Dungeon Masters are at the heart of every Dungeons And Dragons game. They world hard to bring together players, provide a solid level of challenge and weave chaotic choices into a story that makes sense to everyone. It’s a hard job and whether they are running the game for you or for other people, it’s okay to gift them a gift for it this holiday season.
I’ve included options from all over the budgetary map. This list focuses on third party and other products outside the main line of books because it’s very likely that Dungeon Masters already have those things in their possession. That said, if you are 100% certain they don’t have a copy of the latest Player’s Handbook or Dungeon Master’s Guide, you should definitely consider those for gifts this season.
Dungeon Master’s Guide Premium Map Collection
Beadle & Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse is best known for offering premium editions of official Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. They’ve slowly branched out over the past few years by supporting other games in a similar style. They also now offer dice sets and other accessories.
The Dungeon Master’s Guie Premium Map Collection zooms in on the maps in the back of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide to provide full color miniature scale maps for encounters. The set also pays respect to the section on Greyhawl by providing a pair of canvas maps suitable for framing or spreading out on the table to plot the next campaign move. The Dungeon Master Screen offers additional information on Oerth while also doubling the secret space for the DM for their notes and other vital game components.
Loke Battlemats Terrain Set
Loke Battlemats have become one of my favorite battlemap makers. They provide maps in many different styles from small flip books to massive collections and even unusual configurations like calendars and wrapping paper. The different styles and shapes make customizing their maps for a specific scene very easy.
Their latest release The Terrain Set, offers some basic terrain types like desert, ice, grasslands, beaches and more. It includes resuable clings that stick in place for things like trees, rocks, ruins and even wrecked ships. Never in all my years did I think playing with Colorforms as a kid would come in handy later in life.
Wizkids Icons Of The Realms Miniatures: Return Of The Dragons
If you’re looking for miniatures to use on those new battlemaps, Wizkids has been providing them for years. They offer many different kinds of miniatures that come painted, unpainted and randomized. They’ve served as the official D&D minis provider for many years though their other ranges offer everything from superheroes to Star Trek.
Return of the Dragons is their latest product in the line which updates their set that supported Tyranny of Dragons, the first campaign for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. It’s a set full of dragon minis as well as plenty of heroes and villains to use. This set is currently on pre-order which makes it perfect for the Dungeon Master kicking off a new campaign in the new year.
Mini Dungeon Tome
Sometimes Dungeon Masters run out of prep time. There are a lot of resources out there to help with this. I like keeping adventures around that I can drop in to a storyline or cut out bits and pieces from for my own original idea.
AAW Games offers two Mini-Dungeon Tome books where each dungeon is detailed in two pages with a full map and multiple encounters. The dungeons are groups by group level and by keyword so you can figure out what might be suitable at a glance. These books are built for Fifth Edition D&D and there are versions for Pathfinder Second Edition Remastered as well.
The Dungeonmeister Random Monster Generator
One of the joys of being a Dungeon Master is flipping through the Monster Manual or any monster book trying to find the right adversary to challenge players. Even with all hose choices, sometimes nothing is quite the right fit. Making up new monsters takes too long…but does it have to?
Enter The Dungeonmeister Random Monster Generator which turns kids flip book technology into a fun way to build unique monsters to throw at players. Each two page spread includes are, stats and even a name for the beast. The Challenge Rating for these monsters is between CR 2 and CR 4 with the authors suggesting that at higher levels just throw more of them at the heroes.
These Dungeons and Dragons gifts can be purchased directly from vendors, through online marketplaces and Friendly Local Game Stores.
