If you made a DND movie...
- Thread starter Sodalis
- Start date
Conan the Barbarian opened with young Conan's tribe getting cut down and his village getting razed by Thulsa Doom and his raiders. That was certainly quite a spectacle.
Star Wars' first act ends as Luke returns to find his family farm razed by Imperial Stormtroopers.
LOL!
I think many fantasy films make the natural decision to make magic spectacular. What you get is the B-movie effect, when you could've had the X-Files effect. Magic doesn't look good on screen, or it's surprisingly hard to do. Beautiful landscapes (New Zealand, deserts of Arabia, jungles) transfer well to the screen, and sword fights transfer well too. Stick with those.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
IMHO, a D&D movie should present itself like an adventure.
I think the perfect thing would be a very diverse group coming together uner one banner...maybe an adventuring institution, or something. Brief glimpses show how the characters end up there, letting you know right away that it's a group thing, and not overly concerned with any one character.
Then, something happens that involves each character's interests. The group has to work together, despite differences, to overcome the adveristy.
Of course, to emphasize the D&D-ness of it, things could happen. Say, an Elf and a Dwarf or a Priest and a Rogue provide the main difference of opinion. The wizard and the fighter should be interesting characters, too, and I wouldn't push it much beyond that. And the main enemy might be a Red Dragon ravaging the countryside, and the characters only find out *after* slaying it that the true villain is hiding in the shadows right beneath their nose.
I think a movie like The Scorpion King is very D&D-esque. Heck, you have the fighter (the main character), the healer (the"sorcererss"), the rogue (the horse thief), and the wizard (the absentminded inventor).
In a D&D movie, you'd have to not focus on any one character, and instead on the group as a whole, and introduce them all close to the beginning, but then play it out like Scorpion King -- everybody has something to contribute.
Of course, you'd have to get better writing and acting than was present in the Scorpion King, ideally, but I could swollow a D&D movie that was mostly a fantasy action flick. Heck, that's the way I ask a lot of players to envision the goings-on.
I think the perfect thing would be a very diverse group coming together uner one banner...maybe an adventuring institution, or something. Brief glimpses show how the characters end up there, letting you know right away that it's a group thing, and not overly concerned with any one character.
Then, something happens that involves each character's interests. The group has to work together, despite differences, to overcome the adveristy.
Of course, to emphasize the D&D-ness of it, things could happen. Say, an Elf and a Dwarf or a Priest and a Rogue provide the main difference of opinion. The wizard and the fighter should be interesting characters, too, and I wouldn't push it much beyond that. And the main enemy might be a Red Dragon ravaging the countryside, and the characters only find out *after* slaying it that the true villain is hiding in the shadows right beneath their nose.
I think a movie like The Scorpion King is very D&D-esque. Heck, you have the fighter (the main character), the healer (the"sorcererss"), the rogue (the horse thief), and the wizard (the absentminded inventor).
In a D&D movie, you'd have to not focus on any one character, and instead on the group as a whole, and introduce them all close to the beginning, but then play it out like Scorpion King -- everybody has something to contribute.
Of course, you'd have to get better writing and acting than was present in the Scorpion King, ideally, but I could swollow a D&D movie that was mostly a fantasy action flick. Heck, that's the way I ask a lot of players to envision the goings-on.
I'd make a cool morally grey movie focusing on rogues, somewhat along the lines of Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser series. Heck, forget D&D and just make a Lankhmar Movie.
Or do some kind of wild, over the top, Multiverse/Michael Moorcock movie. Jerry Cornelius or Elric or something.
Here's a long ramble on how I'd make the movie:
CHARACTERS:
Introduce a motley crew of characters that are thrown together by a common threat. The threat should be real, and scary, and compellingly "realistic". Not a chortling, scenery chewing villain like Jeremy Irons in D&D, but some kind of great evil akin to the Nazis or something. The characters should all be well developed within the time constraints of the first act, should follow mythic archetypes with flaws and have room to grow as the story progresses. Their individual quests for self discovery (and the suspense created by never knowing if they'll achieve them) should be introduced and play out during the overall quest to defeat the evil.
This interplay of overall and individual quests should create a lot of drama, and make the story more compelling, in much the same way as the motley group of characters from the Star Wars movies were popular (The rogue smuggler, his burly reliable wookie partner, the trickster r2-d2, the bumbling good natured C-3PO, the noble impulsive princess, the wise jedi guide and the stripling farmboy taking his first steps into a larger world {a character we all are at some time in our lives}). Heck, this same kind of dramatic interplay makes MTV's the Real World work as well (Will so & so overcome their fear of relationships? Will the house homophobic jerk learn how to be considerate? Will they all achieve their quest of joining the WWF? Are they Tough Enough? etc.).
