D&Diesel

October 20, 2015 6:24 PM

Among other things, Vin Diesel is known for being an avid Dungeons and Dragons player. He's even gotten to play his own D&D character in the movie The Last Witch Hunter. But until recently, we hadn't been able to watch him play it live. To remedy that, the folks at the Nerdist and Geek and Sundry got Diesel and a few other people together to play D&Diesel, an exciting half hour full of natural twenties and growling.

Cast
Laura Bailey as Vex'ahlia, a Ranger
Travis Willingham as Grog, a Barbarian
Jessica Chobot as The Headmistress, a Monk
Dan Casey as Dupont Dupont, a Rogue
with Vin Diesel as Kaulder the Witch Hunter

You can find more D&D action from Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham on Geek and Sundry's Critical Role.

DMed by Matthew Mercer

D&Diesel previously (simulated).

posted by Maecenas (42 comments total)

Wait... the character he plays is actually a character he rolplays? Like he rolled up Kaulder the Chaotic Good Witchhunter? Or Dom, Lawful neutral, dual class barbarian/rogue?

I was already excited for this movie and now I'm stoked.

(Also this is great marketing.)
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:31 PM on October 20, 2015 [6 favorites]

How did Brian Posehn take it?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:31 PM on October 20, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wait... the character he plays is actually a character he rolplays? Like he rolled up Kaulder the Chaotic Good Witchhunter?

Essentially yes except it's out of an unofficial supplement book.
posted by vogon_poet at 6:35 PM on October 20, 2015

I've heard that he taught Judi Dench to play when they were making Riddick. Which just delights me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 PM on October 20, 2015 [37 favorites]

I would lend my +5 SpellJammer helm to Vin.
posted by clavdivs at 6:56 PM on October 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

I am so seeing this stupid movie.
posted by Artw at 7:32 PM on October 20, 2015 [6 favorites]

I have heard elsewhere as well that D&D appeals to actors. Makes sense...
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 7:37 PM on October 20, 2015

Every day I love Vin Diesel more.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:37 PM on October 20, 2015 [4 favorites]

"Vin Diesel is the nerd Wil Wheaton wishes he was."
posted by Ian A.T. at 7:57 PM on October 20, 2015 [31 favorites]

My friend lives in a town where a lot of people join the Navy. He tells me D&D is popular with nuclear sub engineers. Maybe Navy vets should try acting. Or maybe actors should work for nuclear power plants.

I don't know how correlation works, you figure it out.
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:58 PM on October 20, 2015 [8 favorites]

I've never played D&D. Is this a pretty representative game session?
posted by the sobsister at 8:11 PM on October 20, 2015

I've never played D&D. Is this a pretty representative game session?

Well... there's this*.

(* full episode)
posted by rh at 8:29 PM on October 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

This is not like any D&D game I've ever been at. Where's the A-Treat and Snyders Pretzels? Can we take a break when Night Flight comes on?
posted by lagomorphius at 8:33 PM on October 20, 2015 [5 favorites]

Maybe Navy vets should try acting. Or maybe actors should work for nuclear power plants.

I suspect the Navy vets have more experience acting like everything is A-OK than the actors have maintaining a live core.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:36 PM on October 20, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wait. Waaaaaait. I have been joking-- JOKING-- for months, since I saw the trailer, about how nice it is that Vin Diesel gets to film one of his own D&D campaigns. Are you telling me that is what ACTUALLY HAPPENED?
posted by nonasuch at 9:06 PM on October 20, 2015 [12 favorites]

I had forgotten that this movie was coming. And this friday, no less! I'm gonna have to hit this up.
posted by kafziel at 9:09 PM on October 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd hit Vin Diesel. To subtract hit points.
posted by aydeejones at 9:29 PM on October 20, 2015

I'd hit Vin Diesel. To subtract hit points.

You can try, but it turns out that Vin Diesel's THAC0 is love.
posted by Copronymus at 9:48 PM on October 20, 2015 [16 favorites]

I'm so old I can remember when Vin Diesel was what you were served in a bad French restaurant.
posted by Grangousier at 12:14 AM on October 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

He seemed pretty flat for a professional actor. Everyone else was mostly talking in character, doing voices, DM was going a great job on selling the scenes, they were getting into it. But Vin was mostly talking out of character and asking direct questions of the DM. He did seem excited by the combat, not too much for the roleplaying though.
posted by sophist at 12:54 AM on October 21, 2015

He did seem excited by the combat, not too much for the roleplaying though.

Like he does in his films, you mean?
sorry
posted by pipeski at 1:22 AM on October 21, 2015

not too much for the roleplaying though.

