Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

From tabletop storytelling to the big screen: exploring the world, characters, humour, and roleplaying spirit of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Marc LacanNov 11, 2026 · 15 min read

From tabletop storytelling to the big screen: exploring the world, characters, humour, and roleplaying spirit of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Introduction: When the Adventure Leaves the Table

For decades, Dungeons & Dragons has inspired players to create extraordinary adventures. Groups of friends have explored forgotten dungeons, encountered legendary creatures, negotiated with mysterious characters, and faced impossible challenges using nothing more than dice, character sheets, and imagination.

But what happens when this experience moves from the tabletop to the cinema?

Bringing a tabletop roleplaying game to the big screen is not an easy task. Unlike a traditional fantasy novel or video game, Dungeons & Dragons does not have one definitive story. Every campaign is different, every group creates its own characters, and every adventure develops through decisions that cannot always be predicted.

A D&D movie therefore faces an unusual challenge: it must capture the spirit of a game that is fundamentally about creating stories together.

One of the most successful attempts is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the 2023 fantasy adventure film directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

Rather than treating Dungeons & Dragons as a collection of familiar fantasy names and monsters, the film embraces the humour, unpredictability, teamwork, and occasional absurdity that make tabletop roleplaying so distinctive.

It is an entertaining fantasy adventure in its own right, but it is also an interesting example of how the experience of playing an RPG can be translated into another medium.

1. A Brief History of Dungeons & Dragons on Screen

Dungeons & Dragons has had a complicated relationship with cinema and television.

The original tabletop game, created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, first appeared in 1974. Its influence gradually expanded beyond the gaming hobby, inspiring novels, computer games, animated productions, toys, and countless other fantasy works.

It was only natural that filmmakers would eventually attempt to bring the property to the big screen.

The first major live-action Dungeons & Dragons movie arrived in 2000. Directed by Courtney Solomon, it introduced audiences to a fantasy world filled with magic, political intrigue, and familiar elements of the tabletop game.

However, the film received a largely negative critical response. Although it developed a certain nostalgic following, it struggled to capture the qualities that made D&D special for its players.

Two television productions followed: Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005) and Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012). Both continued exploring the fantasy property, but neither achieved the cultural impact that the franchise's enormous tabletop legacy might have suggested.

The situation changed with Honor Among Thieves.

Released in 2023, the film took a noticeably different approach. Instead of presenting D&D as a serious fantasy epic that happened to include familiar creatures and spells, it embraced the game's mixture of adventure, comedy, character drama, and unpredictable situations.

That change in perspective made all the difference.

2. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – The Story

The story follows Edgin Darvis, a former member of a group of thieves who now travels with his friend and companion Holga Kilgore.

Edgin is a bard, although his most important talents are not necessarily musical. He is resourceful, persuasive, and capable of improvising his way through difficult situations.

Holga, meanwhile, is a formidable barbarian whose straightforward personality contrasts with Edgin's tendency to overthink and negotiate.

Their journey becomes more complicated when a previous criminal undertaking has serious consequences for their lives. Edgin wants to repair his relationship with his daughter, while also dealing with the people responsible for his current predicament.

The adventure gradually brings together a group of unlikely companions, including:

Edgin Darvis: A charismatic bard whose greatest strength is often his ability to think creatively.
Holga Kilgore: A powerful barbarian who provides practical support and emotional stability.
Simon Aumar: A sorcerer struggling with confidence and the expectations associated with his magical heritage.
Doric: A druid with a strong connection to nature and the ability to transform into different creatures.
Xenk Yendar: A paladin whose serious approach to life provides a humorous contrast to the rest of the group.

Together, they become involved in an adventure involving dangerous enemies, forgotten magic, ancient locations, and an increasingly complicated plan.

The film's central strength is that the characters do not feel like perfectly coordinated fantasy heroes.

They make mistakes, misunderstand situations, disagree with one another, and occasionally succeed through sheer luck.

Anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons with an unpredictable group of friends may find this familiar.

3. The Characters Feel Like Real D&D Player Characters

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Honor Among Thieves is how naturally its characters resemble adventurers created by tabletop players.

They are not simply representatives of traditional fantasy archetypes. Each has a distinctive personality, a particular way of approaching problems, and limitations that influence the story.

Edgin is an especially interesting example.

A bard in Dungeons & Dragons is often associated with music, magic, performance, and social abilities. Edgin's character draws on the idea of a charismatic adventurer but does not rely on magical performance as his defining feature.

Instead, he is a planner whose plans frequently encounter unexpected complications.

This is an excellent example of how a character class can provide inspiration without determining an entire personality.

Holga represents another familiar D&D archetype. She is physically capable, direct, and often more practical than her companions.

However, her character is not limited to being the group's source of physical strength. Her relationships and personal motivations give her emotional depth.

Simon offers a different kind of character journey.

He possesses magical potential but struggles to recognize his own abilities. His story explores confidence, inherited expectations, and the difficulty of developing an identity when other people have already decided what you should become.

Doric brings another important element to the party. Her druidic abilities allow the film to explore one of the most visually distinctive aspects of Dungeons & Dragons: transformation and the relationship between magic and nature.

