DnD Movie Has Perfect Response To Owlbear Controversy In New Commercial

After receiving endless complaints about its depiction of the Owlbear, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has the perfect response to its critics. The Dungeons & Dragons movie features a party of misfits as they attempt to set about on one heroic mission and watch the world fall apart around them. Yet one specific member of the party has been a lightning rod for criticism.

In a new commercial, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves defends the fact that the Druid Doric can Wild Shape into an Owlbear. Check out the clip below:

Borrowing from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the 1980s, the commercial shows off a variety of different arguments as the party considers the rules of the game. They are swiftly shut down by the Dungeon Master, who reminds them that their opinion doesn’t particularly matter since his word is the final word.

Why The Owlbear Controversy Isn’t A Massive Problem

The ongoing Owlbear controversy centers around the idea that Druids cannot actually shift into Owlbears. In the game, Owlbears are considered “monstrosities“, rather than “beasts“, meaning that Druids cannot take that form. That Doric does is somewhat confusing, given that the rest of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves sticks closely to the rules as written, which the producers have used as a marketing technique to keep players interested in the movie.

Still, the commercial highlights exactly why the controversy is somewhat irrelevant to the matter at hand. In the game and in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the rule of cool is king. If a Dungeon Master decides that a Druid can Wild Shape into an Owlbear, then that is the only rule that the game needs to abide by.

The Owlbear in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is no more powerful than a beast, which is why the movie’s biggest complaint is hardly relevant. While it is important that the rules of the game be respected, with the rest of the film abiding by them, there is not too much problem with a Druid showing off another epic Dungeons & Dragons monstrosity. Just as the commercial points out, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is faithful to the game, so there aren’t too many reasons to pull out a handbook to complain.

Source: Paramount Pictures