Wizards of the Coast returns with Sword Coast Legends

Wizards of the Coast 's proper D&D video games have been abscent from the spotlight for a long time. This week, they've made an announcement that will change that.

Sword Coast Legends is a classic D&D video game based in the Forgotten Realms, the same world pen-and-paper D&D players play in. Other games set in the world include Neverwinter Nights, Balders Gate, and Icewind Dale.

The single player campaign of Sword Coast Legends has been created by the leadership team behind Dragon Age: Origins. There will be five playable races, six classes, and the ability to play as a team of adventurers with gameplay involving a mix of real-time action and pause-and-plan strategy.

Perhaps the biggest addition to the formula is Dungeon Master Mode where players can create their own campaigns and share with friends. It can even be edited in real time, giving a real, dynamic feeling campaign live! If players get together and slaughter the goblin tribe the DM put together much faster than anticipated, the DM can drop a mindflayer in the next room to ramp up the difficulty.

For those looking for under-the-hood information, Sword Coast Legends will use D&D 5th edition for the ruleset. Wizard of the Coast games use lightly modified versions of actual D&D rules, delivering a marriage of video game and tabletop rules.

Sword Coast Legends will release on September 29, 2015 for PC, Mac and Linux with next-gen console releases slated for a general Q4 2015 release.