Best Dungeons and Dragons movies 2023

With the new dungeons and dragons movie - Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - having just hit theaters there’s a lot of buzz about the game that inspired it. But, since its inception in 1974, players have been using some of their favorite movies to create their own exciting adventures. With that in mind, here is a list of films we hope will inspire you and the rest of your gaming group, as well as some recommendations for our favorite products that we think help bring those ideas to life.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: For so many Dungeons and Dragons players, this is the movie they’ve been waiting for. Fans sat through the one released in 2000, put up with its sequel, Wrath of the Dragon God, some even own a copy of the third installment, The Book of Vile Darkness. (No one is proud of this.)

Now, at last, they have a movie we can actually enjoy. It’s got big name actors, a decent budget, and a story and dialogue that manages to actually be enjoyable. But this isn’t just for long-term fans of the game; for many it’s going to be their first introduction to it. With any luck people will watch it and become interested in a hobby that’s brought millions of people countless hours of fun and friendship.

Recommendation: Getting into Dungeons and Dragons is incredibly easy these days. The basic starter set contains everything you need to get started. With a basic set of rules, pre-made characters and adventures, and even the dice, this is the perfect gift for anyone new to the hobby.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-starter-set

The Da Vinci Code: Bear with us on this one! No one is suggesting that this movie is going to be the best idea when it comes to creating your new fantasy land, though the secret society elements are an excellent thing to try and incorporate. No, instead this movie makes the list because of the riddle solving. Too often home brewed games focus on fight after fight, while traps are broken down to a simple perception role.

To spice things up, give the players something to really puzzle over. These days it’s easy to knock up really great visual representations of the riddles, allowing an even more hands-on experience. There are plenty of movies that can inspire this kind of treasure hunt adventure, not just ones starring Tom Hanks. National Treasure, 9th Gate, even Tomb Raider if you’re feeling it can all give you ideas for a different kind of adventure. Just a side note: Try not to make everything a logic puzzle with a riddle as the clue. It’s lazy, over done, and you’ll quickly find there’s more than the one answer you thought of.

Recommendation: It’s hard to master trap ideas, so hard in fact that even a Wizards of the Coast publication (which will remain nameless) designed to do just that failed spectacularly, with almost every suggestion a dull logic puzzle. However, an excellent resource is Tales from the Yawning Portal. An anthology collection of adventures, this is the perfect resource to dip into. There’s no need to use entire adventures - though this is perfectly valid. Instead you can take the clever bits you like and use them to craft your own ideas.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-tales-from-the-yawning-portal

Serenity: There are few movies that manage to capture the ‘my party are my family’ feel in the way that the space opera Serenity does. Anyone who has played Dungeons and Dragons will struggle to watch it - or Firefly, the series that spawned it - and not see all of the familiar aspects of a well working player character group. No matter what the setting or feel of your campaign, both the series and movie are worth a visit for inspiration.

Recommendation: Serenity is a film that manages to splice genres seamlessly. Mixing science fiction with western, as well as zombie horror and conspiracy thriller, it’s a reminder that there is a lot of fun to be had in the unusual. As that’s the case, why not let it inspire you to try Spelljammer? Originally released in 1989, Wizards recently re-released it for a 5th edition. It’s a setting that allows you to enjoy your usual swords and sorcery fun, but this time amongst the stars.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-spelljammer-adventures-in-space 

Lord of the Rings (Trilogy): Dungeons and Dragons and Tolkien go hand in hand. Back in the early days, Dave Arneson (co-creator of DnD) was open about how he used Middle Earth, as well as a few other sources, to create his early campaigns. But these days there is an almost chicken and egg feel to what inspires what and, over 25 years after The Fellowship of the Ring’s initial release, there are still few movies that have managed to create such a perfectly realised world of magic.

