Wizards of the Coast Unveils New Anime-Style ‘Iconic Party’ for Japanese Release of D&D

Wizards of the Coast has announced a new “Iconic Party” for their official Japanese release of Dungeons and Dragons, set to come out later in 2023. The new party was revealed by the official Wizards D&D JP account as part of the localization effort for the D&D Essentials Kit. The party was designed by artist Chomoran, and has already caused excitement within the community.

The “Iconic Party” consists of Cal Skiprock, a lightfoot halfling Rogue, Lafail, a half-elf Cleric of Selune, Atria Dawnguard, a human Fighter, Oldscar, a high elf Wizard, and Turalish, a dragonborn Fighter. The inclusion of a dragonborn with a tail has particularly excited fans, as it seems that everyone agrees on the importance of a good tail on a character.

The new party represents a typical D&D party, with the classic composition of Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, and Rogue. However, the current typical party makeup looks quite different from the past, with more Warlocks and multiclassed characters. According to data from 2021, more than 50% of characters use multiclass options.

Fans of Lost Mine of Phandelver will recognize the new party makeup, as the pre-generated party for that adventure is the same. This is a good setup for newcomers to the game. The new party will be the star of the upcoming box set, and fans are already speculating about the possibility of minis to follow. It seems like the sort of thing that WizKids might jump on.