Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce two exciting things today! I will be at Special Guest at GameHole Con from Thursday, November 8th to Sunday, November 11th. During the show, I’ll be running a playtest of a Ravenloft campaign I’m working on for DMsGuild.com, putting in some booth time for Onyx Path Publishing, attending panels, and playing games.

To help sick kids, I will be playing a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game that’ll be live-streamed during the show. The fundraiser is called Extra Life, and it allows me to customize rewards for your pledges.

Wizards of the Coast is ready to throw down with Dungeon Mayhem, an easy-to-learn card game pitting the wits and brawn of a party of adventurers against each other. 2 to 4 players choose one of four decks modeled after characters in Dungeons & Dragons (barbarian, paladin, rogue, or wizard) and sling spells, daggers and, well, MAYHEM at each other until there’s only one left to claim the treasure. Look for Dungeon Mayhem in stores everywhere starting on November 16!

“The colorful art style and fast pace makes Dungeon Mayhem perfect for introducing new fans to D&D,” said Nathan Stewart, director of D&D. “In the time it took me to dictate this quote to my underlings, I’ve already thrown two dagger cards at Shelly Mazzanoble and blocked incoming damage from both the paladin and wizard. That treasure is MINE!”

At long last, New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore returns with one of fantasy’s most beloved and enduring icons, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, in an all-new trilogy full of swordplay, danger, and imaginative thrills.

For any fan of Epic Fantasy or gaming, there are few characters that hold quite as much significance as Drizzt Do’Urden, the iconic dark elf warrior. New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore created the legendary swordsman thirty years ago, spawning novels, video games, and tabletop gaming campaigns – and taking hold of the imaginations of countless fans in the process.

Wizards of the Coast is psyched to announce the first collaboration on a major product between Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering with Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica releasing everywhere on November 20. The book will contain everything fans need to play D&D in the world-spanning city of Ravnica, the fan-favorite Magic setting populated by ten rival guilds, each with its own ethos and agenda. Wizards is also announcing D&D fans can now return to a magic-heavy noir setting with Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron, a new document written by Keith Baker available online now. The exploration of these settings is a testament to how fan excitement can shape where D&D travels to next.

ENTER THE MISTS OF BAROVIA IN NEVERWINTER: RAVENLOFT NOW AVAILABLE ON PC

Venture Beyond the Forgotten Realms to a Land Defined by Dangerous Nights, Deadly Creatures and the Rule of Count Strahd von Zarovich

Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced Neverwinter: Ravenloft is now available on PC and arrives later on Xbox One and PlayStation®4. In the 14th module for the free-to-play MMORPG set in the Forgotten Realms (and beyond), adventurers are called to Barovia, where they face Strahd’s cursed land and all of its horrors. This departure from the Sword Coast brings gameplay features unique to Ravenloft such as a meaningful day-to-night cycle, Tarokka Card collections and readings, an Endgame Dungeon in Castle Ravenloft and much more.

Onyx Path Publishing is partnering with DriveThruRPG to allow independent content creators to publish material in the Slarecian Vault utilizing the OGL for both Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition editions of existing and future Scarred Lands books produced by Onyx Path.

A world known to its inhabitants as Scarn, the Scarred Lands is a place of dynamic heroism, supreme villainy, and incalculable magic. Torn and twisted by battles between the titans and their children, the young gods —fought largely by monstrous titanspawn pitted against humans, elves, dwarves, and other “divine races” — Scarn is a world still wounded deeply by the Divine War that took place less than two centuries ago.

“Scarred Lands is a gem of a setting that’s flush with opportunities for great storytelling, adventuring, and good, old-fashioned monster hunting,” says Scarred Lands developer, Monica Valentinelli. “With this setting, there’s an unlimited potential for creators to explore Scarn by offering new classes, races, and more!”

On June 1 – 3 2018, D&D will bring tons of Twitch streamers, actors, comedians and D&D luminaries to the Stream of Many Eyes, a three-day livestreamed extravaganza full of cosplay, crazy sets and amazing stories. During the Stream of Many Eyes – #SOMEDND – the D&D team will unveil the new adventure story coming this year and showcase extraordinary D&D live play entertainment, and it will all stream live on twitch.tv/dnd.

The Stream of Many Eyes starts at 4pm PT on Friday, June 1st, with a visual tour of the studio led by host Anna Prosser Robinson and a roundtable conversation with the D&D team on the new storyline and what makes it so exciting. Dungeons & Dragons will then present live D&D play sessions with Force Grey & Dice, Camera, Action.

Catalyst Game Labs—publisher of the seminal BattleTech and Shadowrun games—is exceptionally excited and honored to publish Dragonfire, a cooperative deckbuilder game based on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

Dragonfire combines the vast lore of the D&D universe with the fast play of a deckbuilding game. Players choose from several classic fantasy races, from dwarf to elf, half-orc to human, and assume one of the quintessential roles of cleric, rogue, fighter, or wizard. Equipped with weapons, spells, and magic items, players begin their adventure along the famed Sword Coast, then journey to other Forgotten Realms locales, such as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter, and Waterdeep, in future expansions. Along the way, they can level up their characters, find additional equipment, learn new feats, and much more

Decades of GMing Experience at Your Fingertips!

“Kobold Press builds on its excellent track record with another great release—new and provocative.”
—Mike Mearls

Whether it’s advice from grognards who were running games at the dawn of RPGs, or suggestions from the new generation of game designers, these 21 essays by experts are here to help you improve your GMing skills and create fun, amazing, memorable campaigns that’ll be talked about for years.

