Dungeons & Dragons Comes For William Shakespeare

A new adventure anthology turns five classic works of William Shakespeare into Dungeons & Dragons adventures. Earlier this month, a group of DMs Guild creators released Exit Pursued by Owlbear, a new adventure anthology inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. The anthology takes some of Shakespeare’s most classic works and turns them into one-shot D&D adventures. Each adventure puts players in the middle of the action, either working to reverse the fates of some of Shakespeare’s most tragic characters, or traipsing their way through some of the Bard’s best-known comedies. For instance, Much Ado About Cookies puts the players at the side of a faerie dragon to put a stop to the bullying of a Don John-like Baron. Meanwhile, The Rose of the Fair State, puts the players in the employ of Ophelia as she works in secret to stop her lover Hamlet’s life from spiraling out of control due to his vows of vengenance.

While Exit Pursued by Owlbear is clear in its inspirations from Shakespeare, none of the adventures are straightforward adaptations, which gives the players flexibility to either fall in line with the plot or work to change the stories’ endings. A DM can choose whether to let their players know that they’re about to fall into one of Shakespeare’s plays, or they can see how long the players take to realize that they’ve been dealing with Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream or that the kraken priest manipulating the murder of a triton king is none other than Lady Macbeth.

While many people associate Shakespeare with their high school English classes, the Bard’s plays are actually a great source of inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. From hag covens to archfey, Shakespeare’s plays contain many elements that can easily be lifted into your own D&D game. Exit Pursued by Owlbear is an excellent example of how Dungeons & Dragons players can draw inspiration from classic works while still keeping their campaigns original and unique.

Exit Pursued by Owlbear is available now on the DMs Guild for $14.95.