It felt as if I was recreating that 'sickos' meme when my D&D party sauntered down a mysterious corridor in the latest book, Dragon Delves. A few moments later, I got what they wanted – our resident Paladin took a step forward, heard a strange click as the tile underfoot lowered, and saw a giant rolling pin pop out of the ceiling like a Jack in the box. This did its best impression of the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark and careened toward the group… only they were less successful than Indiana Jones. When the dust (well, flour) had settled, the group's Paladin was squashed flat. And I don't mean that metaphorically; he was quite literally flat. Upon getting up, he discovered that he'd been turned into a gingerbread man.
This bonkers creativity did more than give my party a hurdle we could all laugh about; it made me excited for a book I hadn't been too fussed about beforehand. Yes, Dragon Delves is the first major published adventure/s we've had since D&D got an overhaul last year. (I appreciate that Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn/Hold Back the Dead also launched over the last few months, but they were digital one-offs released for free on D&D Beyond, so aren't quite the same.) I'm always partial to oneshots as well, as evidenced by the fact I have some in our list of the best D&D books. But judging by the synopses that had been revealed in advance, I was worried some of its stories would be standard fantasy fare. I'm glad to be wrong.
A dragon's hoard of adventure
Dragon Delves is the first full, published adventure – or collection of adventures, anyway – for the new D&D core rules. To be precise, it's an anthology with 10 one-shot stories that can be slotted into almost any world or campaign. They can be played separately or as a connected, dragon-themed narrative.
Much like previous anthologies (such as Candlekeep Mysteries or the heist-themed Keys from the Golden Vault), this clutch of quests revolves around a single theme. As you can probably guess, this time it's 'dragons.' Indeed, every adventure features a different kind of dragon from red to gold to black. These stories all boast a variety of tones and art styles by different illustrators, too.
You can currently slash a healthy amount from the anthology's MSRP, bringing it down to $39.99 at Miniature Market instead of the usual $50. As for the UK, the best price I've seen is £28.99 at Magic Madhouse rather than the £30+ I'm getting everywhere else.
However, Dragon Delves stands apart by beginning every adventure with a look at how those dragons evolved over the years – from the very first edition of D&D to today. It's a fascinating exploration of how their signature designs have changed and what specific colors are known for, so Dungeon Masters are getting a fun appetizer before running these adventures.
That's because each mission borrows from its dragons' nature. The one featuring a poisonous green dragon, Death at Sunset, features a mysterious plague rampaging through the forest. The Will of Orcus emphasizes the cunning trickery of silver dragons, meanwhile.
It's true that not all of these plots are created equal, and some are a little too familiar for my liking. But then you stumble across an adventure like Baker's Doesn't, and things go off the rails in the best way.
Treasure trove of ideas
The best words I can use to describe Baker's Doesn't are "bloody weird." I may have been attracted to it because of the pun, but I stayed thanks to its offbeat sense of humor and fairytale artwork.
Basically, your adventurers turn up in a quaint village called Hubbleton (ah, I can practically smell the "nostalgically cozy" from here) where they find an old dear's sweet shop on fire. So far, so traditional. But then you learn that the cause may be a tiny, domesticated gold dragon used by a rival baker to fire his pastries. You follow this dragon – called Briochebane – into the woods, find a candy house, and… well, that'd be telling. What comes next is equal parts hilarious, eerie, and oddball. It's exactly the kind of story your party will keep referencing in the years to come.
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I'm running my group through Curse of Strahd at the moment, so this mission served as a reprieve from all that gothic horror (I used it as a shared dream brought on by hag-cursed liquor they swigged at the tavern after celebrating a hard-won victory, if you're curious). Even though they're all in on the vampire epic, they became increasingly more invested in Baker's Doesn't the further we went. Cockatrices made of chocolate (Chocotrices, naturally) were a big hit. They loved a giant toy ogre called Wub-Wub who demands treats and wields a massive wowwy-pop as a mace. Traps that turn you into candy went down very well. In short, I'd say it was a hit – and I'd recommend it to any DMs looking for something they can run last minute, or as a palate cleanser between campaigns.
Although it's the weirdest of the available quests, a few of the others have their own twists to keep players on their toes. For Whom the Void Calls sidesteps your expectations brilliantly, for instance, while Before the Storm is about rip-roaring pirate shenanigans.
When combined with each adventure's unique art (a particular favorite of mine would be the '80s-style Fighting Fantasy illustrations from The Forbidden Vale that are all black and white dots), this book shines brighter than a dragon's hoard.
Seeing as it's the first major adventure published since Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons had a revamp, it's a great start – and an encouraging sign of what may be to come.
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