It’s less than two months until Christmas. It may seem a bit early, but with carrier services already delaying shipping it’s a good time to get squared away on holiday shopping, so we’re getting you started today with our Mega-Sized Dungeons & Dragons Holiday Gift Guide. This has been a stellar year for D&D players, with new adventures and sourcebooks for the “world’s greatest roleplaying game.” If you’ve been tracking the breadth and scope of the 5th Edition with us at borg, you know there is truly something for every fantasy fan in your realm. If you’ve ever wanted to start playing Dungeons & Dragons, but didn’t have anyone around that knew how to play, Wizards of the Coast released a boxed set with everything you need to get started. Expanding on its earlier D&D Starter Set, the D&D Essentials Kit includes all of the components to get started on an adventure out-of-the-box, with hours of adventuring for 2-6 players. That’s just the beginning… We have three new accessories to share, especially for anyone looking for the gamer who has everything: The Witchlight Carnival Dice and Miscellany set, Dungeon Master’s Screen: Dungeon Kit, and the yet-to-be-released book of adventures, Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos. If your gamer is hard to buy for, they probably don’t have these new releases yet. Let’s take a look at these and everything you need–or may have missed–from the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons:
For accessories, as “bang for your buck” goes, it’s hard to beat a new dice set. As with other dice sets, The Witchlight Carnival Dice and Miscellany set includes Wizards of the Coast’s attractive, shelf-worthy, felt-lined storage boxes that double as dice trays, a shiny set of dice designed especially for the adventure, a fold-out map, reference cards, and concept artwork. Or check out recent dice sets for your favorite previously-released adventures, like Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, Decent Into Avernus, and Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit. Along with the beginner guides above, you also have two Stranger Things D&D tie-ins, including a Stranger Things Starter Set and a Stranger Things Trivial Pursuit game.
Similar in design to the Dungeon Master’s Screen Wilderness Kit, D&D has its next Dungeon Master’s Screen: Dungeon Kit now available. It includes a customizable double-sided dry erase sheet with a numbered grid on one side and a summary of character actions on the other. It also has 36 connectable “geomorph” cards to help DMs plan out their next adventure or create maps on the fly during a game. Eighteen condition cards include new mold and slime conditions, and nine initiative cards easily help players track order of play for NPCs, monsters, and players. And of course it includes the great screen, with gorgeous artwork and a protective folder.
Speaking of screens, it’s hard to beat the red dragon screens that accompany the D&D Core Rulebook Gift Set (and Special Edition version). These books are a must, individually, or via one of the boxed sets.
And speaking of the Rulebooks, we’ve been tracking the D&D 5th Edition since the beginning, and it’s the adventures and sourcebooks that are the core of D&D. Maybe you missed some? (The links take you to previous reviews here at borg and where to get them now).
2021
Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos – available for pre-order
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
2020
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
2019
Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus
D&D: The Rickth Edition Rick & Morty tie-in adventure
D&D Essentials Kit with Dragon of the Icespire Peak
Tyranny of Dragons, including Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
2018
Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
2017
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
2016
2015
Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
2014
D&D has tie-in games like Monster Madness and The Great Dalmuti.
Need more background on the phenomenon of D&D? Don’t miss the big Art & Arcana Visual Guide to D&D, The Magic the Gathering tie-in visual guides, D&D fiction for younger readers, including the Endless Quest library, and adult fiction like R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt novels and the Stone of Tymora novels. Plus, there are D&D coloring books, and you can get your comics fix with D&D in books like Mindbreaker, Infernal Tides, At the Spine of the World, Days of Endless Adventure, A Darkened Wish, and lots more. And if you want to go outside the box, check out the UGEARS Random Generator Die Kit–just one way to make your game different from everyone else.
If you’re looking for gifts for your gamer friends and family or anyone who has ever wanted to create their own characters and share stories of their imagination, take a look at the options from Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons′ wide variety of core materials and accessories. Order soon to ensure delivery for the holidays!
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
