The lead announcement from today's D&D Direct presentation is a collaboration between Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft, releasing this spring. Tom Sargent, senior producer at Wizards of Coast, said it's set in Forgotten Realms and that they're “...two amazing properties that work well together.”
At a press preview held yesterday, Riccardo Lenzi, senior producer for Mojang Studios, explained that the game begins with figures at a table with a dungeon master. Players will pick their character from a fighter, cleric, rogue, or wizard, and then enter the world of Forgotten Realms.
“Knowing that Minecraft has such a broad age range, we wanted to stick with core D&D because it might be someone's first exposure to D&D or it might be someone familiar with D&D,” said Sargent.
Lenzi and Sargent explained that Minecraft D&D is a full videogame story, and it's the first Minecraft licensed DLC with voiceovers. It also has full music to make the battle scenes more epic, but it's not all fighting. Exploration is also be part of the game, but it's not a full open world. The estimated first play-through takes about 10 hours. You can play on your own or with friends.
There's no connection between this DLC and core Minecraft, in part because of the various components. For example, Minecraft D&D has dynamic music and a battle soundtrack commissioned specifically for this box. Minecraft D&D also has a robust menu system and a quest log. And, because this is D&D, there are dice rolls that determine success or failure.
So Minecraft D&D uses the Minecraft engine, but a mimic can't be ported over to main Minecraft. People also can't use D&D assets for their own builds. It “stays in the box” as Sargent said, because of how it's pushing the limits of the Minecraft Engine. However, each class has skins and those can be used outside the Minecraft D&D box.
Minecraft Dungeons & Dragons will be available on all platforms Minecraft is currently using. That said, Lenzi noted that with the way it pushes the Minecraft engine it might not be perfect if played on an old phone, for example.
If you're not a Minecraft player, the crossover still has something for tabletop players. Dan Dillion, game designer at Wizards of the Coast gave us a preview yesterday of Monstrous Compendium Volume 3: Minecraft. Available today as a no-cost download on D&D Beyond and Minecraft's website, it translates Minecraft creatures such as Creepers, Ender Dragons, and Endermen into D&D stat blocks that can be added to your campaign however you wish.
Download Monstrous Compendium 3: Minecraft at minecraft.net or dndbeyond.com.
At a press preview held yesterday, Riccardo Lenzi, senior producer for Mojang Studios, explained that the game begins with figures at a table with a dungeon master. Players will pick their character from a fighter, cleric, rogue, or wizard, and then enter the world of Forgotten Realms.
“Knowing that Minecraft has such a broad age range, we wanted to stick with core D&D because it might be someone's first exposure to D&D or it might be someone familiar with D&D,” said Sargent.
Lenzi and Sargent explained that Minecraft D&D is a full videogame story, and it's the first Minecraft licensed DLC with voiceovers. It also has full music to make the battle scenes more epic, but it's not all fighting. Exploration is also be part of the game, but it's not a full open world. The estimated first play-through takes about 10 hours. You can play on your own or with friends.
There's no connection between this DLC and core Minecraft, in part because of the various components. For example, Minecraft D&D has dynamic music and a battle soundtrack commissioned specifically for this box. Minecraft D&D also has a robust menu system and a quest log. And, because this is D&D, there are dice rolls that determine success or failure.
So Minecraft D&D uses the Minecraft engine, but a mimic can't be ported over to main Minecraft. People also can't use D&D assets for their own builds. It “stays in the box” as Sargent said, because of how it's pushing the limits of the Minecraft Engine. However, each class has skins and those can be used outside the Minecraft D&D box.
Minecraft Dungeons & Dragons will be available on all platforms Minecraft is currently using. That said, Lenzi noted that with the way it pushes the Minecraft engine it might not be perfect if played on an old phone, for example.
If you're not a Minecraft player, the crossover still has something for tabletop players. Dan Dillion, game designer at Wizards of the Coast gave us a preview yesterday of Monstrous Compendium Volume 3: Minecraft. Available today as a no-cost download on D&D Beyond and Minecraft's website, it translates Minecraft creatures such as Creepers, Ender Dragons, and Endermen into D&D stat blocks that can be added to your campaign however you wish.
Download Monstrous Compendium 3: Minecraft at minecraft.net or dndbeyond.com.
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