In this book, master GMs and storytellers give you advice about solo campaigns, shy players, cell phones, and making rulings on the fly. Are you unprepared for the game you’re running half an hour from now? Did you accidentally kill all the PCs? Do you want to run a game for kids? Did the plot take a sudden turn and the PCs have gone into uncharted territory? We’ve got you covered.

The Midgard Campaign Setting for 5th Edition and Pathfinder RPG is a 300+ page volume describing the Midgard regions, from the Northlands to the Western Wastes, and from the Southlands to the Crossroads. With detailed locations, cities, rulers, heraldry, plots, and adventure hooks galore, plus full details of the various pantheons, masked gods, and dark gods, there’s enough here to fuel years of adventuring!

Five years have passed since the original release and now Kobold Press is updating the Midgard Campaign Setting, with even more magic, monsters, and expanded content! Wolfgang Baur is here today with a guest post about this ambitious project.

Battle Powerful Wizards from the Far Realm in Latest Major Expansion for Neverwinter

Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced Neverwinter: The Cloaked Ascendancy is releasing for PC on February 21, following on Xbox One and PlayStation®4 later this year. The Spellplague continues to cast a shadow over Neverwinter, as four mages torn from the Cloak Tower by a spellstorm return to usurp the throne. With this latest expansion for the free-to-play MMORPG based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, adventurers can look forward to several all-new features including a new campaign, adventure zone, skirmish and more.

Volo’s Guide to Monsters is a rich, story-based supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.

To celebrate the release of Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Wizards of the Coast commissioned an introductory developed by Shawn Merwin called “In Volo’s Wake” for the D&D Adventurer’s League.

This series of adventures, written by Rich Lescouflair, Shawn Merwin, and Monica Valentinelli, explores the town of Phandalin, missing townsfolk, and a whole lot more. The adventures kick off at Level One–perfect for starting players!

There are many iconic adventures and stories in the 43-year history (!) of Dungeons & Dragons that current fans may not have ever experienced. If you just got into D&D in the past few years, you likely haven’t braved the Tomb of Horrors or climbed White Plume Mountain or fought Against the Giants. Even longtime fans haven’t been able to fully explore the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan or the Sunless Citadel with stats and monsters updated for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum for Play.

First published in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons has inspired many millions of gamers to create stories and adventures and has brought people together from all backgrounds to share those experiences. We are extremely proud D&D has been recognized by the Strong Museum, and we owe what the game is today to you, our fans. As stewards of D&D, we will continue to make great entertainment to inspire your creativity.

Nathan Stewart, Senior Director of D&D at Wizards of the Coast, was on hand in Rochester, NY to witness the induction ceremony and speak on behalf of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D means so much to so many people, but it is especially important to young people as they learn and grow.

IDW returns to the popular world of Dungeons & Dragons!

MINSC AND BOO ARE BACK!

And things have never looked more dire, as mysterious forces draw the legendary ranger and his crew of adventurers to RAVENLOFT, the Realm of Terror… where they find themselves face to face with undead horrors in the land of eternal night!

Written by Jim Zub
Art by Nelson Daniel and Max Dunbar

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadows of the Vampire #1 is available now at DriveThruComics.com!

Over the years, I’ve worked on (and have played) a lot of games with folks from every corner of the industry, but I’ve never had the opportunity to write for Dungeons and Dragons. Battle for the Undercity (5E) is a release that changed all that thanks to dmsguild.com. Today, I’d like to share with you my process for designing this adventure.

The first thing I did was review the adventure structure. Having played D&D 5E, I understood how important that was but, at the same time, I wanted to put my own twist on it. After I read the DMs Guild Creator Adventure Template and refreshed my memory by referencing Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, I came up with a plan. I wanted to design a location and fitting monster variants that could be used in any Forgotten Realms campaign, in part because of my own experiences playing D&D. By tapping into the two elements every city tends to have which, in this case, was the undercity (sewers, worked tunnels, etc.) and a tavern, I felt DMs could use Battle for the Undercity as a break between campaigns or intense sessions.

Battle for the Undercity is a D&D 5th Edition adventure designed for a DM’s use in any Forgotten Realms™ campaign. It was designed and written by writer, editor, and developer Monica Valentinelli, with rules and editing by Scott Holden.

Battle for the Undercity takes place underground in a section of a major city. The party will navigate sewers, worked tunnels, forgotten crypts, and freshly dug passageways to fend off adversaries in order to rescue hostages and return them safely to the surface unharmed. Can your party emerge victorious and save the day?

Dungeons & Dragons is all about creativity. For more than 40 years, the folks who spent the bulk of their time creating amazing adventures, those noble Dungeon Masters, did not have a convenient outlet to share them with the gamers who weren’t sitting at their table. You either had to raise money to publish a physical book or zine on your own, or convince a publisher you had the chops.

Now, the Dungeon Master’s Guild puts the power to share that creativity firmly in the hands of the DM.

WELCOME TO THE SWORD COAST—a region of Faerûn that comprises shining paragons of civilization and culture, perilous locales fraught with dread and evil, and encompassing them all, a wilderness that offers every explorer vast opportunity and simultaneously promises great danger.

While the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is a valuable resource for Dungeon Masters, it was crafted with players and their characters foremost in mind. There is a plethora of new character options to intrigue and inspire every member of the adventuring party.

The pall that had descended over the North is gone, and a new day has dawned on a victorious Mithral Hall, but no matter how bright things seem on the surface, Drizzt and his companions know that what lurks just under their feet remains steeped in evil and charged with unimaginable power.

The dark elves of Menzoberranzan, including the powerful Archmage Gromph, aren’t done with Drizzt yet. And consumed by their own power struggles, feeling backed into a corner, the drow may just be desperate enough to call on demonic forces from the deepest reaches of the Abyss, and unleash a disaster even the Underdark could never have prepared for.