Recommendation: Amazingly, after decades of writing, the Lord of the Rings is being officially released using the same rules as Dungeons and Dragons. The Lord Of The Rings RPG 5E: Core Rulebook is based on The One Ring roleplaying game by Francesco Nepitello, so fans will know it’s got some solid foundations. You can pre-order your copy here:

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/free-league-the-lord-of-the-rings-roleplaying-5th-edition-core-rulebook 

If that’s not possible: Though there are plenty of races that exist within Dungeons and Dragons, few are more linked to Middle Earth than the Elves. In Tolkien they are a race that have a long, complex history, something that you can mirror in your own campaign. By picking up Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters Of The Multiverse, you can explore the fey eladrin, elves who are probably most like the ones who never left the far east. You’ll also find over 30 other playable races, as well as plenty of lore to get your teeth sunk into.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-mordenkainen-presents-monsters-of-the-multiverse

Conan the Barbarian: The other big influence on early Dungeons and Dragons was Conan the Barbarian. Though there were plenty of low fantasy, high body count movies released in the ‘80s that have inspired many adventures, Schwarzenegger’s 1982 outing as the eponymous hero stands head and shoulders above them all. In fact, the Hyborian World of Robert E. Howard's most famous creation is one that gives players a chance to explore games where things other campaigns might take for granted are incredibly rare. You’ll need a lot of tweaks - no wizards popping off fireballs or markets selling healing potions - but with some work you too can be adventuring in an amoral world of city states and overly oiled rippling thews.

Recommendations: If you are inspired by Conan, then there’s a lot of work to do. That’s the bad news. The great news is that you can do it all yourself. You just need to work out what you’re scaling back on, and what elements you’re enhancing. One big bit of advice would be to look carefully at your copy of the Dungeon Masters’ Guide. In it, there’s a rule called ‘Gritty Realism’.

Read it, and then chuckle to yourself as you remember you’ve also stopped your players being able to create clerics.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-dungeon-masters-guide

The Three Musketeers: The story that pretty much set the template for swashbuckling daring-do is Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and arguably the best adaptation of it is the 1973 version, along with its 1974 sequel. These films present a world of flawed but noble heroes putting their lives at risk because of duty and friendship.

What edges out other excellent swashbuckling films (we’re looking at you Princess Bride), is the sheer creativity and realism that is brought to each of the action and fight scenes. Sure, dueling your nemesis is fine, but what about doing it on a frozen lake? What challenges does that present? Or with random fireworks whizzing past your head? Why not set a fight in a crowded laundry, swinging between vast vats of dye and soapy water. This film captures the highs and lows of adventuring, as well as cleverly examining dealing with an enemy at court, one who cannot be touched, but nonetheless you must outflank, out think, and out wit at every turn.

Recommendation: For those players wanting to pick up a rapier and dash armourless into danger, Xanathars Guide to Everything gives you the option to play the Swashbuckler. In fact, it’s a book that gives you a huge amount of additional material which adds tons of options to any game, including 20 new sub-classes.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-xanathars-guide-to-everything

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: Strange and exotic locations containing danger and lost treasure all wrapped up in ‘30s-style pulp cinema make the Raiders movies absolute classics. But it wasn’t just these fundamentally great elements that elevated them. Tight pacing, clever plot twists, and a host of memorable characters are all reasons these films should inspire your group.

Add to that mix the series’ trademark of entertaining, almost cartoonish fights and you have something else you should use in your adventures. From airplane propellers to rock crushing conveyor belts, these films show us how incorporating dangerous elements into the environment can add a new dimension to tired confrontations. This is something 5th edition makes particularly easy, so why not make the most of it? But, if all of that isn’t enticement enough, just imagine playing a character called Indiana Gnomes!

Recommendation: Feel like questing for fortune and glory? Tomb of Annihilation is a huge adventure that allows your party to explore the strange land of Chult. Taking characters from level 1 to 14, there are lost cities to discover, riddles to solve, and plenty of things that belong in a museum - or your loot stash.

Link: https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-dragons-tomb-of-annihilation