Summary
When it’s time to take a break from playingBaldur’s Gate 3, as tough as that is, there are plenty of great movie choices that use a similar setting, characters, or tone as everyone’s favorite isometric CRPG. It’s not just the fantasy aesthetic that these movies also have, but also the adventuring archetypes, monsters, and big boss fights.
The selection includes movies that also take place in fictional fantasy lands, alternate timelines, and other creative settings. The tone can range from serious to funny, the drama and combat often aren’t intended for kids, and the special effects and stunts are essential to the story.
Conan the Barbarianis one of the world’s first comic book adaptations, but the setting and story look like they could have been part of a TTRPG module. The place and time in which Conan lives are real but fictional, as the quote says, “Between the time the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Arius.”
The main charactereven has a class, Barbarian, and with his two-handed sword and lack of armor, he fits the part. His first companion, Subatai, introduces himself as a thief and archer, and love interest Valeria seems to be some kind of Fighter multiclass. Their quest is to find and rescue the wayward child of a king, who’s been taken in by the cut of Thulsa Doom. Conan also has his own private revenge plot to consider.
For someone who likesBG3’s Dark Urge storyline or prefers to RP a more visceral and realistic TTRPG,Flesh + Bloodcan be compared to what the live-action version ofBerserkwould look like. It’s deeply entrenched in a gritty medieval aesthetic — 16th-century Italy, to be exact. This is the much less glamorous “bring out your dead” depiction of a group of mercenaries living and working in the Middle Ages.
Paul Verhoeven directed this film, so it’s going to have some creative and shocking moments. Rutger Hauer plays the lead role of Martin, the leader of a gang of mercenaries who get paid to pillage, and they take human beings as readily as loot and valuables. Scenes include long forced marches, a dramatic castle siege, and any story that takes place in medieval Europe would be incomplete without an outbreak of the plague.
It’s noteveryone’s favorite versionof Robin Hood, with most of the blame being put on miscasting. But the medieval setting, touch of occult magic, and the placement of the Sheriff and Witch as the “final bosses” make this feel like a classicDungeons & Dragonsadventure.
The plot is even structured like a typical RPG, with the escape from prison at the beginning organized like a tutorial that also gives the protagonist some essential backstory. Robin continues to level up as he travels back to England and starts to gather his forces, eventually rising as their leader, the Prince of Thieves.
Movies based on D&D didn’t have a very good reputation until this movie was released. Other than the use of the same IP, it has no connection to the three previous movies.Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievestakes place in the fictional land of Faerun and references several of the same locations that appear inBaldur’s Gate 3. Most of the action takes place in Neverwinter, and the city of Waterdeep is mentioned a few times.
This movie fits into a few genres, making it an action-comedy-heist, so when it comes to the tone and casting, it fits the overall tone ofBG3. Party members include a cheeky human Bard, a Tiefling Druid, aninept but sincere half-elf Sorcerer, and the Barbarian, who happens to be everyone’s favorite character.
The movie is named after the main character, Willow, a plucky halfling who aspires to be a Wizard. His quest is to bring a baby of the big folk, known as Daikini, back to her people after her bassinet floats down the river into their village. On his way through the land of Nockmaar, Willow meets wizards and warriors of various moral alignments,including the iconic Madmartigan.
This isn’t just any baby, however, but a child that was prophesied to bring an end to the evil queen Bavmorda. In a clever twist, this turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, and Willow goes up a few levels in the course of his grand adventure. The adventures of Elora Danaan, the baby that set these events in motion, were the subject of a series of books written by Chris Claremont entitled “Chronicles of the Shadow War.”
Believe it or not, this is considered a Disney film because its production was a collaborative effort between the House of Mouse and Paramount. Disney was experimenting with dark fantasy at the time, and with theThe Black Cauldronstill four years away, the studio decided to try a live-action script about one of the oldest adventures of all time: slaying a dragon.
The story takes place in the 6th century, in the fictional country of Urland bordered by the River Ur, a reference to the River Ure in North Yorkshire, England. The setting is pre-medieval England, before the time of King Arthur, contemporary with other legends like Saint Patrick, to a time when dragons still terrorized the countryside.
Vermithrax Pejorative is the dragon that needs slaying. The king contacts the sorcerer Ulrich of Cragganmore and his apprentice, young but adept Galen Bradwarden, to find a way to stop him. It’s not just the dragon that needs to be put in check, however, but the corrupt king and his fellow courtiers, who ensure that their virgin daughters are never chosen to be sacrificed to appease the fire-breathing monster.
Damseltakes the subversion thatDragonslayerstarted and takes it even further, giving the protagonist of the story more agency regarding their fate. The monsters in this case turn out to be the other humans, as the plot eventually revealsa sordid and tragic secretthat bound the dragon to the royal family of Aurea in the first place. It’s more like aDragonlancenovel than aD&Dadventure, but many would say that’s a distinction without a difference.
Elodie is the “damsel” in this case. She agrees to marry Prince Henry of Aurea out of economic necessity, and learns too late that her “marriage” is actually a ritual that includes feeding her to a dragon. She not only escapes the beast, but takes the fight to her in-laws with an interesting twist.
