Dungeons & Dragons Releases Free Adventure Online
Dungeons & Dragons has made an abridged version of one of its more recent adventures available for free on its website. In celebration of "d20 Day" (a reference to both the twenty-sided dice and December 20th), Dungeons & Dragons released an abridged version of "Dragon of Icespire Peak," an adventure made for newcomers to the game that is part of the D&D Essentials Kit. The abridged version contains the first part of the adventure as well as several pre-generated characters, monster blocks, and instructions on how players can continue the adventure.
The free adventure content contains a very abridged version of a story hook before sending players to Gnomengarde to find a tool that can help them potentially fight a young white dragon. Players will need to discover the cause of erratic behavior by one of Gnomengarde's rulers before they'll receive the tool they need to continue the quest. It's a solid starting point for a new party – Gnomengarde contains a compelling mystery (something is eating gnomes!), a strange locale to explore, and a classic D&D monster to square off against.
"Dragon of Icespire Peak" was originally released in 2019 along with the D&D Essential Kit, which at the time was the second boxed set released for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. The boxed sets are made specifically for newcomers in mind, and "Dragon of Icespire Peak" teaches players how to work their way through a D&D adventure while learning the differences between a D&D game and a more linear video game experience. Notably, the D&D Essentials Kit is available for sale at many mass retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, as well as traditional hobby stores.
Those looking to continue the adventure afterwards can pick up the Player's Handbook for rules on how to build a character. There are plenty of resources available to choose from when picking an adventure for a party to run, including everything from one-shot adventures to full-length campaigns. Of course, a Dungeon Master can also choose to build their own campaign as well.
You can download the free adventure on D&D's website.
