LEGO Dungeons & Dragons Collectible Minifigures 71047 [Review]

When I first started playing Dungeons & Dragons, my group used LEGO minifigures to represent our characters, as many other tabletop gaming parties have done. After all, minifigures are about the right size and highly customizable. So it delights me tremendously that LEGO has finally picked up the D&D license, kicking off with the Ideas set 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale earlier this year. Rather than the Ideas set being a one-off IP tie-in though, LEGO is following up with a Collectible Minifigures series, providing a cast of 12 new characters to round out your adventuring options. Officially revealed at San Diego Comic-Con last month, 71047 LEGO Minifigures – Dungeons & Dragons will be available starting Sept. 1 for US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Unboxing the case and packaging

As debuted in our Minifigures Series 25 review, our D&D figures come in tall retail cases of twelve stacked boxes. It’s not clear yet how widely available these 12-count cases will be. At least in the USA, I never saw the Series 25 12-count cases in retail stores or available online—instead the typical 36-count cases were everywhere. Which is a shame, because each case of twelve contains exactly one full set of minifigures. Being able to purchase a sealed case and get exactly one full set of figures is sure to be a popular move.

How to scan 71047 D&D Minifigure Boxes

The boxes have a killer black design with a subtle D&D-themed print. They continue the trend of scannable QR codes on the bottom that enable you to identify the figs. Using a smartphone with a QR code scanning app (many default camera apps support this), you can read the code on the bottom to determine which fig is inside.

Based on previous series, the QR code is different depending on which LEGO factory packaged them. They generally come from either Mexico for figs sold in North America, or Czech Republic for figs sold in Europe. Since our case was provided by LEGO and shipped to us from Denmark, we have a case from the Czech Republic factory, denoted by the S in the second set of numbers.

Character
EU (S) Code
NA (R) Code

Halfling Druid
6502838
?

Tiefling Sorcerer
6506737
?

Elf Bard
6506738
?

Dwarf Barbarian
6506740
?

Dragonborn Paladin
6506741
?

Aarakocra Ranger
6506742
?

Gith Warlock
6506743
?

Mind Flayer
6506744
?

The Lady of Pain
6506745
?

Strahd von Zarovich
6506746
?

Tasha the Witch Queen
6506747
?

Szass Tam
6506748
?

As always, each minfigure comes with a 3×4 stand. Although printed stands have been rare through the 30-plus series of minifigures that LEGO’s produced, this is the second series in a row to have unique prints, following the star-studded stands in 71046 Space Minifigures. Each D&D figure gets a black stand with a stony path print. I can see these finding use in fan creations.

Dwarf Barbarian

Let’s kick off this series with a character who really kicks butt. When the fighting gets thick, there’s nothing like Dwarf Barbarian to bring some pain to the melee. The dwarf is equipped with an axe, which is a new double-bladed axe head. In addition to accepting a 3.18mm rod, the top is a stud and the bottom is an anti-stud, giving this weapon a lot more connection points than previous axes. She carries a torch and is outfitted with a fur collar, which goes nicely with her fur gloves (dual-molded arms with tan hands). The Barbarian’s torso is printed on the back with a horn: perhaps the Horn of Valhalla, which summons a berserker warrior.

The Dwarf Barbarian is the first of five characters in this series to have two heads included, for creating male and female versions. Both heads are printed on both sides, giving you a total of four expressions.

Gith Warlock

Now here’s a sharp-looking fellow. The Warlock is a Gith, one of D&D’s unique races of playable humanoids. Because this is a licensed series, natural skin tones are used for the characters, and in the case of the Gith, who are described as having skin that ranges from yellowish to greenish to brownish, LEGO settled on standard yellow. I think Cool Yellow, Spring Yellowish Green, or even Olive Green would have looked better, though. He carries a tall staff topped with an eyeball—I imagine that it’s a reference to a specific piece of kit, so drop a comment below if you know which. He also carries a wicked knife, which is a lovely new mold. Although the knife has a square hole in the bottom of the hilt, it’s not an accessory pin hole, which is an unfortunate miss. The torso and legs are covered with a subtle swirl print and loads of magical trinkets and items. The Gith also has two heads included.

