of the shows.