Fan Casting Malanthius in Dungeons & Dragons: The Hand of Chaos

A skinny, long-haired wizard in his 20s with acne scars poorly hidden by a thin beard, Malanthius is the party's brilliant but socially awkward arcane specialist. Living in a cluttered laboratory behind a Greyhawk boarding house, he is easily bribed with pastries and still holds a grudge about a fake Beholder egg he was sold. He bickers like a petulant younger brother with Karroway and is endearingly smitten with Alysia, but he is genuinely talented, holding his own in a spectacular magic duel against the cult's sorcerer. His sudden, brutal murder at Trickfoot's hands—run through with a sword from behind—is the film's devastating emotional turning point, the moment the treasure hunt becomes a mission of vengeance and redemption. His death is the cost of Hightower's "gold blindness," and its weight haunts the rest of the adventure.