Since its start in 2015, the role-playing web series Critical Role has helped usher in a Dungeons & Dragons renaissance(opens in a new tab). Given the show's impact, as well as Critical Role's prior collaborations with Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast, it's only natural that it would get a shout-out in the new film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
The Critical Role reference is pretty subtle — don't expect any cameos from Critical Role cast members or likenesses of their player characters from previous campaigns. Instead, this Easter egg comes in an early scene featuring sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith).
Simon puts on a rather unfortunate magic show, where he's unable to conjure more than a few paltry sensory effects. One of these effects is the smell of fresh cut grass — a spell that comes up later in the film as well. The wording here is very specific: not "fresh grass," not "cut grass," not just "grass." No, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is adamant that this is fresh cut grass.
So why am I getting so worked up about grass — sorry, fresh cut grass? Well, it's because Fresh Cut Grass also happens to be the name of one of the characters in Critical Role's third Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Played by Sam Riegel, Fresh Cut Grass (or FCG for short) is an aeormaton, an ancient robot created by the people of the floating city Aeor. His distinctive name comes thanks to his former guardian, Dancer, who named her many robotic creations after her favorite smells. You've got FCG, Oatmeal, Apple Pie, and... others(opens in a new tab).
When I first watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, I wondered if the repeated references to "fresh cut grass" were coincidences. "It's a commonly enjoyed smell," I told myself. "You're reading too much into it."
But turns out, all the specificity about fresh cut grass is indeed a special treat for Critical Role fans! Riegel confirmed it himself in a Critical Role TikTok(opens in a new tab) sponsored by Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
"There may or may not be a reference in the movie to one of my characters from Critical Role," Riegel says in the TikTok, all while gesturing to his Fresh Cut Grass shirt. So there you have it! When it comes to fresh cut grass and Dungeons & Dragons, nothing is an accident.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is now in theaters.
