Many funny moments that occur in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may seem like regular, run-of-the-mill jokes, however, they typically have a deeper meaning associated with Dungeons & Dragons, including the intellect devourer joke. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a 2023 film based on the iconic tabletop roleplay game Dungeons & Dragons. The film follows a fantastical quest in which a man attempts to rescue his daughter with the help of his ragtag group of friends.
In Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Xenk Yandar leads the group, Edgin, Holga, Simon, and Doric into the Underdark. Early into their exploration, they come across creatures called intellect devourers which are essentially walking brains that attack those with high intelligence. Xenk warns the group to be still and that the creatures will come for whoever is smartest. In a hilarious gag, the intellect devourers completely ignore the group, leaving them all wondering how dumb they really are. This joke is funny but also points audiences toward an important piece of D&D lore.
The Real Reason Honor Among Thieves’ Intellect Devourers Didn’t Attack The Group
The truth behind why the intellect devourers avoided the group in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is because each character is part of a class that has low intelligence. In Dungeons & Dragons each player creates a character and that character must choose a class. Classes include druid, cleric, wizard, rogue, and more. These classes determine your character’s strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities. In this case, each member of the group is a class that generally has low intelligence which they make up for with other strong powers in Honor Among Thieves.
Though it isn’t made directly clear in the film, Edgin is a bard, Holga is a barbarian, Simon is a sorcerer, Doric is a druid, and Xenk is a paladin. For the most part, their strengths lie in charisma, strength, and wisdom rather than intelligence. Therefore, it makes sense that the intellect devourer would not attack the group because they naturally do not have high intelligence among them. So, while being a funny gag for all viewers, those familiar with D&D can see the nuance and sense within the joke that connects it firmly to the game.
Edgin’s Low Intelligence Might Explain Why He Doesn’t Use Magic
It is likely that Edgin’s low intelligence is an indicator of why he doesn’t use magic throughout Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. In the first two editions of Dungeons & Dragons, a bard’s intelligence determined whether they could cast spells or not. It could be that the film pulled from this idea, giving Edgin particularly low intelligence, so he is unable to cast spells throughout the film. Perhaps giving the group more magic seemed like it could give them a better chance of winning, therefore they removed Edgin’s magic entirely.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has many stand-out moments and performances, but scenes that can be appreciated by general audiences and D&D fans alike are some of the most special. The intellect devourer scene is a particularly hilarious part of the film, and though it seems small, it actually speaks to a big part of Dungeons & Dragons. Overall, this makes Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a thoroughly enjoyable and knowledgeable film.
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