LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons was almost expandable

LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale's designers tried to make it expandable, but that likely won't stop custom expansions.

As showcased in our detailed review, 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale is split into four modular sections that can be combined into one D&D model or separated for easier transportation. It turns out that this aspect of the build went through at least one other iteration, as mentioned to LEGO Fan Media, including Brick Fanatics, in a recent roundtable with the set's designers.

"Early on, I was trying to make it all very modular and have everything separate out," explained designer Mark Stafford. "It introduced a lot of structural weaknesses that made it almost impossible to move. That was the problem – moving it became very difficult.

"Just moving it around the table, trying to turn it around to show players what's going on in the back. Because you can't see from every angle, I kept pulling off the tower. So in the end, I just fixed everything in place and stuck that removable wall in. So if you have got anything jammed at the back, you can get it out."

Both the tower and a removable wall in the meadow section can be removed to more easily access the deepest parts of the dungeon in 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale. While the build can still be split into sections, the model is notably secure and sturdy and can moved and turned around carefully without damaging the structure.

While the modular sections in the final design of 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale are designed to match the shape of the sections next to each other seamlessly, the build was at one point planned to be expandable with different sections all being the same size.

"Early on in the process, I was envisioning that everything would be on or close to a 16 by 16 square, much like the dungeon core, the back is 16 by 16 and that you would be able to add more on top," continued Stafford. "I was trying for about a month to make this work. But it became so complicated in this case that I couldn't figure that out."

"I do think that's a plausible future for fan mocs to go for – 16 by 16 areas that could be expanded into a massive D&D world."

While the final design for 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale isn't designed to be expanded, it may be only a matter of time until the online LEGO community takes Stafford up on his suggestion, integrating it into a larger LEGO D&D world.

Whether the LEGO Group returns to D&D in the future beyond the LEGO Ideas set and the September 2024 Collectible Minifigures series or not, at least some of the groundwork for future expansions has been included in 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale.

21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale releases on April 1, for LEGO Insiders, for £314.99 / $359.99 / €359.99. The set then launches widely on April 4 and for the first week, you can score a free Mimic Dice Box with purchases of the model while stocks last.

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