An MTG and Dungeons and Dragons fan has brought Magic’s much-loved Tarkir setting to life in DnD, with a 54-page book that provides DnD rules for the Central-Asian inspired setting. It features new DnD races like the Efreet and the Loxodon, a bunch of new 5e magic items, and stat blocks for monsters ranging from the Ancient Carp to the celestial Lammasu. This comes just after we found out that Magic: The Gathering itself will be returning to Tarkir – but not until 2025.
The homebrew’s creator, Reddit user Letterephesus, has made a huge number of these professional-looking DnD x MTG setting books by now, shooting them out at an impressive speed. In fact, this is the 11th he’s created; we previously had a look at their Phyrexia, New Capenna, and Kamigawa DnD settings.
With so many homebrew DnD settings under their belt, Letterephesus tells us he’s learned a lot: “Mostly just how much work this kind of game design entails.”
“I pride myself on making content that is balanced and feels official,” he says. “So that means a constant rotation of creating, playtesting, and scrapping. I’ve also learned my limit. I got super burned out a couple months ago, and I’m learning to pace myself, managing my own time and expectations.” He adds that despite the high workload, the process is “definitely getting easier” with experience.
Another thing Letterephesus says they’ve learned is “I can’t please everyone”. That’s especially true for Tarkir, where there are two very different versions of the world – one with dragons and one without. Letterephesus has gone for the more scaly version, partly because they wanted to be careful about avoiding cultural insensitivities or ‘Orientalism’, but he has suggested he’ll make stuff for Khans of Tarkir in future.
“The feedback has been very interesting, it feels like people who played the set are very divided on their opinion of it; some really like it and others hate it. But either way, I think the guide captures the essence of the setting well,” they say.
“A lot of people think I should make things more “lore-friendly” or more mechanically complex, but my goal is simplicity and ease-of-use,” the creator explains. “I can’t make content that fits every table, so instead, I make it neutral as possible”.
For more DnD content – check out our guides to all the DnD classes, or the best official DnD books.