Dungeons & Dragons Strategy Game to Add Characters from the Classic 1980s D&D Cartoon

A classic Dungeons & Dragons character from the 1980s cartoon is coming to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, the officially licensed D&D strategy game. Developer Codename Entertainment is gearing up to release the game's 100th Champion, and to celebrate, they're bringing the Dungeon Master from the 1983 D&D cartoon into the fold.

Idle Champions is a free-to-play D&D strategy game available on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC, iOS, and Android. The game brings together characters from different novels, campaigns, and shows into one large D&D crossover. The developers work with D&D content creators to bring popular characters into the game, including contributions from content creators like Mark Meer, Anna Prosser, B. Dave Walters, and more.

Now, the newest Champion to join the bunch is Dungeon Master from the classic 1983 D&D cartoon. Players can unlock him in The Running event that kicks off April 27 and ends on May 9. In addition to the Dungeon Master Champion, the content drop also includes Uni the Unicorn from the cartoon. The developers say it was a blast to work these classic characters into the game.

"This was our 100th Champion, and we had a lot of classic D&D characters to choose from," Idle Champions' Live Services Manager, Chris Dupuis, said. "However, when we finally landed on Dungeon Master, everything clicked into place – I knew we had something special brewing."

The Dungeon Master's gameplay traits take inspiration from his role in the cartoon. The developers say he has a habit of disappearing, much like in the classic show. When he's gone, Uni takes his place on the battlefield.

And, two other characters from the cartoon will also make an appearance in Idle Champions. Two classic villains, Venger and Tiamat, will show up to try and impede your progress. Venger is the main villain in the TV show, and Tiamat is a five-headed dragon that also faces off against the band of friends in the cartoon.

The Dungeons & Dragons TV series originally aired from 1983 to 1985 on CBS. The show followed a group of friends transported into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, who had to find their way home with help from the Dungeon Master. It is still seen as a classic today, ranking 64th on IGN's top 100 animated series of all time list.

Besides the new characters releasing on April 27, that date also represents the release of Idle Champions' first round of localization, with support for French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish, and Simplified Chinese coming to the game.

To learn more about Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms' 100th Champion, you can check out the game's official website. And, for more on D&D, check out the new sourcebook that's adding all-new settings to the game.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.