Dungeons & Dragons doesn't have the best history when it comes to video game adaptations, but the upcoming Sword Coast Legends could well be an exception to that rule. At a glance it's just a typical generic RPG with D&D trappings, but it also lets you emulate the experience of playing the venerable pen-and-paper game. Key to that is a "DM mode" that lets one player act as a dungeon master, guiding the experience of four other players in real time.

It's not entirely clear how the dynamic will work

It's not entirely clear how that dynamic will work, but the developers — the game is actually being co-developed by studios n-Space and Digital Extremes — are hoping that the new feature will help set the game apart from the plethora of forgettable D&D video games before it. "Dungeon master mode is going to allow players to quickly jump in and play as a real-time DM in a way that has never really been fully realized in a video game," n-Space president Dan Tudge told IGN. "DMs are able to adjust encounters, place, promote, manage and even control monsters, set traps, reward and punish party members — all in real time."

Aside from that defining feature, however, the game looks to be fairly standard RPG fare, with four-player cooperative gameplay and an isometric perspective reminiscent of Diablo. Sword Coast Legends will also feature a single-player story mode written by members of the Dragon Age: Origin development team. The game is slated to launch on PC-only sometime this year.