As a series, Horrified has been around since 2019. The original co-op tabletop set tasked players with taking down Universal Monsters like The Mummy and The Wolfman, and quickly grew from there. Since then, we've been whisked away to tango with American Monsters, Greek mythology, Lovecraftian horrors, and now, the dungeon-delving universe of Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons.

We sat down with Mike Mulvihill (Game Development Manager at Ravensburger North America) and Peter Lee (Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Monster Challenge Designer) to get the scoop on how this DnD version came about, and what it was like to work with Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast directly.

There's A Big Reason Why Horrified: D&D Feels So Authentic

One of the developers worked on D&D proper for years

Come to find out, the call for Dungeons & Dragons designs came from inside the house! Peter Lee was actually part of the Dungeons & Dragons design team at Wizards of the Coast "for close to eight years," and was responsible for "distilling D&D into new experiences." He also helped design Castle Ravenloft, Lords of the Waterdeep, and Tyrants of the Underdark, and ed Prospero Hall after leaving Wizards of the Coast. His first design? Horrified: Universal Monsters. So he's been part of the outfit since the very beginning. According to Lee, everything came full circle that way.

Mike Mulvihill noted that the Hasbro and Dungeons & Dragons teams were "awesome to work with," explaining that the process was collaborative: "Each meeting, our team would share our wishlist of elements we wanted to pull from D&D mechanics and lore, and the D&D team would 'yes and,' pitching us more details and insider data that would make those ideas even better. It helps that a lot of us on the Horrified team are also big D&D fans already, and that the D&D team also knew and enjoyed Horrified. Not to mention that our puzzle designer for the whole Horrified series, Peter, is the inventor of so many D&D board games. A stacked team!"

"Two early monsters that the team investigated were the Owlbear and the Gelatinous Cube"

The monster lineup is arguably the most crucial bit for a Horrified game, especially one themed around Dungeons & Dragons. Mulvihill says that they immediately knew they had to include a red dragon, musing, "What's more D&D than the red dragon?" Mulvihill goes on to explain: "From there, we curated a list of the most iconic D&D monsters throughout the history of D&D. We always ask: 'What creatures will fans be most excited to face, even if it means meeting their doom at the hands... or tentacles... of their favorite monster?' Because challenges are directly inspired by a monster’s lore and abilities, we felt our final list showcased a range of very different gameplay."

Lee agrees that the Red Dragon was a must-have, but also wanted unique monsters for the D&D setting: "While monsters like the Minotaur and Chimera from Horrified: Greek Monsters can be found in the D&D Monster Manual, they’re not unique to the setting. It’s the iconic D&D monsters like the Beholder, Displacer Beast, and Mimic that should be featured." The team also tested two monsters that never made it in: the Owlbear and the Gelatinous Cube.

At one point, according to Mulvihill, there were eight potential picks: "I believe we had 8 “finalists” and Peter mentioned most of them. With the setting of Waterdeep/Undermountain as our focus, we had an unlimited supply of monsters that could be used – leaving some classic monsters out was one of the hardest parts of the project."

Lee gave us more details after digging deeper into what could have been: "Two early monsters that the team investigated were the Owlbear and the Gelatinous Cube, but we didn’t get far enough to design the monster challenges. As for other monsters that could have been featured, I think a Mind Flayer would be a great addition, and I would have fought more for one had we not recently done Cthulhu in Horrified: World of Monsters."

Digging Into The Mechanics of Horrified: D&D

The Team Talks Dice

One of the most significant changes to Horrified: D&D is the addition of the iconic d20 dice. It's immediately apparent after opening the box, and dictates how all the hero characters play. Mulvihill says dice was always part of the plan: "Yes! We knew we wanted to add a d20 to the game. I mean, it’s Dungeons & Dragons! Throughout game development, we looked for fun ways to integrate the d20 into every element of play – the hero abilities, perk cards, monster puzzles, and so on. For the heroes, we also knew the higher your roll, the cooler the thing you are going to do should be... just like playing D&D. We did not want to give someone one more action and no Special Ability (we could do that in so many other fun ways.) Plus, more rolling is more fun!"

Much like the monsters, other iterations of the dice concept were tested. According to Mulvihill: "We really wanted a d20 in the game...it’s basically iconic for D&D. Some early iterations used some of the other polyhedrals – d8 and d12, specifically. We cut them because the d20 was so useful. One idea we tried but didn’t work was making the monster dice (d6s) work in multiple ways (like adding numbers to the dice)…it just ended up way too complex and, in the end, the d20 was the perfect choice to use to add the D&D randomization feel." Having played it, I agree!

As for the setting, everything just came together, too. Lee illuminates the choice of locales for us, which takes place within Waterdeep and Undermountain: "Much like the monsters needed to feature a dragon, the map had to feature a dungeon. And what better place than Undermountain? The history of that location inspired the portal mechanic, and it’s a unique twist for this version of Horrified."

Mulvihill agreed: "Exactly what Peter said! With a Horrified map, there are many things our amazing art director, Sam Dawson, must keep in mind. In the limited space of a game board, he ensures each location is distinguished by unique visuals. Undermountain is so vast, with every level thematically distinct, so once we established portals to travel between levels, the setting really fits the rich and detailed map design Sam envisions for every game."

Before our conversation was over, I wanted to get the team's thoughts on tips for newcomers, especially folks who might be picking up the D&D edition as their first Horrified experience. Mulvihill answered the call: "For newcomers, when in doubt, pick up items. These will always be useful for different puzzles and surviving monster attacks. Also, your perk cards, which can be used at any point during any player’s Hero phase! We added more ways to earn perk cards in Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons – including when players roll a 20 on their special ability table. When terror is about to overwhelm the party, a well-timed perk card, just like a natural 20, can change the tide."

So what's next? Well, the team at Ravensburger will reveal that when it's ready. Mike Mulvihill says that although they "can't speak to future product development," they would "make Horrified games forever." "If you have a Horrified or Horrified:Dungeons & Dragons game you want to summon into reality, you can put your whole Horrified collection into a circle of candles... or you can post on BoardGameGeek," he added.

Peter Lee gives us a bit more to chew on for potential future iterations: "Honestly, there are countless Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons games that could be made. Keep on the Borderlands, a Planescape experience set in Sigil, an Icewind Dale experience featuring Drizzt and the other Companions of the Hall, Temple of Elemental Evil, the list goes on and on."

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons is slated for release later this year, and can be pre-ordered here. Sales for the game at other retailers will begin on August 1. Ravensburger will be providing demos at their booth (#2-739) during the UK Games Expo, from May 30-June 1.