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Every Spell Cast On-Screen in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Cameron Norris | Movies

Paramount Pictures

The long-awaited blockbuster film Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is finally here, and it was worth the wait. The fast-paced, lighthearted adventure film perfectly captures the spirit of playing Dungeons and Dragons with your buddies and will likely go down in history as one of the best adaptations ever made.

Part of what makes the film so much fun is that it expertly utilizes the massive list of spells available to players in the tabletop game. Eagle-eyed fans might have spotted a few iconic incantations throughout the film’s run, but there were so many it’d be easy to miss a few. 

If you didn’t quite catch every bit of magic, don’t sweat it. No fewer than thirty-six distinct incantations appeared onscreen throughout the film’s runtime! Our master Easter egg finders have compiled a list of every spell players can cast in Dungeons and Dragons that was used on-screen in Honor Among Thieves.

Invisibility, Cone of Cold

In the opening flashback, our protagonist Edgin explains how he came to be imprisoned in a tower in Icewind Dale. He mentions that he gave his daughter, Kira, a pendant that can turn her invisible with the push of a button. This is the classic second-level enchantment invisibility. 

Later in the flashback, we see the So-So Sorcerer Simon cast the fifth-level evocation cone of cold, stopping a cadre of guards in their tracks. This is a surprisingly powerful spell for Simon, who the film consistently describes as a middling spellcaster at best.

Chain Lightning, Time Stop, Disguise Self

Later in the flashback, Edgin describes the party’s raid on a Harper vault. Within, their sketchy wizard companion Sofina showcases a stunning array of magic. She casts the sixth-level evocation chain lightning on a group of guards, easily dispatching them. She also showcases one of the strongest spells players can cast: the ninth-level transmutation spell time stop. As the name suggests, it stops time for everyone inside its radius except the caster.

The final spell we see Sofina use in this section is underwhelming compared to the first two. When her appearance rapidly changes, it’s clear she was using the first-level illusion disguise self to alter her appearance and fool her party into thinking she wasn’t a Red Wizard of Thay.

Frost Touch, Transmute Rock

Edgin and his companion Holga manage to escape Icewind Dale and find their old adventuring buddy Forge Fitzwilliam in Neverwinter. The conman has managed to become the city’s Lord–with a bit of help from Sofina. Sofina showcases a bit more magical prowess in this sequence, cooling Forge’s tea with the evocation cantrip frost touch.

She then reveals her true nature to the party when she traps Edgin and Holga with a transmute rock spell, getting their feet tangled in mud. As a fifth-level transmutation spell, transmute rock allows the caster to transform any stone into another shape–such as turning bricks into mud.

Blur, Magnetism, Reverse Gravity, Jump, Feather Fall

When Edgin and Holga track down Simon, they find him swindling a crowd of commoners in Triboar. He distracts the onlookers by casting the second-level illusion blur, making himself appear blurry, while simultaneously using the first-level transmutation magnetism to gather up the crowd’s valuables.

Interestingly, Simon shouldn’t be able to do this. Both blur and magnetism require “concentration,” an in-game mechanic that means he shouldn’t be able to concentrate on both spells simultaneously. Perhaps he has more power than he’s letting on! After the crowd gets wise to his tricks, he swiftly cycles through casting reverse gravity, jump, and feather fall to get himself out of the theater and back out into the street.

Project Image, Mordekainan’s Private Sanctum, Witch Bolt, Fire Bolt

Sofina speaks to her master, the lich lord Szass Tam, using the seventh-level illusion project image. After the party meets with the accomplished druid Doric, she agrees to use her wild shape ability to spy on Sofina and Forge. She learns that Sofina has placed a spell called Mordekainan’s Private Sanctum on the door of the castle’s vault.

Sofina spots Doric, though, and unleashes the spells witch bolt and fire bolt in quick succession to try to stop her from escaping with knowledge regarding the vault’s secrets. Doric dodges these and returns to the party.

Speak with Dead

The group realizes that the only way to break the private sanctum spell on the vault is to access the long-lost Helm of Disjunction. This magical item was once protected by Holga’s clan, so the group taps Simon’s magical mastery once more to speak with the long-dead warriors who once defended the helm.

