The Jarnathan gag in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is even deeper than it may first appear. Jarnathan is an aarakocra, a type of bird person. The species was first introduced to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons system via the 1981 Fiend Folio. Since then, the aarakocra have been included in several editions of Dungeons & Dragons and in the Monster Manual.
At the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Chris Pine's Edgin is planning his escape from prison with his companion, Michelle Rodriguez's Holga. Edgin's plan hinges on Jarnathan the aarakocra (Clayton Grover) serving on the Absolution Council of their pardon hearing. Jarnathan is delayed on his journey, leading Edgin to stall in telling his story. When the aarakocra finally arrives, Ed and Holga grab Jarnathan and push him out the window, forcing him to fly them out of the prison.
Edgin's Escape Plan Plays On The Irony Of Jarnathan's D&D Game Lore
While casual fans watching Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves wouldn't know how an aarakocra could be helpful to Edgin before the escape plan unfolds, seasoned Dungeons & Dragons players may recognize the irony. In Dungeons & Dragons lore, aarakocra aren't interested in treasure and have no concept of property or borders. Game players might think Edgin's plan is to appeal to the aarakocra's honorable nature by talking about his supposed change of heart.
Aarakocra also hate being confined—often avoiding caves and enclosed spaces. Dungeons & Dragons players watching Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may expect Jarnathan to be more opposed to imprisonment than other council . This could make him likely to approve Edgin and Holga's pardons. This knowledge of the aarakocra races makes Edgin's plan to simply force Jaranthan to fly them to safety extra ironic and funny.
Jarnathan's Councilor Role Honors The Aaracokra's D&D Alignment
Aaracokra are usually neutral good when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons alignments. They don't like to take sides and stay out of the conflicts of other races. This makes an aaracokra like Jarnathan the perfect choice for the Absolution Council in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. He theoretically would be objective when it comes to deciding on a prisoner's fate. He wouldn't lean too much towards law or too much towards chaos, balancing out any biases of the other council . Jarnathan is just used as a joke in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, but his presence has layers that ties back to the original game and fleshes out the world of the film.
