6 D&D adventures that should inspire the Honor Among Thieves sequel
Classic modules worthy of the big-screen treatment.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves raked in $71.5 million at the box office during its opening weekend. With the unexpectedly high word-of-mouth hype surrounding the movie, a sequel is looking more and more feasible.
One of Honor Among Thieves’ directors, John Francis Daley, told Polygon that "it was never our intention when we came on board this film to make a franchise". On the other hand, co-director Jonathan Goldstein was more optimistic, saying that if they did return for a sequel, they would continue with the same passionate cast.
Of course, if and when these sequels come out, they’re likely going to be inspired by existing Dungeons & Dragons adventures. After all, the striking similarity between the Fourth Edition module Gates of Neverdeath and Honor Among Thieves did not go unnoticed.
These modules provide some wonderfully exciting adventures that could continue the adventures of Edgin, Holga, Doric, Simon and Kira. (Minor spoilers for Honor Among Thieves and the D&D modules follow!)
1. Lost Crown of Neverwinter (4th Edition)
This module takes place in the aftermath of the events of Storm Over Neverwinter, where the players are tasked by the freshly-healed Lord Protector Dagul Neverember with confronting the so-called ‘Lost Heir of Neverwinter’ and finding out the man’s true goals. As far as Honor Among Thieves sequels goes, this is arguably the most fitting, because Gates of Neverdeath was made as a direct prelude to Lost Crown of Neverwinter. The mysterious package being delivered in Neverdeath was none other than the titular crown, though its authenticity is still in question.
With the city of Neverwinter in shambles due to political turmoil, the sequel could frame the pressure on the party now that they’re known as heroes. There’s always the temptation to go back to their old ways - and that could be a great internal conflict to explore, especially with the Lost Heir tempting them with riches.
With the focus being on the titular Lost Crown, it could also give Simon a chance to shine. With his newfound confidence, he may start having ambitions of getting the crown for himself and attuning to it. There are plenty of ways to explore character flaws and themes of responsibility in this module.
Buy Lost Crown of Neverwinter on DriveThruRPG
2. Keys from the Golden Vault (5th Edition)
This recent heist-themed adventure anthology for D&D 5E features 13 short but sweet standalone quests, each focusing on a singular heist. Employed by the highly secretive organisation known as the Golden Vault, the players must use their skills, spells, and, most importantly, smarts to accomplish each mission. Spanning adventures up to level 11, there’s a ton of diversity here.
In truth, trying to fit all 13 adventures into one movie would be a horrible idea. Instead, Keys from the Golden Vault would be an amazing premise for the upcoming D&D live-action series. After all, the module prides itself on being modular, and capable of being inserted into any adventure. There’s no reason these scenarios couldn’t be used as the inspiration for episodes.
Whether it’s The Stygian Gambit, which takes place in an infernal casino, or Shard of the Accursed, where adventurers must use a magical shard to fix a giant’s hurting heart, there are a lot of ways to incorporate these adventures into an episodic format. Plus, showrunner Rawson Marshall Thurber also happens to have experience with heist movies, having directed Red Notice in 2021.
Buy Keys from the Golden Vault on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
3. The Cold Dark (5th Edition)
The Cold Dark storyline is composed of five adventures - starting with The City That Should Not Be and concluding with Against the Machine - that are meant to be played in sequence. The Harpers have tasked the adventurer party to infiltrate the buried city of Xorvintroth and find a haven from which they can spy on Thayan operations. Of course, things get much more complicated from there - as they tend to when Red Wizards get involved.
Unlike Keys from the Golden Vault, which are mostly cool missions as opposed to stories, The Cold Dark works much better as a five-act structure for a sequel movie. The slow reveal of what the Thayans are planning in Xorvintroth would be intriguing, and the mission given by the Harpers makes it a great fit for a reformed Edgin. Xenk could also have a much bigger presence in this movie thanks to the heavy Thayan presence.
It would also be a tad bit darker than Honor Among Thieves. The Cold Dark doesn’t exactly evoke images of sunlit adventures. This could be a chance for the sequel’s writers to take a risk by showing the more morbid side of the Forgotten Realms. Not to say the sequel has to be gritty, but higher stakes are always welcome for any adventure.
