Stranger Things' biggest Dungeons and Dragons references explained ahead of final season
Fans of Stranger Things are in a frenzy as Netflix has unveiled a trailer for the eagerly awaited fifth season of the fantasy drama, crafted by the Duffer Brothers, reports the Express.
The fifth series will bring the grand sci-fi fantasy saga to an end as the final showdown takes shape in Hawkins, Indiana, with the crew aiming to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) once and for all.
As per tradition, the show is set to be peppered with numerous pop culture nods, this time featuring 80s legend and The Terminator star Linda Hamilton portraying Dr Kay.
This casting follows appearances from Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Robert Englund, Carey Elwes, and, naturally, Winona Ryder, who have all graced the show.
Crucially, Stranger Things delves deep into the mythology of tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), which has been pivotal to the drama series.
Here's a glimpse at how Stranger Things and D&D are intertwined.
The Upside Down
The inaugural season kicked off with Will Byers (portrayed by Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) engrossed in the fantasy board game in a basement.
Following Will's disappearance, the lads turned to D&D to decipher the peculiar occurrences in Hawkins.
The Upside Down is compared to the Vale of Shadows and the Shadow realm in the first series, with some also noting resemblances to Shadowfell.
The Forgotten Realms Fandom page describes the Vale as a place with "area of high bluffs and deep chasms with small pathways, with tombs lying through it", shrouded in darkness even during daylight, some of which are inhabited by "undead shadows".
Shadowfell, on the other hand, is depicted as an ominous "echo" of the Prime Material Plane, a "toxic plane of darkness and power" that despises illumination and remains concealed.
Demogorgon
In the first season of Stranger Things, viewers were introduced to the Demogorgon, the initial antagonist wreaking havoc in Hawkins until its defeat.
The creature was dubbed Demogorgon by the kids due to a lack of alternative names. In Dungeons & Dragons lore, the Demogorgon is known as the Imprisoned One and the Prince of Demons.
Yet, the Stranger Things version of the Demogorgon visually deviates from its D&D counterpart, which is described as a towering 5.5 metres entity with a serpentine body, simian strength, dual baboon heads, and a lengthy bifurcated tail.
Mind Flayer
The second season saw the arrival of the Mind Flayer, utilising psychic prowess to manipulate others, including Will.
This hive-minded, arachnid-like behemoth was ultimately defeated at the Starcourt Mall showdown in the third season.
In Dungeons & Dragons, the Mind Flayer or Mind Ruler similarly exerts control over others within its domain, absorbing their personalities while they live and usurping their bodies.
However, their portrayal in the game differs drastically from Stranger Things. The Mind Flayer appears as a "gruesome mockery of the humanoid form" with a head that's "bulging, ridges and elongated", featuring a mass of tentacles surrounding its mouths.
Vecna
Within the series, Vecna possesses a completely different backstory, unveiled through flashbacks featuring Henry Creel (Raphael Luce).
Following his banishment to the Upside Down by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) during the Hawkins Lab slaughter, Vecna ventured through this alternate realm, harnessing it to amplify his abilities and forge the Mind Flayer as his means of returning to Hawkins.
Within D&D lore, Vecna stands amongst the most formidable antagonists in the game, originally a human monarch whose immense power elevated him to god-like standing.
Yet his strength grew excessive, condemning him to an existence of "undeath". He's portrayed as "decrepit", lacking his left hand and eye.
According to D&D mythology, Vecna harboured an obsession with secrets, convinced they contained dominion over every living entity. He maintained that creatures could be controlled to guarantee devastation through a solitary secret.
He roamed across the multiverse, maintaining a concealed ebony tower within the Pandemonium plane.
Additional D&D nods emerge at Stranger Things season one's conclusion, where the group's campaign concludes prematurely, with mentions of the "proud princess", the "lost knight" and " weird flowers in the cave".
These elements mirror the programme itself and potentially allude to Eleven and the tendrils within the Upside Down.
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