The Complete DnD Gifting Guide for 2020

If you and your friends are avid DnD fans you have a lot of great options for DnD gifts you can give. Whether it’s holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions, you can find a perfect DnD themed gift for any fan of the activity. This guide will explore great gift giving ideas, from the mundane to the extraordinary. There are ideas for every occasion and every budget, so anyone can give the best DnD gifts!

Table of Contents

The Basics – Classic DnD Gifts

These gifts are the mainstays and standbys for anyone who is just entering the hobby or is still relatively new. While veteran players might already have these, newer players might not. They’re all worth a peak and are universally great ideas for fans of the game.

The Core Rule Books – The First DnD Gift ($80 – $170)

If you know someone who loves DnD but doesn’t have the core rule books yet, you’re in luck. This is a great gift for newer players or anyone who doesn’t yet have the physical books. This is easily the best gift to start with as it really is all of DnD at its core.

You can buy the core rule books separately or in a gift bundle. The gift bundle comes with a DM screen as well which can be a nice additional perk, but the prices for the books fluctuate as Wizards offers them on sale throughout the year. It’s worth checking the price on Amazon ahead of time to see if you can get them at a reduced price. Be sure to also check your local game shop for availability.

The Core Rule Books – Alternate Covers (~$390)

If your friends already have the core rule books but you want to get them something extra special, variant covers are an amazing step up in the gift giving department. These hard to find covers can be found on Amazon, but they are not always in stock and are produced in limited printings. While they are more pricey for sure, they’re one of the cooler DnD Gifts you can get for someone.

A Full Set of Dice – A Classic DnD Gift ($7+)

Every DnD fan loves dice. Getting someone a full gaming set in one of their favorite colors is a great gift because like a dragon hoarding treasure, DnD fans can never have enough dice. Dice come in all sorts of variations, colors, weights and materials, but you can never go wrong with a standard set of Chessex dice. Chessex is our preferred brand of dice for Dungeons and Dragons based on both reliability and affordability, but there are many other options worth considering.

For more on which dice are best and everything you could ever want to know about dice, check out our full article: Master the Dungeon’s Complete Guide to Dice for Dungeons and Dragons

Dice Bags and Dice Vaults

With a growing dice collection you’re going to need a place to store those dice. That’s where dice bags and vaults come into play. These make great gifts for someone who has a nice set of dice. While many dice sets are affordable, some custom or specialty dice can be hundreds of dollars. If you know anyone who has fancier dice or you want to complete a gift of fancier dice, dice vaults are a perfect way to round the gift out.

Dice bags are also perfect for bulk dice storage. Often a Pound-O-Dice comes in a plastic bag that doesn’t reseal. In these cases, dice bags are a great gift to gather up the hundreds of miscellaneous dice any DnD player is sure to have laying around.

Here are some of the most stylish dice vault and bags you can get online:

Mimic Dice Vault ~$35

Padded Dice Case and Tray Combo – ~$20

7 Set Semi-soft Dice Case – ~$19

Pocket size cherry wood hex case – ~$40

Jumbo Full Dice set With Carved Wooden Dice Vault – ~$20

Rosewood Magnetic Wooden Dice Case – ~$20

8 inch Dice Vault Tray Combo – ~$30

7 Section Bulk Dice Bag – ~$30

Dragon Dice Bag with Eye Embellishment – ~$12

Chainmail Dice Bag – ~$13

Flat Bottom Bulk Dice Bag – ~$16

Dice Trays and Dice Towers

Once someone has a decent collection of dice and a way to store them, they’ll of course want to roll them in style. For this you’ll need to gift dice trays or dice towers. Dice trays are simply trays to roll dice in without them scattering everywhere or making too much noise.

Dice towers are essentially dice rollers that you can dump dice into and have them rolled for you (typically into a tray). While these might not sound like amazing gifts on their own, most players will not pick these up for themselves right away. But once they have them they’ll always use them. They’re a nice to have item that reduces the frustration of having a rogue dice rocket off the table during a game.

