About half way Dungeons & Dragons: honor among thieves, Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Holga the barbarian, visits her ex’s house to finalize their relationship. The scene is played out pretty straightforwardly, with Holga and Marlamin (played by Bradley Cooper) having a heart-to-heart talk about where their marriage went wrong. But it’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie, as the two actors have this deep, emotional conversation, while one of them is a petite, posh man in a normal chair, and the other is a gruff, axe-wielding fur-clad man. barbarian who just beat up an entire squad of guards.
This sequence especially tickled me because, in my opinion, having an ex floating around is such a fun mechanism to incorporate into a role-playing game. It reminds us that even in this fantastic world of dungeons and dragons, the characters still mean something to each other. That goes beyond romantic flings and past backstories – I just like personal, one-on-one interactions within game settings, because it makes the characters feel real, like they exist in this world beyond their quests and adventures . They have an impact on other people, in addition to killing monsters and seizing loot.
Image: Paramount Pictures
There can be both mechanical and personal benefits. One of my current D&D characters has a long list of exes that I’ve weaved into his backstory. Only one of them has appeared in our game so far (with friendlier interactions than Holga and Marlamin), but my character constantly references his long line of exes. It’s a telling detail about his history, but I’ve also used it to argue for knowledge of certain languages and historical details, because of all the things he’s picked up from his wide variety of past relationships.
I’ve written many, many, many times here at Polygon about my love of downtime-filler episodes, so it’s probably no big surprise that I love video games where one of the core mechanics is just hanging out with other characters. Fire emblem: three houses and the tea-party system owns all my heart, but I also love Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which not only builds in player-initiated hangouts, but also adds extracurricular activities, even though it’s not even a school environment. The best mass effect DLC is the one where you go on a light-hearted, facetious mission, then throw a party and hang out with your friends. That scene in it Dragon Age: Inquisition where rogue storyteller Varric drags everyone into a card game? Astonishing. (And yes, I’ve been told to play the Persona games; they’re on my ever-growing backlog).
I’m the type of person who likes to stop and talk to any NPC, so when a game recognizes that and integrates that into the gameplay, I get really excited. I like that my player character has an effect on the world around them! I like that people have an opinion on it and want to hang out!
It makes sense that when I started exploring tabletop gaming I would still love downtime and role-playing, the chance to engage not only in puzzles or battles, but also with other people. At first it was a bit daunting not to have preset dialogue options, but now I realize that tabletop RPGs have everything I loved about video games, but with more freedom. I’ve been lucky enough to have DMs that give in to this preference, from specifically designing a wait schedule for character interaction to setting up an entire gathering where both player characters and NPCs would bring dishes for a potluck lunch.
Don’t get me wrong – I still enjoy good combat in my games. But there’s something particularly satisfying about a memorable role-playing interaction that always gives me a burst of creative energy. It’s part socializing with friends in a fun way, and part the joy of creating something together, even if the audience is just us.
Image: Paramount Pictures
And that’s something the Dungeons & Dragons movie captures surprisingly well. In between the action scenes and robberies, the main has adventurous company pleasure together. Since this is a movie and not a long television show, there are no special episodes where they all go to the beach or play a drunken card game. But within the frame of the film, the filmmakers managed to integrate enough social scenes and personal interactions to really emphasize that these characters get along and interact beyond what we see on screen, something all too rare in today’s world. action movies of the major genre.
The characters can bicker. They may have trouble tuning in to magical items and get crap for their insecurities. They may have awkward conversations with their exes. But afterwards, when Holga sadly mounts her horse and starts riding off, her good friend Edgin the Bard (Chris Pine) sings a song to cheer her up. It doesn’t take long before a smile appears on her face and they sing along together. That’s the kind of shit I’m here for!
Dungeons & Dragons: honor among thieves is in theaters now.