Tiefling Sorcerer

The horned and tailed Tieflings are among the most well-known of D&D’s unique humanoid races. This Sorcerer is dressed in spiffy purple robes and has a new transparent pink energy effect with three bolts shooting from her hand, which seems like Magic Missile to me. She’s accompanied by the most adorable baby dragon, which is probably actually a pseudodragon, tiny dragons that can become familiars. Like the previous two characters, the Tiefling has both male and female head options.

Dragonborn Paladin

And speaking of dragons, next up is a playable dragon, the Dragonborn. This one is a Paladin and naturally comes wearing heavy plate and weilding shield and brick-built mace. The dragon head was first introduced in a pair of Vidiyo sets in 2021, while a green Dragonborn appeared in the D&D Red Dragon’s Tale set earlier this year. The plate armor is a new element that’s the full breastplate and pauldrons following the design of the existing Mini Armour, No 21 (65435) which is just a single pauldron. Likewise, the mace’s starred head is a new element. It’s a modified 1×1 round brick that has six points. The Transparent with Opalescence color belies some sort of enchantment on the weapon.

Beneath the armor the Paladin is fully robed with an outfit that would also make for a great cleric. The arms and legs are printed with the rest of the Paladin’s heavy plate armor with chainmail covering the joints.

Halfling Druid

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the staid Paladin encased in metal is the Halfling Druid, a wee small adventurer in tune with nature. But don’t mistake this cheery little fellow for a pushover—Druids are fearsome fighters equipped with ancient magic and many natural (and unnatural) powers. This Halfling carries a flowering staff made of a few stacked leaves, and has a bird familiar. The new print for the small bird element is a welcome addition, but it would have been more thematically appropriate to have a hawk or owl—that new raven from Dreamzzz would have been fantastic. However, the Druid does get a different new element, the hood with stag antlers. The antlers are dual-molded in so unfortunately you won’t be able to swap them out, but this will be a great piece for creating both D&D Druids and real druids from ancient cultures. His cape has a serrated bottom edge and is double-sided with a dark green exterior and brown interior. The Halfling also has male and female heads.

Aarakocra Ranger

Here’s a race that’s been around for ages having been first introduced as a playable race in 1987, yet I have never played in a party with one. The Aarakocra are birdfolk, and are somewhat rare as one of the few playable races that are capable of flight without magic. This noble guy is an eagle-eyed Ranger armed with a recurve bow. Both the head and wings are new elements. The Aarakocra puts the digitigrade legs to good use with a great print that features part of the leather armor and the birdfolk’s talons. At third level Rangers get an animal companion, and this one has chosen a dog. The dog is the same mold as the German Shepherd puppy introduced last year, but the dark grey is a new color.

Mind Flayer

Mind Flayers have been part of D&D for a long time, but their role in Baldur’s Gate 3 has propelled them to new prominence. An exceptionally weird race that’s most often considered non-playable, the brain-eating Mind Flayers, also called Illithids, are often major villains. Rather than relying on physical weapons, they employ psionic powers and mind-affecting spells. The Mind Flayer’s head is a new mold that captures well their menacely alien feel. The black torso and skirt piece are printed with otherworldly robes that seem quite in line with how the Mind Flayers are depicted. This Mind Flayer is accompanied by an Intellect Devourer, another creature that will be familiar to BG3 players. What you see is what you get; it’s basically a brain from some hapless creature that’s been infected and has grown legs, and now does its master’s bidding. The Intellect Devourer is a dual-molded piece that can sit on either four studs, or a single central stud.

Strahd von Zarovich

If Mind Flayers are Dungeons & Dragons’ Cthulhu-inspired creatures, then Count Strahd von Zarovich is D&D’s Dracula. One of the tabletop RPG’s most iconic villains, Strahd claims the title of The First Vampire and features prominently in the Gothic horror Ravenloft setting. He carries a large sword (canonically a +4 bastard sword) and a crystal chalice. Perhaps the cup is a reference to something specific that I’m not familiar with, but I think it would have been the perfect opportunity to use the filled mug element instead, with red “blood” inside. His outfit is wonderfully detailed, and he’s got a red-eyed rat companion. As a named character, there’s no alternate gender head to swap in, but there is a second expression on the double-sided head.

