Honestely a another D&D movie is something I have dreaded for a while. I think even if they went with Drizzt or the Time of Troubles story line, they would leave so much out or change so much, that anybody actually interested in the franchise and lore would be disappointed. Kind of like every time Fox makes a FF movie. I think the best way of adapting the Drizzt story line or the time of trouble for that matter, would be to turn it into a series. If it had a decent budget and played when GoT was on down time it could do very well. GoT has proven that fantasy can be loved by the average TV watcher, so why not go for a series? Series have become increasingly better over the last few years, yes we still get utter toilet gravy like Bones, but the likes of Penny Dreadful, the Strain, GoT and Vikings exist. If people are willing to spend 6 mil per GoT episode, I don't see why we can't have a D&D series.
I must say there are many fantasy books I would prefer being made into a series over FR stories. Malazan books of the Fallen, the King Killer chronicles, the Black Company, the Wheel of Time and the First Law trilogy, just to name a few.
Then again just thinking on fantasy series made me remember the sword of truth...
Honestely a another D&D movie is something I have dreaded for a while. I think even if they went with Drizzt or the Time of Troubles story line, they would leave so much out or change so much, that anybody actually interested in the franchise and lore would be disappointed. Kind of like every time Fox makes a FF movie. I think the best way of adapting the Drizzt story line or the time of trouble for that matter, would be to turn it into a series. If it had a decent budget and played when GoT was on down time it could do very well. GoT has proven that fantasy can be loved by the average TV watcher, so why not go for a series? Series have become increasingly better over the last few years, yes we still get utter toilet gravy like Bones, but the likes of Penny Dreadful, the Strain, GoT and Vikings exist. If people are willing to spend 6 mil per GoT episode, I don't see why we can't have a D&D series.
I must say there are many fantasy books I would prefer being made into a series over FR stories. Malazan books of the Fallen, the King Killer chronicles, the Black Company, the Wheel of Time and the First Law trilogy, just to name a few.
Then again just thinking on fantasy series made me remember the sword of truth...
Terry Goodkind is even more cringeworthy than Moorcock. I had fun reading the sporkings on the ASOIAF forums.
Terry Goodkind is in a weird place for me. I enjoyed reading his books back in middle school (or was it high school? I can't remember anymore) but I think if I went back and read them now I might find them. . . less appealing. I'll just keep them in my memories as a cool fantasy setting to draw ideas from for my homebrew PnP setting. Though I do remember the plots of the last few books were very similar. Like, they were near copies of each other as though he ran out of ideas.
Terry Goodkind is in a weird place for me. I enjoyed reading his books back in middle school (or was it high school? I can't remember anymore) but I think if I went back and read them now I might find them. . . less appealing. I'll just keep them in my memories as a cool fantasy setting to draw ideas from for my homebrew PnP setting. Though I do remember the plots of the last few books were very similar. Like, they were near copies of each other as though he ran out of ideas.
Oh my. It's funny you should mention that because I watched the TV series, it is in fact how I met my ex-girlfriend. But that's a story for another time, anyway, years ago I thought they were great and I tried to watch one the other day and I'm like thiiiis is terrrible.
I fear we've been spoiled by high production value shows like Game of Thrones. . . you know. . . with actors. . . and a budget. . .
I think even if they went with Drizzt or the Time of Troubles story line, they would leave so much out or change so much, that anybody actually interested in the franchise and lore would be disappointed. Kind of like every time Fox makes a FF movie.
Well, yes. The FF movie suffered a LOT of ills. But if you look at the first two Xmen movies and all of the liberties they had to take there with the lore yet they still ended up being pretty kick-a-- movies, I think that it CAN be done, if you have the right people behind it.
I think the best way of adapting the Drizzt story line or the time of trouble for that matter, would be to turn it into a series.
Ala, Daredevil? I think that could absolutely work, but then you run the risk of ending up with something like 'Atlantis', which was bearable to watch but wasn't really a High Fantasy success in my view.
If it had a decent budget and played when GoT was on down time it could do very well. GoT has proven that fantasy can be loved by the average TV watcher, so why not go for a series? Series have become increasingly better over the last few years, yes we still get utter toilet gravy like Bones, but the likes of Penny Dreadful, the Strain, GoT and Vikings exist. If people are willing to spend 6 mil per GoT episode, I don't see why we can't have a D&D series.
I am a HUGE GoT fan and really think they nailed that one. However, at least part of the success of that show was the amount of rampant sex that takes place (so very much more than actually shows up in the books). And they did that intentionally. Sex sells. While I think that an HBO original series (or whatever network decides to do it) would probably have to go even heavier that direction. At the end of the day, 'D&D' is a smaller name brand than 'Song of Ice and Fire'. So they would have to push it harder. And with the reputation that the game has gotten over the decades, not to mention the horrible reps the movies have gotten, are you sure they'd be able to get the star power necessary? At the very least, I am sure that is what producers would say.
I must say there are many fantasy books I would prefer being made into a series over FR stories. Malazan books of the Fallen, the King Killer chronicles, the Black Company, the Wheel of Time and the First Law trilogy, just to name a few.
Then again just thinking on fantasy series made me remember the sword of truth...
I want to see a really good rendition of Steven Brust's 'Vlad Taltos' books. THAT would absolutely have to be a series over several seasons and would very probably have to be on something like HBO. Failing that, someone needs to do a really well done Terry Pratchett "Universe" movie or show.
I think the complicated rules have something to do with D&D reputation. Let's face it D&D is not everybody's cup of coffee due to all the rules you have to study and the fact that a single game session can last for hours.
