Lego D&D sets are in the works… and they'll be designed by you
The Ideas initiative has put out a call for Lego D&D designs
You might be able to pick up your own Lego D&D set in the not-so-distant future. Quite literally: the Lego Ideas initiative is asking for community designs, and the best one will be chosen as the first official Dungeons and Dragons Lego kit.
Revealed via the latest Lego Ideas blog, the competition celebrates 50 years of Dungeons and Dragons by asking fans to design display models of characters or monsters, functional kits for players and Dungeon Masters, or customizable builds that include locations from D&D lore. The winner will then get 1% of the total net sales of their design, a swag bag of D&D goodies, and 10 copies of their Lego D&D set.
Although a panel of judges from Lego and Wizards of the Coast (the team behind Dungeons and Dragons books) will have the final say over what gets produced, fans can vote for their favorites too. Actually, it seems like that will be pretty important; your say is "intended to help the Judges gauge fan interest in specific designs, and validate fan excitement for the theme". This fan vote will take place between November 28 and December 12, 2022, and the final design will presumably launch sometime over the next year or so (that's the normal window for Lego Ideas products).
Want to get your own design in? You've got until November 14. If successful, your design will join sets like Friends Central Perk, The Office, Seinfeld, and plenty more.
However, that isn't to say you have to wait until this Lego D&D project is on shelves to furnish the best tabletop RPGs with bricks. Some of the best Lego sets can be jerry-rigged into Dungeons and Dragons playing pieces, including the recent remake of the Lion Knights' Castle from 1984. We've listed some suggestions below for anyone wanting to use Lego instead of Wizkids miniatures or something created from the best 3D printers.
In short, it's worth checking out anything from the Lego Medieval range or the older Lego Kingdoms sets (the latter is harder to find these days). Retired Lego Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit kits are also ideal if you're able to get them via eBay, and it's easy enough to mock up Harry Potter or Avatar creatures as D&D monsters if you're in need of a foe too. You can even get medieval weapon and armor accessories for your minifigs from Amazon if you'd like, so there's plenty of room to start your collection now.
Lego Medieval Castle | $99.99 at Lego
Want a great starting point for your Lego D&D builds? We'd recommend this one. Although it's a bit smaller than the Lion Knights' Castle, it's much more affordable, can be built into multiple variants (including a tower and marketplace), and is still crammed with a fantasy flavor. Better yet, it comes with two knights, a blacksmith, a skeleton, and an actual dragon. You can easily create a fun encounter with just this set.
UK price: £89.99 at Lego
Lego Medieval Blacksmith | $179.99 at Lego
Although it's a little less multi-use than the castle above, this is still a cracking set for Lego D&D. It can serve as a lair for bandits, your party's home, or even a tavern. Plus, it comes with a cart (useful for transporting all your loot), a knight, a blacksmith that could definitely be used as a barbarian, an archer, and a faithful hound for anyone wanting to play as a Ranger.
UK price: £159.99 at Lego
Lego Lion Knights' Castle | $399.99 at Lego
This is the big one. If you have a larger budget and a hankering for the nostalgia of the mid-1980s, this build will rival many of the most impressive D&D terrain setups out there. Strategically remove some pieces and it can also pull double-duty as a ruined dungeon or the lair of some nasty goblins, ghouls, and undead.
UK price: £344.99 at Lego
New to tabletop? If Stranger Things made you want to play D&D, here's where you should start. We've also got guides on how to make your first character in D&D, not to mention the best D&D class for beginners.
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As the site's Tabletop & Merch Editor, you'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news. I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and can normally be found cackling over some evil plan I've cooked up for my group's next Dungeons & Dragons campaign.