Hey there, adventurers! Today, we’re diving into a treasure trove of holiday gift ideas for the Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop role playing game enthusiasts in your life. Whether you’re a seasoned Dungeon Master, a player in search of the perfect gift, or a someone who loves a TTRPG nerd, I’ve got you covered. Some of the links below will be affiliate links, so you can support Short Rest Studios while you holiday shop.
Dice
Dice are always a great gift option. They’re a staple of every D&D player’s arsenal, and you can never have enough, right? The holidays are the perfect time to give a nerd you love a polyhedral upgrade. You’ve glitter-filled dice, metal dice, custom engraved dice, liquid core dice, dice in every color of the rainbow… Ok, you get the point. There are endless options. If you want something really special – you know, a touch of elegance for the discerning murder hobo – take a look at gemstone dice like amethyst, onyx, or lapis lazuli.
Dice at Arcana Vault
Dice at Amazon
If you want to support a small business, 2 Crazy Casters make some great hand-cast resin dice.
But what about accessories for those fancy new dice? Dice bags and dice trays are great, as are dice towers – I’ve got a cool selection of 3D-printed dice towers in my Etsy shop. You can check those out at the link below, but there are tons of beautiful ones out there, from 3D printed, to hand-carved wood.
Dice Towers in My Shop
Dice Accessories at Arcana Vault
Books
Next up, rulebooks, adventures, and supplements! If your friend or loved one is into D&D, Wizards of the Coast has put out some recent box sets like “Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse” and “The Deck of Many Things” that are really exciting. If you want to dig into the back catalog a bit, “Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything” and ‘Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft” are perennial favorites. “Eberron: Rising from the Last War” is a personal favorite of mine, and of course there’s “Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen.” There are a ton of official 5th edition D&D resources to choose from.
Box Sets
Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
The Deck of Many Things
Source Books
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Eberron: Rising From the Last War
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
For DMs, adventure modules are a great gift. If they’re into gothic horror, “Curse of Strahd” is a classic. It even comes in a “Revamped” edition with a coffin shaped box. “Waterdeep: Dragon Heist” gets a lot of love. are just a couple of options to transport your players into immersive campaigns.”
Curse of Strahd
Curse of Strahd Revamped Edition
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
There are also a ton of third party publishers. Here are two of my favorites:
Kobold Press
The Arcane Library
Then, of course, for those who are relatively new to D&D, there’s a nice core rulebook set available.
What if your TTRPG fan wants to branch out from D&D? Maybe they’d like starter sets or core rulebooks for Dungeon Crawl Classics or Pathfinder Second Edition.
Dungeon Crawl Classics Core Rules
Pathfinder 2e Core Rulebook
Miniatures
Now, let’s talk about miniatures. We’re really just going to skim the surface here because there are way too many varieties, but you can buy both pre-painted and unpainted miniatures. Pre-painted are of course pricier, and personally I love painting my own, so here are my suggestions for unpainted minis.
Wizkids makes the Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures line for D&D as well as a line of Pathfinder minis. But my absolute favorite are Reaper miniatures. Their designs are fun and fantastic, and their Reaper Bones material makes for some of the best minis I’ve used.
Reaper Miniatures
Wizkids D&D Miniatures
Wizkids Pathfinder Miniatures
You can also get lots of 3D printed minis on Etsy with amazing designs from companies like Lord of the Print, Mammoth Factory Games, and Yasashii Kyojin Studio. And those same studios – and more – make their files available for purchase if your tabletop gamer is also into 3D printing.
My Shop
Lord of the Print
Mammoth Factory
Yasashii Kyojin Studio
And hey, if you’re gonna get them minis, paints and brushes are great gifts as well. Vallejo Game Color are some of my favorite paints.
Vallejo Game Color Fantasy Colors Set
Check out my mini painting setup.
Tabletop Terrain
Let’s not forget about tabletop terrain. Having a visual representation of the game world can really up the immersion of tabletop gaming. Wizkids and Dwarven Forge make some really outstanding pieces. Of course, just like with minis, you can find tons of 3D printed options online, as well as handmade.
In fact, one of the ways you can support Short Rest Studios is by picking up some handmade terrain from the Short Rest Studios shop on Etsy.
My Shop
WizKids Warlock Tiles: Dungeon Tiles I
Dwarven Forge
Gift Cards
For those times when you’re really not sure what to get, or you want to let your fellow adventurer choose their own loot, gift cards from your friendly local game store or online platforms like DriveThruRPG work wonders. If they don’t have a local game store, you can grab a gift card from GameNerdz.com using my affiliate link.
Subscription Boxes
If you want to keep the surprises coming throughout the year, consider a subscription box. Dungeon Crate is a monthly box with loads of cool TTRPG accessories. Dungeon in a Box is a monthly subscription to an ongoing campaign, complete with adventure modules, maps, and minis.
Dungeon Crate – Use code SHORTRESTDC2023 for 10% off any new 1 or 3-month Dungeon Crate subscription!
Dungeon in a Box
Thanks for joining me on this festive journey today, adventurers. Please don’t forget to check out my affiliate links as you’re going about your holiday shopping.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope every gift you give is a nat 20.
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