Dead by Daylight's collaboration with Dungeons & Dragons is bringing a big content update to the horror title, but it could also bring something beneficial to the tabletop giant. While Dungeons & Dragons is the more familiar title among mainstream audiences, it still has something to gain from the crossover. Adding the infamous Vecna to the game is near-guaranteed to draw attention, and it could draw some Dead by Daylight players to check out D&D for themselves after seeing him in the game. However, there is another way that Dungeons & Dragons could get a boost from this partnership.

The first stop on Dead by Daylight's Year 9 roadmap is its collaboration with Dungeons & Dragons. As the game's latest licensed chapter, it will bring the lich god Vecna into the game as a killer alongside the bards Aestri and Baermar, who will be the latest Survivors. The chapter will also bring a new map to add some additional D&D-inspired flair to the Fog. These flourishes look to have a lot of potential, with Vecna's plethora of powers and the bards bringing the fun of Bardic Inspiration to the game. The Dungeons & Dragons crossover could easily pay big dividends for Dead by Daylight.

dead-by-daylight-evil-dead-question
Related
Dead by Daylight Not Keeping Up with an Old Crossover is a Missed Opportunity

Dead by Daylight has featured some great crossovers in the game, but an old collaboration should be brought back into the spotlight.

A Dead by Daylight D&D Campaign Could Be an Exciting Excursion

D&D Could Do Good Things With a Dead by Daylight Crossover

Dungeons & Dragons could gain more from its Dead by Daylight crossover by having the collaboration go both ways. Dead by Daylight has crafted a lot of lore that could be used in a Dungeons & Dragons adventure. From Killers to realms, there is a surprising amount that could be translated from one to the other, giving DMs a lot of new material for crafting creative campaigns. The Knight, Vittorio, and their realm might be the best fit, due to how well their medieval theme would work with Dungeons & Dragons, but creative DMs could find ways to incorporate other realms and characters.

DbD Adventures in Dungeons & Dragons Might Be Exciting

It would be pretty useful if D&D made stat blocks for Dead by Daylight's Killers, showing their relative strength and translating their in-game abilities in terms of tabletop mechanics. The same could even be done with some of the Survivors, particularly those with interesting abilities such as Mikaela or Haddie. The realms themselves also bring up some potentially fascinating setpieces, such as the temple in the Red Forest. Even for more anachronistic settings such as Autohaven Wreckers, it's important to remember that Dungeons & Dragons has many planes of existence with their own unique attributes, so they may not be out of place.

Dead by Daylight's Killers Would Make for Excellent Dungeons & Dragons Villains

Bringing Dead by Daylight to Dungeons & Dragons has another big potential upside. The ability to fight Dead by Daylight's evilest killers and defeat them in Dungeons & Dragons could be incredibly cathartic. Some Killers like The Clown and The Doctor are rather horrifically evil, and actually being able to fight them and win rather than simply escape would be satisfying for a lot of fans. A DbD-themed campaign in Dungeons & Dragons could even take on the biggest target of all: The Entity itself. Given the Entity's long list of crimes, actually taking it down would be a suitable story.

Dungeons & Dragons has given Dead by Daylight some valuable content, but this collaboration can also work the other way around. It could bring fans who love Dead by Daylight to Dungeons & Dragons while also adding some interesting new elements for DMs and players to play with. Tabletop RPGs thrive on creativity, and bringing the Killers, Survivors, and realms of Dead by Daylight only adds more potential for stories. A Dead by Daylight expansion for Dungeons & Dragons would be a great use of the partnership.