Stranger Things **spoilers**
UnderstandMouseMagic
Member Posts: 2,147
So I'm currently rewatching series 1, enjoying it even more than the first time. And have finished series 2.
So, as it's something of a big hit at the moment, mentioned everywhere, and it shows the children playing D&D, thought there should be some acknowledgement here for it.
I haven't played D&D except for BG so was hoping those more knowledgeble would post any things they have picked up on that would only be known to "real" D&D players.
So I obviously got Demagorgon and was ridiculously delighted when there was an episode called "Mind Flayer" but anything else only a true D&D person would pick up?
Also, does anybody think this will cause renewed interest in D&D?
So, as it's something of a big hit at the moment, mentioned everywhere, and it shows the children playing D&D, thought there should be some acknowledgement here for it.
I haven't played D&D except for BG so was hoping those more knowledgeble would post any things they have picked up on that would only be known to "real" D&D players.
So I obviously got Demagorgon and was ridiculously delighted when there was an episode called "Mind Flayer" but anything else only a true D&D person would pick up?
Also, does anybody think this will cause renewed interest in D&D?
Post edited by UnderstandMouseMagic on
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Comments
They had such a perfect set-up for it at the end of season 1, and it even looked like a hydra at first glance. Oh well...
Great series. Got hooked since the first episode.
The music is simply amazing. If someone told me it was composed/played by John Carpenter I would've believed it.
I'm a fool for horror and 80s nostalgia so Stranger Things really hits that sweet spot for me.
The biggest thing that stands out to me is each character is a different character class and alignment. It works easiest with the psionicists (Eight and Eleven), and with Sheriff Hopper. But even the kids refer to themselves as a party, which is more about their quest against the Upside Down than it is about their gaming. Especially in season 1, it's like you have three main parties: the kids, the teens, and the adults (with exceptions and overlap).
Demogorgon was selected on the basis of being the most powerful monster in the 1st edition monster manual, and something of an in-joke, also referenced in Watcher's Keep.
Yes, Stranger Things does seem to have raised the profile of the game. Evidence: Walked into my local bookshop day before yesterday to see the D&D core rulebooks prominently displayed. A couple of days after Stranger Things 2 hit? I don't think a coincidence.
And this thread probably belongs in off topic, since Baldur's Gate did not exist in 1984.
I considered putting this in "Off Topic" but as my only experience of D&D is BG (as explained) it seems to me to be very related to BG. That's my pathway.
Feel free to ignore the thread if it offends you.
@Dev6
What's a "Thessalhydra"?
Agree it's a great series, and IMO season 2 was even better, so all good.
@themazingness
So which characters do you see as which class?
I disagree that the "RL" quest is not about their gaming. It seems to me to be where the children get their inspiration and what holds them together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessalmonster
This is a Thessalhydra.
I don't know much about it lore-wise since I've never actually played PnP D&D.
I expected it to be the monster in season 2, because it's mentioned at the very end of season 1 when the kids are playing D&D (much like the Demogorgon is mentioned at the start of the season, and then they end up naming the actual monster as Demogorgon).
You get to fidget with awesome polyhedral dice too
Ps I immediately loved the show for those campaigning D&D kids
Pps I wish I could get my hands on the a$$hole who invented autocorrect lol
For the classes you have to stretch your imagination much like you have to stretch your imagination to see the monsters as demogorgon or mind flayer. So some are going to see the classes differently. I'm just going to give a few examples because this could become a wall of text, plus I think it is more fun to come up with your own than to be told
Eight and eleven are types of psionicists, though you could argue that Eight is an illusionist (I'd just say she's a psionic illusionist).
The sheriff is a fighter/ranger. Ranger because of the guns and investigation (modernized), fighter because he likes to punch (maybe not a Baldur's Gate thing, but in DDO I'd make Kensei fighters with martial arts focus so they could punch).
Will gets to be wizard by default. That is how he draws himself, plus in season 2 whether he likes it or not he has the knowledge of arcana.
Jonathan is a cavalier because he's bad with ranged but good at melee. Plus he seems to be immune to fear so a paladin kit makes sense to me.
Also, no kits in first edition. The was a Cavalier class in Unearthed Arcana, but it focused on mounted combat, so closest to zoomer.
Watch it, watch it now.
Set in the eighties, they play D&D.
Seriously, what else do you need to know?
Apart from the fact it has Winona Rider being awesome, a good story, believable characters, none of the snide cynicism that's so prevalent everywhere nowadays.
If anyone feels a bit apprehensive because of all the hype (things never quite live up to the hype, do they?), then don't. Stranger Things is one of those rare cases where the hype is completely deserved.
1) no one has a Commodore 64 computer at home
2) no references to Tron (which, like Stranger Things, features a character who travels into an alternate dimension/reality)
3) no references to WarGames
Perhaps this is simply because none of the central characters, except for Bob in Season 2, are tech-type people (beyond their love of the A/V Club, which Bob actually founded). If anyone jumps onto the computer bandwagon in a big way it will probably be Lucas.
I thought Jonathan was a bard or a cleric.
- Call to action: Find the missing McGuffin kid
- Meet 11
- Discover sinister plots
etc
That's the kind of simple plot that you can explain to your friends in a minute or less.
S2 seems to muddle around too much for my liking. Motivations seem less clear. Why are people doing the things they are doing? What are they trying to do?
SPOILER
- I guess they're trying to save the town. Not exciting. Not room for lots of personal growth
- The new bully guy just kind of does nothing, doesn't he? And Max, doesn't do much does she? Wasted potential there and wasted new characters.
- Nobody from the main cast dies, just the guest star
- That wacky side episode with Jane
- More of the same monsters
- Sinister government guys again, but these ones aren't so bad, so that's a cool change I guess? But it is less interesting to watch.
I'd have rather seen a new adventure or at least a new aspect of the upside down or something. There's more there right? Like more than just those demodogs. There could be.
I watched it and it was nice seeing the characters again, but I can't say I'd rewatch it again like I would S1.
Also, remember that for the most part the characters are just trying to get on with their lives - they aren't actually adventurers on a quest.
As a side-note, the mobile game is very good for something that is completely free.
Or rather, did ST ever mesh with everything else?
I saw both those films at the cinema but they felt "seperate".
Does Back to the Future reference ST for instance?
80's was dominated by SW and others, ST seemed rather old fashioned.
As for season 1 being better than season 2, I agree, but that's not to say that S2 is bad or weak. S1 was better because it was something new. S2 feels like a continuation and doesn't really bring much of anything new to the table, so it feels a bit inferior but I think that's to be expected. It's very very rare for a sequel to be better than the original (Terminator 2 comes to mind). I enjoyed it and am looking forward to S3.
If you grew up watching the original ST (which I love BTW) with your Mum and Dad on the telly, it didn't seem very cool. More Dr. Who than SW.
I saw the original ST film at my local cinema when it came out (can't remember it's name, the one with "Vega"). Me, my sisters and my Mum and Dad were the only people in the cinema.
I actually enjoyed S2 more than S1 of Stranger Things. I thought the characters were better developed and the writing was more assured, more confident.
The only weak point for me was,
But I just cited Star Trek movies as another example of 80s pop culture which, like Tron, hadn't been referenced in Stranger Things. Probably because they didn't feel thematically appropriate.
The big movie of 85, which would coincide with season 3, was Back to the Future. But I would rather they didn't introduce time travel.
(NB, I was 16 in 1984.)