New D&D Dragon Delves Anthology Offers a Treasure Trove of Adventure

Now that the 2024 revised 5e ruleset is fully out in the world, Wizards of the Coast is about to release the first official book that fully utilizes this new system. Dragon Delves is an adventure anthology centered on the 10 types of dragons found throughout D&D history, with a different flavor of adventure to suit each dragon’s lore and personality. It’s the first book to bring together adventures for each one of the dragons that comprise half of the name, making this something entirely new for DMs and players alike. The book releases on July 8th, but preorders are now live on D&D Beyond.

For those curious what a dragon-centered adventure anthology might look like, let’s delve a little deeper. Recently, ComicBook had the opportunity to speak with Game Designer and Dragon Delves co-lead James Wyatt about the project ahead of its release. He shared some insights about what went into creating the different adventures in the book, whether we can expect any more surprise Baldur’s Gate 3 cameos, and more.

In Dragon Delves, players will find 10 different shorter adventures that give fans an opportunity to really get to know what makes each chromatic and metallic dragon unique. Wyatt notes that the anthology was an opportunity to “showcase the new dragon stat blocks” that appear in the updated 2024 Monster Manual.

In terms of what fans should look forward to with Dragon Delves, Wyatt says, “Probably the most exciting part of playing through the adventures in this book is you get to face all these dragons. All 10 kinds of dragons are represented, and they’ve all got new toys in their toolbox.” He adds that while the dragons have “some new tools in their arsenal,” Dragon Delves “is entirely building on what we already know” about dragons, staying true to the Dungeons & Dragons lore fans know and love.

So, while the new art and adventures in the book might show off each dragon in a new light, the dragons themselves will still be what players and DMs expect from a D&D dragon – just with some new updated tricks up their scales.

Along with showing off the new stat blocks, the book’s adventures will help DMs really dig deeper into how the 2024 rules update recalibrates encounters, making these dragons tougher for players to fight but not necessarily for DMs to run.

What Makes Dragon Delves Adventures Unique

As you might expect in an adventure anthology, this book is geared primarily towards the DM looking to run some dragon-centered adventures. Each adventure is designed to be easy to run with limited prep required, and there will be a one-page “cheat sheet” of sorts at the start of each one. This is a reference guide that helps DMs quickly remember key story points and character names quickly during gameplay. There will also be a list of the relevant monsters for the entire adventure so DMs can quickly mark them in their Monster Manual for reference as the story unfolds.

One particularly interesting element in Dragon Delves is that some of the adventures are “especially suitable for running with a single player and a single DM.” Wyatt shared that “I have played a lot of one-on-one D&D with my daughter when she was growing up,” and that was partly what inspired him to bring these two unique adventures to Dragon Delves for players in “those circumstances where that’s what you want to do.” That said, “Fundamentally, D&D is a game about getting your friends together and going and facing challenges together,” so most of the adventures are still geared toward larger parties.

So, fans shouldn’t worry that these unique adventures in Dragon Delves are a full pivot on what adventures are or will be. Rather, offering the flexibility of a few adventures geared toward fewer players helps Dragon Delves meet fans where they are. Scheduling is, after all, the final boss of D&D, and having a quick-reference game for fewer players could come in handy. This is something that has been done before, but not for a while, and not really for 5th edition.

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For those curious what adventures await within the pages, each shorter adventure has a different tone to match the type of dragons you’ll encounter. There are stories like fairy-tale inspired Baker’s Doesn’t, which Wyatt notes is “possibly the most whimsical thing we’ve published in the D&D books so far.” But then there are darker ones like Will of Orcus, as well.

That said, there are ways to tie the smaller adventures into a larger campaign for those looking to run a full-on dragon-centered D&D campaign. Dragon Delves features some guidance to help DMs string the shorter stories together into something more cohesive. For instance, Wyatt shared that dragon’s hoard collectibles like those found in Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons make a reappearance as a connecting thread for players to explore. If one dragon’s hoard has a missing item, you may well find it in another dragon’s hoard somewhere along the way.

For the Baldur’s Gate 3 fans in the room, we also checked in about possible cameos from any favorite characters, to which Wyatt said, “Not in this book, I don’t think.” So, it doesn’t look like Karlach, Astarion, or any background Dragonborn from Baldur’s Gate 3 will be sneaking into the pages of Dragon Delves, but we may see more appearances in the 2025 D&D lineup. That said, there are some “fun nods to Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons” to look out for with Dragon Delves, as fans might hope to see in a new dragon book.

In all, Dragon Delves will be an interesting book for dragon enthusiasts and new DMs hoping to start small with shorter, bite-sized adventures. The adventure anthology format allows for a good bit of variety, and that will be showcased in both the tone of the adventures and the artwork throughout the book.

Dragon Delves comes out on July 8th. Preorders are available now via D&D Beyond. The digital + physical bundle is priced at $95.96 with a preorder discount, making it $59.99. The physical book alone costs $49.99, and the digital-only version is $29.99. For those hoping to get ahold of the alternate art cover, check in with your local game store about preorders.