Swords & Saturdays - Outlander (2008)

 This is the first of a semi-regular feature I'm starting up. My plan is to review swords & <insert subgenre> flicks and provide some new 5e content based on them. I'm going to start with Jim Caviezal's vikings vs alien flick, Outlander.

Plot

Kainan is a man from beyond the stars who finds himself stranded on earth with a monstrous alien bent on revenge. He is captured by a viking village. He soon becomes an accepted member of the clan and seeks to aid them in defeating the "dragon" that took everything from him. 

Review

This weeks was the first time I'd watched this flick since it first came out. Good "D&D" movies are hard to come by and I think I appreciate this more now than I did then. While it's not quite as on the nose as The Thirteenth Warrior, there are definite shades of Beowulf here. The village is Heorot and it's lead by King Hrothgar.

While Jim Caviezel isn't exactly the most charismatic lead (something to say about he man who played the best known theatrical depiction of Christ), he's a solid stoic lead. I really enjoyed the rest of the cast. Sophia Myles is delightful as the fighting princess, Freya. John Hurt plays his classic, no long for this world, wise leader. Jack Huston did a phenomenal job as the cocksure rival turned friend, Wulfgar, and Cliff Saunders was great as comic relief character, Boromir. 

One of the things I liked about the film is while the creature is a man-eating monster, it actually has a legitimate reason to do so. Genocide of a species seems like a legit reason to be pissed. The Moorwen, itself, was a decent looking CGI alien. It was really original looking, but the mood ring glow was cool and honestly, you mostly saw it in the dark.

Ultimately, while I don't think this is a great movie, it's a fun sword flick and one I don't mind rewatching. 

Moorwen, Adult

Large monstrosity, Neutral evil

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Armor Class 15

Hit Points 88 (9d10+18)

Speed 40 ft.

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    STR     DEX     CON      INT        WIS        CHA

20 (+5)   15 (+3)    16 (+3)   10 (-0)   13 (+1)   8 (-1)

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Damage Resistance fire

Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical or adamantine weapons

Skills Stealth +6

Senses darkvision, 60 ft., passive Perception 11

Languages Moorwen
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Spider Climb. The moorwen can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an abilities check.

Actions

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Multiattack. The moorwen makes two tail whip attacks.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 31 (4d12+5) piercing damage.

Tail Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) slashing damage.

You can  learn more about the Moorwen here.