“Dungeons and Dragons” is a tabletop roleplaying game where every single part is controlled by the players; whether it be the setting, the characters, even the rules. 

And so when Wizards of the Coast announced a D&D movie, fans were understandably skeptical. The whole appeal of D&D is its freedom and immersion, so forcing the viewer to instead be simply part of the audience, rather than the main character is a big leap.

And yet, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” manages to capture the essence of D&D while being completely non-interactive, the opposite goal of D&D.

One of the main methods accomplished is the main character. While all the other characters have specific traits or attributes, the main character is a blank slate, other than his wits and planning.

This allows for him to be an audience insert, allowing the viewer to feel part of the group. Which brings me to my next point; the friendship between the characters.

A big part of D&D is the relationship formed with the friends you play with at the table. 

The movie puts a large effort into developing the characters and the idea of a found family. With the fact that the audience is meant to relate to the main character, in a sense, it feels as if the cast is also your family, which is a large part of what D&D is about.

While D&D is based around creating your own worlds, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a setting. For players who don’t want to go through the rigamarole of creating a world, there is the “Forgotten Realms”, the canonical setting for D&D.

The movie is also set in this world, with famous settings that most D&D fans will immediately be aware of, such as the main villain being a red mage, or the introduction of the City of Waterdeep.

The rules of D&D are also applied to the movie; the characters being different classes, spell and magic items.

The movie makes sure to stick to its roots, but also breaks the rules of the original gameits own rules for entertainment. There are certain parts in the movie where certain abilities’ rules are broken, or magic items are created specifically for the movie.

While this may seem to contradict the earlier points of the rules of D&D being applied to the film, the main rule of D&D that is familiar with all fans of D&D, is the “Rule of Cool.” While something may be against the rules, who cares if it’s fun! 

And that is the main point of D&D. It doesn’t matter if the movie fits the rules, or is based in the D&D setting. What matters is it captures the feeling of D&D: Being the main characters with your friends and having a fun adventure.