The best gift ideas for D&D fans of all ages and skill levels

Shopping for the Dungeons & Dragons fan in your life can be daunting, especially if you don’t know all that much about how the 50-year-old RPG even works. Allow us to guide your hand to some of the best options for all types of players – as well as fans of popular D&D shows like Critical Role. We’ve even included a handy table of contents that will take you straight to the right section.

Beginner

The latest starter set for D&D, Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Stormwreck Island Dragons ($19.99), is a skinny little piece. It’s the new gold standard for new player onboarding, complete with comprehensive pre-made character sheets and all the rules you need to get from level 1 to level 3 – plus a decent little adventure to boot. However, I said skinny, and I meant it. Throw away the clunky cardboard spacer and there won’t be much stuff left in the box.

A much more comprehensive offer is the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit ($24.99). Even if it was published in 2019, it is no less topical Stormwreck Island Dragons. Both based on the same book, 2014 Player’s manual ($22.95), and both contain the same basic rules. But the Essentials kit adds three additional d6 dice (for old-school traditional character generation) as well as a thick deck to keep track of things like magic items, conditions, and initiative—all key concepts for D&D.

That Essentials kit also comes with rules for sidekicks – easy-to-follow characters that can help fill the table if you only have a budding DM and an eager player or two.

Experienced players

If someone you love is deep into an ongoing D&D campaign, then there are plenty of options to help them enjoy the table more.

A Character Journal ($16.99 hardcover, $9.95 paperback) is an excellent upgrade for regular players. The cleverly named dandy beyond makes them in a variety of colors that are easy to find online.

Wooden accessories are another excellent gifting option – things like rolling trays, vaulted cubes and more. Having had experience with several manufacturers over the years, we are happy to vouch for the Michigan-based company Dog makes games and Elderwood Academyas well as Massachusetts-based Wyrmwood Gaming. All offer exceptional value – right down to the high-end custom items that can take a few weeks or months to customize. Best to order soon.

Another great gift for regular RPG players would be dice, which are a dime a dozen online. To really get a feel for all the different varieties available, I recommend heading to your friendly local game store to roll around a few. There are also plenty of other options for slightly more premium offerings. Cash Dispel Dice ($60 and up) and Level Up Dice ($75 and up) for several examples.

dungeon master

D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast has released several new products for Dungeon Masters this year that have largely stayed under the radar. I’ve been making out with them for a few months now and am a huge fan.

First, every DM who regularly meets face-to-face with their players should have them D&D Campaign Case: Terrain ($64.99) at your disposal. This hefty little set contains 30 double-sided, interlocking terrain tiles that you can use to create indoor or outdoor environments with ease. There are also five sheets of plastic clips showing features such as debris, traps, and treasure – essential items you’ll encounter in almost every adventure. The whole package comes in a sturdy box that even comes with its own rope handle.

That D&D Campaign Case: Creatures ($64.99) Complements the Terrain case perfectly with a selection of poker chip style flat tokens and a selection of plastic clips to use as decoration for them. The beauty of this set is that it includes many duplicate beasts, so DMs can easily create an entire force to take on their heroes. Can’t find the right monsters in your suitcase for your campaign? With some printer paper and some Blu Tack you can get a lot out of this set – which also comes in a nice box with a rope handle for easy portability.

Want to go the extra mile? Consider getting some supplements for your DM Guild of Jailers, an online store operated by Wizards and OneBookShelf that offers PDF materials and print-on-demand copies of its books. Her Diamond metal products list is where the good stuff is, but you should know a bit more about what type of campaign your DM is running before you spend any money. If you are short on time or trying to give a surprise gift, you can always opt for the one Level Up 5th Edition: Adventurer’s Guidewhich is packed with optional systems and rules to keep things interesting at the table.

Is your DM one that goes above and beyond with their storytelling? Then you might want to opt for something a little more cerebral. The Silent Year ($8.00) is a storytelling game that allows players to build a world together. It’s a great way to start a new homebrew campaign.

On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes it’s nice to end a campaign with an emotional bang. Everest Pipkins World ending game

World ending game is characterful. Intended to be used as a tool for managing the end of things in tabletop worlds, it fits right into games like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, and the wide world of tabletops beyond. These types of games are played in a character-centric way, and figuring out how to let go of those characters to let them transition into another phase of their lives beyond the campaign you played is often difficult to accomplish.

playbooks

Click on the title for a preview and/or excerpt. All prices at the time of publication.

Dungeons & Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set ($117.16)

Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep ($29.99)

Mordenkainen presents: Monsters of the Multiverse ($32.81)

Travel through the radiant citadel ($28.99)

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space ($46.88)

novels and other books

Click on the title for a preview and/or excerpt. All prices at the time of publication.

New Drizzt Novels: Starlight Enclave ($18.49) and glacier edge ($21.30)

New Dragonlance novel: Dragons of Deception ($19.51)

New critical role novels: Kith & Kin ($13.64) and The nine eyes of Lucien ($24.99)

Cookbook: Festival of Heroes ($22.30)

Story: Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons ($16.59)

Beyond D&D

Looking for something completely different? Mix things up for your playgroup with these decidedly non-D&D options that offer wildly different rules and settings. Click on the title for a preview and/or excerpt. All prices at the time of publication.

ringing in the dark ($24.99): Lead a band of villains through the haunted streets of an industrial fantasy city unlike anything else in the gaming world. Campaign-oriented play is a master class in improvisation.

.Dungeon ($10): A really easy romp through your favorite media. If it’s on your shelf or in your head somewhere, it’s fair game for this metatextual cyberspace adventure.

mothership ($14.99): A gritty, dark space adventure where characters are unlikely to make it out alive. Aliens, event horizons and more await you in this torturous game.

trophy dark ($15): High fantasy and horror intertwine in this sleek indie game.

Wanderheim ($45): A red wall-inspired environment with cozy animalfolk, pastoral fantasy and introspective storytelling.

Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG Starter Set ($29.99): A strong, durable box filled with posters, maps, handouts and 100 pages of the biggest new tabletop RPGs to come out in years. Not for the faint of heart.