So for my last post, I wrote about TTRPG-inspired books and linked to a few rulebooks to help burgeoning GMs or players get started. What I only did once, and didn’t point out, was a link to a System Reference Document, or SRD. That was the Pathfinder link; there’s also a Pathfinder 2nd edition SRD, a D&D 5th Edition SRD, a Gumshoe SRD, and many others. These documents exist so that companies and GMs can create new adventures for existing systems or branch off these systems to develop their own games, as Pathfinder did from D&D 3.5e. They’re also an excellent place for Players and GMs to learn the rules of a game, and if all you can get hold of is a campaign book from our collection or you want to create your own adventure, these are a great, free place to start. They don’t contain all of your options and won’t have trademarked creatures in them, but they have enough to run a campaign or create a character; I know this first-hand.

Honor Among Thieves, the recent Dungeons & Dragons movie that, despite opening the week after John Wick Chapter 4 and a week before The Super Mario Bros Movie, managed to make its budget at least back and then some. This wasn’t the first D&D movie, though, as an attempt was made in 2000 to make something a little more serious that… didn’t go over so well with critics or audiences.

The 2000 D&D movie and its subsequent sequels (yes, a film that bad got sequels) were ambitious attempts to bring the beloved tabletop game to the big screen. They aimed to capture the epic fantasy and adventure that makes Dungeons & Dragons so popular. One year later, The Fellowship of the Ring did that far better with another beloved epic fantasy franchise and probably did more for the game D&D than the D&D movie ever did. Though the link might be next to impossible to quantify, The Lord of the Rings movies showcased the power of epic storytelling, immersive world-building, and the camaraderie of a fellowship, all aligning with the core elements of D&D gameplay. However, they did split the party. It ended up working for them, but since splitting the party is a headache for the GM, please don’t do it.

Honor Among Thieves, on the other hand, was well received by audiences and critics alike and eschewed telling an epic fantasy story in favour of feeling more like a D&D campaign. Complete with side-quests, guest characters (Bridgerton fans take note), critical hits (and failures), MacGuffins (As always, sorry to steal the rest of your day with a TV Tropes Link) obtained from said side-quests galore, and a group of heroes that probably shouldn’t work well as a party, but do anyway. It even starts off like so many campaigns do (no, not in a tavern), with a character-focused hook that eventually becomes something much bigger. And even if you know nothing about D&D, you can still have a good time with the movie. The lore and easter eggs are there for the fans, but they aren’t the point of the film. It’s an adventure/heist/fantasy film that might not be groundbreaking in any category, but it’s a fun popcorn flick, and sometimes that’s all you need/want for a movie night.

Critical Role, a group of players and their GM streaming/recording their campaigns has become a significant franchise of its own they’re into their third campaign, and the first one, The Legend of Vox Machina, is now an animated series on Amazon Prime, voiced by the Critical Role cast. Full disclosure: despite being a TTRPG fan, I’ve never watched an episode of Critical Role. However, I do get a laugh out of the simulated sessions of Mann Shorts. So I don’t know much about it, but I do know that Critical Role has introduced a lot of new players to the game. There’s no DVD of the series, but those interested can check out our collection of comics set in the world, and a broader search for Critical Role will net you even more goodies to read. If Amazon ever releases a DVD version of the series, I’ll be sure to put in a suggestion for the title.

So I’ve talked movies, live streams, and TV, but what about games? TTRPG mechanics have influenced many a videogame, and plenty of games (yes, cyberpunk was a TTRPG first) are set in these TTRPG worlds. Divinity: Original Sin II falls into the “influenced by TTRPGS” camp, and it’s probably the closest thing to a tabletop experience I’ve had with a videogame. The character creation and progression system is filled with amazingly broken builds, so you can munchkin your way through the game with ease if you desire, and unlike in a tabletop game, there’s no GM to stop your shenanigans by changing the game or modifying an encounter. It’s also filled with well-written characters, fun dialogue, and side quests galore. If you pick it up, be sure to have at least one character take the Pet Pal trait, as the animal dialogue is fantastic. Sure, you can get some quests and loot out of them, but the real joy here is the hilarity.

This next series is a tabletop game, but it drops the RPG element in favour of being a battle simulator: Warhammer. That link will show you some games and comics set in the series’ world. Or a few of the series’ multiple worlds. In the 40,000 setting, there’s a race of psychic space-orcs that don’t realize they’re psychic, but their belief changes the world around them, so things painted red actually go faster if piloted by an orc because “Da Red Wunz Go Fasta!” The setting, as a whole, sounds a little bonkers, but that’s not a bad thing with a fantasy/sci-fi world. I’m not a player myself, but I have a friend that plays, and while the game can get expensive with buying a whole bunch of miniatures, our collection of Warhammer items won’t cost you a thing.

Two posts worth of TTRPG-related things. I could keep going, but I imagine plenty of you out there are sick of it by now. I can’t promise I’ll dial back the nerdiness, but my next post will at least be on a different topic. What will that be? I’m not sure yet; maybe I’ll break out my trusty D20, make myself a table of topics, and see what fate gives me to talk about. Leave a suggestion in the comments if you want to get your ideas on that table.