Review: LEGO 21348 Dungeons and Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale

March 24, 2024 | 15

The LEGO Dungeons and Dragons set is without a doubt, one of the most exciting and impressive sets of 2024, and after immersing myself in the build, I can safely say that LEGO and Wizards of the Coast have come together to produce an exceptional set.

Update: Check out my complete and in-depth review of 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale

21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale is a magical LEGO model that goes beyond the 3,745-pieces of LEGO bricks that form a gorgeous medieval fantasy model. Like the tabletop roleplaying the set is based on, LEGO and WOTC have come together to create a buildable DnD experience that truly honours the spirit of the game.

21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale will be available exclusively from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store on 1 April 2024 for LEGO Insiders, ahead of a 4 April general release date.

I’m not a huge DnD player as tabletop RPGs aren’t really my thing, but my personal connection to DnD come in the form of computer games – I spent the better part of my youth sinking hundreds of hours into Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Knights, so I’m beyond pleased to see a LEGO DnD set, although I won’t be able to fully appreciate it!

Warning: This review contains campaign spoilers, so if you intend to play the campaign with your group and you’re not the DM (Dungeon Master), I recommend not reading or watching any reviews and going in fresh!

Is it worth the huge US$359.99 / AU$499.99 pricetag? Let’s check the 2024 LEGO DnD set out in this review, and see if LEGO rolled a Nat 20 on this model!

See below for regional pricing and product pages for the LEGO D&D set

• 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale [US] – US$359.99
• 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale [AUS] – AU$499.99
• 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale [UK] – £314.99
• 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale [EU] – €359.99
• 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale [CA] – CAD$469.99

If you’re thinking of picking the LEGO DnD set up, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. I may receive a small commission with each purchase which helps support the work I do on the blog!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for review.

21348 Dungeons and Dragons Red Dragon’s Tale Set Details

Set Name: Dungeons and Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale
Set number: 21348
Pieces: 168
Minifigures: 6
Price: US$359.99 / AU$4999.99 / £314.99/ €359,99
Exclusive to: LEGO.com / LEGO Stroes
Theme: LEGO Ideas
Design Team: Wes Talbott, Mark Stafford, Chris Perron, Peter Kjærgaard, Crystal Bam Fontán, Ioana Popescu, Johanna W. Jensen, Felipe Telles, Yoel Mazur

Here’s a look at the instruction manuals, which features an original illustration by CHAINSAW YU 電鋸鋸鋸鋸, who won the LEGO Ideas challenge to provide a fan-design for the model.

It looks incredible, and this is such a breath of fresh air from the ubiquitous set model on black background that plagues all modern LEGO Icons/Ideas sets.

There are 4 instruction booklets, which means that you could theoretically build this with up to 3 other people, perfect for your D&D party!

There are quite a number of printed elements, but the set also comes with a small sticker sheet for additional decorations.

This isn’t included as part of the set, but LEGO and Wizards of the Coast also worked together on an actual campaign book that is integral to the set’s experience, especially if you intend to play with it with your party.

You can redeem it for 2,700 Points on LEGO Insiders, or download a digital version for free.

It’s an entire DnD campaign based around this set, complete with character sheets and more. I highly recommend getting the physical version as it’s really well-made and a nice collectible if you have the points.

Even if you don’t intend on playing it with your DnD group (or have no interest in actually playing DnD), it makes for a great companion piece to this set as it gives plenty of context to the locations, characters, monsters and more.

The Build Experience

Here’s a look at some build in progress shots – each booklet builds a different section of the model, and you finish off with building Cinderhowl, the “boss” of this D&D campaign which was a fantastic way to end the build.

The build was quite an interesting experience. It’s a huge model, so you get a huge payoff at the end, and I really liked building each different section, which were unique and had their very own design and feel – from the Inn Plain Sight inn, to the Meadow, to the Basement and Tower, and finishing off with Cinderhowl.

For a model as large and as expensive as this, it wasn’t that complex of a build. I was expecting some rather advanced techniques, like we saw in 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, but on the contrary, the build was quite approachable.

There are some really neat techniques, especially in the construction of stone staircases, and some inventive Castle-type facade techniques, but for the most part, the set didn’t have the same level of building rigour you’d typically expect from a set this large and expensive – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it’s beginner-friendly.

This is mostly due to the model being more functional, than it is aesthetic, which you’ll begin to see as you read through this review. The only section that felt truly advanced and which I had a blast in was building Cinderhowl the massive Red Dragon.

