Review: LEGO/D&D Red Dragon’s Tale

When LEGO announced a collaboration with Wizards of the Coast on a D&D set I was very excited. The campaign via LEGO Ideas for the new set offered several different sorts of fan made designs but I cast my vote for Dragons Keep, the minifig scale set that ultimately got chosen. Now with final product, called Red Dragon’s Tale, in hand I wanted to share my thoughts on it. Roll an investigation check.

Build Your Own Adventure

The building experience of a LEGO set is not something I usually think about when considering a sets worth, this set has changed my perspective on that though. Building this set is easily the most value I have ever derived from that process for any LEGO release. 

Some of that comes from the fact that for the last 5 years I have been sort of obsessed with D&D including running a long term campaign as a DM (Dungeon Master for those not in the know). This set has an adventure literally built In and as you build the set each LEGO brick is another piece of the story.

A story that’s packed full of D&D staples and can be ran as an actual game. As you build the model and see the though and consideration that has gone into that aspect you can’t help but be impressed. The Campaign is available as a free PDF download, but I dropped some LEGO Insider points on a physical copy.

Clues, background story, Easter eggs, hidden compartments, magic items etc adorn the set which is neatly divided Over four separate instruction books and 4 main builds, A tavern (a must for any D&D campaign), a landscape with hidden dungeon, a castle ruin and a dragon.

I don’t want to spoil everything for anyone else that might play or build this set so I’ll not give specifics and pictures I have taken may show somethings but I think out of context I’ve not included anything that would spoil things too much. For more images that do that just check out the official product photos.

Without doubt the building process was by far my favourite aspect of this set.

Monster Manual

Red Dragon’s Tale boasts a large number of creatures, big and small, which ultimately contribute a lot to the overall part count.

Biggest and most obvious is the titular winged reptile. It’s an impressive looking beast that’s surprisingly different from other Dragons I’ve built such as those found in Ninjago sets. it’s definitely a really good representation visually of a D&D red Dragon and the fabric wings are a nice touch. overall though I was a little disappointed with it.

Its articulation is limited which I guess is partly a compromise to get the right look. And while I love the tan coloured underbelly, the rest doesn’t quite look as clean as I would like.The red bars to hold in the wings in place  look awkward, the thumbs are odd, they eyes are not prominent enough and I found it quite flimsy in certain areas; I’m sick of having to reattach the lower jaw! Maybe specific to me but… I also hate trying to photograph LEGO red, and there is a lot of that here.

That sounds more negative than I intended. The positives do outweigh the negatives, but the negatives were not things I could ignore. The other creatures are a mixed bag (of holding?).

The beholder and owlbear are the best two builds. The beholder especially is an impressive looking construction and really nails a LEGOfied version of a DnD creature. Who knew a beholder could be sort of cute but still menacing.  The owlbear, my favourite D&D monster, is also nicely done, limited articulation but captures the feel of the creature at inappropriate scale to minifigs

The displacer beast and awakened tree are less successful. Black is always a strange colour for a tree for me which really harms his overall look; though i do like the fact his (stickered) face can be hidden with branches.

The six Legged cat though is a demonstration of all the things I dislike in brick built animals at minifig scale. It is oddly proportioned and has part choices that just don’t help with the natural look of an animal (ugh those legs).

Two mimics are fairly well done and a gelatinous cube is a really simple but fun inclusion. and while very simple, a trio of Black Pudding thoroughly amused me.

The monsters are rounded out with a trio of skeletons armed with magic items including a really pretty iridescent cape. You can never have too many skeletons!

Player’s Handbook

Aside from the skeletons the set included 6 minifigures. 4 adventurers that acts as the player characters in the campaign (stat blocks available online) and 2 other non playable characters (NPC).

The four player characters are a nicely diverse bunch with two head options to allow some customisation for players.

These 4 figures are all beautifully detailed and have multiple expressions; except the half orc who has no hair to hide additional expressions.

