Well met and happy holidays, dear readers! It is time again for my annual dive into what Dungeons & Dragons items are new and necessary for this gift-giving season. Alright, maybe not necessary, but close to it, right? I, personally, could not go a year without giving a new gaming guide or set of dice to a friend or family member and it quite literally boggles my mind that everyone is not afflicted with this same addiction. But, as I get older, I see that many people just do not enjoy life the way some of us do, so their loss, I suppose.

Below this paragraph of rambling sentences is a not-even-close-to-complete list of new gaming-related merchandise that I found interesting or wondrous. We have gotten new releases for game guides, new adventures, and new accessories that will meet the needs of many. I hope you find something that appeals to you in here, as I did. I own most of these, but only recently saw a couple of the ones in the quick picks, so I am waiting to see if I receive them as gifts prior to buying anything else. My wife and I have a deal where we cannot buy from certain categories after Halloween, to allow the other to pick some awesome gifts out without fear of duplicates. But enough of my musings, here are my choices for this year’s D&D or RPG products I would recommend.

Dungeons & Dragons: 2024 Monster Manual
Hardcover
D&D Accessory
Wizards Of The Coast
Release Date: February 18, 2025

Welcome, friends, to the third and final installment of the “Big 3” books for the 2024 refresh on your D&D books. The Dungeons & Dragons: 2024 Monster Manual is full of new and revitalized creatures. And, yes, I do think that it being referred to as a 2024 release is weird, but it will help to remind you that the original timeline had this and the other two books, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and the 2024 Player’s Handbook, slated for release last year, but unfortunately only two made it out in time. Side note: I linked my reviews for those two in that last sentence. All that said, I have a few things to mention about this release itself.

Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana: A Visual History
50th Anniversary Edition
Hardcover | Kindle
By Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer
Foreword by Joe Manganiello
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: November 5, 2024

I am late to this party, folks. No excuses, I just have not taken the time to write about the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana: A Visual History. Not because I didn’t enjoy it: quite the opposite is true there, actually. But as this book is a 50th anniversary edition, there is little more I can add that I did not speak to in 2018 with the original release. If you missed that, my review is located right here. I will speak to the few differences, but really, the best thing about this newer release is it gives more people a chance to lay their hands on it.

Hey there, folks! Welcome to another year of our Dungeons & Dragons Gift Guide!

But wait, it is not just any other year; this is D&D’s 50th Anniversary year! Half a century of what is arguably the greatest tabletop game ever. Holy moly, can you believe it has been that long? I mean, wow, just wow. It is difficult to admit, but I have been playing this game for four decades now and I am still just as excited about it now as I was then. As Wizards of the Coast grows the game, so does the demographic of who plays it and I love the fact that what used to make me seem so nerdy is now something that the public finds to be mainstream. And not only does this allow more people to access it, but it creates a demand for products we had no idea we wanted.

In this gift guide, you will see not just game books and reference materials, but also toys, figurines, and even recipe cards. The parenting book alone is a great gift year-round for folks with a new baby on the way. And let’s be honest, there was so much great stuff released this year that you will have no problem finding the perfect gift for that D&D player in your life during this gift-giving season. So with that, Happy Holidays from me and the rest of the Geeks of Doom crew!

Here’s the 2024 Holiday Gift Guide: Dungeons & Dragons Edition…

Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond
Hardcover | Kindle
By Adam Lee
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: October 29, 2024

Good day, friends. I want to preface this review with the knowledge that I spent multiple hours writing what should have been my longest review ever, only to inadvertently lose the entire thing in the saving process. I will freely admit my editor warned me to write outside of the primary posting software, a warning that I nonetheless ignored and for which I thereby paid the highest price. So, I will do my best to replicate the review, though I admit the passion I had for this particular assignment has waned. Not because of the book itself. Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond is a spectacular tome of information that dragged me kicking and screaming down memory lane. So, with that said, let me begin yet again.