D&D Direct 2023 kicked off a year of incredible events, with news on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a partnership with Minecraft, and new player resources and game days. We even got a peek at the major villains and threats in future D&D books. Hosted by Gina Darling (she/her) and Ify Nwadiwe (he/him), D&D Direct was a taste of what lies ahead in the D&D fandom.
To learn about other upcoming D&D events, bookmark the D&D Community Update. When you're ready to jump into our recap, click below!
- D&D Comes to Minecraft
- Minecraft Monstrous Compendium
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- New Player Resources at PlayDnD.com
- D&D Play Events at Local Game Stores
- Hasbro March Monster Madness
- Secret Lair Alert!
- R.A. Salvatore on Drizzt and a Neverwinter Module
- D&D Virtual Tabletop
- New Life-Size D&D Figures
- Joe Manganiello's 50th Anniversary D&D Documentary
- A Look at Future D&D Sourcebooks and Adventures
- Post-Stream Announcements
Dungeons & Dragons Comes to Minecraft
D&D is coming soon to Minecraft, the beloved sandbox game from Mojang Studios. In the Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons DLC, you and your friends will journey to the Forgotten Realms as your own D&D characters. Level up, collect loot, and face off against classic monsters, including the displacer beast, gelatinous cube, mimic, and beholder. And did we mention dragons? Because there's dragons, ya'll...
Minecraft Monstrous Compendium Available Now
Need more Minecraft in your D&D? Out now, Monstrous Compendium Volume 3: Minecraft Creatures includes stat blocks for five iconic mobs. Now your players can enjoy having creepers self-destruct in their faces in Minecraft and in your D&D sessions! To claim this collection of monsters, sign up for D&D Beyond and then click the button below:
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves releases on Friday, March 31, and D&D Direct showcased a trailer of the epic heist film starring Chris Pine, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, and Hugh Grant. Here's the official synopsis for the film:
“A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.”
To learn more, visit the D&D movie website.
New Player Resources at PlayDnD.com
This week, we're also launching playdnd.com, where new and returning players can jump into the world of D&D with prebuilt encounters and premade character sheets!
All you'll need to do is head over to playdnd.com, select a class, come up with a name, and—Voila!—you'll have your own character ready for epic adventures across the Forgotten Realms! If you'd prefer to explore all your character creation options, you can make your character from scratch instead. Your character will be accessible right here, on dndbeyond.com. Our digital character sheets handle all the rules and number crunching for you, so you can focus more on just having fun!
New Dungeon Masters can claim a campaign with a free adventure to run. You can enjoy these adventures just by signing up to D&D Beyond:
- Lost Mine of Phandelver: Make the town of Phandalin your home, protect it from all manner of threats, and investigate a mysterious mine in this beloved beginner-friendly adventure.
- Frozen Sick: In the icy Biting North of Wildemount, a sickness is spreading, and it's up to the heroes to discover its origins and save those who suffer from it.
- Prisoner 13: Break into a notorious prison featured in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and retrieve a key from one of the most dangerous criminals in the land to claim your share of treasures.
How to Get Your Friends to Play D&D
JoCat, the writer and illustrator behind the hilarious and informative A Crap Guide to D&D, is here to help you get your friends into D&D! This video features JoCat's unique art style and a jaunty tune that's bound to get your friends to want to jump into the hobby!
D&D Play Events at Local Game Stores
This year, it's easier than ever to jump into the game. From April 7-9, game stores in the U.S. and Canada will be running Voyage to Stormwreck Isle, an introductory 30-minute demo. You'll have ready-made characters to choose from, so you can just sit down and play. Experienced players may also enjoy the 4th-level heist adventure Prisoner 13 from the anthology book Keys from the Golden Vault. If you'd like to be more involved, ask your game store if they need Dungeon Masters!
Check the Store and Event Locator (select "D&D Events") to find a store near you.
Hasbro March Monster Madness
Make space on your toy shelves because Hasbro is coming in hot with a series of D&D toys to celebrate the game as well as the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. We got previews of toys for the Golden Archive collection, including premium six-inch figures of characters from the movie, as well as of larger figures for the beloved beholder Xanathar and his pet goldfish, an owlbear, and the displacer beast from the movie.
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1980s D&D cartoon, Hasbro is also releasing figures for each of the characters. Lastly, we have Dicelings, oversized d20s that convert into monsters, including the beholder, black dragon, red dragon, and owlbear.
Learn more by visiting the Hasbro Pulse store and watching the Hasbro Pulse Fan Stream, which you can catch on March 29 at 8 a.m. PT on the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel.
Secret Lair Alert!
Magic: The Gathering fans and D&D collectors can preorder Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a limited release of trading cards based on characters from the film. You can place your preorder now on the Secret Lair website, choosing either regular or premium foil versions of the cards.
R.A. Salvatore on Drizzt and a Neverwinter Module
R.A. Salvatore reflected on 35 years of Drizzt and spoke on the third book of The Way of the Drow series, Lolth's Warrior, releasing this August.