The result is a group that feels like a collection of characters from a real campaign.

They have different strengths, different weaknesses, and different ideas about what constitutes a good plan.

4. The Humour: Why the Film Understands Tabletop RPGs

Perhaps the most important creative decision made by the filmmakers was embracing humour.

Dungeons & Dragons can produce dramatic and serious stories, but actual tabletop sessions are rarely serious all the time.

Players make unexpected decisions. Plans fail for ridiculous reasons. A carefully prepared encounter can become unexpectedly funny because someone misunderstands a situation or rolls an unusually poor result.

Honor Among Thieves understands this dynamic.

Its humour comes not only from jokes and dialogue but also from the way characters respond to unpredictable situations.

The adventurers are frequently forced to improvise. Their plans do not always work, and their attempts to solve problems can create even more complications.

This is particularly important because the film does not make its characters look incompetent simply for comedic effect.

They are capable adventurers who sometimes find themselves in situations beyond their expectations.

That balance between competence and absurdity is familiar to anyone who has participated in a memorable tabletop campaign.

The importance of party chemistry

A good D&D group does not necessarily consist of characters who agree on everything.

In fact, different personalities often create the most interesting interactions.

A cautious character may disagree with an impulsive one. A highly knowledgeable wizard may struggle to communicate with a practical warrior. A charismatic bard might attempt to negotiate when everyone else believes that negotiation is pointless.

These differences create opportunities for humour and character development.

Honor Among Thieves uses this principle effectively.

5. A World Filled with D&D Lore

The film is set in the Forgotten Realms, one of the most recognizable campaign settings associated with Dungeons & Dragons.

The Forgotten Realms is a vast fantasy world containing numerous kingdoms, cities, cultures, magical traditions, and supernatural forces.

It has been developed through decades of tabletop adventures, novels, sourcebooks, and other licensed products.

For experienced D&D players, the setting provides an additional layer of enjoyment.

Locations, creatures, magical traditions, and familiar fantasy concepts help connect the film to the wider Dungeons & Dragons universe.

However, newcomers do not need to understand the entire history of the Forgotten Realms to follow the story.

This is an important achievement.

A film based on a long-running RPG property should reward knowledgeable fans without making new audiences feel excluded.

Honor Among Thieves generally succeeds because its story remains understandable even when viewers do not recognize every reference.

Familiar creatures and unexpected encounters

Dungeons & Dragons has an enormous bestiary, ranging from traditional fantasy creatures to bizarre supernatural beings.

The film uses this variety to create memorable encounters.

Rather than relying exclusively on familiar dragons and conventional monsters, it introduces creatures that demonstrate the imaginative range of the game.

Some encounters are threatening, others are strange, and several contribute to the film's humour.

This variety is particularly valuable for tabletop RPG inspiration.

A fantasy world becomes more interesting when its inhabitants are not simply obstacles waiting to be defeated.

Creatures can have unusual abilities, distinctive behaviour, and relationships with the environments they inhabit.

6. The Visual Design: Bringing a Fantasy Campaign to Life

A tabletop RPG depends heavily on imagination.

A Dungeon Master describes a ruined fortress, and each player develops a slightly different mental image. A film has a different responsibility: it must transform those descriptions into a shared visual experience.

Honor Among Thieves approaches this challenge through colourful environments, recognizable fantasy architecture, elaborate costumes, and varied creature designs.

Its world feels adventurous rather than uniformly dark.

This is an important distinction.

Many modern fantasy productions rely heavily on grey landscapes, muted colours, and a serious visual atmosphere. There is nothing wrong with that aesthetic, but Dungeons & Dragons has always supported a much broader range of fantasy styles.

Its worlds can contain mysterious forests, colourful magical locations, enormous castles, strange underground settlements, and places that seem to have emerged directly from a player's imagination.

The film embraces this diversity.

Practical effects and digital environments

Like most modern fantasy films, Honor Among Thieves combines practical production techniques with digital effects.

The result allows the filmmakers to present magical transformations, unusual creatures, and expansive environments while maintaining a relatively consistent visual style.

For RPG enthusiasts, the most interesting aspect is not necessarily the technical achievement itself.

It is how the visual presentation helps establish the identity of the fictional world.

A good fantasy setting needs distinctive locations. Players should be able to remember a place because of its atmosphere, architecture, inhabitants, or unusual features.

The film provides plenty of inspiration for game masters looking to make their own campaigns more visually memorable.

7. What the Movie Gets Right About D&D Gameplay

Honor Among Thieves is not a literal recreation of a tabletop session. It does not follow every rule, and its characters do not constantly announce their abilities or describe dice rolls.

Nevertheless, it captures several important aspects of the D&D experience.

Improvisation

Players rarely follow a perfect plan from beginning to end.

A Dungeon Master introduces a situation, and the group responds with ideas that may or may not have been anticipated.

The film captures this through its characters' frequent need to adapt.

Cooperation

Different characters contribute different abilities.

A successful group is not simply a collection of powerful individuals. It is a team that learns to use its members' strengths effectively.

Character development

Adventures change people.

Characters may begin with personal objectives, but their experiences gradually influence their priorities and relationships.

