Spoilers Stranger Things Season 5 - SPOILERS

[Morrus]

As someone who hasn't watched the show but is very aware of its ties to D&D, I was pondering something in regards to Vecna being a villain in the current season.

As D&D is a tabletop game in the universe of the show, were Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson aware of the various monsters in the series in some fashion? And thus based aspects of D&D off of their experiences? Also, did the protagonists at any point go "if anyone knows how to best kill Vecna, it'll be the writers of D&D" and attempt to contact TSR offices? Apologies if these questions are well-established ground, but they are what comes to mind first and foremost when I hear about an iconic D&D villain being an antagonist.

No, the kids in the show name the monsters they face after the villains in their D&D game. The monsters don't resemble the D&D villains, they just share the names as the kids needed some way to refer to them. They aren't actually Vecna, Demogorgon(s), and a mind flayer.

(In fact, demogorgon is a type of creature, not an individual; and the mind flayer is a singular creature, not a type).

Vecna

A demogorgon

The mind flayer​

 

[Ryujin]

As someone who hasn't watched the show but is very aware of its ties to D&D, I was pondering something in regards to Vecna being a villain in the current season.

As D&D is a tabletop game in the universe of the show, were Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson aware of the various monsters in the series in some fashion? And thus based aspects of D&D off of their experiences? Also, did the protagonists at any point go "if anyone knows how to best kill Vecna, it'll be the writers of D&D" and attempt to contact TSR offices? Apologies if these questions are well-established ground, but they are what comes to mind first and foremost when I hear about an iconic D&D villain being an antagonist.

It was the reverse. The kids named the monsters that they were running into after creatures that they knew from D&D. The creatures names weren't revealed to them by having to deal with them.

 

[Libertad]

No, the kids in the show name the monsters they face after the villains in their D&D game. The monsters don't resemble the D&D villains, they just share the names as the kids needed some way to refer to them. They aren't actually Vecna, Demogorgon(s), and a mind flayer.

(In fact, demogorgon is a type of creature, not an individual; and the mind flayer is a singular creature, not a type).

It was the reverse. The kids named the monsters that they were running into after creatures that they knew from D&D. The creatures names weren't revealed to them by having to deal with them.

Thank you both for your answers!

 

[billd91]

There are things I'm noticing about this season.
1) The aging of the kids in the main cast is even more visible than it was 3 years ago. This is perfectly understandable but for some of them the changes are much more noticeable this time. That's neither good nor bad, but it is just a little jarring in a couple of cases.
2) In the 3 years since season 4, something else has changed and it's hard to really put my finger on exactly what it is. I felt that season 4 maintained much of the same feel, pacing, and intensity as the prior seasons despite it too coming about 3 years after its preceding season. Season 5 started out feeling a bit.... deflated by comparison. And I don't know if deflated is really the right word here, but there's something different about the season in how it feels to me. It's been getting better over the first 4 episode drop, so maybe it's just a transient thing, but I was starting to worry if the Duffer brothers had lost some of their mojo with the series.

 

[Umbran]

Weird question --

The Upside Down mirrors the real world, including the buildings.

If a new building is built in the real world, does it appear in the Upside Down?

Nope. They note this in Season 4 - the Upside Down mirrors Hawkins as of the date One/Henry/Vecna got shoved into it by Eleven.

The implication is that UD-Hawkins is largely Vecna's creation, not a natural aspect of the space.

 

[pukunui]

Just watched episodes 5 and 6! Whooo boy!

Gotta wait till after dinner to watch the last one. Then it’s another week till the finale!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

After their sorcerer misstep -- the Duffer Brothers say they grew up with MTG, not D&D -- the final D&D term they use in the show is ... really apt.

 

[pukunui]

After their sorcerer misstep -- the Duffer Brothers say they grew up with MTG, not D&D -- the final D&D term they use in the show is ... really apt.

Yeah, that was a good one. Will is not a sorcerer. Eleven is the real sorcerer. In 5e terms, she can be the psionic-themed aberrant mind sorcerer. But her origin story has sorcerer written all over it. Her powers are innate.

It annoyed me how Mike kept saying Will's powers were innate. I think maybe Mike doesn't know what innate means. Then again, Mike annoys me a lot. He's probably one of my least favorite characters on the show.

Will is a warlock. If Will survives the end of the show, I fully expect him to no longer have any supernatural powers because the source of those powers (Vecna) will be dead. Whereas if El survives, I expect her powers will remain after Vecna's demise.

That said ...

Spoiler

Anyone else thinking that Will is going to be the one to save El from Kali's suicide pact?

 

[wicked cool]

Yeah, that was a good one. Will is not a sorcerer. Eleven is the real sorcerer. In 5e terms, she can be the psionic-themed aberrant mind sorcerer. But her origin story has sorcerer written all over it. Her powers are innate.

It annoyed me how Mike kept saying Will's powers were innate. I think maybe Mike doesn't know what innate means. Then again, Mike annoys me a lot. He's probably one of my least favorite characters on the show.

Will is a warlock. If Will survives the end of the show, I fully expect him to no longer have any supernatural powers because the source of those powers (Vecna) will be dead. Whereas if El survives, I expect her powers will remain after Vecna's demise.

That said ...

Spoiler

Anyone else thinking that Will is going to be the one to save El from Kali's suicide pact?

I’m wondering if the pact is a trick

 

[The Soloist]

I think Holly and Delightful Derek will be the linch pin in unraveling Vecna's plan. The others will fight hard, almost getting the job done, there could be betrayal by Kali, but the younger ones will make a move that will allow the others to put an end to the villain. Possibly rallying others kids around the table against Vecna.