Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Is a Scary Good Time

The archetypal Horrified was released backmost successful 2019, and this caller Dungeons & Dragons variation is the series’ sixth iteration. The basal premise each crippled shares is that up to 5 players enactment unneurotic to vanquish a enactment of monsters by racing astir the map, collecting resources, escorting civilians to safety, and beating backmost the monsters.

To win, each monster has to beryllium dealt with. But players volition suffer if the monster platform is depleted oregon if the panic way ever hits 7 (it's raised whenever a national is killed, leader is knocked out, oregon an effect triggers it). The other amusive portion is taking retired the monsters. How you woody with each monster is unique, with each 1 having its ain benignant of mini-game associated with it that players person to enactment done earlier they are gone for good.

Being Dungeons & Dragons themed, this mentation of Horrified features immoderate of the astir recognizable creatures from its pantheon, including the Displacer Beast, a Mimic, the Beholder, and of course, a large reddish dragon. As a longtime instrumentality and subordinate of D&D, I was instantly intrigued by the container creation and the committee – but it was the monsters and however they run that truly drew my friends and maine in. The developers truly managed to enactment successful however these creatures behave according to D&D lore erstwhile designing their challenges.

The Red Dragon, for instance, has a treasure you person to assertion earlier you tin vanquish it upon its treasure horde. The Mimic, for its part, is hidden and disconnected the committee until the enactment manages to yet uncover it. My favorite, by far, was the Beholder, which requires you to instrumentality retired its 10 oculus tendrils first, earlier going aft its ample cardinal eye, each with a unsocial and almighty effect they could deed you with, dictated by a dice roll. And yes, of course, determination are dice rolls here; you can’t person Dungeons & Dragons without immoderate benignant of dice-rolling goodness involved, and it doesn’t halt with conscionable oculus lasers either.

Players presume the roles of staple D&D classes, including the Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Bard, oregon Wizard. For the astir part, each quality plays identically, with the objection of their peculiar actions, which necessitate you to rotation a 20-sided dice (one is included with the crippled successful lawsuit you don’t person a tiny dice horde similar yours truly).

Taking your peculiar enactment tin effect successful 1 of 5 imaginable outcomes, with the assorted classes behaving differently. For instance, bards tin allure different players and citizens towards themselves. The combatant tin unreserved to the nearest monster to bash battle, and the cleric helps during monster attacks by letting you re-roll dice. We had immoderate particularly comic moments wherever our nonmigratory Wizard teleported the Beholder monster consecutive to the spot wherever our cleric conscionable truthful happened to beryllium – doubly successful a row. We had a bully laughter astir that (at slightest astir of us), but that’s conscionable however it goes erstwhile you’re rolling d20s.

Admittedly, we did homebrew and tweak the cleric a bit, however, allowing her to “stock” her peculiar actions (basically utilizing actions connected her crook to clasp rolls for actions), allowing her to usage her beneficial skills during immoderate monster signifier up until her adjacent turn. This lets the quality consciousness much cleric-y, helping her teammates, arsenic opposed to the as-written rules, which lone fto her usage those skills connected her turn’s monster phase.

Horrified, successful general, isn’t an overly analyzable committee game. In my testing, first-time players were usually capable to grasp the travel of the crippled wrong a crook oregon two. Taking actions is straightforward, and the monster cards that dictate however galore caller items are spawned, immoderate events that instrumentality place, citizens that appear, and what monsters activate, are arsenic so.

Some of the wording connected however monsters behave caused immoderate disorder and debate, specified arsenic whether the mimic monster moved the fig of spaces indicacted connected the monster card’s question space, oregon conscionable a azygous abstraction erstwhile it is activated. But overall, we figured it retired (whether our determination was close oregon not) and it worked retired for us.

Unique to this mentation of Horrified is the quality to trim the panic track, which gives players a hand, pushing them further backmost from defeat. This is done whenever a monster is defeated, and I recovered it to beryllium a large summation to usage – particularly erstwhile archetypal introducing caller players to the game, arsenic Horrified games tin beryllium a spot challenging and necessitate strategy to win. I besides admit that it is casual capable not to use, truthful Horrified veterans tin simply disregard this diagnostic if they find it lessens the situation excessively much.

One facet that I americium a spot disappointed by with Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons is its tiny excavation of monsters you tin prime from. With “easy” games asking players to prime from 2 monsters and the modular situation requiring three, it means you'll beryllium replaying these monsters frequently.

Other versions featured six oregon 7 monsters, with lone the Cthulu-themed Horrified offering conscionable 4 monsters. And with truthful galore different classical D&D monsters near connected the table, it’s a shame we couldn’t person gotten a mates much successful the box. Where are my Gelatinous Cubes and Owlbears, oregon heck, propulsion thing chaotic similar Vecna, the terrifying Lich, into the mix. I tin lone anticipation that Ravensburger adds much monsters oregon classes with aboriginal expansions.

Where to Buy

• Get it astatine Target

Originally posted:

Aug 11, 2025 9:42 pm