Unexpected outcomes

In tabletop games, the dice can turn an ordinary situation into something memorable.

The film recreates this feeling through twists, complications, and moments when events do not develop according to the characters' expectations.

The importance of failure

Not every attempt succeeds.

A failed plan can create a new opportunity, introduce an unexpected complication, or reveal something about a character.

This is one of the most valuable lessons the film offers to people who want to run their own D&D campaigns.

An adventure does not need to proceed perfectly to be entertaining.

8. What Game Masters Can Learn from Honor Among Thieves

For Dungeon Masters, Honor Among Thieves offers several practical lessons.

The first is that characters should have personal motivations.

A party becomes more interesting when its members have reasons to care about the events of the campaign. These motivations do not need to be complicated. A family relationship, an old mistake, a personal ambition, or a promise can be enough.

The second lesson is that encounters should not always have one obvious solution.

A locked door can be opened, bypassed, negotiated around, or approached through an entirely unexpected idea. A social encounter can become a challenge involving trust rather than persuasion.

The third lesson is that the group should matter more than individual heroics.

A character's abilities become more interesting when they create opportunities for other players.

Finally, the film demonstrates the value of tonal variety.

A campaign can include dramatic revelations, emotional conversations, exciting encounters, and ridiculous situations without losing its identity.

Do not overplan every outcome

A Dungeon Master should prepare situations, important characters, locations, and possible consequences.

However, trying to predict every player decision is usually a waste of effort.

The best tabletop moments often emerge when the group does something unexpected.

A good game master should be prepared enough to provide structure but flexible enough to follow the players' ideas.

9. Is Honor Among Thieves a Good Introduction to Dungeons & Dragons?

For people who have never played D&D, Honor Among Thieves is an accessible introduction to the atmosphere of the game.

It presents recognizable fantasy archetypes, demonstrates the importance of teamwork, and introduces viewers to a world filled with magic and unusual creatures.

More importantly, it shows that Dungeons & Dragons does not require a completely serious approach.

The game can support dramatic storytelling, but it can also be funny, unpredictable, and occasionally ridiculous.

The film may encourage newcomers to explore the tabletop game, although watching it does not teach all the rules.

Someone interested in playing should still learn the basic mechanics, understand how character creation works, and find a group willing to introduce them to the experience.

The movie is best understood as an invitation rather than a tutorial.

It shows what a D&D adventure can feel like, not exactly how to run one.

10. Comparing Honor Among Thieves with the 2000 D&D Movie

It is difficult to discuss Dungeons & Dragons on film without mentioning the 2000 adaptation.

Both productions attempt to translate the tabletop property into a cinematic fantasy adventure, but their approaches are noticeably different.

The 2000 film takes itself relatively seriously and relies on conventional fantasy storytelling.

Honor Among Thieves, by comparison, places much greater emphasis on character chemistry, humour, and the unpredictable nature of adventuring parties.

The difference is not simply one of production quality.

It is also a difference in understanding what makes D&D enjoyable.

The newer film recognizes that the experience of playing the game is not limited to fighting monsters or exploring magical locations.

It is also about the people around the table.

The disagreements, unexpected ideas, shared jokes, and improvised solutions are often what players remember most vividly.

This is why Honor Among Thieves feels closer to the spirit of a real tabletop campaign.

11. The Future of Dungeons & Dragons Movies

The success of Honor Among Thieves demonstrated that there is an audience for fantasy films based on tabletop roleplaying games.

However, the future of D&D adaptations is not guaranteed.

A film based on a tabletop RPG needs to satisfy several different audiences:

Long-time D&D players who recognize the setting and its traditions.
Fantasy fans who want an entertaining adventure.
Newcomers who may know very little about the game.
Viewers interested in the characters and story without caring about the underlying rules.

Balancing these expectations is difficult.

Future adaptations could explore different campaign settings, introduce new groups of adventurers, or focus on genres beyond traditional heroic fantasy.

Dungeons & Dragons can support horror, mystery, political intrigue, exploration, comedy, and epic adventure.

There is no reason every adaptation needs to follow the same formula.

The most promising approach would be to preserve the central idea of D&D: a group of distinct characters creating a shared story through their decisions.

Conclusion: A Love Letter to the Tabletop Experience

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is more than a fantasy film featuring familiar RPG creatures and character classes.

It is an entertaining celebration of the qualities that have kept Dungeons & Dragons popular for generations.

Its characters feel like adventurers created by players. Its humour reflects the unpredictability of tabletop sessions. Its world offers plenty of material for exploration, and its story emphasizes cooperation rather than individual perfection.

Most importantly, the film understands that the heart of Dungeons & Dragons is not a particular spell, monster, or magical artifact.

It is the group.

The people who gather around a table, invent characters, make questionable decisions, and turn unexpected outcomes into stories worth remembering.

For experienced players, Honor Among Thieves is a fun reminder of why they enjoy the hobby. For newcomers, it offers an accessible introduction to the spirit of fantasy roleplaying.

And for Dungeon Masters, it provides an excellent reminder that the best adventures are rarely the ones that go exactly according to plan.