While I was at PAX Prime, I did something that I hadn’t done in over twenty-five years: play Dungeons and Dragons. I have mentioned before how I quit playing simply because I just grew out of it here, but my Christian friends would surely not approve me starting D&D back without at least a lecture. But let’s focus on the here and now, as I have no problem with anyone playing Sword Coast Legends.

Sword Coast Legends is a video game version of a massive story campaign that takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a storyline from Dungeons and Dragons that is decades old. The story involves characters going to the titular Sword Coast.

The game can be played in single and multiplayer, and it is possible for the party to join certain NPCs (non-player characters) who have incredibly rich backstories. The player can choose from many races and several classes of characters to set out on their way.

If you have any feelings that this is just another MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that bloomed after the popularity of WOW (World of Warcraft), it isn’t. You can only play with up to four other players, but here’s the real difference, a Dungeon Master can join.

I’ve never seen a game that does this, but there is a possibility of a player essentially adding elements on to a ready-made dungeon like traps and monsters. This would be the Dungeon Master, and you would have to know Dungeons and Dragons to know what that is. I don’t know if there are any other games like this, but if not, then Sword Coast Legends really is original. By the way, there is an option for the Dungeon Master to play as an opponent.

I had a chance to play it, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I played as an elf and I had to use MMO skills to play certain attacks. It reminded me of the old video arcade game Gauntlet, and that is a very good thing. There is a video of it here, and you can pre-order it as well.