Characters / Dungeons & Dragons (2000)

The Party

Ridley Freeborn

Played By: Justin Whalin

The protagonist. A Thief/Fighter who really hates mages.

• Action Hero: Despite being a thief first and foremost, he has a sword and he knows how to use it, making use of his agility to great effect during his fights.
• Anti-Hero: Ambitious, bigoted against mages, hot-headed, short-sighted, greedy...but he's ultimately a good man.
• Heel–Face Turn: He was never overtly 'evil', but he was certainly a self-centered man of vice before turning from thief to genuine hero.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a thief, but he has a good heart buried beneath his ambition, greed and pride. He eventually saves the city.

Snails

Played By: Marlon Wayans

Ridley's friend. Also a thief.

• Anti-Hero: Cowardly and cynical, but still brave deep down and selfless enough to sacrifice himself to keep Ridley from giving Damodar the Dragon's Eye.
• Black Dude Dies First: The first (and only) party member to die. Marina's master Vildan dies in the movie first, but he's more of a plot device than anything.
• Cowardly Lion: Usually the first to shriek in terror and flee for his life when danger looms. When cornered by Damodar with no way out, Snails draws a knife and steps forward to face him: even as Damodar beats the snot out of him, at no point does Snails beg or cower, and when Damodar tries to trade him for the Dragon's Eye, Snails sacrifices himself to get the map to Ridley.
• The Cynic: Unlike Ridley, Snails has pretty much given up hope of the Commoners' situation improving and figures the best course of action is make the most of their situation as it is.
  Snails: You've got your 'haves', and your 'have nots'. We are your 'gotta gets', and right now, we've gotta get paid.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Damodar threatens to kill Snails if Ridley doesn't give him the Dragon's Eye. Snails refuses to play along: he throws Ridley the map causing Damodar to kill him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: See Heroic Sacrifice.
• Non-Action Guy: While Ridley is trained as a Fighter/Thief, Snails is a pure Thief, and barring a dagger for emergency use he tries to avoid combat whenever possible. It doesn't help that the one time he is forced to fight he's up against Damodar who soundly thrashes him.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: His go-to answer for most sticky situations is to shriek in terror and run.

Marina Pretensa

Played By: Zoe McLellan

A mage who wants to help the Empress.

• Big Stupid Doo Doo Head: In her banter with Ridley and Snails, they slag off mages and her comeback is "That just proves commoners are well... common." Snails just raises an eyebrow with an expression that screams 'Seriously, that's the best you've got?"
• Damsel in Distress: Despite being a Mage, Marina is ultimately a spoiled, aristocratic librarian in completely over her head: she's forced to rely on Ridley to navigate the brutal world of the Commoners and gets captured twice by Damodar as soon as his back is turned.
• Non-Action Guy: She knows a couple of basic offensive spells like Magic Missile, but most of her magic is aimed at nonviolent ends, to help her in her career as a librarian at the Wizard School.
• Took a Level in Kindness: One of the biggest examples in the movie: Marina starts off as a haughty, bigoted Rich Bitch who looks down on Commoners. Her harrowing adventure away from her ivory tower humbles her immensely, and Ridley saving her life despite having no reason to help her besides it being the right thing to do wins her heart. By the end of the movie, Marina is a much better person.

Norda

Played By: Kristen Wilson

An elf, and Savina's finest tracker.

• Action Girl: Easily the most skilled warrior among the heroes, pummeling her way out of the Bar Brawl with ease and catching up to the party in time to hear every word of their conversation, without them ever knowing she was there.
• Dull Surprise: Her acting is wooden too.

Elwood

Played By: Lee Arenberg

A dwarf who realizes helping the Empress would be quite lucrative and joins Ridley, Snails and Marina on their quest.

• Berserk Button: If you knock off his helmet, he freaks out.
• Fiery Redhead: He's bald though, but the bright red bristly beard longer than his temper clearly indicates he's one.

Villains

Profion

Played By: Jeremy Irons

The main antagonist

• The Archmage: His title in the court of Izmir: in the final battle he proves he's easily the strongest Mage in the film.

• Large Ham: His default state: he only drops the ham once, when he's punishing Damodar for his failure to retrieve the map, opting instead for Tranquil Fury.

Damodar

Played By: Bruce Payne

• Bald of Evil: Bright of pate and dark of heart, this is clearly not a good person.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Either a junkie or a bald man who thinks blue lipstick makes for a bold fashion statement, and a consummate knight.
• The Dragon: To Profion.
• Functional Addict: His trademark blue lips are a sign of sannish (D&D morpheine) addiction, but he's Captain of the Guard nonetheless
• Fashion-Victim Villain: wears Electric Blue lipstick, although there might be another reason...
• Hero Killer: Murders Snails in cold blood before the midpoint of the movie.
• The Symbiote: Profion has him infested with an illithid (mind-flayer) larvae as a punishment, although Dammodar is able to harness its psychic abilities. This gives him around a week before it eats his brains and furns him into a full-blown Cthulhu Manoid

Others

Savina

Played By: Thora Birch

The young Empress of Izmer, and a political radical in the eyes of her peers as she wants to overthrow the repressive caste system of Commoner and Mage.

• Action Girl: Is perfectly willing to hop aboard a dragon and fly though the chaos to face Profion herself.
• The High Queen: One of the few mages at the start of the movie who realizes the caste system is wrong and is actively working to change it.