Dungeons & Dragonshas been a valuable and sought-after video game IP for a long time, but games that use this IP are often part of the CRPG genre, or action-RPGs and first-person dungeon crawlers. While strategy is involved in many of these games, it’s hard to call all of them strategy games.
However, there have been some truly strategic experiences in theDungeons & Dragonsuniverse, whether they beretro experiences from the 90s, industry-shaking turn-based games, ordigital adaptations of board games.
6Blood & Magic
This well-crafted RTS game released back in 1996 during the heights of RTS popularity, and as a result, was almost immediately forgotten by many. The game features classic RTS gameplay reminiscent ofBlizzard’sWarcraftand a story set in the Utter East region of the Forgotten Realms.
Dungeons & Dragons: Blood & Magicfeatures different endings, achieved by completing the game with either of its two unique factions. Although slightly derivative of its contemporaries,Blood & Magic’sgameplay features a unique way of gaining resources; instead of collecting resources from a supply deposit, they’re gained through obelisks created by transforming important “Golem” units. Because these Golems can also be used to transform into fighting units, it creates a unique game of risk-reward and requires careful balancing between economy and military.
5Dungeons & Dragons: Lords Of Waterdeep
Lords Of Waterdeepis a modern classic, award-winning tabletop strategy game published byWizards Of The Coastin 2012. The game is styled after German board games and features mechanics revolving around worker placement. The tabletop game was so popular that it received a digital adaptation that released on Steam in 2017.
This game takes place in the titular (and iconic) city of Waterdeep, or the “City of Splendors,“in the Forgotten Realms, and puts players in the shoes of a Lord, sending their agents around the City to recruit adventurers in order to complete a variety of quests. Being a digital adaptation of a board game, the gameplay is turn-based and plays like a tabletop game, only with the added bonus of being able to play against AI.
4The Temple Of Elemental Evil
Based on the legendaryDungeons & Dragonstabletop module written by Gary Gygax, one of the creators ofD&D,The Temple Of Elemental Evilreleased back in 2003 to relative praise, though it was rather heavily criticized for its lack of narrative and plethora of game bugs.
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The Temple Of Elemental Evilis predominantlya dungeon crawler, but featurestactical-turn-based combatwith plenty of strategy, based aroundDungeons & Dragons3.5 rules. Unfortunately, the game relies on players to understand theDungeons & Dragonsrule set and can be fairly inaccessible as a result. Despite this,The Temple Of Elemental Evilis worth playing for CRPG fans who don’t mind a game that’s rough around the edges.
3Solasta: Crown Of The Magister
This turn-based tactical RPG, released on Steam in 2021, features advanced combat based on the 5th edition rules ofDungeons & Dragons, using the game’s “System Reference Document” as guidelines.Solasta: Crown Of The Magistertakes place in a semi-post-apocalyptic fantasy setting filled with ruins and dungeons and features heavily tabletop-inspired party-based combat.
Solasta: Crown Of The Magisterhas players controlling a party of their own creation, which is created using an in-depth character creation tool inspired by classic tabletop RPGs, battling through various encounters in tactical, strategic gameplay. The gameplay focuses on player positioning and environmental awareness but also features more standard mechanics such as rolling for initiative and attacks of opportunity.
2Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard
With almost no media content surrounding the game since its release in 2005,Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshardhas been unfortunately forgotten despite its original critical praise. What makesDragonshard’sdisappearance even more baffling is that it works hard to capture the feeling of the tabletop RPG while remaining true to the RTS genre, and it could be argued that it does this very successfully.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshardcombines real-time strategy gameplay with a unique twist. Gathering resources inDragonshardrequires players to delve into dungeons with smaller groups of elite units to fight monsters and gather gold, which players can use above ground to build their armies. This underground party-based gameplay plays more like an RPG, providing the game with an extra layer of depth and complexity, while also making the game feel more likeD&Ddespite being an RTS.
1Baldur’s Gate 3
This long-awaited third entry in the reveredBaldur’s Gateseries, developed by the creators ofDivinity: Original Sin 2, takes place in the Forgotten Realms and features turn-based tactical combat in which players have control of a party of adventurers. The game’s combat focuses primarily on player positioning and taking advantage of the various environments.
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Baldur’s Gate 3features an astonishing amount of player agency and control, both in the narrative and in how players are able to approach combat encounters. It’s this agency that propels the game forward and provides players witha true role-playing experience. What setsBaldur’s Gate 3even further apart from most RPGs, however, is itssheer amount of branching pathsfacilitated by a dynamic and reactive world, allowing players to have dramatically different experiences with the game.
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