It’s one thing for a Dungeons & Dragons movie to adapt one of the countless stories explained across the franchise, and another thing to create another tale for a new D&D output entirely - and the latter is something Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves succeeded in doing. Instead of relying on a pre-existing tale, Honor Among Thieves took viewers to the familiar world of the Forgotten Realms and threw them straight into the wild and crazy adventures of Edgin Darvis and Holga Kilgore, whose attempt to escape incarceration will have them be involved in a more sinister plot.
While the film interspersed a fantasy story with quips and impressive feats befitting a staple D&D adventure, fans of the Dungeons & Dragons film may be interested in knowing if there’s a way they could apply the rather captivating backstories of each character into their own adventurers. Thankfully, some tinkering with the origin stories of the film’s major characters can have them fit into a stereotype that players can more or less use in their own table.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!
7 Oathbreaker Turned Thief (Edgin Darvis)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Faction Agent, Criminal
While fans can immediately attach a Criminal Background to Edgin Darvis for being a thief, his character demonstrates how a backstory reveals what happened that made him what he was.Edgin explains that he's actually come from the Harpers, one of the most secretive peace-keeping factions in the Forgotten Realms. After a tragic family incident in one of his missions, Edgin turned his back on the Harpers and used his skills to pursue riches to give his daughter a good life - becoming an Oathbreaker Turned Thief.
In the context of Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, it’s pretty interesting to take note of how the straightforward Criminal Background could be further expanded by incorporating it into a backstory. Instead of a character being a simple Criminal engaging in illegal trade, this setup reminds players that Criminals aren’t born but rather made out of a perceived need or a necessity. An alternative Background here is the Faction Agent that allows Edgin to focus on his upbringing as a member of the Harpers.
6 Exiled Out To Prove Everyone Wrong (Holga Kilgore)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Uthgardt Tribe Member, Outlander
Holga’s backstory is quite a trope among many players, where their characters begin having adventures after being exiled or traveling outside their communities. This is usually represented by the Outlander background. Since Holga's isolation, she's become an Exile, out to prove everyone wrong, and set to create a name for herself during their quest to get the Tablet of Reawakening.
However, a more lore-accurate background would be the Uthgardt Tribe Member, which specifically comes from the Forgotten Realms-focused Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Holga's character proves how useful it is to the story for a character to be connected to a faction in advance, as it's thanks to her link with her tribe that they're able to find a way to locate the whereabouts of another item they need in their heist - the Helm of Disjunction.
5 Descendant Unworthy Of The Legacy (Simon Aumar)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Inheritor, Student of Magic
Despite being a part of their original thieving group, Simon Aumar isn't the best Sorcerer in town. In fact, Simon needing his Spell Dispenser means he fits the background of Student of Magic, which represents a desire to learn more in his craft.
However, one of Simon’s more compelling qualities is his trait as the descendant of Elminster Aumar, the Sage of Shadowlade, and a legendary Wizard in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. In fact, players can use this ancestry to give Simon the Inheritor background. This alternate background explains the pressure around Simon to become like his ancestor. Simon's status as a Descendant Unworthy of the Legacy can become an interesting character arc for the party to explore.
4 Nature’s Freedom Fighter (Doric)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Hermit, Cloistered Scholar
Born to humans but raised by druids, the Tiefling Doric agreed to be a part of Edgin's party in order to stop Lord Forge's intrusion of her home within the Emerald Enclave. This makes her Nature's Freedom Fighter, and gives her character a more selfless motivation compared to the personal stakes of the team.
Players may pursue a Doric-like character with the Hermit background due to her isolation. However, she can also be a Cloistered Scholar due to her knowledge of nature and druidism.
3 Damsel Not In Distress (Kira Darvis)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Noble, Urchin
Perhaps serving as the motivation of Edgin’s whole Dungeons & Dragons adventure is Kira Darvis, his estranged child who became Lord Forge's ward after their team's unfortunate heist. This backstory makes Kira a former Urchin or, alternatively, a Noble.
An essential component in her character personality is the tidbit where she confessed often using her original Amulet of Invisibility to sneak around the palace unnoticed. This "princess seeking adventure" fits into the Damsel Not In Distress trope. While it's not uncommon for players to choose a Noble background for characters, the classic "sneaking princess" personality can make an approach to a Kira-like character unique. After all, this puts characters in the perfect position to have arcs that have them grow out of the shadow of their privilege.
2 The Quintessential Good Cop (Xenk Yendar)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Folk Hero, Cormanthor Refugee
Edgin and his team's search for the Helm of Disjunction leads them to its current owner, the Paladin Xenk Yendar. His rather heroic reputation and occasional saving of babies from the mouths of dangerous creatures already positions him as an exaggerated Quintessential Good Cop. However, players who want to make their own Xenk Yendar can add a more personal spin in his story, where ihe becomes a customized Far Traveler instead of a stereotypical Folk Hero.
Instead of using the original Far Traveler concept that usually involves extraplanar travel, players making Xenk Yendar can request that they gain the same technical benefits of the background but exchanging its lore. After all, Xenk's nature as a survivor of Thay's descent into an undead nation. This "background conversion" is a common request players can extend to Dungeon Masters, especially if the background closest to a character's backstory still doesn't hit the spot.
1 Agent On A Dark Agenda (Sofina)
Pick This Rulebook Background: Secret Identity, Haunted One
One of the most enigmatic figures in the story of the Dungeons & Dragons movie is Sofina, the Red Wizard of Thay. Due to their faction's infamy, she had to fool Edgin and his crew into helping her obtain an ancient artifact that would enable her to fulfill a secret mission. This double-crossing Agent On A Dark Agenda is a popular trope in stories, but Sofina may need to use the Secret Identity background as she constantly changes her appearance in the film.
While Sofina loses in the end, her role in the story as a turncoat D&D Wizard makes for quite an interesting character idea. Aside from Dungeon Masters being able to use her story as the idea of “an evil NPC all along,” Sofina’s story as an eventual antagonist may be twisted further to have a darker tone via the Haunted One background. This time around, the presence of her master Szass Tan can be described as hauntings or paranormal encounters to further cement Szass Tan's nature as an evil lich and further add mystery to Sofina's character.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was released on March 23, 2023.