Dungeons & Dragons will hit the silver screen next year with the new movie Honor Among Thieves, and until then there are plenty of Critical Role and Dimension 20 episodes to binge. Or, you and your loved ones can start a D&D campaign all your own. If you’re already a player (or Dungeon Master!) or know someone who is, surely some new supplies would be welcome for the holidays—and our 2022 Dungeons & Dragons gift guide has a little something for everyone.
Read on for the best D&D gift ideas this year, for DMs and players of any skill or interest level.
D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Every few years, D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Toys, releases a new Starter Set designed for beginners. The 2022 edition, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, costs $19.99 and includes five ready-to-play characters (with character sheets), six dice, a 32-page rulebook for playing characters levels 1-3, and a 48-page adventure booklet with everything players need to get started. All that’s left to do is pick a Dungeon Master, gather a small group of friends, and gather ’round the table— whether in person or online.
D&D Beyond, Inkarnate, or Roll20 Subscription
For DMs and players who prefer a virtual experience to an in-person one—or for those whose only option to connect with friends is online—a gift subscription to a tabletop roleplay simulator site is a must. D&D Beyond focuses solely on Dungeons & Dragons, and a yearly subscription starts at $25.99. Roll20 also offers other games and systems, and a yearly subscription starts at $49.99. Inkarnate is purely a map-making platform, with plenty of tools to make high-quality visual aids. Yearly subscriptions start at $25.
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Deluxe Edition Bundle
Wizards of the Coast just released the Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen adventure book, and the Deluxe Edition is a whole bundle that includes a full-scale tabletop war game, Warriors of Krynn.
The $155 set includes the board game with six hero figures and hero boards, 136 plastic unit markers, 10 double-sided battle tiles, 22 double-sided adventure tiles, seven custom dice, 92 tokens, 320 cards, seven card dividers, a storage tray, a rulebook, a scenario book, and a key moments tracker. It also includes a copy of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen with a bundle-exclusive foil cover and a bundle-exclusive Dungeon Master’s screen. Purchases through WotC will also include a digital download of the sourcebook on D&D Beyond.
Dungeon Mayhem
If roleplaying seems like too big of a commitment but your giftee still likes the idea of getting into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, the Dungeon Mayhem card game from Wizards of the Coast is a great pick. The original game, which costs $15, is designed for 2-4 players and comes with four character decks and associated point trackers. The goal is to use combat and spell cards to attack other players and diminish their hit points while you heal from attacks against you and hopefully end up the last character standing.
In addition to the core game, Wizards has also published two Dungeon Mayhem expansion packs: Battle for Baldur’s Gate ($10.99), which introduces two new characters, and Monster Madness ($24.99), which introduces six playable D&D monsters and a new ruleset for up to six players.
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
For the adventurer who wants to learn more about the monsters that have been introduced in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (5e), look no further than Mordenkainan Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, a book written from the POV of the titular wizard. The $44.99 guide book features more than 250 monsters with newly-organized stat blocks, more than 30 playable species, and updated monster lore focusing more on the multiverse—making it easier for DMs to incorporate monster backstories into any campaign, regardless of setting.
Chessex Role Playing Play Mat
For in-person game sessions involving travel or combat, DMs and players may benefit from visual aids to track movement and distance. The Chessex Role Playing Play Mat is reversible, with squares on one side and 1-inch hexes on the other, and it’s made from vinyl that can be drawn on with wet-erase markers, then easily cleaned for the next session. It’s also huge—34×48 inches—making it usable for fights or scenes of basically any scale. This excellent tool goes for $38.55.
Die Hard Dice Magnetic Dice Tray
Anyone who’s sent dice flying off the table during a tabletop game can attest to the importance of a dice tray, which not only protects the dice themselves and the table, but also players’ hands and feet. Not to mention, rolling in a dice tray significantly reduces the likelihood of having to throw the dice again due to dropped or interrupted rolls.
Plenty of companies make dice trays of different types and portability. We recommend the magnetic trays from Die Hard Dice not only because they can be flattened for easy travel, but because they’re velvet-lined for extra softness and the corners come together via magnet, making them super accessible for players who may not be able to manipulate snaps, ties, or buttons. Trays start at $17.95.