The best dice trays are going to come in two varieties: solid and collapsible. Solid dice trays are typically wood lined with felt. These are great for most dice, but not the first choice for someone using solid metal dice, as the weight can distress or crack the wood with long term use. Flexible or collapsible dice trays are best for people who travel for their games or are using heavy dice.

Collapsible Trays:

4 pack of snap trays – ~$13

Rollable dice mat – ~$20

Solid Dice Trays:

Wooden felt lined tray – ~$35

Felt lined tray with dice holders – ~$27

Dice towers come in all shapes and sizes, but these are more for style than functionality. While they do help you roll dice more easily, the best ones are just cool to look at. Dice towers can range from simple clear plastic (~$10) to handcrafted wood towers ($40+). For these it’s really more about your preferences than anything else, so if you’re getting one as a gift, think about what the individual would care about more. Style, portability, or functionality.

Basic Clear Plastic Dice Tower ~$20

Affordable Laser Cut Wooden Tower – ~$17

Stylish Castle Dice Tower – ~$90

Character Journals – Field Notes for 5E ($16)

The character sheet is an integral part of DnD, but a single sheet is a thing of the past. Field Notes, the makers of fine quality journals and notebooks, teamed up with Wizards of the Coast to create 5E Character Notebooks for DnD. These handy note books are a great gift for any player and they even come in sets of two. Read our full Field Notes for 5e review here.

The character journals have character sheets, room for character notes, and a variety of specialized pages to keep track of things that happen in game. Even better, they are standard Field Note size and fit into compatible journal covers.

The Notebooks (2 Pack, $17):

Compatible Journal Covers ($32):

Playmats ($20+)

If you’re getting together to play DnD, a playmat is an indispensable purchase. Similar to our recommendations for dice, the best playmats are Chessex as well. Chessex playmats are double sided, flexible, and dry erase marker compatible. The grids are 1” square or 1” Hex on the flip side. Having a hex map is perfect for travel, while the square grid is great for combat and individual encounters.

As far as DnD gifts go, playmats are a solid long term investment and typically last for years. The one we use is over 7 years old and still gets rolled out on a regular basis.

Chessex Reversible Play Mat – ~$33

Minis – Miniatures for Combat ($5+)

Miniatures are the only thing DnD players horde as much as dice. Players often have a mini they use for their characters, but Dungeon Masters often have hundreds of minis set aside for monsters and other types of enemies, as well as an assortment of heroes for their players who don’t have minis of their own. Miniatures make a great gift for both players and DMs who are looking to expand their collections.

While you can get minis made out of just about anything and from a variety of different manufactures, our favorites hands down are Reaper Minis Bones Collection. These are high quality plastic miniatures that are perfect for painting. They’re relatively affordable and often you can get whole thematic sets of them for a steal.

Outside of the world of Bones, there are all sorts of types of mini’s you might not find without looking a little deeper. Here are just a few that we like:

Wooden Laser Cut Minis – $13

Wooden 2d Tokens – $20

Pathfinder Bestiary Box – ~$45

Official DnD Miniatures – Blind Boxes – ~$130

And while we’re talking about miniatures, we also need to talk about paint. There are hundreds if not thousands of DnD fans out there with boxes of unpainted minis. If your friends have minis and still have not taken a stab at painting, then there are a ton of great starter kits to have them painting like pros in no time. Paint sets really are a great gift for the mini hoarder in your game group.

DnD Official Paint Kit – ~$23

Reaper Mini’s Learn To Paint – Core Skills Set – ~$35

Another great gift worth mentioning here for the mini lover in your life is status markers. While these are a bit more of an odd gift, they make using minis a lot easier. The markers are affordable, practical, and a great DnD Gift for anyone with a sizable miniature collection.

Mini status markers – ~$26

Game bags ($35-$100)

For anyone who has a load of DnD stuff and needs to cart it around, a quality game bag is a fantastic item for them. Any DM might have books, minis, dice, playmats, and more just for a normal game. This is a lot to fit in just any old bag – which is why a good game bag can be an indispensable gift.

