Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of The Dragon God - D&D Canon

D&D Canon

Unlike the first movie, which could be considered medium-budget, this is a low-budget production with a cast of relative newcomers (with the exception of Bruce Payne as Damodar). Also unlike the first movie, many details from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game have been included. The professions of the five adventurers are accurately depicted and they work together, each utilizing their individual strengths. The equipment of the adventurers are items which avid gamers will probably recognize (e.g. gem of true seeing, flask of purple worm acid, vorpal sword, ring of the ram, staff of lightning, mace of thunder, etc.). The spells cast by wizards are accurate renditions of the ones from the roleplaying game, namely that spells are not cast at will, but must first be prepared and in limited amounts.

The villains have also been designed closely to the D&D canon. As part of the bestiary, one can find an aggressive white dragon, darkmantles, spectres, magmins, lizardfolk (one can be seen restoring Damodar's arm), and a lich. Special mention must be given to Klaxx the Maligned (the lich), who is behaving how a lich should according to common D&D behavior—staying close to the action for a potential piece of power or knowledge to grab, but not exactly taking any risk. He also has little loyalty or respect for Damodar, but acts subordinate until such a point where he perceives there is no more gain to be had by servitude and no more risk by outright refusal. When Damodar no longer has the orb, Klaxx subsequently abandons him to fend for himself, easily breaking any bonds of control Damodar might have over him - just as a powerful lich would do according to D&D lore. There were also dead drow hanging from the ceiling and whose blood was used for Damodar's "dinner". Juiblex was also mentioned, but the demon lord did not actually appear in the film.

There are also a number of references to classic D&D modules (The Ghost Tower of Inverness, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, etc.) in the film.

Of special note is the commentary track which is composed of "Lidda," "Krusk," and "Jozan" (iconic characters from the third edition D&D ruleset) quipping upon the action on the screen.

From quick glimpses in the DVD's Interview with Gary Gygax, the heroes are shown to have the following stats in the D&D game:

There is also a reference to RuneQuest, another roleplaying game: the runes on the Libram and on the Turanian sealed portal are those that illustrate the RuneQuest books.