Minecraft‘s explosive Creeper, the teleporting Enderman, and the colossal Ender Dragon are coming to Dungeons & Dragons. The digital content entitled Monstrous Compendium Volume 3, will be available through D&D Beyond, Publishers Wizards of the Coast’s official portal to D&D digital content. magician and Minecraft Manufacturer Mojang announced the new compendium on Tuesday during a streaming presentation from D&D Direct.
Of course, nothing stopped fans of the classic tabletop RPG from creating their own version of these monsters yesterday. It’s just that these were made in collaboration with Mojang. The Microsoft-owned studio has also partnered with Wizards to create about 10 hours of D&D-themed DLC Minecraft
“They don’t interact in the normal action system,” Dillon said somewhat cryptically during a press conference earlier this week. “They work in a way that is more reminiscent of how they work Minecraft. So this is going to be a fun twist on how a monster works.”
Previous entries in the Monstrous Compendium series are included Monstrous Compendium Volume One: Spelljammer Creatures And Monstrous Compendium Volume 2: Dragonlance Monsters.
Today’s announcement isn’t the first partnership to bring outside intellectual property to D&D. Previous partnerships included nerd candy, Acquisitions Incorporated by Penny Arcade and the various campaigns by Critical Role. Fans should expect more crossovers like this in the future, especially given the success of Magic the Gathering‘s Universes Beyond initiative, which to date has included partnerships with iconic brands such as Fortnite, Street Fighter, Warhammer 40,000 and The Walking Dead.
The Minecraft DLC for D&D will be free for anyone with a valid login for D&D Beyond, which Wizards’ parent company Hasbro bought almost a year ago in April 2022. D&D Beyond is expected to be the linchpin of One D&D, the next iteration of D&D. Described as an evolution of the popular 5th Edition of the game, it will incorporate the existing character creation tools, item database and tools from Dungeon Masters of the D&D Beyond platform. It will also receive a robust digital tabletop component, including 3D scenery and miniatures, further solidifying the future of tabletop roleplaying online.