Salvatore and his son Geno also collaborated with the team behind Neverwinter, a free-to-play MMORPG based on D&D, for the release of Neverwinter: Menzoberranzan. Out now, the module takes players into the infamous Underdark city for the first time. Log in to Neverwinter between now and April 4 to receive a digital gift.
D&D Virtual Tabletop
D&D Direct viewers got a deeper look into the D&D VTT with Game Director Kale Stutzman. This virtual tabletop will not only provide a 3D play space for your D&D adventures but will feature integrations with the D&D ruleset, 3D models of your favorite creatures, and the ability to create your own adventures! This means your wizard can cast fireball, and you'll be able to watch it wreak your enemies with stunning VFX! You'll also be able to import player characters straight from D&D Beyond for a seamless play experience!
If you want to learn more, check out our D&D VTT deep dive. Or, if you want to get a first look at how the virtual tabletop will function, check out the clip below!
New Life-Size D&D Figures
Calling all collectors and magical wildlife enthusiasts! New WizKids life-size figures are available for preorder at dndmini.com:
- Everyone remembers their first mimic encounter, and this is one you won't forget! The tricky mimic figure stands 20" tall, 15" wide, and 16" deep and is the perfect decoration for your office or game room.
- Don't let the baby owlbear's adorable outward appearance fool you. These creatures can still be vicious. At 11" tall and 12" wide, this figure is perfect for displaying on a bookshelf, though you may want to be on the lookout for the momma owlbear looking for her cub.
Joe Manganiello's 50th Anniversary D&D Documentary
We got a sneak peek into the production of the D&D documentary that long-time superfan and celebrity Dungeon Master Joe Manganiello is producing. On top of some behind-the-scenes shots, Joe tells us all about the exciting direction this documentary is heading:
"It's important to say that we're not just documenting D&D's rollercoaster of a history, but the incredible impact that it's had on the world and our culture up till now. So stay tuned, 'cause we'll be bringing you more updates throughout the year as we get closer to the documentary's release day in … 2024."
A Look at Future D&D Sourcebooks and Adventures
In the proverbial "boss battle" of D&D Direct 2023, Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford revealed a number of future books and storylines that will expand the D&D multiverse:
Coming in 2023
- Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants: Journey to giant civilizations and meet wondrous legends with the famed Bigby as your guide. This book expands on the origins of giants, introduces new player options, and offers all the tools you need to run your own giant-sized adventures.
- Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk: Time and again obelisks have cropped up in our D&D adventures, and now one has been discovered near Phandalin! We return to the town as a mysterious obelisk releases a monstrous threat from beneath the earth.
- Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse: Discover Sigil, a city where everyone and everything comes to together—and where you'll find a realm of wild and weird planes to explore. This book sets up our major adventure in 2024.
- The Book of Many Things: For the first time, we're exploring the story behind the campaign-rocking deck of many things.
Plots for the Future
We're also told to expect the long-awaited return of a major D&D villain. Vecna will unleash his cosmic horror upon the D&D multiverse with a world-hopping adventure in 2024 that celebrates D&D's 50-year history and reveals plots for years to come.
But, Vecna isn't the only prominent D&D villain to be returning. As other fan-favorite villains take center stage, more plots and connections will emerge over the next five years. The Red Wizards of Thay, who are featured as villains in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, will appear in an adventure in 2025. As will the major antagonist from the 1983 Dungeons & Dragon cartoon, Venger. Last, we're told to expect the reappearance of the League of Malevolence, a group of villains from the 2021 Feywild adventure The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
Post-Stream Celebration!
After D&D Direct, Amy Dallen (she/her), LaTia Jacquise (she/her), Sarah Chaffee (they/them), and a special guest announced even more exciting D&D news!
Sales on D&D Beyond and Steam
To celebrate the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and the other exciting announcements from D&D Direct, you can get awesome deals on D&D video games, books, digital dice, and even digital + physical bundles!
- D&D Beyond Sale: Starting March 31, you can snag select D&D books and dice for up to 40% off!
- Steam Sale: From March 27 to April 3, get up to 75% off D&D video games on Steam!
Coming Soon: More Claimable Goodies From Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
If you've already claimed the Thieves' Gallery to bring the main characters from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to your games, you're going to love this! To celebrate the movie's release, later this week you can claim more content featured on the silver screen:
- Themberchaud Digital Dice Set: These flaming dice are wrapped in chains like they're trying to contain something. Find out what when you roll a critical success!
- Magic Items: Bring powerful magic items straight out of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and into your game!
These claimable goodies will be available soon at no cost, so keep checking back to see when they're available!
Gemstone Dice Pack
Available now in the D&D Beyond marketplace, this pack of seven dice sets showcases different gemstone materials. You can choose from amethyst, black opal, diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, and topaz to tailor your dice set for your character. Nature-based characters will shine with emerald or topaz, and those that lurk in the shadows can opt for black opal.
Which jeweled set will bring your character the best luck? Only one way to find out!
Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his husband. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dog, Quentin.
Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.