Magic: The Gathering has finally crossed over with its sister series Dungeons and Dragons in the form of the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set. However, according to head Magic: The Gathering designer Mark Rosewater, this first major crossover came close to missing out on the flavor of Dungeons and Dragons.

According to Rosewater at the Magic: The Gathering’s San Diego Comic-Con @ Home 2021 panel, which was shared to the official Comic-Con International YouTube page as a nearly 40-minute-long video titled "Magic: The Gathering Panel with Mark Rosewater | Comic-Con@Home 2021," Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering have had a very distant relationship for a long time. Reportedly, the two properties have been kept at arms' length from each other because Wizards of the Coast didn't want fans to get the two fantasy series confused. This decision caused some trouble when figuring out the mechanics for the new Dungeons and Dragons/Forgotten Realms crossover set.

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The reluctance to "cross the streams" kept the Magic team distant even as Dungeons and Dragons began incorporating small nods to the other franchise over the years, but things eventually came to a head with Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. After the developers felt that initial attempts to craft a Magic/Dungeons and Dragons crossover ended up too similar to existing Magic: The Gathering sets, the Magic team finally went to the Dungeons and Dragons team for help building the series' first major crossover. As a result, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms doesn't just incorporate iconic Dungeons and Dragons characters--it features some experimental mechanics designed to bring in as many of the famous trappings of Dungeons and Dragons as possible.

Some of these early attempts led to experimental Magic/Dungeons and Dragons cards framed as if a Dungeon Master was establishing a scenario for an adventuring party, while others offer enchantments that allowed players to adopt a Dungeons and Dragons class that they could level up to gain themed abilities. Some cards even called on players to perform some of the most iconic, primal acts of Dungeons and Dragons, like rolling a D20. However, in playtesting it appeared that players didn't care if the set played like Magic: The Gathering as long as it felt like Dungeons and Dragons.

The adventurous and often amoral feel of Dungeons and Dragons is iconic, having gone on to form the basis of many other tabletop games, video games, books, and more. The cast of the Icewind Dale trilogy, including Drizzt Do'Urden, are featured in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. While Magic: The Gathering appears to have had slightly less of a cultural impact, this crossover may be the beginning of a larger splash for the franchise.

Magic: The Gathering is available now in-game shops and digitally through Magic Arena.

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