@ShapiroKeatsDarkMage - that absolutely is one aspect. Another is that back in the 80s, there was a big issue where people thought that anyone who played D&D was a Devil Worshiper. They even did a movie with Tom Hanks where playing the game drove him insane (more or less). It was a whole big thing.
@ShapiroKeatsDarkMage - that absolutely is one aspect. Another is that back in the 80s, there was a big issue where people thought that anyone who played D&D was a Devil Worshiper. They even did a movie with Tom Hanks where playing the game drove him insane (more or less). It was a whole big thing.
I think the complicated rules have something to do with D&D reputation. Let's face it D&D is not everybody's cup of coffee due to all the rules you have to study and the fact that a single game session can last for hours.
Lol. The stares I got when I explain THAC0 to my tabletop group, none of whom had ever played before.
Having grown up with the system (my group got started in the early 80s), I don't find THAC0 to be that bizarre. That may be because we were all math geeks? Or the fact that there wasn't anything else even remotely like it so we accepted that it had to be as complex as it was? Either way, I don't remember it being as big an issue as some other rules, or one or two of the other systems we tried (Say the one based on Michael Moorcock's universe say?).
I suppose the other direction is the way they went with 4th ed. I never played it but I kept on hearing people say how it had been 'Dumbed down'. I don't know that to be true, nor do I think it appropriate to get in a discussion over it here, but that is what I kept on hearing. If it were true, I strongly suspect that was done (a) to appeal to a wider audience and (b) to make it more accessible to the video game platform. These are all suspicions on my part and not necessarily based on any facts other than hearsay.
I do admit that I liked the 'Mechanics' of Skyrim better than traditional D&D in that only those skills that you used went up, and only then to the degree that you practiced them. That always made more sense to me. I don't speak to any other potential issues that Skyrim may have had though. Simply that I liked the skill based system.
I do find myself mildly curious as to what Sword Coast Legends is going to look like when it comes out.
Do we get another amazing 4 rooms straight line "dungeon" this time?
With traps ripped off from Indiana Jones.
Designed to test one's ability to pick locks by jumping, spinning, rolling, and smashing an egg timer.
Hey it must be very hard, if not entirely impossible, to pick a lock by jumping, spinning, rolling and smashing egg timers.... That was in fact an Epic-level test, now that I think of it
Hey it must be very hard, if not entirely impossible, to pick a lock by jumping, spinning, rolling and smashing egg timers.... That was in fact an Epic-level test, now that I think of it
LOL. Reminds me of the lock pick room in the Docks guild hall. That was an interesting test, although all you really needed to complete THAT test was to drink a potion.
I don't see the point of making a *D&D* movie. Shouldn't they focus on the histories, events and characters that were *created* to be experienced *using* the D&D rules? I mean, it is one thing to say "We want to depict the adventures of Drizzt, or the Greyhawk Wars, or a turning point in the history of Sigil" and quite another to take just a brand and attach some movie to it. That way it probably doesn't matter if its Dungeons and Dragons or Battleship...
I don't see the point of making a *D&D* movie. Shouldn't they focus on the histories, events and characters that were *created* to be experienced *using* the D&D rules? I mean, it is one thing to say "We want to depict the adventures of Drizzt, or the Greyhawk Wars, or a turning point in the history of Sigil" and quite another to take just a brand and attach some movie to it. That way it probably doesn't matter if its Dungeons and Dragons or Battleship...
You make a very good point here. However, I'd speculate that they aren't so much making a "D&D movie" as attempting to make a 'Fantasy Swords and Sorcery movie' in the Forgotten Realms and attempting to add to the audience by trading on the franchise and CALLING it a D&D movie.
I don't see the point of making a *D&D* movie. Shouldn't they focus on the histories, events and characters that were *created* to be experienced *using* the D&D rules? I mean, it is one thing to say "We want to depict the adventures of Drizzt, or the Greyhawk Wars, or a turning point in the history of Sigil" and quite another to take just a brand and attach some movie to it. That way it probably doesn't matter if its Dungeons and Dragons or Battleship...
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Now if they had someone like Peter Jackson directing and WETA doing the props, special effects, etc, then it may be good.
I must say there are many fantasy books I would prefer being made into a series over FR stories. Malazan books of the Fallen, the King Killer chronicles, the Black Company, the Wheel of Time and the First Law trilogy, just to name a few.
Then again just thinking on fantasy series made me remember the sword of truth...
I fear we've been spoiled by high production value shows like Game of Thrones. . . you know. . . with actors. . . and a budget. . .
I suppose the other direction is the way they went with 4th ed. I never played it but I kept on hearing people say how it had been 'Dumbed down'. I don't know that to be true, nor do I think it appropriate to get in a discussion over it here, but that is what I kept on hearing. If it were true, I strongly suspect that was done (a) to appeal to a wider audience and (b) to make it more accessible to the video game platform. These are all suspicions on my part and not necessarily based on any facts other than hearsay.
I do admit that I liked the 'Mechanics' of Skyrim better than traditional D&D in that only those skills that you used went up, and only then to the degree that you practiced them. That always made more sense to me. I don't speak to any other potential issues that Skyrim may have had though. Simply that I liked the skill based system.
I do find myself mildly curious as to what Sword Coast Legends is going to look like when it comes out.
I mean, it is one thing to say "We want to depict the adventures of Drizzt, or the Greyhawk Wars, or a turning point in the history of Sigil" and quite another to take just a brand and attach some movie to it. That way it probably doesn't matter if its Dungeons and Dragons or Battleship...