Game bag – $85

Slim Profile Shoulder Bag – ~$32

Game Bags of course come in all shapes and sizes, but we recommend looking at one that fits the needs of the user closely. Some people need more miniature storage, others need more room for books and notes. The bags recommended above are ones that is balanced around each need and a good starting point for any DM.

Enthusiast Gifts

With the basics out of the way, there are a lot of gifts for the more experienced DnD players out there. These gifts are for players who really sink some time into the game. While the basics covered great standbys, these are more specific to those who want to take their game to the next level. Here’s our recommendations for enthusiast DnD gifts.

Campaign Settings and Splat Books ($25-$45)

Outside of the core rule books there are a lot of additional books in the official DnD library. Many of these are campaign settings or adventures which make the perfect gift for any dungeon master looking to spice up their game. Other books are splat books, or additional rules for the game.

These are great gifts for the DM in your life, but also make good gifts for players as they add new character classes, additional items, and spells for them to dip into. While we won’t be doing a full write up on each of these, the list below links out to all of the official Dungeons and Dragons books outside of the core rules.

Fun Fact: Splat books are called that because they expand on what would be footnotes in other books. Footnotes are often denoted with an asterix, which is also called a splat among early printers and in some programming environments.

Supplemental Rule Books:

Campaign Settings:

Adventures:

Outside of official DnD expansions, there are many fan created adventures, rules, and scenarios that you can get as fantastic unique gifts. While there are more of these than we can possibly list out, we link to several of our favorites below. Additionally, you can check out the DMs Guild which has hundreds of fan made creations that are high quality and reasonably priced.

Strongholds and Followers

Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting – $71

Creature Codex – $60

Tome Of Beasts – ~$50

Nerzugal’s Dungeon Masters Toolkit – $20

The Griffon’s Saddle Bag – $50

Dungeons and Dragons: Art and Arcana – Art Book

Continuing on our tour of great DnD Gifts, we’ve come to a collectors item for veteran players. Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana is an art book and visual historical retelling of how DnD came to be. The book is visually stunning and looks back at Dungeons and Dragons art from over the years. This is a great coffee table book for any avid fan of DnD and a real delight to look through.

DnD Novels and Graphic Novels

Dungeons and Dragons is a great game to play with friends, but for those who want to dive even deeper into the fantastic worlds created by the Wizards of the Coast team, the DnD novels are a perfect gift.

Drizzet Novels – $35

Outside of Official Novels there are a lot of DnD themed graphic novels out there as well. Some of the absolute best are below.

The Adventure Zone – $12

Vox Machina – ~$16

Rat Queens – $40

Writing Guides, Prompts, and Planning Books

Any Dungeon Master worth their salt knows that you usually don’t pull great adventures out of thin air. You lovingly craft amazing worlds by building on the work of the great DMs that came before. There are plenty of great gift books to help them with their process. Wizards even created an official writing prompt book with 365 writing prompts to keep your DM busy for a whole year!

More important than just prompts and tips for dungeon craft are the writing books themselves. At the heart of every game DnD really boils down to storytelling. There are tons of fantastic guides out there that will help both players and DMs alike create better stories that are more compelling and more fun to play.

Writing Guides

The Hero’s Journey – ~$10 – $25

The Writer’s Journey – $15

Writing Prompt Books

The World Builder’s Journal of Legendary Adventures – ~$15

The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide – ~$10

DM Planning Guides

The Lazy DM’s Workbook – $13

Return of the Lazy DM’s Workbook – $13

Arbiter of Worlds – ~$9

While we’re in this realm of books that make great gifts for the DnD nerds in your life, we’d be missing out if we didn’t mention The Art of Language Invention. This book is written by David J. Peterson who famously created the languages used in Game of Thrones. This book is fantastic for any language nut you know, as it details the process that someone must go through to create a functional fantasy language from the ground up. Both a fantastic read and a functional guide.

The Art of Language Invention – $15

Gaming Accessories and Tabletop Enhancements

When adding gaming accessories into the mix, you end up with a ridiculous amount of options for great DnD Gifts. On one hand you have the game enhancements that make combat a lot more fun, like dungeon tiles and terrain crafting. On the other we start to get into things that make the roleplay aspect more fun, like game props and visuals. Either way, you’re sure to find something here that your friends don’t yet have.

