WotC concerned about “fat shaming” Themberchaud in Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was met with a lot of love and support from the Dungeons & Dragons community for its adventurous storyline and familiar monsters and creatures. This includes Themberchaud, the fat dragon the party encounters near the end of the film. But producer Jeremy Latchman recently revealed that Wizards of the Coast fought him on the dragon’s design.

In an interview with Screen Rant, Latcham opened up about working with Wizards of the Coast to keep the creatures and other elements accurate to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. The two parties clashed, however, when it came to Themberchaud’s design, with WotC telling him that they were concerned about the dragon being “too chunky.”

Who is Themberchaud in D&D?

Themberchaud is a well-known dragon in D&D lore, a large red dragon that used his fire to heat up the Hanging City of Dolblunde and help forge steel blades. In return, Themberchaud was paid a good amount, allowing him to continue growing his hoard of treasure.

Themberchaud’s personality is described as vain with a huge ego. If anyone disobeyed him, Themberchaud would simply burn them and keep going as if nothing happened.

He is considered large for a dragon and is visibly overweight. Over the years, Thembechaud lost the ability to walk and fly. Instead, he would hop and flap his wings, belching flammable gas.

Honor Among Thieves reinvents Themberchaud

While Themberchaud clearly has a bit of a comedic element to him, Latcham wanted the bit to be exaggerated in a way that didn’t sit well with Wizards of the Coast.

In response to WotC’s concerns, Latcham reassured them that it was “gonna be fun,” promising that “the fatter he is, the better he is.”

Said Latcham to Screen Rant: “It’s not fat shaming. No one is out to fat shame Themberchaud. He is a ferocious guy who’d like to eat a lot of people — and other things, too. He eats whatever comes his way. But it was a fine line to walk there. We’re not making fun of Themberchaud. We’re scared of him.”

It’s safe to say that making Themberchaud larger also helped move the storyline along. It would be impossible for the main party to defeat a dragon who could fly and move properly. This created a great balance of tension, danger, and comedy that made the scene entertaining for people in the audience.