The Da Vinci Code--20 Years Ago in Campaign History

Today, March 18th, marks twenty years since the first publication of The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown. At the time, even though I was working on what would become D20 Modern Treasure Hunter, I somehow missed the initial release of the novel. I certainly heard about it later, though, as it went on to sell 80 million copies. When I did finally read it, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Here are some of my thoughts about it, both at the time and now in hindsight. 

• Perhaps most importantly, I thought that the puzzles were created well. It is a difficult balance to make them not too hard but not too easy, and Dan Brown did a good job with them. 
• I also enjoyed the pacing of the story. It is perhaps a Dan Brown trademark to have chapters that are as short as one page, but it certainly helped keep me turning the pages. 
• As with the other novels featuring Robert Langdon as the protagonist, this provides a good example of how one can create an exciting adventure that is not so heavy on combat.
• The MacGuffin in this novel is both good and bad. While it makes for some high stakes, there is also a sense of irreverence. This is something that occurred to me a while after I read it, but especially after watching the movie. I was, admittedly, a little surprised when the movie did well, but not extraordinarily so. 
• Part of the reason for that, I think, is because the villain's hope is to find irrefutable proof to contradict the story of Jesus from the Bible. That stands in stark contrast to movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which respect the idea that there is a higher power beyond our reckoning. 

-Nate

Angels & Demons: Novel vs. Film

Angels & Demons Novel vs. Film

From the beginning, it's important to remember that Angels & Demons is not a treasure hunter story. It is a thriller, but essentially a murder investigation. With that in mind, here are my thoughts as I watched the film and compared it to the novel.

• The movie certainly streamlines the exposition in the story, eliminating the trip to Cern among other things.

• There are numerous character changes, most notably changing the Camerlengo into an Irishman. I'm not sure why those changes were made.

• All in all, this feels more like watching a Hannibal Lector movie than any kind of treasure hunt, especially with the string of gruesome deaths.

• There is also a general sense of irreverence, especially when the motivation of the main villain is revealed. This really stands out when the film is compared to ones like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, something that I'll examine more closely when writing about The Da Vinci Code.

Back in the Classroom with Professor Robert Langdon

The start of September brings me back into the classroom. While this will be my twentieth year as a teacher, it is notable because we spent most of last year in distance learning; some of the students who will be joining me next week haven't been in the school for nearly eighteen months. It will be an adventure for all of us.

Tomorrow (September 16^th, to be precise) should also see the initial release of Peacock's new series The Lost Symbol, based on the novel by Dan Brown and featuring his character Professor Robert Langdon. I am intrigued by this series, in part because I didn't much like the novel when it was published as a follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. As such, I decided to start rereading the novels and looking at them from the perspective of a GM creating material for Treasure Hunter Adventures.

Angels & Demons Novel

Here are some of the thoughts that I had while reading this novel a second time.

• Like, I would assume, a lot of other people, I read this novel after reading The Da Vinci Code.

• Since it was published in the year 2000, it's interesting to consider the primary conflict: finding a container of anti-matter before it explodes, possibly destroying Vatican City. This was before the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, when the notion of such an attacked stopped seeming like a far-fetched story idea.

• Additionally, the technology that has developed since then would affect some aspects of the story. Access to smartphones, Google Maps and Wikipedia would make it a whole lot easier to find information about previously obscure organizations like the Illuminati.

• The action in this book is really cerebral. By page 274 of the paperback version, the heroes would make their first skills checks other than Notice and Knowledge—and that's a Vigor test to deal with low oxygen while making Research checks!

• Eventually it does pick up, with a series of dramatic confrontations involving combat.

• I did not love the fact that the mystery was finally solved using a video recording, rather than having one of the heroes witness actions that revealed the true culprit.

• There are some intriguing references to secrets in the Pope's vault, especially the “third prophecy of Fatima.”

The Lost Symbol TV Series Trailers

During this pandemic, it feels like a lot of movie and television productions have been put on hold. Over the course of the past year there have been updates about many of them--Indiana Jones 5, the Uncharted movie, a sequel to the Tomb Raider reboot, and even a television series for Disney+ based on the National Treasure franchise--but nothing actually hitting the screen. Today, however, we took a step, with the release of a trailer for The Lost Symbol. 

This series, for NBC/Peacock, is based on the novel by Dan Brown. That book was initially intended to be adapted into a film, but was passed over instead for Inferno. From what one can see in the trailer, it looks promising, although the "Coming Soon" detail doesn't give us a concrete date. 

-Nate 

Update: Here's a second trailer; the series will begin streaming on Thursday, 9/16, on Peacock.