Dungeon Tiles, Terrain, and The World Of DnD Crafting

Dungeon Tiles – Blank Dry Erase Tiles – ~$30

Laser Cut Dungeon Walls – $15

Terrain Printed Battle Mats – $25

Dungeon Craft – Mix and Match Reversible Battle Mats

Battlefields in Miniature: Making Realistic and Effective Terrain for Wargames – ~$21 – $80

Props and Accessories

Waterdeep Metal Coinage – $50

Deck of Many Things – Tarokka Deck – $9

Potion Bottles – ~$20

Reference Cards

Reference Cards from the Deck of Many – ~$15/deck

Dice Molds

You may not have known this, but you can make your own dice. It takes a little bit of work, but it’s really cool to be able to have your own dice that you’ve custom made. Not everyone likes to be gifted crafts, but if you have a craftier friend that’s into DnD this is sure to be a big hit. Everything you need is listed below.

Dice Molds – $21

Mica Powder – for color – $16

Art n’ Glow – Clear Casting Resin -$30

Next Level Miniature Painting

The Army Painter Dungeons and Dragons Official Paint Line Adventurer’s Paint Set – $22

Reaper Miniatures Master Series Paints Starter Set for Mini Figures ~$30

The Army Painter Miniature Painting Kit – Mega Set (50 paints) $105

Air Brushes and Airbrush Paints – Complete starter set and Guide – ~$140

Grass Tufts – ~$13

Turf & Flocking – $15

Put a Skull on it – Mini Skulls for misc. projects – $30

12 Piece Quality Miniature Paint Brushes – $26 – $40

Apparel, Swag, and other Accessories

We’ve covered both basic and niche gifts for the DnD fans you know, but we’ve yet to dive into clothing, mugs, accessories, and all the other DnD themed stuff you could possibly want. These items are good gift ideas to round out a gift basket or just stand on their own.

Shirts

There’s no shortage of great DnD themed shirts online and they hardly need any introduction, so here’s a few of our absolute favorites.

Run D&D Shirt – $15+

This is How I roll Shirt – $17+

I didn’t ask how big the room is… I said I cast Fireball – $23+

Other Apparel

These additional apparel items will blow your socks on… because they include socks… and other stuff

DnD Logo Socks – $12

DnD Theme Art Socks 2 Pack – $25

DnD Balaclava Facemask – Dice Attack and DnD Pattern Balaclava Facemask – $15 – $25

Knit Viking Helmet With Beard – $35

This is how I roll – Sleep Pants -$24

Level 1 Human, Full Bag of Holding, and Dungeon Crawler Baby Onesies – $15-$30

Earrings, Necklaces, and Cufflinks

D20 Earrings – $18

D20 Necklaces – $15

D20 Cufflinks and D20 Full metal Cufflinks – $13 – $35

Mugs, Glasses, Steins and Tankards

Every player needs a good beverage with their game. What better way to compliment said beverage than with excellent mugs, glasses, and more? Check out our top picks for DnD drinkware, our best tangential DnD gift recommendation yet.

Mugs:

Dungeon Master Tankard – $41

Chaotic Good Boy Corgi Mug – $12

Murder Hobo Mug – $20

Because I’m the DM Mug – $17

Adventurer’s Kit Mug – $12

World’s Okayest DM Mug – $15

Sarcasm +5 Mug – $13

20 oz. Metal Lined Wooden Tankard – $30

Glasses:

Fail & Crit 16 oz. Glass set – $23

Chaotic Stupid is not an Alignment 16 0z. Glass – $17

D20 Rocks Glass -$17

D&D Shot Glasses, Set of 2 -$14

Steins, Goblets, etc.

A Drinking Horn – $35

Dragon Wine Goblets – $30

Ice Cube Molds:

Skull Ice Molds – $12

Diamond Ice Molds – $7

Polyhedral Dice Molds -$21

DnD Stickers, Posters, and Prints

Some people just want rad art to put up. We’ve got them covered too with some DnD stickers posters and prints that are sure to put some magic into their mornings.