They should all have their own motives, some of which are at odds with one another. They shouldn't get along and the audience won't know if the characters' interpersonal conflicts won't compromise the quest in the end.
THE ACTION SCENES:
Next, I'd follow the Spielberg-Lucas Formula of having 3 acts each with 3 mini acts. This means the story can take place in 3 interesting environments. The main characters should be introduced in an opening vignette which also introduces a villain or some connection to the main plot.
This is basically how Raiders of the Lost Ark works:
Act I - introduce everything by showing it in cool action scenes, *not telling*
a)vignette in the jungle, introduces the villain Belloq, and we learn what Indy is like by how he responds to danger in the temple - he's resourceful but picks bad friends...
b)introduce the quest at the college, we meet more characters and find out that Indy might we tackling something supernatural...the goal is the ark and that the Nazi's are the villains
c)climax: meet marion and cool action scene in the barfight in Nepal. The key to discovering the ark's location acquired
Act II - The quest for the Ark in Egypt
a) intrigue in Cairo
b) uncovering the ark
c) First major climax: 3 cool sequences back to back: escaping the well of souls, the fight at the plane, attacking the convoy (whew!)
Act III - The ark's mystery revealed
a) the nazi's steal it and marion
b) Indy chases them down, but gets caught...how will he ever get out of this one..?
c) the ark is opened...the mystery revealed...brief, satisfying conclusion.
STAR WARS also does this:
I - set on tatooine with aliens n' stuff
II - set in an impenetrable enemy fortress w/gun battles n' stuff
III - a dramatic space battle against impossible odds (you can't have a sci fi movie w/out space battles, after all)
I'd make a D&D movie following this same basic structure. I'd also include 3 staples of D&D to make it a true D&D movie without trying to awkwardly copy the game (like lame videogame movies do): The adventuring party, The Dungeon and treasure
Act I - introduce characters, villain all through action sequences in which you *show* who the characters are and what the fantasy world is like without *telling* (having characters make boring speeches about prophecies and stuff or describing how they're badasses instead of seeing it onscreen). The characters all meet and find they have a greater need to work together than be at odds (or do they?)
This scene should be set in a fantasy city like Lankhmar in which lots of cool stuff exists in a concentrated area, and there's a good reason for a group of adventurers to meet and form a party.
Act II - Journey through several picturesque environments culminating in a major extended set of action sequences, preferably in a killer dungeon. You need a good Dungeon in a Dungeons & Dragons movie, doncha? What makes dungeons appealing? Entering a dark, dangerous place where danger lurks at every turn--the goal is to capture the essence of what made D&D fun the first time you play it with lots of cool stuff to satisfy the game fans -- the ultimate dungeon crawl experience w/out a lot of D&D cliches. Enough stuff to keep the whole audience guessing.
The party faces a series of increasingly dangerous obstacles until they face a major battle that brings them together as a group, but casts doubt upon their ability to achieve their quest. The acquire magical treasure to help them in their quest.
Act III - The final battle
The party enters another even more dangerous environment that's different than the ones in the previous acts (another dimension, the abyss, the enemy fortress). Will party conflict prevent their victory? The bad guys should get the party in a bind, and through resourcefulness that's true to their characters, the party should win through. Unless there's going to be a sequel...
Or do some kind of wild, over the top, Multiverse/Michael Moorcock movie. Jerry Cornelius or Elric or something.
Here's a long ramble on how I'd make the movie:
CHARACTERS:
Introduce a motley crew of characters that are thrown together by a common threat. The threat should be real, and scary, and compellingly "realistic". Not a chortling, scenery chewing villain like Jeremy Irons in D&D, but some kind of great evil akin to the Nazis or something. The characters should all be well developed within the time constraints of the first act, should follow mythic archetypes with flaws and have room to grow as the story progresses. Their individual quests for self discovery (and the suspense created by never knowing if they'll achieve them) should be introduced and play out during the overall quest to defeat the evil.
