With the very first edition of Paramount drops their Dungeons & Dragons show, there's a lot of speculation and ideation happening in fan spaces about what may come next.
Many speculate that D&D adventure modules would be the best starting point for a TV adaptation, as the hundreds of published modules are all packed with exciting events. Yet there's a difference between exciting events and a compelling story – a distinction many aspiring D&D dungeon masters need to understand – so it may be better to look to the multitude of D&D novels for inspiration instead. With over 500 published since the first (1978's Quag Keep, by Andre Norton), the franchise has plenty of source material to pick from.
5 The Dark Elf Trilogy, By R. A. Salvatore
The World Of Toril (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting)
Legendary drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden first appeared in D&D fiction as one of the main characters in R. A. Salvatore's first books for the franchise, 1988's Icewind Dale trilogy. Drizzt's popularity in those books led Salvatore to write a prequel trilogy explaining just who this mysterious good dark elf was and where he came from, and those novels – Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn – now form the first arc of what has become The Legend of Drizzt, a series that released its 39th installment in 2023.
Dungeons & Dragons Has To Solve Its Controversial Drow Problem Before A Legend Of Drizzt TV Show Can Be Made
This is probably the real reason why a Legend of Drizzt TV show or movie hasn’t been made yet - Dungeons & Dragons has a drow problem to resolve.
The Dark Elf trilogy follows Drizzt through his youth in the subterranean drow city of Menzoberranzan, where he quickly finds his principles at odds with the profound cruelty that drives the city's rulers and their machinations. This would be a phenomenally creepy setting for a live-action series, with plenty of opportunity to show the Machiavellian intrigue among the different families of the city, particularly at the climax of Exile, when Drizzt's own family are slaughtered for losing the favor of the dread spider goddess Lloth.
4 The Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy, By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
The World Of Krynn (Dragonlance Campaign Setting)
While Toril and the Forgotten Realms are possibly the most well-known D&D setting, they were actually preceded by Dragonlance's world of Krynn. The Dragonlance Chronicles, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, were published in the mid-1980s, and remain some of the most foundational novels in the vast D&D canon. Dragonlance's protagonists, the adventuring party known as the Heroes of the Lance, are phenomenal examples of the heroic archetypes that have become so ubiquitous in D&D.
The Heroes of the Lance |
||
Character |
Species |
Class |
Tanis Half-Elven |
Half-elf |
Ranger |
Sturm Brightblade |
Human |
Fighter |
Laurana |
Elf |
Fighter |
Caramon Majere |
Human |
Fighter |
Raistlin Majere |
Human |
Wizard |
Tasslehoff Burrfoot |
Kender |
Rogue |
Flint Fireforge |
Dwarf |
Fighter |
Tika Wayland |
Human |
Fighter/Rogue |
Goldmoon |
Human |
Cleric |
Riverwind |
Human |
Ranger/Barbarian |
The Dragonlance Chronicles and its misfit heroes embody the prototypical arc of any D&D game; the adventurers start off protecting their home, but wind up getting pulled into the course of greater events and become the heroes that save the world. Full of epic battles, some of D&D's best-ever villains, and deeply personal explorations of loyalty, The Dragonlance Chronicles would make incredible TV.
3 The Dragonlance Legends Trilogy, By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
The World Of Krynn (Dragonlance Campaign Setting)
If The Dragonlance Chronicles embody the traditional D&D campaign writ large, then their sequel, The Dragonlance Legends, is a grim inversion of that story. Set just two years later, Legends sees the conflict between twin brothers Caramon and Raistlin Majere come to an epic head. Raistlin, who betrayed his friends in the Chronicles when he literally turned coat by trading his red robes of neutrality for the black robes of evil, has set his sights on ascending to godhood and challenging the dark goddess Takhisis for dominance over her twisted realm of the Abyss.
In Dragonlance's cosmology, Takhisis is the greatest evil goddess, who hungers to control the mortal world but is imprisoned in the Abyss. This differs slightly from more traditional D&D, where the dark dragon goddess is Tiamat, and she is only one of the many fell dieties that live amid the ever-changing layers of the Abyss.
Darker than its predecessor, Dragonlance Legends is no less epic, as Raistlin drags Caramon (along with the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot) two hundred years into their past. While Caramon and Raistlin's relationship in Chronicles hinged heavily on how Caramon was the one always ing his sickly brother, Legends tells how they've now grown so far apart that they must each, for better or worse, stand on their own. A much more subtle and painful story than Chronicles, Legends would make a phenomenal follow-up season – or, for a more daring showrunner, an amazing way to start off a story.
2 The Dragon Below Trilogy, By Don Bassingwaithe
The World Of Eberron (Eberron Campaign Setting)
Considered one of the best D&D stories for beginners, Don Bassingwaithe's The Dragon Below trilogy is a wonderful introduction to the magepunk world of Eberron, a far more industrialized world than the rest of the primary D&D campaign settings. The story follows Geth and Adolan, a pair of adventuring friends who wind up rescuing the psionic warrior Dandra, who is fleeing from mysterious pursuers, and together they wind up embroiled in events with consequences greater than they could have ever imagined.
Eberron is home to many kinds of people not found in other D&D settings, like the bestial shifters, the psionic kalashtar, or the sentient artifical constructs known as warforged.
The Dragon Below is a phenomenal story for showcasing the unique D&D world of Eberron and how it subverts the expectations of traditionally-minded fantasy viewers. Gone are the sweeping battles between good and evil; instead, Eberron struggles for balance as eldritch foes try to corrupt reality from both outside and in. It's also a world of stunning visuals, with magically-driven technological marvels on every street corner just waiting to come to life on a TV screen.
1 Torment, By Ray And Valerie Vallese
The City Of Sigil (Planescape Campaign Setting)
Loosely based on the story of classic BioWare RPG Planescape: Torment, the novel Torment tells the story of the Nameless One, a human who awoke from death in a laboratory in the strange city of Sigil that sits in the very center of the vast D&D multiverse. Bereft of any memory, the Nameless One must traverse Sigil in search of answers, dodging the many foes his past lives have made who have come for revenge.
Tony DiTerlizzi on Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse, Yoshitaka Amano, Star Wars & More
Screen Rant discusses D&D's Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse and the setting's beginnings with veteran illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.
While the novel Torment is not necessarily the best representation of the story of Planescape: Torment, especially since, as a BioWare RPG, the game is marvelously open-ended in its storytelling, it does provide a glimpse at how captivating a Torment TV series could be. The rampant strangeness of Planescape compared to other D&D settings, as well as the Nameless One's mysterious past, would translate to a deeply compelling story that has the benefit of being very different from any live-action D&D story that came before it.
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise is a fantasy adventure series based on the iconic tabletop role-playing game. The franchise includes both live-action and animated adaptations, with the most notable being the recent film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), which brought the fantasy world of D&D to a broader audience with its blend of humor, action, and classic D&D elements. The franchise explores themes of heroism, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of adventuring in a magical world filled with dragons, wizards, and mythical creatures.