The LEGO Dungeons and Dragons Minifigures and Creatures

The LEGO Dungeons and Dragons set comes with 6 minifigures – a customisable party of four, that includes a Dwarf Cleric, Gnome Fighter, Orc Rogue and Elf Wizard, and two non-player characters, the evil sorcerer Ervan Soulfallen, and the dragonborn Innkeeper, Alax Jadescales.

It’s a really solid lineup, and all minifigures are brand new and exclusive, and if you’re a fan of Fantasy/Medieval minifigures, you’ll be very happy with the selection here.

Oh, and also a reminder that LEGO will be releasing a Dungeons and Dragons-themed Collectible Minifigures series in September 2024.. so there’s plenty more to look forward to!

Here’s a look at your LEGO DnD party, which consists of a Dwarf Cleric, Elf Wizard, Orc Rogue and Gnome Fighter, which is considered the “classic” DnD party composition, although some would argue that it’s sorely missing a Bard!

True to the spirit of DnD, there’s some ability to customise your character, as each minifigure (except the Rogue) has dual-sided heads, AND also the option to change the gender of the characters as well. There’s a nice mix of skin tones, and I do like the DnD Orc, which is a more pleasant, peaceful race rather than stereotypical evil Lord of the Rings Orc.

Here’s a look at the female variants, which strangely, have less humorous faces than the men. Still a really nice option to be able to customise characters, and as most DnD players know, you can also loot and find new equipment as the campaign progresses to “level up” your characters.

The minifigures are super-detailed, and I love the colours, especially on the Cleric and Gnome Fighter! Also, how cool is this printed shield with a Displacer Beast sigil!?

Here’s a look at the Elf Wizard’s spellbook!

You can use these different printed tiles for the spells and slot them into the spellbook – DnD fans will be delighted to see that classics like Fireball and Arcane Eye are here. Love that these are printed, although the Spellbook Covers are stickers.

Next we have the two non-player characters (NPCs), the innkeeper Alax Jadescales, and the evil sorcerer Ervan Soulfallen. Alax is a dragonborn and his minifigure has a really nice tunic, and I love the printed details on his legs.

Ervan has an expressive face, and can also transform into a more terrifying form which you’ll see later.

Oh, you can also gender-swap Ervan to be a woman if you’d like, which I think is pretty cool!

Here’s a look at Alax’s head, which uses the LEGO Vidiyo Dragon head to great effect here.

And here’s Ervan’s female powered up sorceress form – the alternate expression has a really cool design with evil green veins across her face.

And here’s the male version.

And here’s a look at 3 skeletons included! Can’t have a DnD campaign without skeletons! And they have some really cool hear as well – just waiting to be looted!

That Skeleton holding up The One Ring is mighty suspicious – it also so happens that it’s a Ring of Invincibility. How convenient!

Before we get into the creatures – here are some Myconids. I guess they kinda fall in the category between minifigures and creatures, as they use the cute LEGO DreamZzz Grimspawn bodies, and printed minifigure heads.

Myconids are a playable race, so these could technically be playable characters in your campaign, and I’m really glad these were included!

Let’s move on to the creatures, big and small!

Here’s a look at the DIsplacer Beast, the big evil DnD cat that’s a staple in the series ever since the game’s first edition. It’s described as a puma-like creature with six legs with tentacles that grow from its shoulders, and LEGO have done a pretty decent job replicating it here.

It’s quite small and lanky, and just the right scale for minifigures, which makes builds like these quite challenging. I like that it has a printed eye, which gives it a bit of a unique look.

Next we have an Owlbear, another DnD cornerstone, and this is also a pretty nice creature build. there are some nice details like its claws, and the use of different colours and slopes to give it a shaggy look.

The printed eyes are another nice touch, and I think its best angle is head on from the front where you can appreciate how expressive it looks.

Another great monster is the Beholder, with its large eye, mouth and 10 eyestalks erupting from the floating fleshy mass.

This is probably my favourite creature in the set just because of how well executed it is, from the printed eyes, to the recoloured lavender macaroni element – LEGO knocked this one out of the park.

And we also have this cool Awakened Tree, which is part of the landscape in the Meadow scene. It has a cool printed slope for a face, and I’m starting to grow on this black tree trunk and green leaf design for trees – very Forestmen.

And last but not least, these Gelatinous Cubes, including a cute baby one! Simply adorable, and something that will put a smile on the faces of DnD fans.

The Completed LEGO DnD Model

And here is the completed model, which is a really striking LEGO build, which will utterly delight Fantasy and Castle fans.

It’s quite large, with a big footprint, and enough height to guarantee it remains a substantial display model, and I also appreciate the blend of colours.

