Be Kind, Rewind: Let’s Play D&D With Blockbuster Video
Get in losers, we’re renting movies and fighting monsters this week when we play D&D with Blockbuster Video.
Blockbuster used to be an almost magical place to visit. I can’t put my finger on why exactly, but I loved perusing the shelves and picking out the exact collection of movies my friends and I may-or-may-not be disappointed by that night.
This was also how a college-aged version of myself afforded a huge collection of DVDs. Sure, the extras Blockbuster sold didn’t usually have the bonus content, but it was a pre-streaming world and we just wanted a big movie library that was easy to watch at a moment’s notice.
The new Netflix show is okay, but it gives off the strange vibe of murdering somebody and then putting on a puppet show with their corpse. And I’d like to think the real last remaining Blockbuster knows and is mad about it. The nostalgic video rental store wants its revenge, so this week we’re playing D&D with…
Blockbuster
I love the idea of the Blockbuster building from my hometown as a gigantic monster, bent on revenge. And as a living building, it has a few aspects of the Mimic and Baba Yaga’s hut. Or the closest equivalent in D&D, Baba Lysaga’s Creeping Hut. It’s not hard to see where I drew inspiration or even borrowed the more basic attacks.
Blockbuster will look like a regular storefront until it’s ready to attack, and once it does all of the building parts are available as potential weapons. For example, the Underground Service Wiring electrical cables that you’re going to want to avoid or suffer a shocking surprise. But the store had to keep the lights on somehow.
Blockbuster is also a pretty big monster, it’s building-sized after all. So giving it a few more basics like a simple smash attack and Siege Monster were pretty obvious.
But where I had a lot of fun was with Blockbuster’s legendary actions. Be Kind, Rewind is vampire inspired. It drains the life of any adventurer who dared to not rewind their video before returning it. And they may deserve it because c’mon, that’s rude.
Late Fees is a way for the DM to steal any of your party’s useful or even plot relevant items and either force the players to continue the encounter without running away or make the battle harder by stealing healing potions and armor pieces. Or perhaps the Blockbuster will simply take your items and escape into the countryside, leading the party on a quest to find the last Blockbuster in the land.
Blockbuster has the potential to be a pretty formidable foe. A high AC and 400 hit points will keep them in the game for a while, and the ability to steal your life force and your potions may make it easier for it to bounce back than you. But if your party succeeds, imagine how much candy you’ll be able to collect from the checkout area.
How would you add Blockbuster to a D&D adventure? What was your favorite nostalgic Blockbuster memory? What movie, show, game, or comic should I make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
