Dungeons & Dragons Strips Mordenkainen of His Magic: New Comic Changes Role of Celebrated Mage
Stripped of his powers after a clash with Bahamut, Mordenkainen will have to rely on Tasha, Volo, and other heroes in Dark Horse's new ongoing series.
One of the most powerful mages in Dungeons & Dragons history will begin his next grand adventure without the resource that has always defined him. Mordenkainen has been stripped of his magic, and this condition will be the starting point for the new ongoing Dungeons & Dragons comic series, arriving November 4, 2026, from Dark Horse Comics.
The change was introduced in the free prologue Dungeons & Dragons: Magefall. In the deep dive published by D&D Beyond, writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly describe Mordenkainen as a mage with almost limitless control over magic, originally created as a player character by Gary Gygax and later becoming a recurring presence in the D&D universe. Magefall, however, overturns this position: after a clash with an aspect of the dragon god Bahamut, Mordenkainen completely loses his powers.
Kelly explained that the goal was to take a character normally placed above others and force him to face the world without magic. The authors also specified that they built the initial confrontation using the abilities expected of a level 20 wizard, thus making the contrast with the character's condition at the end of the prologue deliberate.
This is not, at least as announced so far, a modification to Mordenkainen's rules or statistics in the tabletop role-playing game. The depowering concerns the comic's story and serves to alter the balance around a character traditionally capable of resolving enormous threats on his own.
The consequence will be visible in the new series. Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that Mordenkainen will have to reunite some of Faerûn's most famous characters, including Tasha and Volo, to face a draconic apocalypse threatening the Forgotten Realms. Lanzing also anticipated that, no longer able to rely on his own magic, the wizard will be forced to seek out allies more powerful than himself.
The series will be written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, with art by Ibraim Roberson, inks by Arabson Oliveira, colors by Dan Brown, and lettering by Haley-Rose Lyon. Dungeons & Dragons #1 will arrive in US comic shops on November 4, 2026.