Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has a lot going for it – a likable rag-tag group of misfits pulling an almost impossible heist, mentions of classic DnD settings and factions, a formidable villain, a large variety of 5e spells, and a good blend of fantasy and action. It can be enjoyed by both fans of this TTRPG, but also people who aren’t familiar with it at all. Of course, hard-core fans of DnD will need to suspend their disbelief a little bit, since the movie takes some liberties, and some things are given a little bit of a Hollywood twist.
The aspect of this movie that I’ve enjoyed the most is that it had a good, varied, representation of races and classes. And so I decided to create this DnD: Honor Among Thieves Class Guide for everyone that wants to learn more about our favorite fantasy heist team.
In this blog post, I’ll take you through the classes of the main characters and how they did or didn’t stay true to the DnD 5e source material and rules. So, if you want to learn more about the heist team and their antagonists, or want to create a similar character for your next campaign, be sure to stick around until the end!
SPOILER ALERT DISCLAIMER: Before we proceed, please be aware that this blog post will contain major spoilers for the 2023 movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. If you haven’t seen this movie and wish to preserve the element of surprise, stop reading now and come back after watching it. I’ll be discussing some key plot points and significant moments that could impact your future viewing experience!
Edgin Darvis
Chris Pine, in a stroke of genius casting, plays a charming and charismatic bard, Edgin Darvis, who’s the main protagonist, leader of the rag-tag heist team, self-proclaimed planner, and the Face of the group.
Some fans of DnD were outraged by Edgin’s lack of spellcasting in the film because bards heavily rely on their spellcasting ability in DnD 5e and it was unusual to not see it shown in the movie. Players have even suggested that a better fit for Edgin class-wise would be a Mastermind rogue, so if you want to make a similar character maybe check what’s the better option for your playstyle. But for now, I’ll tell you why I believe that Edgin is a solid on-screen portrayal of a bard.
In typical bard fashion, he carries his lute around using it to entertain his fellow travelers through song, trip an occasional enemy or two, or whack them when they least expect it. Edgin’s also shown to be an amazing and captivating storyteller which prompted some DnD fans to suggest he belongs to the College of Lore, although there aren’t many facts to back this up. He will try to sweet-talk his way out of every sticky situation he ends up in too. Also, the way he tries to lift the spirits of his party members and encourages them not to give up seems like a nod to Bardic Inspiration, a class feature of bards in DnD 5e.
My guess is that his magic abilities weren’t showcased much to distinguish him from other casters in the movie like Simon or Sofina. While it is based on DnD it’s also a major blockbuster so it’s kind of expected to take some liberties with the source material.
Holga Kilgore
Holga is the stereotypical barbarian – she’s very muscular and aggressive, not that bright but a real force to be reckoned with. In the movie, she stays true to her barbarian nature and takes the role of the group’s Tank – always on the frontline, swinging her great axe, engaged in closed-quarters combat, kicking ass, and taking names. There are also hints of her going into the famous barbarian Rage a few times in the movie, which I find great nods to the source material.
Her martial abilities might have been a bit exaggerated for entertainment purposes since there’s no way in DnD 5e that a character can singlehandedly take on and defeat as many guards as Holga did in the movie, especially at the same time – but we’ll chalk that up to a sprinkle of movie magic. Besides this little issue – Holga presents a pretty solid portrayal of a DnD barbarian on screen.
Simon Aumar
Justice Smith plays Simon Aumar, the half-elf sorcerer and go-to spellcaster of the group. At the beginning of the movie, Simon isn’t really a proficient caster and is pretty accident-prone. As a result, he sticks to lower-level spells like Gust of Wind, Counterspell, Produce Flame, Minor Illusion, and Prestidigitation, but over time he gets more confident and blossoms into a full-fledged sorcerer.
I found that the unwanted side-effects of his Wild Magic (like accidentally casting Reverse Gravity while trying to cast Shield) were so fun to see on the screen since similar spikes of uncontrollable magic are a staple of this sorcerer subclass in 5e. Also, showing how Simon’s Major Image spell started falling as he lost Concentration was a nice touch.
All in all, when you put the movie character of Simon next to the source-erer (I had to, I’m sorry) material, it stacks up – the spells are accurate and they just won’t always work, no matter how much you want them to.
Doric
Our resident tiefling druid – Doric, portrayed by Sophia Lillis, presents, in my opinion, the biggest deviation from the source material from all the main characters in Honor Among Thieves. We don’t really get to see a lot of her druidic magic, except for the Wild Shape, but that’s exactly where the inaccuracies come in.
Technically, according to the DnD 5e rules, you can’t use Wild Shape to turn into an Owlbear since this creature is categorized as a monstrosity and not a beast.
Also, Doric’s escape from the castle sequence was epic and one of the best parts of the movie in my opinion. The way she seamlessly transformed from a bee to a rat, bird, and then a deer was epic and amazing to see, but it was also sprinkled with a bit of movie magic because a typical druid can’t use Wild Shape as many times without resting. Until your character reaches level 20, they are limited to two uses per short rest.
Lastly, although it was a great example of creative problem-solving, Doric couldn’t escape a gelatinous cube, even in a Wild Shape. Instead, everyone trapped inside would die a slow death while soaking in acid. So I can actually see why they changed that!
Sofina
Sofina, played by Daisy Head, is the main villain of the movie and a member of the Red Wizards to boot. Also, it’s worth mentioning that she’s extremely powerful – in the first 10 minutes of the movie she already cast Time Stop, which is a 9th-level spell. With her seemingly endless range of spells, she can accomplish basically anything – from simple tasks like cooling down Forge’s tea (with Predistigitation), casting Misty Step, Chain Lightning, or Fireball, to complex and powerful spells like Mordenkainen’s Arcane Seal to protect a treasure vault.
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty aka what the movie got wrong. I hate to break this to you because it was such a fun twist, but Sofina not knowing that her Time Stop was unsuccessful couldn’t happen according to 5e game mechanics. Even when somebody casts Counterspell to block your spell, the DM has to tell you if your spell was successful or not.
Also, Time Stop is portrayed a bit differently from the original – in the TTRPG this spell is pretty brief and just lets the caster take additional turns during combat, while in the movie it basically just freezes and incapacitates people for an extended amount of time.
Forge Fitzwilliam
I don’t know if this was ever explicitly stated in the movie, but Forge Fitzwilliam’s movie class is a rogue. If I had to choose, I would probably place him in the Thief subclass with other burglars, professional treasure seekers, and criminals. More importantly, this evil antagonist portrayed by Hugh Grant, is a conman aka a charlatan. I believe that this background perfectly defines his character’s motivations and actions during the whole movie since he’s a skeezy low-life skilled in Deception who will do anything and harm anyone just to get his hands on what he wants.
Xenk Yandar
The almost laughably honorable Thayan paladin Xenk Yandar, played by Regé-Jean Page, is portrayed as the quintessential perfect hero in this movie. This further confirms the stereotype that paladins are self-righteous goody-two-shoes who would clutch their pearls if they heard someone utter a curse word. But, I’ve gotta say, as a huge fan of paladins, I enjoyed every second he was on the screen!
From the casual way he smelled evil nearby (Divine Sense) to the badass fight against the undead while wielding the Holy Weapon sword – he really stole the show. If I had to mention an itty bitty complaint I’d say that it would’ve been great to see Xenk smite an enemy since that is such a staple of the paladin class.