This interplay of overall and individual quests should create a lot of drama, and make the story more compelling, in much the same way as the motley group of characters from the Star Wars movies were popular (The rogue smuggler, his burly reliable wookie partner, the trickster r2-d2, the bumbling good natured C-3PO, the noble impulsive princess, the wise jedi guide and the stripling farmboy taking his first steps into a larger world {a character we all are at some time in our lives}). Heck, this same kind of dramatic interplay makes MTV's the Real World work as well (Will so & so overcome their fear of relationships? Will the house homophobic jerk learn how to be considerate? Will they all achieve their quest of joining the WWF? Are they Tough Enough? etc.).
They should all have their own motives, some of which are at odds with one another. They shouldn't get along and the audience won't know if the characters' interpersonal conflicts won't compromise the quest in the end.
THE ACTION SCENES:
Next, I'd follow the Spielberg-Lucas Formula of having 3 acts each with 3 mini acts. This means the story can take place in 3 interesting environments. The main characters should be introduced in an opening vignette which also introduces a villain or some connection to the main plot.
This is basically how Raiders of the Lost Ark works:
Act I - introduce everything by showing it in cool action scenes, *not telling*
a)vignette in the jungle, introduces the villain Belloq, and we learn what Indy is like by how he responds to danger in the temple - he's resourceful but picks bad friends...
b)introduce the quest at the college, we meet more characters and find out that Indy might we tackling something supernatural...the goal is the ark and that the Nazi's are the villains
c)climax: meet marion and cool action scene in the barfight in Nepal. The key to discovering the ark's location acquired
Act II - The quest for the Ark in Egypt
a) intrigue in Cairo
b) uncovering the ark
c) First major climax: 3 cool sequences back to back: escaping the well of souls, the fight at the plane, attacking the convoy (whew!)
Act III - The ark's mystery revealed
a) the nazi's steal it and marion
b) Indy chases them down, but gets caught...how will he ever get out of this one..?
c) the ark is opened...the mystery revealed...brief, satisfying conclusion.
STAR WARS also does this:
I - set on tatooine with aliens n' stuff
II - set in an impenetrable enemy fortress w/gun battles n' stuff
III - a dramatic space battle against impossible odds (you can't have a sci fi movie w/out space battles, after all)
I'd make a D&D movie following this same basic structure. I'd also include 3 staples of D&D to make it a true D&D movie without trying to awkwardly copy the game (like lame videogame movies do): The adventuring party, The Dungeon and treasure
Act I - introduce characters, villain all through action sequences in which you *show* who the characters are and what the fantasy world is like without *telling* (having characters make boring speeches about prophecies and stuff or describing how they're badasses instead of seeing it onscreen). The characters all meet and find they have a greater need to work together than be at odds (or do they?)
This scene should be set in a fantasy city like Lankhmar in which lots of cool stuff exists in a concentrated area, and there's a good reason for a group of adventurers to meet and form a party.
Act II - Journey through several picturesque environments culminating in a major extended set of action sequences, preferably in a killer dungeon. You need a good Dungeon in a Dungeons & Dragons movie, doncha? What makes dungeons appealing? Entering a dark, dangerous place where danger lurks at every turn--the goal is to capture the essence of what made D&D fun the first time you play it with lots of cool stuff to satisfy the game fans -- the ultimate dungeon crawl experience w/out a lot of D&D cliches. Enough stuff to keep the whole audience guessing.
The party faces a series of increasingly dangerous obstacles until they face a major battle that brings them together as a group, but casts doubt upon their ability to achieve their quest. The acquire magical treasure to help them in their quest.
Act III - The final battle
The party enters another even more dangerous environment that's different than the ones in the previous acts (another dimension, the abyss, the enemy fortress). Will party conflict prevent their victory? The bad guys should get the party in a bind, and through resourcefulness that's true to their characters, the party should win through. Unless there's going to be a sequel...
FireLance
Legend
I agree with KM and Voobaha. The key distinction between a DnD adventure and a Hollywood movie is that the adventure is a group effort while movies in general focus on one main character. A DnD movie should thus have an ensemble cast, with not one of the main characters being more important than the others. The DnD movie failed miserably in this respect as there was one identifiable hero.
Every character should also have a personal quest - the dwarf wants to recover the ancient warhammer of his clan, lost for centuries, the elf wants to restore the beauty of the elven forests that were ravaged by war, the human want to take revenge on the main villain's henchman for the massacre of his family, etc.
These quests should prove significant in the final encounter - the warhammer is needed to break the magical shield around the main villain's castle, flowers from the restored elven forest have healing properties that save the party at a critical juncture, the human's decision to forgive the henchman instead of slaying him causes the henchman to betray his master at a critical juncture, and so on.
