You’ll soon be able to visit Dungeons & Dragons’ Yawning Portal in virtual reality

While the greatest DMs can give you a sense of exploring the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons, it’s a completely different step to actually put you inside the roleplaying universe.

Luckily, it’ll soon get a lot easier to imagine what the fantasy worlds look like, as a game headed to PC and mobile later this week will bring the Forgotten Realms’ Yawning Portal tavern to virtual reality.

Dungeon Chess has been developed by Experiment 7 together with D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast and – as the name suggests – will let you compete in magical chess inside the iconic inn, using animated beholders, mind flayers, drow elves and dragons as pieces.

Landing on the Oculus Rift headset on PC and the smartphone-powered Samsung Gear VR, Dungeon Chess includes real-time online multiplayer or the option to battle against AI opponents using Experiment 7’s Magic Table, which was previously used for Magic Table Chess on the Rift. The platform means that Dungeon Chess players will be able to take on Magic Table Chess players, as well as players of any future VR games made using the service.

As well as the Yawning Portal, Dungeon Chess will include other locations from Dungeons & Dragons for players to do tabletop battle in, which are yet to be revealed. There will apparently be the chance to customise the surroundings with boards, pictures, decorations and custom avatars.

It’s not the first time that Dungeons & Dragons has come to virtual reality – Altspace’s D&D VR has allowed players to host tabletop RPG campaigns in generic fantasy settings for a few years now – but as far as we’re aware Dungeon Chess marks the first time that actual locations from the D&D universe have been rendered in VR.

Dungeon Chess will be out on Oculus Rift this Thursday, April 20th – Experiment 7 says that the Gear VR launch will follow ‘soon’.