Review — ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers’ #1 Feels Like A Day At The Gaming Table

Welcome to the table,

Dark Horse Comics has really come to the table in the most delightful way. They bring some of the best Dungeons & Dragons stories I’ve seen in a long time. Each one has something unique to offer. They each feel like a particular type of game that I have run, worked on, written about, or played in over my life in service to the hobby.

Today we are talking about Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1.

Let’s get into it.

While this won’t make sense until we reach the end of this review, I want you to know that I was once again correct. I made predictions about something so obscure and D&D-related that I had to explain a lot of lore to a lot of people to make them understand.

That being said, Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 kicks off a humorous romp across the Forgotten Realms featuring a party of “evil” adventurers who are trying to acquire the Gorget of Dominance from the tower of a dead wizard named Custos the Enchanter.

The four-issue miniseries is written by Christopher Hastings, with art by Denis Medri, colors by Dan Jackson, and letters from Lucas Gattoni.

The book kicks off with a party consisting of Tilli the rogue, Val the wizard, Cholm the fighter, and Drusilia the druid. The party has a very “evil” vibe in style and motivation. Having played in an “evil” campaign for a few years in my 20s, I’m keenly aware that alignment is all about perspective, and that is exactly what is in play here, I’m sure.

The first real moment in this book that delighted me was a singing Gibbering Mouther, one of my favorite monsters in D&D, who had been commanded to entertain the recently dead wizard. He was subsequently blasted from this plane of existence by a Daylight spell from Drusilia.

A Gibbering Mouther was fun for me. It’s a monster I don’t see get a ton of face time in D&D properties. That is really where Total Party Killers starts to shine as you read through the first issue.

There are a ton of random deep cuts, from a tiny Beholder stalking the party to a Gelatinous Cube containing magical items, including the robes of one of the undead Red Wizards of Thay. Robes that Val recognizes immediately. That recognition had me feeling like that Leonardo DiCaprio pointing gif because it made me ask myself, “Why would this blond elf lady in black robes that looks real real familiar to me know about Thay wizards?” That question that was going to pay off for me before the last page of this first issue.

-Spoilers Follow-

 

The book takes a really fun turn. A mind flayer, still under command of the Gorget, eats Drucilia. Then, because it has some wonky experiment happening with it, it takes on her personality and powers. So now the elven druid lady is a squid-faced, brain-eating purple monster, and the party just rolls with it.

It’s dumb, wacky, borderline game-breaking. Yet, having played and run D&D for almost three decades, this is exactly the kind of stuff that happens at the table and more often than not, the party just kind of goes along with it and moves on to the next room and the next story moment.

Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers shines because it feels like something that is happening at an actual gaming table. The characters’ reactions and motivations are less driven by lore and telling a story set in the legends and legacy of the Forgotten Realms. It’s more like just a bunch of friends around a table problem-solving (and creating) problems as they move through a gaming session.

The book is charming, funny, and feels like an authentic day at the gaming table. As someone who has been a part of the Dungeons & Dragons community for the vast majority of my life, this is the sort of story that I can say, “Oh, we would have done that,” or “I know exactly who would have made that choice.”

After Dru’ (now named Q’Laxx) becomes a Mind Flayer, we learn the baby Beholder following the party around is Looksy, the Mind Flayers’ Death Tyrant scout. We also get some info-dumping on the dungeon and find out that a Death Knight named Strago is still stalking around, protecting the Gorget.

It’s such a basic setup, and yet it totally works in the spirit of the hobby. I could easily see my party of regulars doing the majority of what these goofballs did as I moved from panel to panel.

Tilli the rogue suggests they just take what they can loot now and not fight the Death Knight. Val, the very suspicious wizard, pushes for them to keep going. That is where the story really comes together and becomes something delightful, elevated, and perfectly “Oh … yes … this is where the game stops being awkward and the players start to mesh, and the Storyteller can really unleash their plans.”

We learn that Tili the rogue is in league with the Gelatinous Cube that had all those magic items (its name is Mucus Cubus), the Death Knight, and the Mindflayer. They were the ones who sent out all the letters to the various parties, letting them know the wizard’s tomb was ready for looting. This delightful heel turn gets another amazing moment, especially for me, as Val reveals herself to be none other than @#$%& Valindra Shadowmantle!

I love it when I am correct!

Cholm puts on the Gorget and instantly gets killed by the Death Knight. Looksy snatches up the Gorget and then gets grabbed by Valindra, who promptly teleports away. This leaves the party of Mucus Cubus the wizard, Tilli the rogue, Q’Laxx the Mind Flayer, and Strago the Death Knight to jump in a small boat and head off to Thay to find Valindra Shadowmantle and rescue Looksy.

This story went from “Oh, these silly goofballs” to “Oh! Now you have my attention. A party of irritated villains heading off to take on a powerful Lich I have been ranting about for ages”

All that to say, I can’t wait until the next session!

Until next time, Valindra Shadowmantle is a heck of a pull, and kind of an icon. To see her show up in these pages alongside a party that I was fine with, that became a party I really, really like the vibe of is incredibly rewarding.

This is not a lore dump comic … this is entertainment of another flavor. I love the main title for its lore and high adventure. I got to read it early, and it’s phenomenal. I love the D&D Fallbacks book so far for its social commentary and good feels. Total Party Killers is lovable because it feels like the goofy friends I made along the way on some half-baked adventure in the back of a dirty comic shop over slices of freshly delivered pizza. It feels like D&D at the table. That, my friends, is why this comic is worth your time to pick up … also, did I mention I was correct?