The D&D movie captures one of the best parts of RPGs

Midway through Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Holga the barbarian, visits her ex’s house to get some closure on their relationship. It’s a straightforward scene, Holga and Marlamin (played brilliantly by Bradley Cooper), sharing their heartfelt stories about how their marriage failed. But it’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie, since the two actors are having this deep, emotional conversation while one of them is a tiny, fancy man in a regular-sized chair, and the other is a gruff, ax-wielding, fur-clad barbarian who just beat up a whole team of guards.

I found this sequence especially funny because it is a great way to incorporate an ex into your role-playing games. It’s a reminder that even in this fantastical world of dungeons and dragons, the characters still mean something to each other. That goes beyond past romantic dalliances and backstory — I just love having 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. Beyond slaying monsters, they have an impact on people.

Image by Paramount Pictures

It can have both mechanical and personal benefits. One of my current D&D characters has a long list of exes that I’ve woven into his backstory. One of these exes has not made it into our game yet (with much more friendly interactions than Holga or Marlamin), but I have used his lengthy list of ex-partners to reference my character. 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 already written about my love of downtime filler episodes many, many, many times here at Polygon, so it’s probably not a huge surprise that I love video games where one of the core mechanics is just hanging out with other characters. Fire Emblem: Three HomesIts tea-party system is my whole heart. But I also love it. Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which not only builds in player-initiated hangouts, but adds extracurricular activities, even though it isn’t even a school setting. Mass Effect is the best. DLC stands for the part where you have a fun, lighthearted and banter-filled mission. Then, throw a party, hang out with your buddies. You can see the scene here Dragon Age: InquisitionVarric the rogue taleteller ropes everyone in to a game. Amazing. (And yes, I’ve been told I should play the Persona games; they are on my ever-growing backlog).

Image via Polygon: BioWare/Electronic Arts

I’m the type of person who likes to stop and talk to every NPC, so when a game acknowledges that and integrates that into the gameplay, I get really excited. My player character is able to have an influence on the world. People have opinions, which I find interesting and encourages me to get along with them.

As I began to play tabletop games, it was natural that I loved role-play and downtime. I could interact with others, not only with battles or puzzles. Although it was intimidating to have no predetermined dialogue options, I am now realizing that tabletop RPGs offer all the same things I enjoyed about video gaming, with much more freedom. I’ve been lucky to have DMs who indulge this preference, from specifically engineering a watch schedule for character interaction to setting up a whole gathering where player characters and NPCs alike brought dishes for a potluck luncheon.

Don’t get me wrong — I still enjoy some good combat in my games. But there’s something particularly satisfying about a memorable role-play interaction that always gives me a burst of creative energy. It’s part socializing with friends in a fun way, and partly the joy of creating something together, even if the audience is just us.

Image by Paramount Pictures

And that’s something the Dungeons & Dragons movie captures surprisingly well. You can see the adventuring group in action and as heists. Have fun together. Since this is a movie and not a long-form television show, there aren’t designated filler episodes where they all go to the beach or play a drunken game of cards. The filmmakers were able to incorporate enough personal scenes and social interactions within the film’s framework to emphasize the characters’ interaction and friendship, which is rare these days in action movies of this genre.

They might argue. The characters might have difficulty attuning to magic items and may get crap because of their insecurities. Their exes might be uncomfortable with them. However, Holga, who is sad to be leaving her husband, mounts her horse and rides off, but her friend Edgin (Chris Pine), sings a song for her to lift her spirits. It’s not long before a smile flutters to her face and they’re both singing along together. That’s the type of shit I’m here for!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among ThievesThis film is currently in cinemas.