D&D movie’s fat dragon Themberchaud plays an even bigger role in the game

The first trailer is ready to go Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves dropped late last July, a friend of mine almost immediately DMed me to ask, “Is there any lore about the fat dragon?” Dragons whose body types differ from those slim, snaky models in the D&D Monster ManualThese are very rare and made this little chonky boy shine.

I had a theory, but it wasn’t confirmed until the toys for the movie were solicited — the red dragon in Honor among Thieves is Themberchaud, who has a pretty significant history in the Dungeons & Dragons game. That made me feel pretty good about the chances that the movie was really going to dig into D&D lore. Jonathan Goldstein, writer and director of John Francis Daley, were open to taking on Themberchaud as a character. But what other sources could they be digging into from D&D lore?

The movie itself doesn’t get into the dragon’s backstory, but here’s what we know about the Underdark’s weighty menace.

Who’s the fat dragon in the Dungeons & Dragons movie?

Image by Paramount Pictures

Themberchaud is an underdark-of the Forgotten Realms setting red dragon. He lives in Gracklstugh as a city of duergar. If that’s too many fantasy nouns for you in one sentence, we can break that down. The Forgotten Realms is the most popular campaign world for the Dungeons & Dragons RPG, and the Underdark is a massive subterranean cave system below the surface that’s home to all kinds of monsters and subterranean species, including the ever-popular drow, or dark elves. Duergar (also known as gray dwarves) are like the drows of dwarves. Cold and grimy, but work-obsessed, their crafting skills rival those of more popular fantasy dwarf archetypes.

Themberchaud was the first to appear in Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark, an accessory for 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1999 by TSR. The dragon plays a unique role in Gracklstugh’s city. He is a young dragon, just over 100 years old, who serves as the Wyrmsmith in Gracklstugh. This role was held by previous dragons. His fiery breath heats the cities’ forges, tempering the steel. The monastic Keepers at the Flame take care of his every whim.

The dragon’s next mentions were in a pair of accessories for Dungeons & Dragons’ 3rd edition from Wizards of the Coast: UnderdarkThe following were the results of 2003 Dragons of Faerûn 2006 These sources largely reiterated the 2nd edition information, updating Themberchaud’s age to over 100 and explaining that he is kept happy not only by the duergar adding to his treasure hoard, but also by being fed a steady diet of unruly slaves.

The backstory of the monster goes back many decades

Themberchaud’s story was significantly enlarged, pun intended, for the Rage of Demons storyline from Wizards of the Coast for 5th edition D&D. In the tabletop adventure, he was featured. Out of the Abyss The computer RPG Sword Coast LegendsIn 2015, the Endless Quest book was released Escape the UnderdarkIn 2018. In this storyline, the dragon’s appearance, personality, and backstory were all given far greater attention.

Concept artist Richard Whitters designed Themberchaud’s new appearance, giving him the unique feature of being overweight. The Rage of Demons expanded Themberchaud’s backstory. It also used lore from previous editions. Wizards posted a 3rd edition lore article about how psionics were incorporated in Forgotten Realms.

Every Wyrmsmith from Gracklstugh hatches from an egg laid by the Keepers. They are then raised to fulfill the duties of maintaining the city’s forges. Themberchaud is often unable to leave his room, due to their high level of care. Themberchaud was born underground and has not been outside since his childhood. Themberchaud can barely fly and is a servant to the duergar. Escape the Underdark He even says that he’s too big for Gracklstugh.

“And now I am far too large to ever leave. It was impossible for me to get to the top of this place, even if it were torn down all around. Instead, I remain buried in a prison of my parents’ making, far beneath a sky I’ve never seen.”

What the dragon doesn’t know is that ultimately, the Keepers of the Flame plan on killing him before he becomes too powerful to control and seeks to dominate the city, as red dragons naturally tend toward tyranny as they age. This is the way that the Keepers always follow: once a Wyrmsmith reaches an age, they kill it and replace it with a new-hatched Wyrmling. But the red dragon egg meant to become Themberchaud’s successor was stolen by the Gray Ghosts, Gracklstugh’s thieves guild. This triggered a conflict between the thieves and the psionicists, which left Themberchaud paranoid about his future keepers and more distrustful.

Out of the Abyss players can journey to Gracklstugh as they explore the Underdark, where they may be persuaded to become agents of the Keepers of the Flame, the Gray Ghosts, or Themberchaud himself, as the three power factions vie for control of the Wyrmsmith’s fate. In the meantime, The King of Gracklstugh is having a mental breakdown. This storyline can be connected to Sword Coast Legends.

In this poorly regarded CRPG, which now stands as a notable piece of abandonware in the 5th edition D&D catalog, players journey to Gracklstugh in source of the Moontear, the magical McGuffin of the game’s single-player campaign. They find that the city has been taken over by a mind flayer, which took advantage of the king’s mental illness. The same mind flayer has also invaded Themberchaud’s brain. To save Themberchaud’s king and dragon, the mind flayer must be defeated by the players. He kindly rewards them with a retort, but they won’t eat the heroes.

Themberchaud of the Rage of Demons’ storyline portrays a proud and vain Themberchaud, much like all red dragons. He’s described as pampered and restless. He is described as pampered and restless. Sword Coast Legends, he has the deep and booming voice you’d expect from such a massive monster. Like all dragons in D&D, he can speak, and is a character who can be interacted with, rather than just a monster to fight and kill.

While the dragon’s bulk makes him memorable, it also makes him tragic. He’s a victim of manipulation and abuse from his evil gray dwarf keepers. Unfortunately, he’s evil himself, and the consequence of freeing Themberchaud from the Keepers of the Flame, or saving him from being replaced by a new Wyrmsmith, would likely be the subjugation of the entire city under the dragon’s rule. TTRPG players are often faced with difficult choices.

Why has the Underdark been abandoned?

Image by Paramount Pictures

It was later confirmed that Themberchaud would feature in the magazine. Honor among ThievesA lot of the elements that were in the trailers fell into line. The bald-headed statues, the caves, the Underdark, the relics covered in runes — the movie must be going to Gracklstugh! It was therefore a surprise that the film removed the dragon from the place he had lived for so long.

Instead, the movie’s heroes find Themberchaud in Dolblunde, another Underdark settlement. The one in question was once home to the gnomes but they abandoned it hundreds of years ago. In the lore of previous editions of D&D, Dolblunde was the home of Daurgothoth, a black greatwyrm dracolich of immense power. But “the Creeping Doom” hasn’t been mentioned in an official product since the 4th edition supplement Draconomicon – Chromatic Dragons. Perhaps the filmmakers felt that the dracolich had too high of a challenge rating for the movie’s heroes?

While I enjoy seeing Themberchaud come to life, it does bring up some questions. How could he finally free himself of Gracklstugh, and why — assuming any of the existing lore pertains in the movie — is he hanging out in the lair of another, much more powerful dragon? Unfortunately, the dragon himself doesn’t reveal any clues — like many Hollywood dragons, Themberchaud only roars and makes other animalistic noises in the movie, depriving audiences of his unique character and personality.

The heroes make comments during the film that Themberchaud appears to have discovered a new hideout, suggesting his recent visit in Dolblunde. The movie seems to be set a few years after Rage of Demons. So perhaps Wizards of the Coast — which is demonstrably experimenting with new rules and adding elements to the game’s canon based on the movie — will eventually tell the story of how the Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh finally escaped his prison. This sounds great for an epic campaign.