The villains of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves carry a huge connection to the Baldur’s Gate video game series. The second full trailer for Paramount’s live-action Dungeons & Dragons adaptation reveals key details regarding the movie’s main antagonists. Apparently, Honor Among Thieves’ hero party will be up against the Red Wizards of Thay.
As the Dungeons & Dragons trailers have confirmed, the Red Wizards are hatching a plan to unleash an “army of the undead” upon the world. At the head of this army is Szass Tam, the Red Wizard leader and a powerful lich in D&D lore. And as it would seem, the characters played by Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez unwittingly played a role in their scheme coming to fruition. As a way of cleaning up the mess they created, they’ll be forming a team of adventurers to defeat Szass Tam and the Red Wizards.
How The Red Wizards Connect To The Baldur’s Gate Games
Curiously, the choice for Honor Among Thieves’ villains ties the movie to one of the most iconic RPG video game franchises of all-time. Like Honor Among Thieves, the first two Baldur’s Gate games are set in the Forgotten Realms D&D campaign setting. One of the many characters capable of joining the player character on his or her adventures in Baldur’s Gate and its sequel is an evil mage named Edwin Odesseiron. Eventually, Edwin is exposed as a member of the Red Wizards, a villainous faction of mages and sorcerers based in a country called Thay. At one point in the game, the party can do battle with a group of Edwin’s associates in the organization.
Considering how Baldur’s Gate and Honor Among Thieves take place in the same corner of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, it’s not altogether surprising that their worlds are overlapping. In addition to both using the Red Wizards of Thay, it looks like Honor Among Thieves will also introduce the Harpers, who also had a presence in Baldur’s Gate. A symbol on the outfit worn by Chris Pine’s character identifies him as a member of the secret spy organization. Also, given that Baldur’s Gate II has a reputation as the most popular D&D video game, it’s not impossible that more direct references to it and its additions to D&D lore will be worked into Honor Among Thieves’ story as well.
What The Red Wizards Mean For Honor Among Thieves’ Story
The Red Wizards are among the most notorious groups in the Forgotten Realms. The party in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves having to fight not just one of their number, but dozens of them sets high stakes for the movie’s story. Making matters worse is the fact that Szass Tam will be involved. As an all-powerful lich, Szass Tam is a top-tier D&D villain and not an opponent that any low-level Dungeons & Dragons party would be capable of stopping. Beating him and the rest of the Red Wizards will take a tremendous amount of teamwork, careful planning, and an extremely experienced group of heroes.