The next scene is chaotic, as the group learns the arbitrary nature of the third-level necromancy speak with dead. It’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie, too, perfectly encapsulating how a serious mission can devolve into hilarious antics with the right party.

Calm Animals

Xenk, the noble paladin, is a truly accomplished adventurer the party must seek out to find the Helm of Disjunction. He showcases his prowess early on by casting calm animals on a giant fish that has eaten a Tabaxi child. 

Arcane Gate

Holga takes back the walking stick she gave her ex-husband, and Simon recognizes it as the Hither-Thither staff. This is a magical item that can cast the sixth-level conjuration arcane gate. It functions like a two-way portal, opening a pair of mystical doors that are linked to one another.

The arcane gate plays a significant role in the film’s second and third acts, as it allows the party to escape the tubby dragon Themberchaud and infiltrate Forge’s vault.

Green-Flame Blade, Magic Weapon

When Xenk faces off against the Red Wizards sent by Sofina, he showcases yet more holy incantations. The leader of the Thayan knights casts the evocation cantrip green-flame blade to wrap his sword in arcane fire. 

Xenk, meanwhile, casts magic weapon to enchant his own armament and take down the knights with ease. Paladins are known for using both spells and martial mastery in Dungeons and Dragons, so it makes sense that Xenk is the only other character in the movie, aside from Simon and Sofina, who casts recognizable spells. 

Major Image, Evard’s Black Tentacles, Dispel Magic

The film’s third act ramps up the spell-slinging immensely, beginning when Simon uses the third-level illusion major image to conjure up an echo of Edgin to distract the guards. Usually, losing concentration on a spell just ends it immediately, but the film reimagines this as the illusion distorting and skipping like a scratched CD.

Later, when Edgin and the others get caught by Sofina, she uses the fourth-level conjuration Evard’s black tentacles to restrain the group. Meanwhile, after Simon successfully attunes to the Helm of Disjunction, he uses it to cast a powerful version of the abjuration spell dispel magic to break the mystical sanctum on Forge’s vault.

Meteor Swarm, Wall of Force, Shield, Bigby’s Hand

When the party finally faces off against Sofina in the climactic battle in Neverwinter, Simon and the Red Wizard each showcase the full breadth of their arcane abilities. Sofina opens the fight with meteor swarm, a ninth-level evocation that is among the most potent damaging spells in the game.

Simon defends the group with a wall of force, and later uses the much simpler shield spell to block some of Sofina’s arcane barrage. Sofina ups the ante by using a demonic-looking Bigby’s hand, a fifth-level evocation that gives the caster complete control over a mystical hand.

Maximillian’s Earthen Grasp, Magic Missile, Animate Objects, Resilient Sphere

Simon counters Sofina’s assault with a similar spell: Maximilian’s earthen grasp, though he seemingly imbues it with many properties similar to Bigby’s hand. He also peppers her with the iconic first-level evocation magic missile, though it predictably does very little damage to the accomplished wizard.

Sofina, sensing that she’s on the back foot, casts animate objects to turn a dragon statue into a moving construct that fights at her beck and call. The movie stays very accurate to the tabletop game here, as Sofina drops concentration on the spell in the heat of the battle, causing the dragon to stop moving immediately.

Misty Step, Counterspell, Finger of Death, Ressurection

Sofina tries to escape the fighters’ melee range by casting misty step to alight on a nearby rooftop. Thinking she’s won, she once again launches time stop to foil the heroes’ plans. Unbeknownst to Sofina, and the audience, Simon successfully uses the third-level abjuration counterspell to prevent the spell from succeeding. 

Sofina approaches the “immobilized” Edgin and prepares the seventh-level necromancy finger of death, a debilitating spell that can kill a living thing and revive it as a mindless zombie. Edgin reveals the ruse just in time, taunting Sofina before Doric transforms into a monstrous owlbear and pounds Sofina to a pulp. 

Finally, the party uses the Tablet of Reawakening to bring Holga back to life after she dies during the final battle. This is likely the seventh-level necromancy resurrection, which can revive any person who has died in the past hundred years who didn’t die of old age. This spell doesn’t typically end magical diseases like the one conferred by Red Wizards’ weapons, but magic items are usually capable of more extraordinary feats of sorcery than your average spellcaster.

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