D&D game news and reviews

STREET SMARTS

D&D teases next storyline - a heist in Waterdeep

The Stream of Many Eyes has spoken: The next Dungeons & Dragons adventure storyline will be Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, in stores Sept. 20. Announced Friday as a weekend of Twitch D&Dcelebrity action kicked off, the hardcover book provides tons of detail for running adventures in a fantasy city such as Waterdeep, one of the grandest cities in the Forgotten Realms campaign world. Players need to use diplomacy, intrigue, stealth, and their wits to follow clues and solve puzzles in this daring, urban treasure hunt. The $49.95 adventure, described below, is for character levels 1-5:

Famed explorer Volothamp Geddarm needs you to complete a simple quest. Thus begins a mad romp through the wards of Waterdeep as you uncover a villainous plot involving some of the city’s most influential figures. A grand urban caper awaits you. Pit your skill and bravado against villains the likes of which you’ve never faced before, and let the dragon hunt begin! Also announced: the 256-page adventure Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, set in the iconic Undermountain mega-dungeon, as well as a Dragon Heist-themed set of polyhedral dice for $25. — Jayson Peters

Magic card content comes to D&D with Ravnica

Wizards of the Coast has owned both Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons for many years now, but rarely have the two brands commingled except in free, online only D&D supplements based on Magic card game settings. That changes Nov. 20, 2018, when the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica comes out. The book will contain everything fans need to play D&D in the fan-favorite Magic setting of Ravnica, populated by 10 rival guilds, each with its own ethos and agenda. “Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering have been asking for years about when these two amazing brands would play together,” said Nathan Stewart, director of D&D. “With the huge surge in popularity of D&D and Magic’s commitment to bring the lore and storytelling to life, the timing seemed perfect. Ravnica is full of adventure possibilities and I can’t wait for fans to jump in to embody a member of one the iconic guilds. I will personally be making a new character for Rakdos.” “This fall, Magic returns to the beloved plane of Ravnica with the release of the Guilds of Ravnica set for the trading card game and the D&D book Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica which will include classes, races, monsters and setting information on the ten opposing guilds,” said Elaine Chase, Vice President, Global Brand Strategy & Marketing for Magic: The Gathering. “It’s super cool for fans of D&D and Magic to be playing together in the same multiverse.” “We’re excited for fans to dive deeper into the robust world of Ravnica as they adventure as a member of their favorite guild,” said Aaron Forsythe, Senior Design Director for Magic: The Gathering. “Picking up Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica is a great way for D&D and Magic fans alike to tell a part of Ravnica’s story with their friends around the table.” — Jayson Peters 6

Eberron returns!

Wizards also announced Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron, a new document written by Keith Baker available online now in the Dungeon Masters Guild online marketplace. Fans can use this as a jumping off point to create their own monsters, adventure modules, and other tabletop content set within the Eberron world, and can put it up for sale themselves on the DMs Guild. The magic-heavy, film-noir setting of Eberron first debuted in the days of the 3.5 Edition, back in 2002, when author and game designer Keith Baker won a “Fantasy Setting Search” contest. The D&D team has been working with him to update the setting. The first step is this digital release, which will serve to collect feedback on adjusted races, dragon marks, new backgrounds and more. “It’s been sixteen years since I planted the first seeds that would become Eberron, and watching it grow has been an amazing journey,” Baker, said. “So many good people have been involved in creating the world we see today, and it’s been wonderful to see it come to life. I can’t wait to see what people do with the world!” — Jayson Peters

ENTER THE TOME OF FOES

Dungeons & Dragons lore at its richest ...

BY DAVID BUCK There are no small betrayals …

One should never steal secrets from a wizard such as Mordenkainen. A dire warning from the great wizard himself graces the beginning of the latest Dungeons & Dragons game supplement. His Tome of Foes provides something for everyone and expands the game in a meaningful way. This is one of the few D&D books I’ve read through from start to finish, rather than using it as a reference book. It’s compelling, with beautiful illustrations and two covers, one for the standard release and a deluxe variant that was exclusive to hobby stores. Without further ado, let’s dive into Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.

THE BLOOD WAR The history of the Blood War is rich and deep. Presented informatively, with sidebars of the wizard’s own notes, the reader learns the motives of each side in the conflict. There’s a brief tour of the Nine Hells and its denizens and leaders before launching into the section on the demons of the Abyss. There’s extensive information here on using the various demons and devils in your game, as well as guidelines for developing devil, cambion and tiefling NPCs with ties to the various infernal entities. I found this section genuinely fascinating and enjoyed the way so many hints from previous books — the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and many of the adventures — were tied together in this one. Combined with the deeply intriguing layout of the Nine Hells and the novel-like approach of the narrative, I found myself becoming engaged with the material and interested in using the Blood War as a backdrop to a future campaign. A history of elves and dwarves The Tome of Foes continues its narrative with a deeply detailed section all about the elves. Some interesting and fun information fills out this section nicely. The introduction of elven deities is a nice touch and learning more about the life cycle of an elf offers some insight into effectively roleplaying your own elven

character. I learned way more about elves and dwarves, their life cycles, their rivalries and their different character types from these two chapters than I ever did from playing D&D over the past two decades. The section on the Duergar reveals their uniquely interesting origin and provides some interesting roleplaying/story hook ideas. I may have to return to this section for a future adventure. The artwork here is amazing and the new stats provide exceptional roleplaying opportunities and adventure hooks for use in your games. They’re long and detailed, but worthwhile. The same goes for

the wonderful section on gnomes a few chapters later. But before we learn about the gnomes, there’s a chapter on one of my favorite old-school races: the Gith.

RUMINATIONS ON THE GITH The section on the Gith covers both the Githyanki and the Githzerai. What struck a chord with me here is how similar all of this is to the lore and backstory from the original AD&D 2nd Edition Spelljammer campaign setting. There’s a ton of background information on the lich queen herself as well as history and rules for the Gith spelljamming

helms. It’s section like this that make me believe we’re going to get an updated version of that campaign setting in 5th Eedition. If so, I’m very much looking forward to it! Previously, Volo’s Guide to Monsters enlightened us about the spelljamming methods of the mind flayers, while simultaneously introducing those Spelljammer mainstays, the Neogi.

It’s all coming together nicely, but if D&D in space isn’t your cup of tea, the rules for the Gith are worthwhile in their own right. The artwork and lore are worth the price of admission on their own merits.

THE BESTIARY Rounding out the Tome of Foes is the extensive bestiary. Revealing stats for over 100 new (or old, depending on how long you’ve been playing) monsters, this section is ideal for your continuing D&D adventures. Some of the creatures are downright creepy, like Sorrowsworn and, well, half the bestiary, really. The famous Astral Dreadnought is given the 5E treatment here also. I enjoyed the section on new troll variants and appreciated the inclusion of all the different elf, gnome, dwarf and Duergar options discussed in throughout the book. Another Spelljammer favorite, the Giff, make their 5E debut here as well. These gun-toting, mercenary hippopotamuses are so much fun to play. Tortles are amazing and the extensive information on all the demons and devils of the D&D universe is invaluable for any DM wishing to run the Blood War for their games — or to simply use them as part of their own stories. While I’m not sure if I’ll ever use half of these creatures, it’s nice to have the option, not to mention the artwork and lore are worth the price of admission on their own merits.

FINAL VERDICT If you’re a DM and/or love the lore, history and legacy of D&D, pick this book up! Players can use it as reference for playing the various races throughout the Tome of Foes. Ultimately, it’s one of the best D&D supplements since Xanathar’s Guide to Everything to come out so far.