Buy the Cold Dark series of modules (starting with The City That Should Not Be) on DriveThruRPG.
4. Storm Over Neverwinter (4th Edition)
This module takes place in the rebuilding city of Neverwinter, which is under threat from an insidious force that is gaining power within its walls. People caught by this mysterious threat are struck with an inexplicable madness, and it’s soon revealed the cause of the madness was the evil cult of Asmodeus. Together, the adventurers must stop this rising threat.
As a sequel, this adventure could easily be framed as Neverwinter recovering from the damage done by Lord Fitzwilliam and Sofia. The cult of Asmodeus could explore the themes of tiefling racism touched upon by Doric in the movie. After all, many tieflings are tied to the Asmodeus bloodline, and Doric may find the people she saved turning their back on her out of ignorant fear.
If there were any tiny nitpicks for Honor Among Thieves, it would be that Doric didn’t get an entire arc of her own. True, she grew to love her party of human (and half-elf) misfits, but her arc didn’t have as much presence as theirs did. This sequel would be a great way to fix that problem and tackle some deeper issues present in the Forgotten Realms.
5. Undermountain: Halaster's Lost Apprentice (4th Edition)
A lost passageway has been discovered on the upper level of Faerûn's most infamous dungeon, and the race is on to uncover its secrets. Only the bravest and most skilled adventurers will be able to navigate the dangers of Undermountain, where they will search for clues about the apprentice of the dungeon's enigmatic creator, Halaster.
Halaster is one of the weirdest wizards in Dungeons & Dragons lore, and the setup from this module offers a bit more meat to its story than the fifth-edition adventure Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. It’s certainly one of the best adventures to shine a spotlight on Simon. The Undermountain is full of awesome magical items, and both he and the apprentice struggle to get out of a famous wizard’s shadow.
Plus, the setting of the Undermountain is an incredibly fun ride. There are so many directions to take a D&D movie set in the Undermountain. Being set in Waterdeep also makes for an amusingly crime-ridden adventure before the mega-dungeon finale. Not to mention, it’d be nice to have a goofier villain to contrast the deadly serious Red Wizards of Thay.
Buy Undermountain: Halaster's Lost Apprentice on DriveThruRPG
6. Tyranny of Dragons (5th Edition)
This epic two-part storyline takes the players on a journey to stop the rise of the powerful dragon goddess Tiamat. The adventure begins with the players investigating a series of attacks by a cult devoted to Tiamat and quickly escalates into a battle for the fate of the world. This adventure would give new viewers a chance to see the rest of the Sword Coast.
Neverwinter bore the brunt of the first movie’s locale, so this would be a chance to explore the cities of Waterdeep and, of course, Baldur’s Gate. The second adventure in Tyranny of Dragons, Rise of Tiamat, also fits with the “thief” aesthetic of Honor Among Thieves since the acolytes of the Cult of the Dragon are a bunch of kleptomaniac zealots. Just like The Cold Dark, it also heavily features the Harpers, further exploring Edgin’s past with the organisation.
Plus, it would give fans a chance to see true dragons in action. While there were a few seconds of flashback showcasing the dragons and the terrifying chonker that is Themberchaud in Honor Among Thieves, the “Dragons” part of Dungeons & Dragons wasn’t as big of a presence. It’s just not D&D without those scaly menaces.
Buy Tyranny of Dragons on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
There are hundreds - if not thousands - of amazing adventure modules out there for D&D that would be great material for a sequel. That said, these adventures offer similar themes and expand on plotlines already set in motion by Honor Among Thieves. The best part about Dungeons & Dragons is how easy it is for a party to slip into random adventures. Whether it’s a direct continuation of the Red Wizard conflict or the unhinged maze of a mad wizard, sequel ideas are far from lacking when it comes to D&D.
The thing that showrunners need to keep in mind is that much like real games of D&D, it’s very easy to “homebrew”. While these adventures provide the foundations of a great campaign, it’s up to the DM to tell that story in the first place. The changes could be minor stat block updates to overhauling characters entirely. For a movie, the same is true.
Concessions have to be made, but at the end of the day, D&D is a storytelling game - and these adventures are some of the best.