Towering over the ruins is of course, Cinderhowl the Dragon and while some fans were disappointed that the dragon’s colour was switched from Dark Green to this brighter Red and Orange combination, the colours here definitely work to give the build more of a visual anchor – plus it was likely something that Wizards of the Coast preferred as well.

Here’s a look at the model without Cinderhowl attached to it. You’ll notice a tall tower, an Inn at the front, and a Meadow at the base of the Tower which are all different scenes in the Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Here’s a view of the left side.

And here’s a look at the back.

The build is “modular” in the sense that each section is connected to one another via Technic pins, so you can easily detach each part as you go about your campaign.

The adventurers begin their journey at the Inn, aptly named Inn Plain Sight. The Inn is operated by Alax Jadescales, but in the campaign is run by Merry Rumwell, who is Ervan in disguise, and has imprisoned Alax somewhere else after assuming control of the Inn.

Here’s the Inn section on its own, which is quite small and compact but features some interesting geometry for its facade, but I really like the blue roof and purple tiling, which gives off a bit of a fantasy vibe.

For ease of access, the upper level of the Inn and Roof can be detached to allow easy access to the ground floor.

Here’s a look at the Inn, which is quite cramped but features a bar with some Wings and Hot Sauce, a weapons rack, and a small table in the middle of the room.

The Hot Wings are a part of the campaign, and there’s something quite funny about a Dragonborn Innkeeper serving up Hot Wings as his specialty dish.

The upper level features a bedroom, with a minifigure-scale Mimic chest! Not as neat as the larger Mimic Dice Box (which will be a GWP at launch), but still a very nice design – I love the use of the 1×1 plates with printing on the side for the eyes.

Oh and the bed is a Mimic too!

Moving on, our party arrives at the Meadow next door, where they’re greeted by some Giant Spiders, an Owlbear and an Awakened Tree!

I like that there’s plenty of space here to place the minifigures and creatures as you explore this new scene. As mentioned earlier, some parts of the build here are quite simple, but it’s to facilitate the placing of minifigures across this plain.

Depending on what choices the players make, you risk enraging the Owlbear and having to fight it!

There’s also plenty to explore here, including some stairs that leads you to…

A little clearing under the bridge where some Myconids live! They seem friendly, and look like a bunch of fun guys. Sorry.

Don’t forget to loot this sick Beholder shield, and yes, that’s a printed element!

Here’s a look at the tree, which can scuttle out of its nook to reveal a secret passageway!

One thing I really love about the design of the set is that there’s discoveries, and secrets littered all over the set – such as this little hiding spot made by the Giant Spiders which contain a key and some coins!

Next up, there’s a Dungeon to explore, filled with plenty of items and equipment to be found here, after dealing with some Oozes – here we have some Black Pudding, and of course the Gelatinous Cube family!

There’s a skeleton in the Gelatinous Cube.. perhaps there’s a way to communicate with it, and learn more about Alax’s disappearance?

If all goes well, you’ll be able to free Alax from his prison cell here. What do you know, a dragon in a dungeon!

After clearing out the dungeon and picking up all the equipment, our heroes move on to the next section, which is the basement of the Tower, which the party needs to ascend.

There’s a trio of Skeletons here, wearing some pretty snazzy equipment and weapons, so hopefully your party are strong enough to fight off these skeletons before looting them and exploring the area.

This spellbook could be useful. Just don’t come into contact with the poisonous plants!

Oh and be sure not to get hit in the face by this axe trap!

Moving up the tower, we encounter a 5-headed dragon shrine, with a mysterious dragon orb in the middle! DnD fans will immediately recognise this as a shrine to Tiamat, the 5-headed queen of evil dragons!

Moving up, we find Ervan’s Arcane Workshop, full of spell scrolls, and treasures.

As we approach the Tower’s peak, we come across this Egg Chamber, where a Dragon Egg is surrounded by candles to keep it warm.

At the peak, Ervan summons Cinderhowl, the dragon and final boss of this campaign who you must combat alongside Ervan!

Meet Cinderhowl, which concludes the build, and is really the creme de la creme of this build.

With leaked photos, and even the official box art, I wasn’t expecting too much with the Dragon, but the build and complexity of this ferocious adult red dragon was utterly satisfying, and a fine way to finish off the set.

It’s absolutely massive, and I really liked the advanced techniques to build it, and piece it all together.

Cinderhowl features these large fabric wings, which use T-bars to pin the wings to its frame, and I do love the tattered look of it.

Here’s a look at the underside of the wings, and Cinderhowl’s side profile.

It’s a really attractive looking dragon, with “thumbs” to ensure that it’s a pure DnD dragon, and a really impressive overall build. It’s not without faults – the legs are a little wobbly and shaky, so I found that it would collapse on its own weight every now and then as the ball joints don’t do a great job of keeping the legs in a fixed position.