Every character should also have a personal quest - the dwarf wants to recover the ancient warhammer of his clan, lost for centuries, the elf wants to restore the beauty of the elven forests that were ravaged by war, the human want to take revenge on the main villain's henchman for the massacre of his family, etc.
These quests should prove significant in the final encounter - the warhammer is needed to break the magical shield around the main villain's castle, flowers from the restored elven forest have healing properties that save the party at a critical juncture, the human's decision to forgive the henchman instead of slaying him causes the henchman to betray his master at a critical juncture, and so on.
trimeulose
First Post
DnD is so encompassing, it would be hard. I'ld probably try to stay away from munchkin tactics. There would have to be some kind of lead up for the movie. Ie a decent non-munchkin DnD cartoon or miniseries or something.
The series would have the characters probably in either Greyhawk or Raven-Loft. Tough call there. Start the characters out at level one and show there abilities off. Show how they train, and how they would gain levels. Using SoT series as an example. Richard goes to the palace of prophets and they train him, but he finds out that his magic is more in impulsive than coachable so he gets a level of Sor. He has a level of ranger at the start, probably the monte cooks ranger.
The series would have a main evil guy. During the series the characters would be doing odd jobs to "foil" the plans of the main guy. They would be working with some rebel force.
At the end of the season the characters would be caught, except one who would seem to be dead (preferrably the cowardly lover of sorcerer(ess) wizard(ress)). During the movie, the evil guy would have them executed... no stereotypical speech. The coward would come back and rescue the group to make up for his/her un-honorable ways.
The group then captures the evil guy to execute/ransom him. He explains that they have actually been helping him doing his odd jobs. After they take him to their leader of rebels, he laughs. He casts a gate spell, and troops march quickly through. The rebels fight hard, and to their credit, kill a lot of baddies; but they are fighting a losing battle. The rebel leader, mortally wounded, tells the group leader (probably a fighter/future weapon master) that he must leave and travel to the head place to recruit some "friends" on the inside. The group turns and hears screaming amongst a whoosh, a cackle, a hiss, and several bits of roaring. The group leader lets out a simple command, "Run, for all things dear run." "What is it?" exclaims the roguish character. "Dragons!"
The group travels to the castle of the bad guy where upon their arrival they meet a lepercaun (which has been mischeivous up until this point in the series). They find out that the lepercauns have been masacred and that he is only one of few left, and now he has come to help the group. He joins and shows them the secret way into the castle (which just happens to be a dungeon).
The group travels through the dungeon, and finally meets up with a beautiful woman. (The woman has been introduced before and is a common in flashbacks). The group leader falls on his knees and begins whispering prayers with his head down and his hands on his sword in reverence. He then explains to the group that this was his love, but she hasn't changed in 5 years and even still he thought she had been dead for all these years. She explains that she has been working as a spy, and that she is their contact to the "friends" on the inside.
She takes them through tunnels, and the group begins hearing animal sounds. They go through some underground stables, and are traveling through animal pens, when finally they come to a large decorated cavern with a large hole in the center with the crystal clearest water you've ever seen. The cavern is filled with magic items, gems, precious metals, fine art, ect. One of the larger piles of gold moves. Its actually a Gold Dragon. Other metallic dragons emerge, and gem dragons start emerging. The Group screams at their contact. They are worried for her (expecially the leader) amongst the dangerous creatures.
She explains that these Dragons are tired of serving an evil master and that they wish to help in the fight against him. The leader asks how she can trust them when Dragons just slayed the people that faught against the bad guy. She then asks him to not judge all dragon based on what a few do. The group tries to convince him to join the dragons, he says he can't see how. Then his love changes to a dragon. He is overcome with himself.
Cheesy love scenes........
And I'm spent, I'll probably add more later.
The series would have the characters probably in either Greyhawk or Raven-Loft. Tough call there. Start the characters out at level one and show there abilities off. Show how they train, and how they would gain levels. Using SoT series as an example. Richard goes to the palace of prophets and they train him, but he finds out that his magic is more in impulsive than coachable so he gets a level of Sor. He has a level of ranger at the start, probably the monte cooks ranger.
The series would have a main evil guy. During the series the characters would be doing odd jobs to "foil" the plans of the main guy. They would be working with some rebel force.
