Review by C.J. Bunce
Back in 2019 Ten Speed Press partnered with Wizards of the Coast to begin a series of adventurer books to get young readers involved with storytelling, fantasy worlds, and role playing games. The Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guide books have everything you need to begin to create your own characters and stories, perfect for kids who aren’t advanced enough in their reading yet or readers not familiar with what D&D fantasy games have to offer. Each illustrated guide is a primer on the key segments of gameplay and they can be used for storytelling for any kind of fictional story with friends. About half the dimensions of the traditional D&D books and nearly as thick, these gilded hardcover editions will fit right along with the 5th Edition books should a reader decide to continue with D&D.
The latest out this month is Artificers & Alchemy (available here at Amazon), an introduction to magic–magical items and creatures. Whether you want to know how to find magical items in your adventuring campaign, make your own magic items, or use existing ones, this book aims to get you on track. Check out a preview of this latest volume and learn more about the other eight books in the collection below.
The best feature of this series is the artwork. These look like D&D books past and present, and the only thing different is the text for younger readers. Authors Jim Zub, Stacy King, and Andrew Wheeler describe what you’re doing, how to do it, and why it fits into the story, all spelled out so nearly any level of reader can understand. And you’ll meet classic D&D characters and learn what makes them interesting.
Fans of the D&D Endless Quest books reviewed here at borg will find these new books a few steps more advanced. With each volume of the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guide you’ll be asked to consider for your story key worldbuilding elements: Who? What? Where? How? When? and Why?
Above and below are some images from Artificers & Alchemy:
With Artificers & Alchemy the series now expands to nine books. Click on these links to find each at Amazon now: Monsters & Creatures, Warriors & Weapons, Dungeons & Tombs, Wizards & Spells, Beasts & Behemoths, Dragons & Treasures, The Monsters & Creatures Compendium, and Places & Portals. What dangers will your party of heroes face? One-eyed beholder, vampire, owlbear, or sprite? Frost giant, banshee, or dragon? If you’re introducing someone to gaming with these books, think of these volumes as miniature editions of 5th Edition tomes like the Monster Manual or Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
Marketed to middle grade readers, they will appeal to young readers who want to learn more about role play, storytelling, and fantasy worlds, and serve as a springboard for older kids to move on to the full adventures of the 5th Edition volumes. Here are the covers for each book:
The first four volumes are available in a boxed set here, with the next four in a second boxed set in September 2024, available for pre-order here. Check out any or all of the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guide books at the above links.
