Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God

Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God is a 2005 fantasy film. It is loosely a straight-to-TV sequel to the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn was based on the popular pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (or D&D). The only returning actor is Bruce Payne reprising his role as the evil Damodar.

Story
Damodar, the henchman of the main villain from the first movie, is back with a vengeance. Reborn as an undead, as a cursed courtesy from his former master, Damodar pursued for a hundred years an evil artifact capable of unleashing unstoppable destruction on Izhmir and on the descendants of those who caused his demise. The movie opens as he finally gets his hands on the artifact, a mysterious black orb, and frees himself from the undead curse.

Soon, Izhmir is alerted to the rising of this ancient evil. Berek, a fighter and former captain of the king's guard, now a bored minister of the King, and Melora, his mistress, a gifted young sorceress, identify the threat soon enough so that action can be taken. The king asks Berek to assemble a party of experienced adventurers; a group small enough to travel undetected, but strong enough to face powerful enemies. Lux (a barbarian, Dorian (a cleric of Obad-Hai), Obmaline (an elven wizard), and Nim (a rogue) join the former captain of the king's guard.

Fan service
Unlike the first movie, which could be considered medium-budget, this is a low-budget production with unknown actors (the most notorious one being Bruce Payne as Damodar). Also unlike the first movie, many details from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game have been included. The equipment of the adventurers will please many fans, as they recognize items they have long sought while playing (e.g. gem of true seeing, flask of purple worm acid, sword of sharpness, staff of lightning, hammer of smiting).

The villains have been also designed closely to the D&D canon. As part of the beastiary, one can find an aggressive white dragon, lurkers above, spectres, and a lich. Special mention must be given to the lich, who is behaving exactly how a lich should according to common D&D behavior -- staying close to the action for a potential piece of power or knowledge to grab, but not exactly taking any risk. There was also a reference to drow (during Damodar's "dinner").

Last but not least, the spells are accurate rendition of the ones from the original game. Gamers will also be happy to see that the spells are not cast at will, but first have to be memorized in limited amounts.