Then we have the two NPCs. The Dragonborn is probably my favourite of these, I love the recolour of the LEGO Vidyo headpiece and his generic, non combatant, outfit.

Finally we have this human character, the male variation has a fun expression, that OTT smile is perfectly ambiguous. The alternate head is not quite as interesting but I’d rather have it that not.

The thing I like most about these figures though is that there are no skin colours on the torso or legs meaning the characters can be mixed and matched. I really hope the upcoming CMF series carries this trait too. It’s fantastic for making custom medieval fantasy minifigs.

Dungeon Master’s Guide

I’ve not played the campaign yet, but I have read the campaign and prepared to run it with my family sometime soon. So I’ll do another post then. However it’s worth saying that this is not a D&D combat map, you won’t be moving your LEGO minifigures around grid squares the way you do with minis on a tabletop. I don’t play D&D with minis so that’s fine be my.

Instead the set acts as a sort of visual aid to the settings of the campaign. I like this idea, it gives the gaming table a nice focal point and the visual aspect provides something a little different to a usual game. 

Actually handing players magic items they find and equipping their minifigs is something I think will be fun.

The fact that some of the spaces are quite cramped and the set does have lots of parts that break off easily might make this frustrating for 4 players to look at. But in theory I think it’s a cool idea.

The set is modular and breaks apart easily so as not to reveal upcoming story points too soon to your players. This shows that the Table Top Gaming element of this set was a big part of the design considerations.

The Set Of Many Things.

There’s a lot crammed into this set and I think ultimately, despite the hugely enjoyable build process, the sheer variety of things going on harm the overall aesthetic. 

Compare it to last year’s LoTR Rivendell set, which is a beautiful set to look at. By comparison Dragons Tale looks both simplistic and also cluttered. 

The Inn stands out as the best looking part of the set from the front, but the meadow/cave/ruins on the right hand side (as viewed from the front) looks overly messy and cluttered. Up close there are fun and clever details, but it’s not a beautiful display price like some other sets in this price range.

Then round the back we have lots of different rooms and spaces backed with fun little details, but there’s not a lot of usable or easily accessible space. Yes the roof c can be removed in some areas but not everywhere. The little space for the myconids for instance, one of the areas I had most fun shooting, but it’s so small.

This overall cluttered feel is not helped by the dragon, which on its own looks good, but despite what the box art suggests, this thing is not easily posed on this set.

It feels like the goal to make this set represent a full little campaign has maybe taken precedence over the typical LEGO requirements for a set like this. And really, how many people will actually play this as intended?

Nat 20 or Critical Fail?

The truth is I have conflicting thoughts on this set, there is lots that I love and I am looking forward to playing the campaign on a family game night the minifigures are really high quality and I love the customisation options, I hope that is carried forward in the CMF series (it looks like it will be if leaks are to be believed). 

However, when I see the set sitting there on my shelf, I feel a little bit of disappointment. It’s not super pleasing on the eye, and for something so expensive that really matters. The medieval blacksmith cost a third of the price but has 3 times as much impact on a shelf thanks to its intricate details and consistent style.

Up close I understand some of what looks like clutter and messiness is the designers really trying to pack as much D&D into this set as possible and to enhance the campaign element, and that is admirable.

I think the quantity of LEGO “stuff” you get for your money is OK (by LEGO standards), not amazing but just about acceptable. It’s a shame that the builds are of mixed quality and that they come together in slightly cluttered fashion – not aided by the fact much of the build is a ruin.

To finish up I think maybe my expectations got the better of me here, and building the set was so enjoyable  that I was ultimately left a little disappointed with what was left on my shelf at the end. 

However, I do love the minifigures, the beholder, the owlbear, the inn exterior and some of the dungeon interiors, so I am very happy to have this set in my collection. I’ve never enjoyed building a set as much as I enjoyed building this one. I’m hoping we also have lots of fun playing it, I’ll report back later to let you know.

TLDR

A quick video summary on my YouTube channel below