A Quick Look at Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Delves Adventure Anthology
As enthusiastic as I was about the release of the new D&D 2024 rulebooks, it was nothing compared to the excitement I felt over the upcoming publication of the Dragon Delves Adventure Anthology, the first official adventure published for the new rules.
The book was officially released on July 8, although it was made available in gaming stores as early as June 24. The anthology comprises ten different short
adventures, each one featuring a different type of dragon. The adventures are designed for four to six players, levels one through twelve. They can be played in one or two sessions.
The dedication to Christopher Perkins is a very nice touch. Perkins has been one of the primary forces behind D&D for decades. His influence on the game will continue to be felt for years to come.
Finally! More Dragons in D&D
The gem dragons are absent, but all ten traditional dragons (i.e., chromatic and metallic) are represented in this book. Tiamat and Bahamut are also absent, but it would be relatively easy for a creative DM to weave either (or both) of them into the narrative or into some homebrewed overarching storyline.
Despite the name of the game, Dragons are scarce in Dungeons & Dragons (or they used to be – Dragonlance being an exception, of course). I can understand why that is; if dragons were aplenty, there would hardly be any village, city or country left standing in any world setting. I remember the chaos visited upon the Forgotten Realms by these winged menaces in the Year of the Rogue Dragons novel trilogy by Richard Lee Byers. The 5th edition Tyranny of Dragons campaign could have been even more disastrous had the Cult of the Dragon unleashed Tiamat. Dragons are not to be taken lightly; they are arguably the most challenging and exciting monsters in the game.
As satisfying as Tyranny of Dragons was, it is high time to tangle with dragons once again – especially with the release of the new rulebooks. So, the timing of Dragon Delves could not be better, not only for players who enjoy fighting some of the most powerful monsters in D&D, but also for players who are looking forward to testing out the new 2024 rules.
Welcomed Dragon History
The history section of each adventure is not a retelling of how dragons came to exist in the various worlds of D&D; it is more of a history of the graphic design of the various dragons, providing an interesting visual evolution of dragons over the past decades of D&D.
Although the book contains little written lore, there is plenty of graphic lore to flesh out all ten chromatic and metallic dragons featured in these adventures. The new Monster Manual already does a great job of describing these iconic D&D creatures, but the plentiful images in this book will really help picture them in more detail.
Dragons are not only some of the most formidable creatures in the game; when they are adequately role-played, they can also be the most wily and surprising. The information provided in the new Monster Manual combined with the wealth of pictures that appears in Dragon Delves will help DMs bring those monsters to life. Dragon Delves puts the spotlight on the new D&D dragons, redesigned for the 2024 rule set.
Great Art Both Old and New
Even before playing any of the adventures, a quick look reveals that the book has a lot to please both new and old players. The regular cover and the alternate cover are both very impressive. Choosing which cover to purchase is always a very personal decision. Personally, I like how the regular covers of the new D&D books are reminiscent of the heyday of 1st edition and 2nd edition D&D. They bring me back decades to the time when I originally fell in love with D&D.
The great art doesn’t end with the covers; the book is lavishly illustrated throughout. It features some of the best dragon illustrations so far since the release of D&D 2024.
The book also features dragon art from previous versions of D&D, including black & white illustrations from the earliest editions, which is a very nice touch. Nostalgic D&D gamers will undoubtedly enjoy seeing familiar and older renditions of dragons. This includes several iconic 1st edition Dragonlance paintings by legendary artists Clyde Caldwell, Keith Parkinson, Jeff Easley and Larry Elmore. This is the first time since the days of the Art of Dungeons & Dragons books that all “Fab Four” artists are featured in the same book. This is a real treat, because while the D&D development team has reimagined dragons for the new edition, they still pay homage to previous timeless interpretations of these iconic monsters.
The frontispiece art, featuring a bird’s eye of all ten dragon types, effectively introduces readers to the awe-inspiring size and wingspan of those magnificent beasts.
