D&D Japan Team Launching New Adventure, “Oni’s Right Hand”

D&D Japan Team Launching New Adventure, “Oni’s Right Hand”

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While Dungeons & Dragons tend to be viewed largely as an American brand that appeals primarily to English speakers, over the past few years the game has expanded its global reach. One country Wizards of the Coast has been heavily focused on is Japan, a market where D&D has never really taken off. In fact, in 2023 WotC introduced a new Japanese D&D starter set with its own distinctive style and approach, and has slowly been making inroads.

Now, the D&D Japan team has announced a new adventure entitled “Oni’s Right Hand.” Available exclusively in Japanese, the adventure is designed to support a larger Learn-to-Play program that Wizards of the Coast will be running in August.

So just what is the adventure about and what does it mean for the future of D&D in Japan? Below, we crack open all the details.

What is “Oni’s Right Hand” about?

So far we know only a few details about what “Oni’s Right Hand” is about. Much of this information is taken from a LinkedIn post that was shared by Wizards of the Coast Brand Manager Himmy T. In the post she writes:

When D&D Meets Japan…! We’re thrilled to introduce an original Japanese adventure campaign: “Oni’s Right Hand.”

Set in the bustling trading town of Phandalin, a cursed glove from the East arrives – and when the sealed “Oni’s Claw” is unleashed, eerie, monstrous shadows begin to creep into the town.

This campaign features five original Japanese-style characters from Kara-Tur, complete with pre-generated character sheets, designed by renowned illustrator Toshiaki Takayama and D&D translator Masaki Yanagida, and brought to life by popular voice talents including Ayana Taketatsu and Tomori Kusunoki.

The response from Japanese fans has been overwhelmingly positive. D&D’s global appeal lies in its ability to embrace diverse cultural styles, and we’re proud to see Japan’s unique creative spirit seamlessly integrated into the world of D&D. By weaving traditional Japanese themes into gameplay, we hope not only to delight existing fans, but also to grow the community and welcome new players in Japan.

To support this, Learn-to-Play (LTP) sessions for “Oni’s Right Hand” will begin in Japan this August.

How will users be able to access the “Oni’s Right Hand” D&D adventure?

It’s not entirely clear how the adventure will be shared with players or, for that matter, if it will be given away for free or have a cost associated with it. It’s worth noting that while D&D Beyond is used by Japanese players, there is no localized version of the website that shows the content in Japanese (or other languages for that matter). The inclusion in the LinkedIn post of “voice talents” suggests there may also be a multimedia component, although it’s not yet clear what this would consist of.

It’s also not clear yet if an English language version will be released, although there’s likely a significant interest among non-Japanese speakers, given the art and content. At the very least, it’s likely that fan-made translations will be released online at some point.

How is D&D viewed in Japan?

Dungeons & Dragons is considered a relatively niche game in Japan and is overshadowed by more popular TTRPGs such as Call of Cthulhu Japan and Sword World. The latter game remains hugely influential and was based on the popular Japanese fantasy novels (and subsequent manga/anime) Record of Lodoss War by Ryo Mizuno, which itself was based on a D&D campaign Ryo ran with his friends in the early 1980s. In fact, at one point Mizuno had approached then D&D publisher TSR about creating a Japanese version of D&D, but was frustrated by their slow response, leading to the creation of Sword World.

In recent years, however, D&D has grown in popularity, due primarily to the release of the 5th edition rules in 2014 and the rise of actual play series, YouTube content and social media communities. Japanese-language translations of core rulebooks and growing support from VTT platforms like Roll20 have also helped the game gain traction, particularly among younger Japanese players.

If you want a deeper dive into the history of D&D in Japan, you should check out the TokyoDev article by Masaki Yanagida entitled The rise and fall of D&D in Japan.

Final Thoughts

It’s interesting to see an official D&D product released from outside of the United States and in a non-English language. It’s also fascinating to see the team lean into influences from Kara-Tur (a setting that has often been viewed as problematic in its view of Asian culture). It remains to be seen, however, just how “Oni’s Right Hand” will be received by the Japanese TTRPG community and if it will move the needle at all in terms of broadening the game’s appeal internationally.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead and will be updating this page with new information as it’s made available. In the meantime, below is an official teaser trailer from the D&D Japan YouTube channel.

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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).