It'd be a bit of a busman's holiday though, wouldn't it? I doubt he loves acting so much he wants to act for fun in his spare time too.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:33 AM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

My friend lives in a town where a lot of people join the Navy. He tells me D&D is popular with nuclear sub engineers.

Dude. My dad was in nuclear power school and he told me that his roommates were SO into D&D that they would stock up on junk food and do NOTHING but play all weekend, from the second classes ended on Friday to the second they started on Monday.

DadFreedom could never figure out how these guys managed to study at all, and also after 2 weekends of this he begged another classmate to crash on his floor on Fridays and Saturdays, because man was that a lot of D&D to put up with every weekend.

Does your friend live in Pensacola, by any chance? DadFreedom also says he can't blame his roommates much because there is absolutely nothing else to do. He spent most of his free time during nuclear power school getting drunk and going to see Rocky Horror.
posted by chainsofreedom at 3:29 AM on October 21, 2015 [8 favorites]

I have been joking-- JOKING-- for months, since I saw the trailer, about how nice it is that Vin Diesel gets to film one of his own D&D campaigns.

He wouldn't be the first.
posted by Gelatin at 4:29 AM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

My friend lives in a town where a lot of people join the Navy. He tells me D&D is popular with nuclear sub engineers.

Where I grew up, the nearest stores that had D&D stuff were all in Annapolis and I spent many an hour talking with middies in their whites about most fearsome encounters, favorite character classes, and how many dice one really needs. (Answer: All of them.)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:44 AM on October 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

Acting-wise, Diesel is never going to be mistaken for (say) Peter O'Toole. But I've always liked Vin Diesel, and I think it's because, deep down inside, he's a genuine fan of the kind of genre roles that he plays. I think it's something that adds to his performance. *shrug* Or - maybe it's all in my head, and it adds to my enjoyment of his performance.

BTW, I glanced at the IMDB listing for The Last Witch Hunter and saw "Aaron Sims ... creature artist". That plus some of the other names would indicate that, in terms of art / production design / SFX, they brought in the A-Team.
posted by doctor tough love at 9:40 AM on October 21, 2015 [5 favorites]

But I've always liked Vin Diesel, and I think it's because, deep down inside, he's a genuine fan of the kind of genre roles that he plays.

He brings the same sort of forceful sincerity to movies that Ronnie James Dio, peace be upon him, brought to music.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:24 AM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm of an age that I remember the six months or so when Vin Diesel was cool. Of course, then he became uncool, then super-uncool, in fact synonymous with uncoolness. Which is nothing unusual in the celebrity cycle. But what is markedly different about him is that he ended up moving through the cycle far beyond where most stars ever reach, all the way past any valid notions of cool and into 'beloved'.

Did you know this Witchunter malarkey also has Sir Michael Caine as a priest? Shut up and take my money already!
posted by Gin and Broadband at 12:40 PM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am not a fan of many of Vin Diesel's movie roles, the "XXX" and "Fast And Furious" movies especially can go hang as far as I'm concerned. But he was very good in The Iron Giant, and the world needs more D&D players generally, so as a person I think he's cool.
posted by JHarris at 12:43 PM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Gotta pile on and say that, as a player, He wasn't impressive.

The DM however? Damn. If he doesn't, he should direct. Or produce. Or something. He's got vision.

Then again, the fact that Vin uses F&F money to buy and produce Riddick and his other passion projects? Awesome!
posted by MacD at 2:14 PM on October 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

It doesn't seems like the DM's style really allows Vin to do much though? Or vice versa--maybe he's just adapting to a group of players who don't do much. I much prefer games where the player describes their attack, and the DM tells them what to roll. Here the players say, "I.. uh.. attack." Then the DM describes all of the actions the player's character is taking for them.
posted by tofu_crouton at 2:30 PM on October 21, 2015

Vin Diesal has very good dice rolling action
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:57 PM on October 21, 2015

Fails saving throw against Critical attack
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:01 PM on October 21, 2015

Surely "A Critical Hit Piece."
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:38 AM on October 22, 2015

My wife and I are going to see "The Last Witchhunter" tonight. I'll report back!
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:17 PM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Please do!
posted by JHarris at 3:54 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well! It was like "Chronicles of Riddick" except less coherent and more boring.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:59 PM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

What if we got drunk before we watched it?
posted by Artw at 9:13 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

We were/are drunk. Sadly it did not help. There wasn't enough chin wig.
posted by grumpybear69 at 10:00 PM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

Vin Diesel Explains How J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion Shaped His Views on Death
posted by homunculus at 6:42 PM on October 24, 2015

Review: The Last Witch Hunter Is Just Bad. Really, Really Bad. 1/5 Stars.
posted by homunculus at 6:43 PM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Vin Diesel Character Matrix
posted by Gin and Broadband at 1:33 PM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]