| “ | There is no escape from the realm of Dungeons and Dragons! | „ |
| ~ Venger in the opening credits for the second and third seasons. |
Venger is the main antagonist of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.
He is a very powerful sorcerer/archmagi, knowing a variety of spells both necromantic and evocation. He antagonizes both the children and the Dungeon Master on the majority of the episodes, forcing them to fight him and his forces as well as helping the villagers terrorized by him, which often sidetracks them from their main objective of finding a way to return home.
He was voiced by Peter Cullen, who also portrayed Captain Nathaniel Flint in Treasure Planet.
Personality[]
| “ | Kelek: Venger! Venger: Greetings, Kelek. Do forgive my... intrusion. Kelek: Of course. Venger: Of course what? Kelek: Of course... master. Venger: That is better. I must thank you, Kelek. For keeping the unicorn horns, for keeping them safe, for me... |
„ |
| ~ Venger and Kelek |
The Venger is very treacherous and authoritarian. When he gives an order, he expects it to be carried out, never tolerating failures. He also never gets tired of threatening everybody, especially the heroes and the Dungeon Master, making him especially evil given that the heroes are children ranging from 8 to 15 years old.
It should come to no surprise however, as Venger has killed countless heroes of varying ages for over 1000 years.
Appearance[]
Venger stands at 7.05 feet (2.14 m) tall, towering over the rest of the cast, with the exception of large creatures and entities such as Tiamat or his former master.
He is presumably humanoid in appearance, having most of his body kept unseen beneath the blood red and dry blue robes he wears. His most characteristic figures are his wings (which he only utilizes along with Night-Mare and mostly keeps them folded like a cape) and the single horn on his head, though it is unknown if the horn is physically part of him or part of his costume. His skin is pale white and he possesses large and sharp fangs to fit with the rest of his fairly demonic appearance.
Biography[]
| “ | Everyone makes mistakes... Venger, was mine. | „ |
| ~ The Dungeon Master's tearful and cryptic message |
The man known only as Venger is a sorcerer/archmagi who terrorizes the realm where the show takes place. His sole purpose in the series was to destroy Dungeon Master and his pure hearted pupils; use the power of the children weapons to enslave Tiamat and claim the realm as his own.
Venger atop his steed Night-Mare
Though he is described as a force of pure evil, Venger was once a heroic person. He was once human, at some point being transformed into a Half-fiend. The force that turned him evil was never stated specifically, though it is said that he got his dark powers from the Nameless One. The Nameless One is a dark entity which was banished prior to the youngsters arrival. He is the Dungeon Master's son and was also his student, leaving Dungeon Master to consider Venger "his greatest mistake". His twin sister is Karina and all 3 members of the family are 1,000 years old at least.
When the six youngsters arrived at the Realm, the Dungeon Master gave each one a magical artifact, the same artifacts Venger was seeking in order to defeat the dragon-goddess Tiamat and the Dungeon Master himself. Venger travels mounted in a Dark Horse (a Nightmare) who flies and breathes fire. He also has a henchman known as the Shadow Demon, as well as an army of orcs. He has a lot of castles throughout the Realm, threatening all villages in the Realm with his powers. Venger has also known to have killed many heroes his father has sent after him in the past, making him a threat to the lives of the 6 teenagers brought to the realm to fight him and the only ones to thwart his evil plans. Those who betray Venger find themselves trapped alive in ice forever (i.e. The Box)
Dungeons & Dragons' ending[]
Venger back in his human form in Rocha's HQ
While an official final episode was never produced, the show's script editor Michael Reaves did write an script for it, which he later posted on his website. The script was included on the first DVD compilation of the series as a radio play and later adapted into a webcomic in Brazilian Portuguese by Reinaldo Rocha. The episode was titled "Requiem".
In this ending, Venger approaches the Dungeon Master, arguing that the kids only got that far thanks to the Dungeon Master's guidance, which Dungeon Master obviously rebuffs. Venger then proposes a deal, which the Dungeon Master accepts: if the kids could carry a final mission without the Dungeon Master interfering in any way, they would find the "Key", otherwise they would lose not only their weapons, but their lives as well.
As the children are running away from Tiamat, the dragon goddess and mother of all evil dragons, they call for the Dungeon Master's help, who shows up only to tell them they should be able to get out of the messes they created by themselves before leaving. After they escape from Tiamat, they start arguing between themselves as for why the Dungeon Master abandoned them, at which point the Venger appears before them. Taking advantage of their confusion, he tells them he can grant their wish and send them back home if they could do a quest for him: to go to the Demon's Realm, where they would find a empty tomb with a hidden key. If they disposed of said key into the abyss they would be able to go home.
