All the DMs I’ve ever played with would have just basically nodded and smiled, and then proceeded to let that guy attempt to talk his way out of fights and then end up punching someone with a fist because they didn’t have weapons, etc…
They might have started out without a weapon and thinking they were going to talk their way out of fights, but they’d have learned quick if they survived.
He never gave me the NPC vibe, but I think it was a deliberate attempt to show that D&D isn’t all hack and slash combat, and that there’s a whole lot of room for character building, interaction, and so forth, even if the rule books tend to be fairly combat-centric.
Absolutely. And not only do I not have a problem with a “try to talk his way out of everything” character, I’ve played such a character myself. I had a Brigand in 3.5 Kingdoms of Kalamar with an extremely high Charisma stat, and bluffed myself out of everything possible, including efforts to avoid fights.
But you can’t bluff yourself out of everything, and my character was a heck of a swordsman. He even used his Bluff skill in combat via Improved Feint, which let him do sneak attacks in frontal combat. (Basically, distracting someone, then attacking a vital spot as they leave themself open.) It was fun. But there was lots of fighting. That’s a huge part of the game.
If the movie wanted to be more faithful to the games, it would have featured a group of capable combatants who travel from place to place, solving mysteries, engaging in dialog with various people, and occasionally getting into combat and other dilemmas that they resolve using their skills, brains, and special abilities. And they came so close, if only the bard had anything at all to do when combat occurred other than being comic relief.
Eh, I’ve seen plenty of players make characters who sucked in combat, because they had a specific character concept they wanted to play. Hell, I’ve been that player.
I’ve played games with characters who weren’t able/willing to fight and it’s usually fine provided they still bring something to the table in combat and don’t just take a Dodge action each turn*. For a bard, that should be really easy between Inspiration and their spells (going to buffs or crowd control).
Of course, in film, he didn’t cast anything and you have to sort of handwave the granting of Inspiration.
*I guess if the DM is aware that they’re dead weight and wants to adjust encounters to Party Size-Minus-One then it doesn’t matter much
My least favourite part was the non-romance between the sorcerer and the druid which ended with “Will you be my girlfriend?” “I guess, whatever”. Huh? If you’re going to have a romantic subplot, I figure you should at least have one romantic scene…
I actually thought they showed some decent chemistry. It looked to me like they were both attracted to each other, but she wasn’t willing to admit it until he proved himself (and even then, wouldn’t admit it enthusiastically, for the sake of her dignity).
Not “scenes”, per se, but a facial expression or glance, here and there. I suppose it was most clear when the bard was playing up the sorcerer’s magical ability, “You reversed gravity in the whole tavern!” “Wait, really?”.
Also keep in mind, of course, that the druid doesn’t people very well.
(and why is Holga the only character whose name I can remember?)
At least for 5th edition, you have to work hard to make a character who isn’t good at combat. Not every class is good at talking to others, moving through the wilderness, or possessing vast knowledge of the occult, but every single character class can contribute to a fight. Even if you’re not optimizing your character, they ought to be able to contribute meaningfully in a fight.
Heh, I’m running a one-shot soon for some people who never played before but always wanted to try it. As they were dithering over character options, I said that the only way to make even a semi-broken character is to know the game well enough that you plan it intentionally.
I’m in the camp that the sorcerer and druid showed zero chemistry on screen and the “romance” felt tacked in as something a movie ought to have and they were checking boxes. It’s probably my main (albeit not severe) criticism of the film.
It wasn’t really a romance, and wasn’t meant to be a romance. It was two young kids who formerly had a relationship, with one still mooning over the other, then giving it another go once he’d gained a bit more confidence. And it was as it was, no more. Chemistry was irrelevant in a puppy love situation like that.
Except I never once felt like she was remotely interested in him. I realize that the plot/story is supposed to be that now she’s more interested because he did hero stuff, yadda yadda but it didn’t feel authentic to me and seemed tacked on.
I went through most of the film feeling like the “We went on a date once and he made me sad” was just a throw-away joke about what a dork the sorcerer was. Then we reached the end and saw them together and I thought “Are they really going to try to shoehorn this in?” and yup, that they did. There was little in between that made it feel natural to me.
I, on the other hand, would pounce on such a player lest some other lucky DM snatched them up first. Because that’s very much how the game works for me.
Heh–soon after we leveled up to fifth, we were surrounded by the goons of a racist schmuck who demanded an explanation of why we were trespassing, and also all our treasure. I came up with a great plan, using illusion spells and my sorcerer charisma, to convince him we were under king’s orders and avoid the combat–until I thought, “What am I even doing? Everyone’s fifth level, we have new abilities, we can test them out by pounding on this asshole and his asshole buddies!” So I crumpled up my illusory king’s pass and got to fightin’.
The game really doesn’t encourage nonviolent solutions.
The bard’s lack of a weapon doesn’t bother me, though. The game is balanced so that everyone has something to contribute every round of combat, but what’s good for a game isn’t necessarily great for a movie. Altering this dynamic, so that the bard isn’t great in combat, allows other characters to shine. It worked in a story context, even if it might’ve been frustrating as a game session.