Elf Bard

Of all the D&D classes, perhaps none has been so impactful on popular fantasy as the Bard. Before D&D, Bards were an afterthought in fantasy settings, if they were featured at all. Now, however, Bards are considered one of the standard archetypes for fantasy characters, and this Elf Bard fits the mold perfectly. Equipped with a lovely new print for the lute element that was introduced with the Minifigures Series 22 Troubadour, the bard wields a pearl gold rapier. He’s dressed in spiffy duds with a teal vest, tall boots, and a magenta scarf. This scarf is the one first used in Wyldstyle’s post-apoc garb, and this is only the third color for it, following reddish brown and dark red from a pair of Monkey Kid sets. The Bard is the fifth and final figure to have alternate heads for a total of four expressions. The female Elf sports some eye-catching metallic blue lipstick.

The Lady of Pain

The Lady of Pain is the enigmatic and wildly powerful ruler of the city of Sigil. She is perhaps best known for her appearance on the cover of the Planescape campaign setting, and subsequent inclusion in the 1999 videogame Planescape Torment. She’s likely included in this lineup because some of the most recent 5th Edition books have been re-introducing the Planescape setting and the city of Sigil. Neither hero nor villain, the Lady of Pain is a character so far beyond the power of players that direct interaction by players is generally best avoided entirely. She is described as an enormous floating female figure with an inhuman visage surrounded by blades, and canonically should be considerably larger than a minifigure. Nevertheless, the minifigure version of her includes a clear 2×2 round brick to facilitate her hovering, and she has a fearsome headpiece that’s a helmet covering a solid black head. Her unique cape has four long strands that nearly touch the ground even when she’s floating. She carries a small cube with the symbol of Arborea, one of the Outer Planes. The Lady of Pain was known to control the doors to and from her plane and banish people to other planes at will.

Szass Tam

Another prominent named villain, the lich Szass Tam is a powerful necromancer whose history within the D&D setting goes back to the very beginning. His army of undead minions is hinted at with his accessory of a trans-red head that features the classic LEGO skeleton face, adding a new variant to the surprisingly large array of LEGO skeleton heads. Szass also has a trans-orange energy effect for a fireball in his other hand. His undead ribcage shows through his red robes, and like all great baddies he has a glorious cape; this one in two parts with a small upturned bit around the head.

Tasha the Witch Queen

Tasha the Witch Queen is probably best known for lending her name to numerous spells, as well as appearing in Magic: The Gathering. Also known as Iggwilv, she’s a powerful villain and in-universe author of the Demonomicon, a tome of demonic lore. In minifigure form, she provides a great place to re-introduce the witch’s hat and hair combo from 21341 Hocus Pocus, this time in dark grey and dark orange. She’s got a fantastically detailed outfit with lots of leather straps and buckles, perhaps a coy nod to Tasha’s predilection for being a seductress. She has two accessories: a cauldron with a trans dark pink flame that just sits loosely inside, along with a book with a printed cover and an interior page showing her most famous spell, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Her head is double-sided with a smirk, and—of course—a laugh.

While there are a few minor things I’d have liked to see done differently, taken as a whole this is another fantastic minifigure series. Whether you’re into Dungeons & Dragons or not, there’s loads of great prints and new elements for fantasy/castle builds. Unlike many other licensed themes (like Marvel/DC figs), there are very few printed logos or references that would be out of place when used in other settings. If you’re a fan of D&D, you’ll enjoy all the deep cuts to lore—in fact, I’m quite sure I’ve missed a few, so please let me know in the comments what else you spotted! And of course, if you use minifigures in your tabletop games, this offers a lot of great new accessories that are perfectly catered to specific classes. The Red Dragon’s Tale set provided an Elf Wizard, Orc Rogue, Gnome Fighter, and Dwarf Cleric, so between that and the minifigure series, we’re missing only Monks and Artificers of the base classes available in 5th Edition. Hopefully a second series would bring us those and some more races, too, like Kobolds, Gnolls, Aasimar, Genasi, Goblins, and Yuan-ti.

71047 LEGO Minifigures – Dungeons & Dragons will be available starting Sept. 1 for US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49. They may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

You can play official LEGO D&D with the Red Dragon’s Tale D&D LEGO Campaign setting (PDF download)