After Venger leaves, they kids get split up about his promise, with one group led by Eric deciding to go after the key, and the other group led by Hank deciding to stop them. The two groups make their way to the Demon's Realm, battling each other on the way, before arriving on the place. As they start arguing again, the floor starts crumbling, revealing a slime monster which pursues them as they climb up the stairs which leads them to a room with a sarcophagus and a vault. As the kids look at it, they realize the carving on the sarcophagus looks like the Venger, but missing his demonic features. Upon opening it, they find the Key inside. Eric picks it up but is stopped by Hank. The slime monster catches up to them forcing them to fight it again. The Venger once again materializes, telling Eric to throw the key into the abyss, but he decides to go for the vault instead. Angered, Venger attempts to attack Eric, but is trapped by the slime monster, allowing Eric to fit the key on the vault's keyhole. This causes a massive burst of light which disintegrates the slime monster and engulfs Venger, who screams in agony.
As the light dissipates, the kids come back to their senses and watch as the Venger, still wrapped out by the light, is transformed back into a human. The Dungeon Master finally appears before them, revealing that Venger was his son and that he'd been guiding them this whole time so they could return him to his former self. Venger tells them that he had chosen to follow the Nameless One, who corrupted his soul, and that all goodness he once possessed had been imprisoned on that vault. With Venger redeemed, the Dungeon Master opens up a portal for the kids to their world, telling them it was now their choice to either return home or to stay in the Realm. In the fan made episode, only Presto decided to stay. Ironically had this epsiode been made at the time the orginal series had been made..Requiem" had an unresolved cliffhanger ending: the kids either finally going home (if the series was canceled) or a 4th season of more adventures (if the series was renewed). According to the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon Wiki episode listing: "If the show had continued, they would have left the Realm, but not make it home, instead, a new world, with a female DungeonMaster would be on the other side ready to guide them." Doubly ironic In the "Dungeons and Dragons Movie Honor among THieves" has a cameo of the teenage/adult versions of the childern trapped in a deadly magical maze; the only cast members from the cartoon not appearing in the movie are Dungeonmaster; Uni and Venger!
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | Beware what you say when you speak of magic, wizard, or you shall see who has the greater power! | „ |
| ~ Venger to Presto |
Venger's D&D statistics, as shown in the handbook
With the exception of his master, Venger is the most powerful entity in the series, possessing power that dwarfs that of even the mighty Dungeon Master, able to cast all manner of spells. Having lived for over 1000 years, his magical prowess has bested numerous heroes that have entered the realm in order to defeat them, the only ones being Hank, Eric, Diana, Presto, Sheila and Bobby, the main protagonists of the series.
Aside from his longevity, Venger also appears to have some degree of immortality, as his body has been shown to be destroyed a few times yet he always shows up again unscathed. The heroes' weapons do have the power to kill him, however.
In spite of having wings, Venger prefers to teleport over large distances and only uses them when mounted atop his steed Night-Mare.
Gallery[]
.png "Venger Render1 (1).png (449 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Venger was voiced by Peter Cullen, who is known for constantly reprising his role as the Autobot commander, Optimus Prime. Shattered Glass writers Trent Troop and Gred Sepelak stated that the SG version of Prime, who is a sadistic and tyrannical version of the character, would sound identical to Venger if his voice was vocally displayed in a show or film.
- Prior to the revelation of the final episode's script, a hoax circulated on the internet claiming that Venger was the Devil, the Realm was actually the Hell, and that the kids had been dead all along.
- D&D game ability stats were provided upon fan request by Gary Gygax co-creator of D&D and co-producer of the show: Str: 17 Int: 18 Wis: 7 Dex: 17 Con: 17 Cha: 16
- Ironically in the orginal 27 epsiodes Venger appears in all but 6 epsiodes;in 2 epsiodes [Valley of the Unicorns] and [Treasure of Tardos] the kids are forced to ally themselves with Venger [in the first epsiode to save the power of the unicorns from Keleck] and in the second to save the Realm from being destroyed by Venger uncontrable demo/dragon monster (At the end Venger warns the kids to expect no favors the next time they meet; when Hank affrims this likewise Venger replys SO BE IT). in the last one "Citadel of Shadow" Shelia with help of 2 magic rings which she throws at him: Karenia red ring of red heartsone paralizes him while a blue ring of the mind turns into a prison for Venger.
- He appears on the cover of the 2024 rerelease of the 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide.