The 2024 rules revision of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, commonly known as 5.5e, has been around for just over two years. And yet, we haven’t had a new, full campaign for the ruleset. Technically, Dragon Delves was an adventure book, but it was an adventure anthology packed with smaller encounters rather than a full-on campaign. That means Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, which releases on September 15th, will be our first full-fledged campaign using the new rules. And from everything I’ve seen about it so far, it seems like Wizards of the Coast is coming in swinging with this one.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Deadfall is one of two major sourcebooks releasing as part of the Season of Magic for Dungeons & Dragons. The other, Arcana Unleashed, is packed with new spells, subclasses, and magical items for players and DMs to lean into all things magic in their next adventure. Meanwhile, Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall is a high-level campaign that brings players to Thay, where they will eventually face off against the terrible Szass Tam himself. I recently got to hear a bit more about the campaign from senior game designer Amanda Hamon, and it has me even more excited to dive in when the sourcebooks come out next month.
Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall Is D&D’s First High-Level Campaign Since Vecna: Eve of Ruin in 2024
Personally, I love the feel of a fresh level 1 character in D&D. So much potential lies ahead of you when you’re just starting out. But sometimes, it’s fun to dig into a higher-level campaign. After all, higher-level characters have more tools at their disposal… and so are the enemies they come up against. Many players and DMs alike prefer high-level play rather than campaigns that begin at low levels and work up to mid-level play. However, there aren’t all too many high-level campaigns in official D&D materials. The last one Wizards released was Vecna: Eve of Ruin, which was one of the last sourcebooks released for 5e before the 2024 rules revision.
Since then, we’ve mostly had adventure anthology-style content. That has included some higher-level play options, but also plenty of encounters designed for lower-level characters, as well. That makes it an interesting choice for Wizards to return to high-level play for the first big campaign book of the 5.5e era. However, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. So much of what D&D has put out in the last two years of 5.5e has been geared around teaching people the new system. There’s been a new starter set, new encounters for low-level characters, and plenty of updated source material. Now, it’s time to let players really dig into the new rules as they function at higher levels.
Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall starts players at level 11 and runs up through level 20. That means you can build a powerful caster using those new Arcana Unleashed rules right from the start and see them truly step into their power as you play through the first full 5.5e campaign. The adventure book takes us back to Thay, a setting we haven’t seen in D&D source material since 2022. The Red Wizards and Szass Tam are a pretty big deal in the world of magic, so they make for a fun focus for the Season of Magic’s big adventure book. After hearing Hamon speak about what’s in store with this one, I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
A “Magical Spy Thriller” That Has a D&D: Honor Among Thieves Tie-In Is Precisely What I Needed from The Season of Magic
In this rendition of Thay, Szass Tam’s power is being challenged by the council of Zulkirs, who dare to think they’re on equal footing with the powerful lich. Like any adventure book, Deadfall is packed with details about Thay to help DMs set their campaigns there. This includes all the political intrigue and information about the various regions within Thay. But the main event, at least as far as I’m concerned, is the adventure itself. That is dubbed “Operation Deadfall,” and it’s every bit as spy-coded as it sounds. In collaboration with Xelnene Thrul, a key member of the Council of Zulkirs, players must work to stop Szass Tam from completing a devious plot to reclaim his power.
As part of “Operation Deadfall,” players will get to engage in a “magical spy thriller” style adventure. We’re talking about secrecy, snooping, and stealth, up to and including code names and concealing your ultimate goal. For tables that enjoy a good bit of roleplay and digging into gameplay that isn’t just about combat rounds, this sounds like a pretty exciting setup. It kind of sounds like a D&D spin on something like Delta Green, and I am very here for it. The missions our team of would-be spies engages in to foil Szass Tam’s plot will take them all across Thay. That serves as a solid foundation for working in all the details about the region that the sourcebook packs in, and for making use of the gorgeous maps in the book.
If that doesn’t sound fun enough, I must remind you of another essential detail about this adventure taking place in Thay: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves also involves the Red Wizards and Szass Tam pretty heavily. No, this sourcebook won’t directly reference the truly underrated D&D movie. However, it will be extra fun for fans of the movie to see the Red Wizards in a new light. It also sounds like a great excuse for the creative DM to pull in some characters from the movie, if they’re so inclined. As someone who thinks it’s borderline criminal that we still don’t have a sequel to the movie, I look forward to trying to turn my own table’s version of Operation Deadfall in Honor Among Thieves 2.