Stickers

DnD Skull Class Stickers -$10

DnD Logo Sticker -$8

Not a Mimic Stickers – $7

Dungeon Aesthetic Sticker Pack -$10

DnD Book Art Sticker Pack – $10

Roll initiative Sticker – $6

Guess I’ll Die 3 Pack Sticker Set -$10

Gelatinous Cube Vinyl Sticker – $4

Cute Mimic Vinyl Sticker -$4

Posters

Welcome to our Home – Roll For Initiative Poster -$20

DnD Knowledge Infographic Poster -$20

DnD Knowledge Player Infographic Poster -$24

Choose Your Weapon – Wall Banner -$20

Tavern Rules Banner

Dice Patent Posters – Set of 2 -$18

White Dragon and Red Dragon Wall Prints – $15/each

DnD Cover Art Wall Poster – $20

Giant 3 Piece Dragon Wall Art Set – $90

Practical Gift Subscriptions

If you’re a player or DM it’s likely you’re using some sort of software for DnD from time to time. If that’s the case, why not give your friends the same? Subscriptions to DnD Beyond, World Anvil, and Roll20 are perfect for your game group.

DnD Beyond is an official partner with Wizards of the Coast and is the only place to get official digital copies of the game’s source material. DnD Beyond has tool which allow you to use the material you own to create, store, and manage character sheets and campaign notes. A great gift for a fellow Dungeon Master or your players.

World Anvil is one of the best world building management tools online for writing and fantasy RPG creation. The tool is full of prompts, templates, examples and more for any dungeon master to dive into. A simple writing exercise can easily become a months long campaign creation session with the power of World Anvil.

Roll20 is one of the earliest online RPG Virtual Tabletop environments. While it has a great free version, there is also a paid subscription version that unlocks even more tools and capabilities for DM and players alike. Check out all their features.

Die Hard DnD Gifts – Luxury Gifts Sure to Please

The previous sections of this gift guide have gifts for the casual player to the enthusiast, but the section that follows is full of gifts for the die hard fans of DnD. These are the fancier gifts for sure, and definitely crowd pleasers even if some are on the expensive side.

Gaming Tables

It is every DnD fan’s dream to have an amazing gaming table. Finely crafted wood, soft gaming felt, and all the bells and whistles you could ever want for an RPG session. While these tables are an amazing gift, they come at a cost. Not like a weird eldritch cost, they’re just expensive. That being said, we’ve listed a few ranging from moderately priced up to extremely ridiculous.

Even if it’s not a gift you can give, it’s nice to dream.

Fancy Dice

We already talked a lot about dice, but these dice are different. They’re fancy. How fancy? Well, some of them are hand carved from bones. Others are made from precious stones or rare materials. Some are heavy metals with real weight and heft to them. These are the dice that can really break the bank, but if you’re looking for an extravagant gift, look no further.

Thorn Dice -~$207

White Turquoise Dice -$50

Grey Agate Dice -$65

Opal Dice -$60

Cat’s Eye Dice -$63

Tiger’s Eye Dice -$55

Camel Bone D6 set – $25

Full Metal Cthulhu Dice – $62

Dichroic Glass Dice -$80

Custom Minis

And finally we’ve come to our last recommendation. A great topper for any gift is one that is custom and personal. For DnD fans you need look no further than Hero Forge for the ultimate mini customization experience. Hero Forge minis are pricier than out of the box minis, but they can be just about anything you want. If you’re a DM and you’ve been running a campaign for awhile, getting your players a custom miniature of their character can be an amazing present.

Or if you’d rather your players do the customization themselves, Hero Forge offers gift cards to make the process easier for everyone.

Giving the Gift of Dungeons & Dragons

Whether it’s the holidays, a birthday, or a particularly nerdy wedding, DnD gifts offer you a wide range of options. With so much to choose from it would hard to not find something here that works for your gift giving needs. So dive in, get nerdy, go a little overboard. After all, everyone likes opening a treasure chest.

Happy DMing!