Poly Bridge gives you multiple material types to use, which each has its strengths and weaknesses. This is a reference to the RPG establishing Themberchaud as trapped in Gracklstugh.Similarly, how many you use can impact your score upon completing the level - to which there are over a hundred.įinding unique and exciting ways to use less of the provided budget to get a better score can be addicting, especially when those budget cuts mean the vehicles get across by the skin of their tires. "And what was so cool is that it doesn't feel like we're betraying the source material by having a dragon so uniquely different, because DnD itself is so unique." The movie version of Themberchaud sticks to a bit of the original dragon's lore, however: Xenk comments that Themberchaud somehow must have found a new lair. "We really leaned into the fact that he's not like any other dragon you've seen before on film," movie co-writer/director John Francis Daley told Polygon. In lore, Themberchaud is intelligent, formidable, and a different kind of force to be reckoned with than his simpler (and cuter) presentation in "Honor Among Thieves." This was intentional. ![]() This character is from the "DnD" tabletop role-playing game, where he is known to stalk the Underdark area of Gracklstugh, AKA the "City of Blades." According to "DnD" lore, Themberchaud trades his treasure-protecting services for the life of a pampered dragon - which might not work out so hot for him in his Wizards of the Coast-published adventure, "Out of the Abyss." ![]() The roly-poly red dragon our heroes stab in the head is named Themberchaud. but unfortunately, the beast casts an illusion of itself with one of its magical back-tendrils, and the real beast pounces on the old dwarf in a shot similar to that classic scene of renowned game hunter Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) getting outsmarted by two raptors in "Jurassic Park." At one point, the dwarf goes to kill a panther-like Displacer Beast. In this scene, there are multiple parties of adventurers stuck in the maze (such as the live-action '80s cartoon characters), which includes an old wizened dwarf. Later, an arguably even more overtly referential moment occurs during the climax in Forge's maze. Two scenes seem to be direct riffs from "Jurassic Park." One occurs during a scene where everyone is running from an angry red dragon, and Sophia Lillis' tiefling druid Doric falls and hangs over a ledge as the dragon attempts to chomp at her legs - which is framed almost exactly like the scene in "Jurassic Park" where Lex (Ariana Richards) dangles from an air-vent as a velociraptor collects itself to jump up and attack her. However, it's much more fun to imagine Xenk as a powerful NPC, controlled by the Dungeon Master of this story to move the plot along. ![]() Why does Yendar leave Ed, Holga, Doric, and Simon alone to stop a world-ending threat, when he's obviously more skilled and capable than them? The argument could be made that - due to Ed's past as a Harper - Xenk felt the quest was in good hands and he was needed elsewhere. forcing the players to act out a meticulously-plotted story, rather than creating a cooperative play experience together.Įssentially, Regé-Jean Page's Paladin Xenk Yendar seems to be an NPC who is plot-relevant for one specific section of the film, and leaves when his role is fulfilled - even if it doesn't make much sense narratively. Or, less charitably, if a DM is "railroading" a campaign, i.e. Special NPCs can be especially useful if the Dungeon Master needs the players to be saved from what would otherwise be a potential "TPK" - or "Total Party Kill" - encounter, where without intervention from an NPC all the players' characters would end up dead.
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