‘This needs to be a whole theme’: LEGO and D&D fans react to Dungeons & Dragons set reveal

LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale brought together two massive fandoms between LEGO builders and D&D players – so what do they think of the new set?

We’re now one day on from the official reveal of 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, giving us plenty of time to take in all the details, compare it to the original fan-designed build, and form our own opinions within the Brick Fanatics team. It’s also enough time for the internet to explode, settle down, and form a wide variety of opinions.

Here’s an overview of everything people have been saying about the latest LEGO Ideas reveal, from frustration over the price to excitement about the minifigures.

The (many) teasers might have given some people the wrong impression

Over the last few weeks, the LEGO Group has dropped three teasers on social media, ramping up the excitement for 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale. While that certainly worked, generating thousands of comments, shares, and likes before the official reveal on March 19, it might not have offered a clear picture of what to expect from the set.

Those who stay up to date on the latest LEGO news have known for a while that the LEGO Ideas set is the result of a challenge where fans could submit D&D-themed builds for a chance of becoming a real set. That means we had a fairly good idea of what the upcoming set would look like, although the end result did have a few key changes.

For the general audience, however, the social media teasers were the first they were hearing about 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale. The fragmented images led some to think that an entire theme was coming, or at the very least a modular wave of sets that D&D players could use as miniatures or to form a campaign.

“I was really hoping we’d get some like modular sets to use for playing D&D,” – wrote one disappointed player on reddit, while another agreed on Instagram: “Thought it was going to be several smaller sets the way you advertised it. I feel like it would have made so many more sales if it were smaller sets that could join up or just were different settings.”

The Dungeons & Dragons minifigures steal the show

The main excitement for many is the minifigures – and with good reason. The six-strong party includes an Orc rogue, Elf wizard, Dwarf cleric, Halfling fighter, Alax Jadescales the Dragonborn, and Ervan Soulfallen the human, with plenty of new prints, moulds, and recolours to make them all exciting additions to the LEGO system in their own right.

However, the appeal of the minifigures is not matched by excitement for the main build for everyone. One person commented on the LEGO Group’s official Instagram post revealing the set: “This is basically 300$ minifig set. The caste itself is boring and generic, the tavern is too small to play with, and the dragon is not very detailed and just copies previous sets.”

Over on reddit, people had similar ideas about taking the minifigures further: “Spending $360 for this is a little crazy. Sell the miniatures individuals. Make customization kits with the minifigs for each race/class. Make them in a way where people would use them for actual games.”

‘I like it – I do not $360 like it’

Indeed, price is a drawback for many regarding 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, even for those who like it. Put simply, as one reddit user wrote: “I like it. I do not $360 like it.”

Many fans like to break down sets into price per piece but another reddit commenter pointed out that it’s the overall impression that seems to be lacking: “Price per feature doesn’t look worth it, dragon is cool but the rest of the build seems quite basic for that price.” While there are three main sections to the build – the dungeon, the tower, and the tavern – some early impressions don’t seem to feel this is enough to warrant the relatively high price tag.

There’s a lot of LEGO but not enough Dungeons & Dragons

We pointed out in our first impressions that 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale might not quite be what D&D fans expected – or wanted. Indeed, some of the comments from newcomers to LEGO products wanted more integration with the roleplaying game.

“If this doesn’t come with a LEGO d20, that would be a sin,” wrote one person on Instagram, referring to the 20-sided dice which are central to the core mechanics of many actions in D&D. There were also calls for the brick-built tower to be turned into a dice tower, or getting a d20 as an extra GWP, even if it’s not included in the set itself. While there is an exclusive gift-with-purchase, it’s not a d20. For some, this lack of D&D features means it feels more like a LEGO product than a true D&D collaboration.

Even Dungeons & Dragons newbies are excited

Even if you’re not a D&D fan, however, there’s still plenty to love about 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, not least the wide range of fantasy-themed parts and accessories.

“I’m not a D&D fan, but I cannot express how excited I am about finally having some darker skin-tone elf ears!” exclaimed one commenter over on reddit. “Cannot wait for those to hit PAB.”

While there are plenty of modern elf ears to find in sets like 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, this is the first time that we’ve had such a wide range of skin tones and genders, especially thanks to the extra heads that each minifigure comes with as stanard.

Dungeons & Dragons fans want more, more, more

All in all, while there are some criticisms of the newly-revealed LEGO Ideas set, 21348 Dungeons & Dragons still has people calling for more. The D&D Collectible Minifigures series is now confirmed but fans aren’t satisfied with one set and a minifigure series.

“This needs to be a whole theme,” wrote one person on reddit. “It’d be perfect for a castle/fantasy theme.” Indeed, there’s enough lore in the 50 years that Dungeons & Dragons has been running to feed into dozens more sets. If reactions to this first set are anything to go by, there’s certainly the appetite to match those possibilities.

LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale will be available for LEGO Insiders from April 1 and launch widely on April 4. LEGO Insiders who purchase the £314.99 / $359.99 / €359.99 set before April 7 will also score a free Mimic Dice Box gift-with-purchase while stocks last.

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