Tis the season for holiday shopping for friends and family. Sometimes this can be a stressful situation, especially when you have no idea what to get someone. For all those in your life that love Dungeons & Dragons, or have always wanted to learn, I have put together a list of 10 items for both players and DMs to make your holiday shopping a little easier.
For the Player
The Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook is a need-to-have for anyone that is looking to start playing. Although all the basic rules can be found online for free thanks to Wizards of the Coast, for those looking to up their characters game and ensure all available rules are being used (or abused) this is the place to start.
Whoever said you can have too many dice lied to you. There are few things better than showing up to a game and dropping a handful of dice on the table. Plus, after that 5th nat 1 in a row, you won't feel to bad when you have to "take care" of that terrible d20.
3. D&D Apparel
Make sure the D&D lover in your life shows up to the table in style. Gamers and geeks love showing their love of the game with the world so shirts are always a great choice.
Again, geeks love to share their love of the game in any way they can and rolling the dice with a sweet beverage holder is always a great way to do it.
With all those dice, your D&D fan will need something to keep them on the table. Speaking from experience, dice have a way of jumping across the table at high rates of speed (the harder you throw the better the roll...or something like that).
For the DM
For anyone running the game, they will tell you, like dice, books are always needed, and this is an amazing set. It comes with all 3 rulebooks (Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual) as well as DM screen, all packaged nicely in a sleek box for storage. And right now is a great time to pick this up as it's currently priced cheaper than buying everything individually on on Amazon.
Whether the D&D lover in your life is just wanting to learn how to DM, or has been running games for years, this starter set is a great place to begin. For those that are fans of Stranger Things it's even better! This box set comes with everything one needs to start running a game, regardless of their experience level.
3. Battle Mats
If the DM uses mini's they're going to need a good battle mat. This one by Ergon Games I can speak personal about. The quality is amazing, can use both dry and wet erase markers, and will come clean even weeks after being drawn on. Any DM will be impressed with this as a gift.
Eberron: Rising from the Last War, is the newest D&D adventure book from Wizards of the Coast. Give the gift of a world filled with magic-fueled technology, trains powered by lightning, and ships that sail through the air so the DM can run their players through all new adventures.
Sometimes the DM needs a break, whether from the burnout of running to many sessions or just the fact that they forgot to prepare. As long as the players are still having fun around the table, that's what really matters.
Hopefully some of these ideas will get you pointed in the right direction for the Dungeons & Dragons players in your life. Happy holiday gift giving!