The images are plentiful – including some from Magic The Gathering. Concept art for the 2024 dragon redesign is also included. I’ve been eagerly anticipating more concept art since the rerelease of Tyranny of Dragons (the combined reprint of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat adventures), and this book delivers. It provides a compelling look into the design process that led to the reimagining of D&D dragons.
Whetting Your Appetite for More
I’ve always enjoyed D&D adventure anthologies. Unlike longer adventures in previous anthologies (like Tales from the Yawning Portal and Quests from the Infinite Staircase), the Dragon Delves adventures are much shorter, which is not a bad thing. The book’s most outstanding offering is the total number of adventures and their common theme.
There’s variety here, even if all the adventures focus on dragons. I found the anthology to be a great way to test the new 2024 rule set. Both old and new D&D players will find something they like in this anthology.
Versatility and Suitability for Any World Setting or Campaign
Dragons are a mainstay of most (if not all) D&D world settings. As a rule, adventures written for a particular world setting can be converted to fit another world without too much effort. But the design and scope of the Dragon Delves adventures make them even easier to adapt to any official or homebrew world setting. They are easy to customize, and I’m even thinking or replacing some of the chromatic or metallic dragons with gem dragons of comparable powers.
Some adventures, given the geography (for example, The Forbidden Vale, the adventure for level 9 characters), might be harder to incorporate into existing settings, like The Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk, but it can still be done. In general, these stories could easily fit into existing storylines in settings such as the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance’s Krynn, or Greyhawk.
These adventures can serve as preludes to the Tyranny of Dragons campaign in The Forgotten Realms, the Greyhawk Chromatic Dragon Arc introduced in the Dungeons Master Guide 2024 or in any Dragonlance adventure. They can also serve very conveniently as filler encounters in any of these adventures and campaigns. For example,
they can be introduced at various stages in the Tyranny of Dragons campaign, especially if the player characters did not amass as much experience points as they should have before being able to move on to the next challenge.
Turning These Adventures Into a Full Campaign
This would require some work. The introduction does give a few directions for creating an overarching storyline, but DMs would have to do some work to weave these short adventures into a full adventure or campaign. However, for DMs who have been working exclusively with official adventures, but who dream of homebrewing their own material, this anthology provides an excellent first step toward creating their very own adventures, campaigns and world settings.
The book suggests the “mysterious patron” approach, using Bahamut in disguise to guide the player characters through the various adventures. The “Brazen Egg” suggestion is also a good overarching narrative for the adventures. The “Hoard Magic Items” option is interesting, but you need to have access to the Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons sourcebook.
Timely, Short and Simple – A Great Combo for the Release of D&D 2024
Although D&D 2024 does not introduce major changes to the 5th edition rules, they are still a lot for DMs and players to absorb. Launching into a major campaign or even a longer adventure using the new rules might prove to be a bit much, especially for new players.
The release of an anthology of short and simple adventures could not have come at a better time. The adventures are also easy to prepare, thanks in great part to the preparation section at the beginning of each adventure.
The stories are compelling. For anyone who’s never played D&D before, this anthology is a great way to try out the game. The adventures will also please existing players who yearn for more dragons in D&D.
Solo Play
This is a great feature of this new book: some of the adventures can be played solo. This will be particularly useful when a DM wants to bring in new players into an existing campaign. I could have used these back when I first played Tyranny of Dragons, either as solo adventures for the original players, or when I had to introduce new players to the ongoing campaign.
They will help to smoothly introduce players on a more personal level to an upcoming or existing campaign centered on dragons.
In Conclusion
Do not let the color of the dragons deceive you about the level of difficulty of the adventures. While the mightiest of the dragons might be the gold dragon (for the metallic dragons) and the red dragon (for the chromatic dragons), the top adventures (i.e., for level 12 characters) actually feature a copper dragon and a blue dragon.
This anthology is a very exciting start for D&D 2024. Its versatility means it can be introduced into any campaign with a minimum of fuss, and its design makes it easy for new DMs and players to get used to D&D 2024 mechanics.
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