First Impression: Dungeons and Dragons: Legend of Drizzt Board Game

Another entry into the Dungeons and Dragons cooperative board game series, the third entry, Legend of Drizzt, is sure to attract some attention based merely on the presence of the ever-popular Drizzt character.

 

The release of this board game coincides with the release of an original Drizzt story in comic book form. It will be interesting to see how that story and the other Drizzt tales are incorporated into the action in this board game.

I've played the first game in this series, Castle Ravenloft, but not the second, Wrath of Ashardalon. I can't say I was impressed. Gameplay is very random - dungeon expansion is random, monsters are random, traps are random... The core gameplay uses DnD 4th Ed. rules as a basis which gives it a very odd feel. It's almost like old-school 1st Ed. DnD had a incestuous love child with 4th Ed. "Kick down the door and kill the mind flayer! Kick down the door and kill the dragon! Kick down the door and kill the beholder!"

Clearly they're going after Forgotten Realms fans who have perhaps continued reading the novels but have been away from DnD as a roleplaying game for awhile... I think most of those people will be in for a shock when they see how the game plays and how the 4th Ed. rules work. Sure, Legend of Drizzt will sell well but I don't think it will bring many lost gamers back into the fold.