Most impressively, the dragon is entirely brick-built, without any large specialised elements, and the advanced LEGO creature-building techniques are fully on-show here, especially the head.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that its eyes are printed on a red wedge plate, which is quite clever!

Just to illustrate its size, here’s a comparison with a classic LEGO Dragon, and the Dragon Suit Guy from LEGO Minifigures Series 18!

While the dragon is a great build, I do wish that there was a better way to affix it to the build. You kinda have to gingerly rest it and find a position for it on the bridge, so if you place it wrongly, it has the tendency to come tumbling down, or knock sections of the bridge off if you’re not careful.

How big is the LEGO Dungeons and Dragons set?

If you’re wondering how this compares, it’s quite a large model, making it a a really great display piece. It has plenty of display presence with its height, and also the presence of a large red dragon looming over a tower and inn.

Here it is next to the LEGO Modular Natural History Museum.

And for Castle fans, here’s a look at it alongside 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle!

What I liked:

• A really fun build and model with plenty of display presence
• Unprecedented level of playability thanks to the DnD campaign
• Exceptional minifigure lineup, complete with customisable heads
• Easter Eggs and DnD references galore

What I didn’t like: 

• The DnD campaign really should’ve been included in the box
• Build is a tad simplistic (apart from the dragon) for a set at this pricepoint

Final Thoughts:

LEGO have done a remarkable thing with 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, forging a gorgeous LEGO model that packs plenty of display presence with the essence of DnD in the form of a buildable, playable campaign made possible by LEGO bricks and minifigures.

It’s one of the most innovative products yet, and I was really surprised at how well the storytelling and gameplay elements of DnD translated so well into the set, which was 100% by design.

Unusually for a set this size, aesthetics and complex build techniques take a backseat to plenty of space to place minifigures, tons of equipment, items and treasure hidden in every nook and cranny.

The minifigures are exceptional, and these just make me want the September 2024 LEGO DnD Collectible Minifigures series even more to whet my Fantasy Castle minifigure appetite!

Even without playing this campaign (I don’t play DnD in person), I could immediately tell when building that this was a campaign built from bricks, and something that could be incredibly fun for DnD fans and players.

The model itself is great – it’s a massive Fantasy/Castle build with a huge red dragon, and something that you could only dream of in the 80s and 90s. LEGO’s current Icons Castle line seems to veer into more orthodox Castle settings, so this magical and fantastical take ensures that Fantasy Castle fans will be easily lured in.

The DnD campaign that Wizards of the Coast wrote is the heart and soul of the set. Even if you don’t play it out, I relished reading about the build, getting to know characters and putting names to potions, spell scrolls and creatures in the set.

There’s so much worldbuilding and imagination here that just elevates the entire experience, and something that I’d love to see with other large, story-driven LEGO sets like this.

I am not a fan of the fact that the booklet is a 2,700-point redemption item, even if you have the option to download it for free if you lack the points. This really should’ve been included in the box, as it’s such an integral part to this set.

Last but not least, Cinderhowl. An exceptional LEGO Dragon build that’s unlike anything LEGO have done. It’s a blast to build, terrific to display and apart from suffering from knobbly knees, is a fantastic way to cap off this incredible experience.

While its price isn’t for everyone, the LEGO Design Team have done an exemplary job with this set, and I can highly recommend it if you have the budget for it. Mark Stafford put it best, in a roundtable interview I sat in on when he said “If this is the only D&D set ever made, we wanted it to be the most LEGO D&D it could possibly be,”

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [3] – The build is quite basic for a set at this price range and size, but Cinderhowl was magnificent
Real Value [4] – Despite the high pricetag, it’s not overpriced thanks to its display presence and excellent cast of minifigures
Innovation [5] – LEGO have managed to infuse the essence of DnD into an entirely buildable and playable experience
Coolness [5] – A collaboration made in heaven, and just an entirely satisfying all-around experience, especially if you’re a DnD/\ or LEGO Castle fan
Keepability [5] – I don’t know if LEGO will create another DnD set at this scale, but this is one to display proudly, preferably alongside your other large Castle sets

Thanks for reading my review of 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale!

21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale will be available exclusively from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store on 1 April 2024 for LEGO Insiders (free to join), ahead of a 4 April general release date.

Don’t forget, if you order it at launch, you will also score a LEGO D&D Mimic Dice Box as a Gift with Purchase, and also redeem the LEGO DnD Campaign Book from LEGO Insiders for 2,700 points (physical copy) or download the free digital version.

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