What Did You Enjoy About Honor Among Thieves?

[u/Fantastic_Year9607]

I'll start with this: It's an accurate depiction of an DnD session turned into a movie. You can see where the good rolls and bad rolls are, for example when Simon correctly identifies the Hither-Tither Staff, you can see it as him having a good Arcana roll, and when his illusion of Edgin breaks down like a glitched-out video game, that is a definite nat0 moment.

Also, the game mechanics are respected. The Intellect Devourers ignore the party, because none of them have a class that prioritizes Int, and Simon is a so-so sorcerer because his lack of self-confidence (until his character development) means he has poor Charisma, unless he's backed against the wall.

And you can tell when the party gets up to shenanigans. When Edgin and Holga break free from the prison, it just reeks of when the party derail things not five minutes after the exposition wraps up that is stupid, unnecessary, and ultimately bites them in the ass. Jarnathan is totally a name made up on the spot, and ends up dragged into the party's shenanigans, with the "But we approved your pardon!" being a line made by an exasperated DM after their attempts to stop the party from derailing things ASAP fail.

Also, you can tell when the DM is acting. For example, the zombie barbarians' voices go from gravelly to normal, like the DM trying to put on a show with a theatric, undead voice, but the strain on their voice make them start using a normal voice. And making the party revive multiple barbarians is totally a trick the DM would play on the party. That scene was so funny.

Also, I love the humor. It makes the movie something that can act as a gateway to being a DnD fan. For example, the scene where Edgin's illusion breaks down is like the best video game glitches, where it manages to be both humorous and creepy, getting a unique charm. And the guards' reactions are what video game characters would react to seeing glitches if they were able to.

And Xenk managed to be funny by being serious. He walks unflinchingly in straight lines, even over boulders, and his nature as a strict, honorable paladin who feels like he's fallen out of a time portal to a more serious fantasy movie, somehow makes him funnier than the less serious characters.

While the humor is something kid me would love, and adult me loves, I also love the mature storytelling and well-written and acted characters. Edgin's character arc is about him moving on from his grief for Zia, and realizing that he wants her back for selfish reasons. In the end, he decides to revive Holga after she's mortally wounded fighting Solfina, as she mothered Edgin's and Zia's daughter Kira in Zia's stead. And that Zia would've wanted Edgin to be able to move on after her. And Chris Pine's acting was amazing. You can tell that no matter how much he points fingers at the Harpers for underpaying him, resulting in him stealing that bar of gold, and the Red Wizards for killing his wife, he blames himself more than anybody, as he just wanted to provide, but he wrote the death sentence of the woman he loved.

Also, I like how Edgin and Holga's relationship is purely platonic, more like brother and sister, despite being Kira's parental figures. It shows that men and women can be friends in a purely platonic matter. Speaking of Holga, the scene where she talks with her ex Marmalin is heartfelt, as it's clear that there's no harsh feelings on other sides, but it still stings. And even after a breakup, you and your ex can still be friends.

Daisy Head's Solfina is a villain that I would've been terrified of as a kid. She's nostalgically scary, if you will. And she really hypes me up for when the party has to deal with her boss, Szass Tam, while establishing herself as a threat. Solfina's ZA WARUDO made me ask out loud, "Where's Matt Mercer when you need him?"

Rege Jean Page's Xenk is the perfect example of a character whose dead serious nature makes them the single funniest addition to the cast. I really loved how Edgin and Xenk interacted.

Long story short, I loved EVERYTHING about this movie. What did you like about Honor Among Thieves?

[u/Redd_October]

Xenk felt to me like a definite example of a DMPC.

• He speaks in a serious, dire manner completely at odds with the tone of the party.
• He literally does a lore dump.
• He knows PC backgrounds without any reason to.
• He is decidedly overpowered, beating a major combat encounter solo in an egregious "Look how cool my character is" moment.
• He is strong enough to intervene and "defeat" the Dragon the second before it was going to eat a PC.
• When his part of the quest is done, on the flimsiest of excuses he just leaves.
• When the DM is done with him, he just walks away in a straight line, the DM no longer caring to have any input on him.

[u/andeqoo → u/Redd_October]

exactly

basically the whole movie feels like it's based on an actual DND campaign - the goods, the weirds, the horny and the bad

[u/JestersHearts → u/andeqoo]

the goods, the weirds, the horny and the bard

FTFY

;p

[u/ursus-habilis → u/JestersHearts]

Already said 'the horny'

[u/Yoate → u/ursus-habilis]

The bard isn't actually that horny in the movie

[u/ursus-habilis → u/Yoate]

Probably the most unrealistic thing about it in terms of accurately representing a D&D campaign...

[u/jakuzi → u/JestersHearts]

There was a bard?

[u/D16_Nichevo → u/Redd_October]

he just walks away in a straight line

Apparently that was improvised by the actor at the time. They just kept filming as he walked away, with no clear "cut", and he got to boulder and decided to clamber over it.

[u/Lisyre → u/Redd_October]

His role in the story makes a lot of sense too knowing that it was originally going to be a Drizzt cameo.

[u/Fantastic_Year9607 → u/Redd_October]

Xenk is definitely the DMPC. Or, he could be the guest star player of a member of the party’s younger sibling, seeing that he’s a rare justified Mary Sue, being a virtuous paladin that’s OP and loved by everyone (except for Edgin, but that’s because of in-universe reasons).

And I feel like there’s an in-universe reason for why Xenk chose to let the party handle the final battle themselves. It’s because as a Paladin, he took an oath to never lie or cheat, which would make him a liability on an heist. But to apprehend a fleeing criminal? Can do it. Also, he was partially affected by the Beckoning Death, which slowed his aging process while he retained his free will, so he’d be especially vulnerable to it. And a match with a Red Wizard, Szass Tam’s most loyal confidante, to be exact, who took place in the original Beckoning Death that zombified his parents and forced him to live on the run as a refugee, it’d be too personal for him.

[u/Silgalow → u/Redd_October]

I saw him far more as "Hey guys. My friend is in town for the week. can he sit in on for the session." then a DMPC.

[u/CriticalTypo → u/Redd_October]

He was one of my favorite characters for that reason. He became so funny to me going into the movie with the mindset that the "paladin is the dmpc". The actor is used to playing a populous handsome aristocrat, and it translated perfectly.

[u/ctorus → u/Redd_October]

He literally does a lore dump.

Glad I missed that scene..

[u/emperorsteele → u/Redd_October]

If not a DMPC, then just a powerful PC made up for the player who could only show up for like, one session.