Dungeon Master Character Kit Gift Set
For the perfect D&D aesthetic, this $57.50 gift set from d20Inspiration on Etsy is a must-have. It includes a Character Class jar candle with a customizable label (scented with a combination of sweet tobacco, citrus, and green and black teas), a matching Barkskin Spell candle (scented with pine and lavender), and a black and white seven-piece dice set with matching burlap storage bag. All of these items come packaged in a black or blue gift box with a custom label designed to complement a D&D character sheet.
Field Notes 5e Gaming Journals
Field Notes makes a ton of incredible notebooks, including three styles that are specifically for Dungeons & Dragons. The company publishes two-pack sets of 5e Character Journals, 5e Game Master Journals, and 5e Monster/Encounter Journals, as well as an Adventure Set containing two of the former, one of each of the latter, and a two-pack of No. 2 woodgrain pencils. Individual journal packs run for $18.95 each, and the Adventure Set goes for $69.95.
Found Familiar Coffee
For someone who wants to eat, sleep, breathe, and even drink the D&D mythos, look no further than Found Familiar Coffee. Launched in 2019, this small business funds creators in the TTRPG industry through coffee sales, with each bag featuring unique blends and artwork befitting their Dungeons & Dragons-themed names. Found Familiar offers year-round roasts, seasonal blends, and decaf, with prices starting at $16 for individual bags or subscriptions priced at 15 percent off. They also sell mugs, apparel, and other merchandise if you want to make a gift set of your own, as well as gift cards if you’d rather let your giftee pick their own potion.
The Game Master’s Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons
For the Dungeon Master who’s run out of children’s riddles to confuse and entice their players, Media Lab Books’s The Game Master’s Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons: A Punishing Collection of Bone-Crunching Contraptions, Brain-Teasing Riddles and Stamina-Testing Encounter Locations for 5th Edition RPG Adventures written by Jeff Ashworth and illustrated by Kyle Hilton offers a ton of unique puzzles and encounters at various challenge levels for any group of players to tackle. The book also comes equipped with three one-shot adventures that can be played right from the book or adapted for ongoing campaigns. This $20.69 book is part of a series from Media Lab Books, each of which is a great addition to any DM toolkit.
Hero Forge Custom Miniatures Gift Card
Whether your giftee plays D&D online or in person, they’d probably love to see one of their beloved characters realized as a full-scale miniature figure. And they can design that miniature to their heart’s content through Hero Forge, which offers a wealth of options for customization down the nitty-gritty details. Giving them a gift card to partially or fully pay for their finished product will probably make you their favorite for at least the next year.
HOLO PRIDE Dice Sticker Set
Queerness and Dungeons & Dragons go hand-in-hand, and these $4 stickers from ArtbyLuseals are a perfect gift for any player who wants to show their pride with a roll of the dice.
The Quiet Year
There are a dozen ways to world-build in a Dungeons & Dragons game, including playing other TTRPGs to establish character backstories, civilization rules, religious rites, and more. The Quiet Year from Buried Without Cemetery is a map game designed for 2-4 players to identify a community’s struggles after civilization has collapsed, then attempt to rebuild over the course of a quiet year. It’s a deck-based game, with each of the 52 cards corresponding to a week of the year. Every card triggers a different event, and at the end of the year, the Frost Shepherds arrive.
The Quiet Year is meant to be played in one session over 3-4 hours, and the game set—a 40-page booklet, an oversized card deck, a turn summary card, six dice, and 20 Contempt Tokens—comes enclosed in a burlap bag for $47.97. Buyers will also get a PDF download of the set.
R-N-W Player’s Gift Set
Papercraft D&D creator R-N-W has curated a series of Player’s Gift Sets using a selection of her always-available notebooks, notepads, sticker sheets, and more (including a coupon for a future purchase). Each one features a different color palette and aesthetic: Midnight, Garden, Treasure, Wildflower, and Village, in addition to two Game Master (Mini and Regular). Each one goes for $24.28, with the larger Game Master set available for $54.90.
(featured image: Wizards of the Coast; Die Hard Dice; Field Notes; Found Familiar Coffee / The Mary Sue)
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