At the end of the season the characters would be caught, except one who would seem to be dead (preferrably the cowardly lover of sorcerer(ess) wizard(ress)). During the movie, the evil guy would have them executed... no stereotypical speech. The coward would come back and rescue the group to make up for his/her un-honorable ways.
The group then captures the evil guy to execute/ransom him. He explains that they have actually been helping him doing his odd jobs. After they take him to their leader of rebels, he laughs. He casts a gate spell, and troops march quickly through. The rebels fight hard, and to their credit, kill a lot of baddies; but they are fighting a losing battle. The rebel leader, mortally wounded, tells the group leader (probably a fighter/future weapon master) that he must leave and travel to the head place to recruit some "friends" on the inside. The group turns and hears screaming amongst a whoosh, a cackle, a hiss, and several bits of roaring. The group leader lets out a simple command, "Run, for all things dear run." "What is it?" exclaims the roguish character. "Dragons!"
The group travels to the castle of the bad guy where upon their arrival they meet a lepercaun (which has been mischeivous up until this point in the series). They find out that the lepercauns have been masacred and that he is only one of few left, and now he has come to help the group. He joins and shows them the secret way into the castle (which just happens to be a dungeon).
The group travels through the dungeon, and finally meets up with a beautiful woman. (The woman has been introduced before and is a common in flashbacks). The group leader falls on his knees and begins whispering prayers with his head down and his hands on his sword in reverence. He then explains to the group that this was his love, but she hasn't changed in 5 years and even still he thought she had been dead for all these years. She explains that she has been working as a spy, and that she is their contact to the "friends" on the inside.
She takes them through tunnels, and the group begins hearing animal sounds. They go through some underground stables, and are traveling through animal pens, when finally they come to a large decorated cavern with a large hole in the center with the crystal clearest water you've ever seen. The cavern is filled with magic items, gems, precious metals, fine art, ect. One of the larger piles of gold moves. Its actually a Gold Dragon. Other metallic dragons emerge, and gem dragons start emerging. The Group screams at their contact. They are worried for her (expecially the leader) amongst the dangerous creatures.
She explains that these Dragons are tired of serving an evil master and that they wish to help in the fight against him. The leader asks how she can trust them when Dragons just slayed the people that faught against the bad guy. She then asks him to not judge all dragon based on what a few do. The group tries to convince him to join the dragons, he says he can't see how. Then his love changes to a dragon. He is overcome with himself.
Cheesy love scenes........
And I'm spent, I'll probably add more later.
Last edited:
Victim
First Post
First of all, I'd use a smaller than normal party. In a single movie, it would be very difficult to develope all the heroes and the villian. FotR had 3 hours and still couldn't do it, but they have 3 movies so it's not a big deal. This movie probably won't have the luxury of automatic sequals, so all the development must get done in one movie. Therefore, probably 2-3 main hero characters and some cool villains, some of whom get decent screen time.
The first scenes should introduce the characters and at least one of the villains, preferably more with the others in a less active role. We see the characters show off whatever skills they happen to have, see how they react and what motivates them. The villain is either killed or driven off, preferably driven off so he can appear later without getting into ressurection spells.
Every magical effect should have a visual effect, and should be appropriate to the theme of the spell ratehr than the exact effect. It doesn't matter how fast Haste actually makes a person, they should move fast enough to blur and maybe drop things into a slow mo effect when showing a battle from a Hasted person's perspective.
The characters should be powerful. Otherwise, your cinematic sword fights aren't. 2 first level characters hacking at each other would be almost sad to watch. Also, a mage duel between first level mages would be amusing - they each cast 2 spells, and stand around puzzled for a moment, then break out the sticks or crossbows and whiff repeatedly.
The first scenes should introduce the characters and at least one of the villains, preferably more with the others in a less active role. We see the characters show off whatever skills they happen to have, see how they react and what motivates them. The villain is either killed or driven off, preferably driven off so he can appear later without getting into ressurection spells.
Every magical effect should have a visual effect, and should be appropriate to the theme of the spell ratehr than the exact effect. It doesn't matter how fast Haste actually makes a person, they should move fast enough to blur and maybe drop things into a slow mo effect when showing a battle from a Hasted person's perspective.
The characters should be powerful. Otherwise, your cinematic sword fights aren't. 2 first level characters hacking at each other would be almost sad to watch. Also, a mage duel between first level mages would be amusing - they each cast 2 spells, and stand around puzzled for a moment, then break out the sticks or crossbows and whiff repeatedly.
Similar Threads
