History Film / DungeonsAndDragons

* BodyHorror: Profion uses magic to implant a leech-like worm in Damodar's brain. Per WordOfGod, it was supposed to be a Mind-Flayer, although it bore no resemblance to one (Mind-Flayers are {{Cthulhumanoid}}s in the game). ''Larval'' Mind-Flayers resemble tadpoles and are often inserted into their (unwilling) victims through the ear by their sires, but the host is soon incapacitated as [[http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ceremorphosis ceremorphosis]] (the process of transformation into a new adult Mind-Flayer) takes effect. Perhaps Profion made some modifications to it for purposes of torture.

* BlindedByRage: [[spoiler: Snails's death sends Ridley into a grief-stricken rage, and he charges Damodar swinging wildly: his blows bounce harmlessly off of Damodar's armor, and he's ultimately disarmed and stabbed in the shoulder.]]

** Ridley vs. Damodar. The first round goes pretty badly for Ridley, whose sword is useless against Damodar's armor. He does better in round two, since the elves gave his sword a magic upgrade. All of these are results that might be expected when unarmored, apparently low-level Thieves [[TooDumbToLive try a frontal assault on a high-level Fighter in plate armor]].

* DemBones: Savrille, the original creator of the Rod of Savrille, was cursed by the Gods. He was forced to possess his own skeleton, pinned to the wall of his treasure-filled tomb, until TheChosenOne claims the Rod. It was punishment for the crime of hubris, believing mankind should be allowed to command Red (Evil) Dragons.

* TheDragon: Damodar to Profion. Damodar is Chief of the [[SecretPolice Crimson Brigade]] and meets the heroes several times while Profion is an untouchable aristocrat giving the orders. By the time of the final battle, pretty much all the heroes have a personal beef with him, Damodar having killed Ridley's best friend and Marina's master before subjecting Marina herself to MindRape, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and having shot Elwood's helmet off]].

''Dungeons & Dragons'' is a film released in 2000, based on the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fantasy roleplaying game.

* DemocracyIsBad: Averted, to some extent. The (presumably hereditary) teenage empress is the BigGood, but her proposed royal decree is to extend the vote to commoners and end the DeadlyDecadentCourt of [[TheMagocracy authoritarian mages]].

* NotSoDifferent: Ridley's more like the mages he despises than he'd like to admit: as much as he disparages Marina as sheltered, Xilus scoffing at 'honor among thieves' and betraying him totally blindsides him, and deep down he has the potential to be just as power-hungry and ambitious as Profion.

** Profion, when he realizes Ridley intends
to destroy the Rod of Savrille.

* SomeKindOfForceField: When our heroes run into a shield spell that prevents everyone but Ridley from passing. A fascinated Marina exclaims "It's a Wall Force of some kind...I've never seen this kind of magic." Even [[OurElvesAreBetter Norda]] is stumped by it, and Ridley is left with no choice but to forge ahead alone.

* OurElvesAreBetter: {{Zigzagged}}. Elves are just as reliant on the (human) chosen one as the rest of us, but they do give the requisite [[GreenAesop "Man bad, nature good"]] speech.

In TheEmpire of Izmer, [[TheMagocracy Mages rule with iron fists whilst the Commoners are lowly slaves]]. Empress Savina (Creator/ThoraBirch) wants all her subjects to be socially equal and able to prosper, but the evil [[TheArchmage Archmage]] Profion (Creator/JeremyIrons) plots to depose her and establish his own rule. The Empress possesses a scepter which controls Izmer's Golden Dragons. To challenge her rule, Profion must have the scepter, to which end he tricks the Council of Mages into believing Savina is unfit to hold it. Knowing that Profion will soon get his hands on her rod and use it to wreak havoc, Savina seeks the Rod of Savrille, which controls Red Dragons, a species even mightier than the Gold. Two common thieves, Ridley (Justin Whalin) and Snails ([[Creator/TheWayansFamily Marlon Wayans]]), plus an apprentice Mage named Marina (Zoe [=McLellan=]) get embroiled in these matters somehow and end up embarking on a quest for the Rod themselves, pursued by Profion's top henchman, Damodar.

* {{Adorkable}}: Marina: most of her humorous moments involve her trying to keep up her posh aristocratic personality and it falling flat in the world of the commoners, leaving her awkwardly bumbling around trying to keep up.

* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: To Ridley, Profion is just another scheming mage, while Damodar is the guy who killed his friend right in front of him. Guess which one is his ArchEnemy whom he battles at the climax of the movie.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Actually subverted in the film's one really clever moment: we're led to believe Profion will kill Damodar after he brings him the ArtifactOfDoom, but then he removes the parasite, as he promised.

* ActorAllusion: Richard O'Brien is basically reprising his role as the host of ''Series/TheCrystalMaze''.

* LovableRogue: What Ridley and Snails were meant to be. [[DesignatedHero Whether they actually are depends]] [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation on the viewer.]]

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Profion. A powerful, respected Archmage and important member of the council who effortlessly manipulates his fellow traditionalists into turning on the empress 'for the good of Izmir' while planning to backstab them the entire time and seize total power. Surprisingly, [[ObviouslyEvil Damodar]] is this in the eyes of the Empress as well. Even Norda, the Empress's best tracker, is stunned by the revelation that Damodar is in league with Profion. According to Damodar, he earned his good publicity after years of loyally serving the royal family.

* ConspicuousCG: Some of the visual effects look quite decent, although the low budget made the dragons seem a little... blocky.

--->'''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic''': (equally hammy) [[RunningGag BY THE WAY, YOU GOT SOMETHING ON YOUR...]]

* {{Unfortunate Name|s}}: Profion. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic points out that it sounds like a name for a heartburn medication.

* FantasticDrug: While not shown on-screen, Damodar's blue lips are a side-effect of a morphene-like drug called "[[https://triplecrit.fandom.com/wiki/Sannish sannish,]]" derived from dried cactus pulp treated with wolf's milk rather than poppy resin.