Dungeons and Dragons: Legend of Zelda Edition?

Like any Legend of Zelda fan out there, I’m always looking for new ways to experience its lore. I love the games, the memorabilia — even the comic books! But what if there were a way to truly immerse yourself in the world of Zelda?

Behold: Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Legend of Zelda edition! Created by Reddit user ninjabreadbear, the entire realm of Hyrule has been painstakingly constructed for a D&D adventure. But what’s the story?

In terms of setting, the campaign takes place in the Ocarina of Time timeline. Players can be a Zora, a Goron, a Kokiri, a human (i.e. Hylian, Gerudo, etc.), or even a Twili! Standard D&D classes and backgrounds are available. However, the traditional Ocarina of Time story has long since ended, and a new problem now plagues the denizens of Hyrule: a civil war. To paraphrase:

After the Triforce was shattered, Zelda vanished, leaving the kingdom without a ruler and plunging it into anarchy. The Hylian nobles claim entitlement to the throne while the Sheikah operate from the shadows; the Gorons wait out the conflict, while the Zora ravage the coastlands and rivers of Hyrule; the Kokiri remain neutral, though their youth yearn to join the fray; the Gerudo—each faction of Hyrule stands divided.

After stumbling upon such a gem, it got me wondering: how did D&D come to be in the first place? It all started with Gary Gygax in the late 1960s. Like many board games, Dungeons & Dragons began as a love letter to his favorite pastime at the time: wargames. These were tabletop recreations of real historical battles. Over time, Gygax improvised, refined the rules, and gradually shaped an evolution of the genre into something entirely his own. In 1969, he met Dave Arneson, who would go on to help him develop D&D.

By 1971, they created a game called Chainmail, which focused more on magic than literal warfare. Although many wargame veterans didn’t particularly enjoy it, Chainmail would soon evolve into Dungeons & Dragons. Gygax and Arneson went on to form the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR). Over the years, however, D&D changed in ways Gygax didn’t support, and he ultimately sold his shares in the company in 1985.

As a side note, something I found interesting about Gygax’s earliest draft of the game is that instead of rolling a 20-sided die, players would draw a white poker chip from a bag of twenty—until he eventually discovered the now-iconic d20.

Although there are pre-constructed characters available for players in the aforementioned Legend of Zelda D&D setting, the imaginative side of me started to wonder: how could we truly flesh out the land of Hyrule in a way that brings even more life to the experience? Instead of simply having broad races like Zora, Gorons, and Kokiri, what if there were multiple distinct tribes within each faction—much like different species of animals in real life? What if the story wasn’t so strictly good versus evil, black versus white, but instead existed in shades of gray?

These ideas go hand-in-hand with the story-driven aspect of D&D, which has the ability to reflect the everyday lives of Hyrule’s people, if you so choose. In this sense, players have the opportunity to create deeply personal backstories. Perhaps you play as a Zora who grew up in poverty, or a Goron cast out by his own tribe. Maybe there’s a Kokiri unfamiliar with the cultural foundations of Saria or Fado—or one who hails from an entirely different tribe altogether. The choice is yours.

Whether you decide to create your own character or use a pre-made one, this campaign is perfect for both avid D&D fans and Zelda fans alike—a promising quest to save Hyrule… or not, once and for all.

If you are interested in trying it out, there is a Dungeon Master’s Guide and a Player’s Book available. Similarly, Roll20 is an online platform where D&D players can get together to play if you don’t have a physical group to play with.