Lego Dungeons and Dragons Official Set Revealed
Lego recently unveiled its partnership with the makers of Dungeons and Dragons revealing a new set and lots of action packed minifigures and creatures.
The past week Lego announced one of their biggest and long kept open-secrets: an official Dungeons and Dragons set to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of the game. It's a playable set that not only looks amazing but has some custom figures and parts that can't be found anywhere else. Most importantly, this validates what many of us have been doing for years - utilizing the amazing flexibility of Lego to capture the magic of our DnD and other tabletop worlds.
Lego vetted ideas for a Dungeons and Dragons-related set with a competition in 2022, and it has been known that something was coming to mark the 50th anniversary in 2024. Some really great sets were presented but ultimately, Lego chose a design by contestant by Lucas Bold, "Boltbuilds" that looks both intriguing on a display shelf and playable at the same time.
This set has quite possibly captured as much DnD as possible in one vignette. Sure, with such a huge world it's impossible to get everything that appeals to everyone but in my opinion, the set hits all the high points.
Set contains
- Dragonborn figure
- New Elven Figure
- New armor colors
- An Owlbear
- Red Dragon
- Beholder
- An Inn/Tavern
- A mysterious tower
- A dungeon
- Myconids
- Gelatinous Cube!
All of this fits on the footprint of what looks like about 32x24 studs, each 'set piece' comes apart for a separate playable set encounter if so desired. What I find most interesting is just how many DnD references are packed into what is for the most part a small space.
One of the things I find most interesting is how Lego interpreted this set from the original design (shown below). I am personally always fascinated by how Lego designers choose certain pieces over others and come up with clever ways of pulling builds off. The final set is a little more condensed but still captures the same vibe and aesthetic of the contest winner's intent.
A design change I'm most curious about is the switch from a green dragon to a red - what prompted that? I also enjoy how Lego added more creatures, NPC, to the build, especially the gelatinous cube and owl bear!
This is an amazing design. It's captivating to look at. There are heights, layers, and details that I keep discovering each time I see it. I love how the dragon wraps around the tower. I love how some of the minifigs are just chilling while others are trying their best to defeat the beast - which is exactly how most campaigns go! There's a lot of action to unpack here and I can see why Lego went in this direction.
I love this set. While it might sit more on my shelf on display than become a part of my gameplay, I have no doubt the minifigs will become NPC's at some point or another, and the creatures, including the Dragon(!) will be useful for many games to come.
The set will be available on April 1st, 2024 for Lego insiders and April 4th for everyone else. Retail price 359.00 USD.