D&D General D&D Releases New Japanese Campaign 'Oni’s Right Hand'

There's a new Dungeons & Dragons adventure in town--covertly announced on LinkedIn by Hasbro/WotC Japan's brand manager--designed for the Japanese market. It's designed to draw in new players in Japan, and is not currently available internationally.

The adventure is called Oni's Right Hand, and features 5 pre-generated characters from the land of Kara-Tur, the East Asian themed continent in the Forgotten Realms setting, lying to the east of Faerûn. The setting originally appeared in 1985's Oriental Adventures, before getting its own boxed set in 1988. Other than a brief description in 2015's Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Kara-Tur has not featured in D&D 5E.

Oni's Right Hand is not actually set in Kara-Tur; it's set in Phandelin. A cursed glove from Kara-Tur, known as Oni's Claw, arrives in the town and sets the adventure in motion.

The character sheets are illustrated by Toshiaki Takayama, translated by Masaki Yanagida, and voice actors like Ayana Taketatsu and Tomori Kusunoki bring them to life in the video announcement which you can view on LinkedIn.

When D&D Meets Japan…!

We’re thrilled to introduce an original Japanese adventure campaign: “Oni’s Right Hand.”

Set in the bustling trading town of Phandalin, a cursed glove from the East arrives - and when the sealed “Oni’s Claw” is unleashed, eerie, monstrous shadows begin to creep into the town.

This campaign features five original Japanese-style characters from Kara-Tur, complete with pre-generated character sheets,designed by renowned illustrator Toshiaki Takayama and D&D translator Masaki Yanagida, and brought to life by popular voice talents including Ayana Taketatsu and Tomori Kusunoki.

The response from Japanese fans has been overwhelmingly positive.
D&D’s global appeal lies in its ability to embrace diverse cultural styles, and we’re proud to see Japan’s unique creative spirit seamlessly integrated into the world of D&D.
By weaving traditional Japanese themes into gameplay, we hope not only to delight existing fans, but also to grow the community and welcome new players in Japan.

To support this, Learn-to-Play (LTP) sessions for “Oni’s Right Hand” will begin in Japan this August.

WotC Japan Brand Manager Himmy T confirmed on LinkedIn that they were exploring options for global availability.

 

[SkidAce]

I think you can g to the Kickstarter link and still access the pre order page. Should be able to add/purchase the PDF I think.

I will check that, thanks.

 

[Corinnguard]

I wouldn't mind a Kara-Tur setting book at some point

Currently right now if I need to do something Japan/Asian themed 5E stuff then I have Adventures in Rokugan+Kamon+Ryoko's Guide to Yokai Realms to cover that all that.

Which elements did you borrow from Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms? curious

 

[FrozenNorth]

Rumors of the half-orc’s removal from the PHB have been greatly exaggerated.

Much like the rumours of the full Orcs removal from the MM. I received my MM after that discussion and was surprised to note at least 4 orcs in the MM.

 

[Masaki Yanagida]

Even stranger, the third character bio (for the barbarian named Waniguma) is a half-orc, which I thought wasn't a part of 5E 2024.

Since the 2024 edition has not yet been translated in Japan, all data is based on the 2014 edition.

https://dnd-jp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Oni-no-Migite-charactersheets-complete-1.pdf

 

[Weiley31]

Which elements did you borrow from Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms? curious

Races, Feats, Prosthetic Arms(add Dark Souls 5E rules for Sekiro 5E, baby!), Subclasses, Kaijus, and Weapons.

 

[Corinnguard]

Races, Feats, Prosthetic Arms(add Dark Souls 5E rules for Sekiro 5E, baby!), Subclasses, Kaijus, and Weapons.

One subclass that I sort of like from Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai is the Wizard (Shinobi). This subclass is like the Rogue-ish equivalent of the Bladesinger. A wizard that leans to the shadowy side of the Rogue. If it leaned toward something more elemental, the subclass would be perfect for a Naruto-like setting.

 

[Mistwell]

Indeed, but then again when the level of rules support they are providing consists of "you can choose one parent's stats or the other's but make them look however you want" they are basically just giving a homebrewing tip so obvious it starts to be a waste of book real-estate.

And I think that's after-the-fact copium.

Half-elves have been in the game since 1e, and half-orcs I think the same? One or both are prominent named figures in the history of not one, but almost every single setting WOTC ever put out. At various times they ranged from major to minor differences from full elves or orcs and full humans, but always had noteworthy differences including in particular named cultural differences. They're in almost every published adventure, there are even deities of those races, and now one of them is in a new adventure which came out after 2024 had been out for quite a while now.

It's not wasted book real-estate to mention what the F is going on here and how the game is trying to address it. Even if it's just the "choose your parents" they 100% should have said that. The fact they pulled it specifically, after having written rules for it, tells me that isn't the rule anymore. It tells me they're not sure what they want the rule to be yet, and so are punting this to some future book.

And it's surely fair to point out this elephant in the room after someone just wrongly claimed they were in fact in the books and everyone is just exaggerating their absence. That is either someone who is mistaken (which is what this turned out to be), or someone trying to gaslight people.

 

[Morrus]

Are we still talking about half-orcs? Right, gotcha.

 

[bedir than]

I'm wondering what other markets could get a focused version of D&D, rather than mere translations

 

[Corinnguard]

Are we still talking about half-orcs? Right, gotcha.

Kind of? Maybe they'll be given the same treatment the Half-Elves of Eberron were given. Only for an Asian setting this time around.