Mutant Apes in Dungeons and Dragons Game Glimmering

Gripnr, a Web3 startup, aims to bridge the gap between DnD and Web3 components using NFT-based characters. Their first game is The Glimmering, which raised $2.5 million in 2022. Now the company has announced a partnership with NFT collector and Web3 entrepreneur Jimmy "j1mmy" McNelis. The deal will see McNelis' owned Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT characters integrated as villains into Gripnr's new game, The Glimmering.

The Glimmering is a blockchain-based tabletop roleplaying game that incorporates blockchain technology and NFTs into the gaming experience. In traditional TTRPGs, players interact with the game's world and story through a game master. In Gripnr's TTRPG on the blockchain, the game's rules and other game elements are stored on a decentralized blockchain, providing transparency and security for players.

The company's lead artist, Justin "Angryblue" Kamerer, will reimagine Mutant Apes to fit within the game's fantasy world Asuwa, where the characters of The Glimmering have their adventures. In addition, there will be a derivative NFT collection based on Mutant Ape characters—minted on Polygon—which will be featured within the digital tabletop game experience. The Glimmering’s first collection of NFTs will let owners be the first to mint The Glimmering’s Mutant Apes. This new collection is expected to be released during the spring of this year.

McNelis, who founded the Avastars profile picture collection in 2020 and co-founded the Gallery of Digital Assets platform, is a fan of role-playing games and the fantasy genre, as well as their memorable villains. He sees Mutant Apes as the perfect fit for The Glimmering's villainous characters. McNelis says, "Some of the best characters of all time are villains like Darth Vader and Tony Soprano, and we have some truly exciting stuff planned for the future of the Mutants in the game. I'm excited to see the experience unfold."

Mutant Apes launched in August 2021 as a spinoff of the original Bored Ape collection, generating over $1.9 billion worth of trading volume, according to CryptoSlam. Bringing Mutant Apes to the world of tabletop blockchain gaming is an opportunity to connect more deeply with the NFT ecosystem, says McNelis.