Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Comic-Con)

Since this newsletter is focusing on San Diego Comic Con, I figured I would review one of the experiences from this event. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is an in person experience created to immerse you in the world of the new DnD movie. 

The entrance to the tavern is lined with charming monsters presumably from the upcoming movie. One of the actors tells us a quick story of the monsters and how we should get into the tavern. Once inside, we find ourselves in a dungeon styled tavern where we are handed drinks and encouraged to explore. There are actors posing for photos and making the experience immersive for us players.

The show is led by actors who rally the crowd to participate in a dance and chat, adding to the comradery of the experience. 

Then the most immersive element, in my opinion, is the dragon, which is a technical feat using large screens and smoke effects. We get to experience this fun dragon while among friends in a Harry Potter styled tavern. It is a good time.

I do wish that the dragon screen had been in 3D or had some more effects other than the smoke. I saw a live performance of a play called Cages (which I reviewed in a past newsletter) and they used a sort of holographic projection screen in front of the backdrop movie theater type screen and so you got a sort of dimension with things moving between the movie, the live actors, and the holographic screen. I think that this experience could have benefitted from that technology. 

Some of the experience was a bit confusing. We were rushed inside and handed a drink, but were not given enough time to enjoy the drink and there wasn’t quite enough time to see everything one wanted to see in the tavern. That was due to long lines and the need to get people through the exhibit. 

I also wish that this had more of a story. If I were to plan this experience, I would have crafted a mini campaign where actors would face the dragon and roll dice with different outcomes (all outcomes planned ahead of time, but the actors would adapt to the story based on what was rolled). I would also have people in the tavern roll the dice. 

Noticeably lacking from the event were dice. There was not a die to be found in the DnD experience, and I found that odd since it is such an important part of the game. There could have been something else to symbolize the chance that the game is built on, but there is not. 

Overall, this was a fun experience and I am sure people are excited about the upcoming movie.

Technical Specs:

In person event

Live theater

Screens with interactive elements