Originally Posted by deecee4 (Post 917430)

I never knew the Beholder had a proper name until seeing this thread.

Originally Posted by deecee4 (Post 917430)

I never knew the Beholder had a proper name until seeing this thread.

Originally Posted by Boogieman4hire (Post 917442)

I know some of the monsters simply because I like monsters but I also didn't know that. I looked it up. Xanathar is more of a title than any one specific character. It goes to the leader of some guild of thieves who's usually, secretly, a Beholder. This one though was specifically named Zushaxx. The fish also has a name: Sylgar. The fish has actually died and been secretly replaced multiple times by Zushaxx's subordinates.

Originally Posted by firmpulse (Post 917433)

I never thought they were anything more that a weird animal. But apparently they have higher intelligence. Xanathar is the actual name of the character in the film. And it looks like he's an arms dealer that values a goldfish over mounds of gold. Hilarious.

Originally Posted by 80sforged (Post 917445)

He's been a feature of 5th edition D&D for a while since they use 'the Forgotten Realms' as the default setting for most sourcebooks. I am generally not into Forgotten Realms (setting has eaten up so much time and resources for AD&D since 1st. edition, changed back to D&D w/3rd. ed).

Originally Posted by Harbinger (Post 917450)

So how come edgin isnt in stores! Isnt he in wave one?

Originally Posted by 80sforged (Post 917445)

He's been a feature of 5th edition D&D for a while since they use 'the Forgotten Realms' as the default setting for most sourcebooks. I am generally not into Forgotten Realms (setting has eaten up so much time and resources for AD&D since 1st. edition, changed back to D&D w/3rd. ed).

Originally Posted by Boogieman4hire (Post 917442)

I know some of the monsters simply because I like monsters but I also didn't know that. I looked it up. Xanathar is more of a title than any one specific character. It goes to the leader of some guild of thieves who's usually, secretly, a Beholder. This one though was specifically named Zushaxx. The fish also has a name: Sylgar. The fish has actually died and been secretly replaced multiple times by Zushaxx's subordinates.

Originally Posted by firmpulse (Post 917433)

I never thought they were anything more that a weird animal. But apparently they have higher intelligence. Xanathar is the actual name of the character in the film. And it looks like he's an arms dealer that values a goldfish over mounds of gold. Hilarious.

Originally Posted by firmpulse (Post 917449)

I played Dragonlance as a kid. I like it a little more than AD&D. If I remember correctly it had a few different classes and races. Also Oriental Adventures was GREAT.

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel (Post 917455)

I believe Forgotten Realms has the largest assortment of characters and books under the D&D umbrella. I’ve read far more Forgotten Realms than I have Ravenloft, or even Dragonlance (and that’s saying something because I’ve read all of the War of Souls and and tie’ins such as The Cataclysm). If I know anything about Hollywood and depending on the sustained success of the current film, my guess is it won’t be long before Forgotten Realms characters like Drizzt, Catti-Brie, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and Regis appear in features. The Crystal Shard trilogy along with Drizzt being one of the most prolifically written about fantasy-anti-heroes I’ve ever experienced with appearances in over 40 books, all offer plenty of source material. I’d love to see some Ravenloft material – Soth, Azalin, and Strahd would be very entertaining – but I don’t think newcomers are ready for fantasy-horror, yet. Dragonlance stories felt more mature, for the most part (I’m staring at you, Kaz the minotaur), and I would have expected them to have gone that route for wider appeal, but Honor Among Thieves demonstrated they aren't going 'highbrow', which also has me leaning back to Forgotten Realms as the likely source-material tree.

Originally Posted by 80sforged (Post 917459)

One of my high school friends was really into Greyhawk, I really wish that setting got more attention. It is a more classical fantasy setting, and it was the setting first developed by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax.

I generally did Ravenloft. I think a Ravenloft film would be fun, but after a D&D film franchise was firmly established. Do a couple of High Fantasies, then start exploring other genres or sub-genres.

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel (Post 917497)

I’m aware of Greyhawk and those initial modules, but I didn’t come onto tabletop life until AD&D making that just a little before my time. Honestly, regarding Ravenloft, Soth and Azalin might just be my favorite characters in all of D&D (Artemis Entreri is also intriguing), especially the Knight of the Black Rose. While we’ve had movies about villains Azalin and Soth are very, very dark and I agree that viewers will have to be warmed up before exposing them to these characters. Soth’s story could portray him as a sympathetic protagonist given the tragedy that was his life before transitioning to a death knight, but Azalin is completely unredeemable (Lol). Strahd’s status as a Vampire Lord lends the character natural legs within the modern zeitgeist; there never needs to be a reason for a decent vamp movie.

I guess we’ll see what they do, but what high-fantasy would you like to see translated?

Originally Posted by BB Shockwave (Post 917458)

I waited all my life for a proper D&D toyline. These look amazing, especially the Displacer Beast, sooo bought! Strange that like Drizzt 2 years ago, these are HasbroPulse exclusives. I would have a hard time getting them if I did not have an american friend.


Yeah, but this particular purple-beige Xanathar has been the same individual for quite some time now - not only all of 5E uses the same design for him, but also a 2E book had him on the cover too meaning this one has been "the" Xanathar for quite a long time now.


Telling that to a Beholder is the quickest way to get disintegrated. Or petrified. Or have your life force drained. :D
Beholders are not animals but aberrations, weird creatures from another realm (like Mind Flayers or Flumphs or Aboleths). They are hyper-intelligent, the average human to them is like a dog to us humans. Luckily for Faerun, Beholders are incredibly xenophobic, and I don't mean they look down on any other life form (which they do), but they hate any other Beholder that looks even a little different from them. That's why they never work together. Beholders like the Xanathar who actually deems to work with "lesser beings" are pretty rare too.
He is actually not in the movie, though... so that gives me hope we can get toys of other D&D monsters that are not in the movie. Frankly, I think that Owlbear body could be retooled with some effort into an Umber Hulk, too.


Dragonlance WAS AD&D. :D It was one of the settings under that ruleset, same as Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Greyhawk, Spelljammer, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Al-Quadim, Oriental Adventures, etc.
Forgotten Realms (which does include the last two settings too basically) is the most common one, but Wizards has been bringing back the others too. Dragonlance got a new adventure just last autumn, btw, set just before the War of the Lance (aka the first book in the novel series). Spelljammer also got revived last year, and Planescape is coming this autumn!

I don't think Doric/Owlbear was a Pulse exclusive, it was sold on BBTS too, but these new ones - and Drizzt - weren't.
It is annoying that Hasbro made an EU website too, but only ships to like 4 countries... mine not included. How hard can it be, when other webshops ship worldwide???

Originally Posted by ThatEnglishChap (Post 917660)

Xanathar sure looks... let's call it "sleepy"