This year brought plenty of new sourcebooks for Dungeons & Dragons, bringing us more content to explore with the new 2024 revisions to 5e. In total, we got 5 new source books, along with 2 boxed sets and plenty of crossover novels. That’s a lot of shiny new texts to get ahold of, and sometimes, it’s hard to fit everything into your budget right away. While diehard fans will want to add every new source book to their collection eventually, some are more widely applicable than others. So if your group has switched to the 2024 rules or plans to in the near future, it’s helpful to know which books you need to get ASAP.
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2025 had a pretty exciting lineup of new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, particularly for Baldur’s Gate 3 fans. Though the Heroes of the Borderlands and Welcome to the Hellfire Club boxed sets do come with adventures, I’m not including them on this list as they aren’t true source books. Instead, I’m taking a look at the new source materials that arrived for D&D 5e’s 2024 rules this year to help you prioritize your next big gaming purchase. Here’s everything new in 2025, ranked from least to most essential.
5) Dragon Delves
Listen, I really like Dragon Delves. It’s a beautifully illustrated book full of fun dragon lore and mini-adventures, and I am very glad to have it on my shelves. But at the end of the day, it’s a collection of one-shot adventures, not an essential sourcebook with rules your table needs to know ASAP.
If your group is looking for ways to encounter all of the dragons of D&D or you’re a DM looking for ideas to incorporate side quests into your campaign, Dragon Delves is a great addition to your collection. But your party can get along well enough without it, even after switching to the 2024 rules for D&D 5e.
4) Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun
This is a really solid source text for the Forgotten Realms region in D&D. However, it is pretty short for what it contains, so it’s really more of an overview than anything. If you’re a DM planning to homebrew a campaign in the Forgotten Reams, this book will be a huge help. It’s got plenty of mini-adventures set in the various regions of Faerun that you can pull from, plus additional lore about the region that may prove helpful.
That said, this book isn’t quite as robust as the player’s guide companion. If your party is budgeting for just one of the two Forgotten Realms texts, I think you’ll get more bang for your buck with the Player’s Guide. It has a lot of great info for players and DMs alike, along with new mechanics and subclasses.
3) Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
Your mileage may vary with how essential Eberron is. But if anyone at your table wants to play an Artificer, this book contains the official 2024 rules for the class. It also introduces revised and brand-new Artificer subclasses. So, if you or someone in your party is going Artificer, this book will make things a lot easier. I know our party’s resident Artificer has been waiting for Forge of the Artificer to come out all year.
That said, if no one is currently playing an Artificer with the 2024 rules and you’re not setting your campaign in Eberron, your group can probably wait on this one. It is focused on crafting Artificer characters and on expanding the 2024 rules for the Eberron region, so its use cases are pretty specific.
2) Forgotten Realms: Player’s Guide
Whether you’re setting your next campaign in the Forgotten Realms or not, this book is a treasure trove of D&D info. It brings new subclasses to the 2024 rules for 5e and adds the new circle casting mechanic. And if you’re planning to play a character from any region in Faerun, there’s detailed information here that can help you flesh out their backstory. Hands down, this is the 2025 release my own party has referenced the most since it came out.
This book has detailed information for character creation, along with plenty of general Faerun background. In particular, the Gods of Faerun chapter is incredibly helpful for Paladins and Clerics seeking more info on their chosen deity, or DMs who need to flesh out a particular NPC. If it weren’t for the new Monster Manual coming out this year, this would hands-down be my top pick for D&D books you need to add to your shelves from this year.
1) 2024 Monster Manual
The 2024 rules revision for the official Monster Manual arrived in February 2025. It may be a bit of a boring pick for the top slot, but there’s no denying you’re going to need it if you’re playing the 2024 rules for 5e. This revision of the Monster Manual balances the stat blocks and key details for a ton of familiar D&D monsters, ensuring they’ll be up to the task of tangling with the rebalanced characters from the 2024 Player’s Handbook.
This version of the Monster Manual is also much more clearly organized and easier to quickly reference compared to its former counterpart. Your DM will certainly want a copy of this to help with running any campaigns that use the 2024 rules.
Which new D&D release from 2025 was your “must-have” addition? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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