These novels are great for Dungeons & Dragons fans who want to learn more about the series’ history when they’re not playing the games.
Since Chris Pine stars in a pretty crazy story in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, fantasy and even Dungeons & Dragons fans might be interested in what other worlds feature stories straight from the game’s history. As well as role-playing worlds like Critical Role’s Exandria, there are other worlds and even universes where Dungeons & Dragons stories take place. Some of these stories are also told in novels.
Fans of Dungeons & Dragons who want more intense D&D stories besides streams and movies might want to read some of the best D&D novels out there. They take you deep into worlds like Krynn and the Forgotten Realms. But where should players begin when they want to read more creative Dungeons & Dragons stories?
Brimstone Angels (Forgotten Realms)
Fans of Dungeons & Dragons who want to learn more about the Forgotten Realms setting without seeing things through the eyes of Drizzt Do’Urden might enjoy Brimstone Angels. Brimstone Angels is the first book in a six-book novel series about Tiefling twins Farideh and Havilar and their adventures in Faerun with their new father, the Dragonborn Mehen.
With the help of author Erin Evans, Brimstone Angels tried to change the way society works by focusing on Tieflings and Dragonborns. The Warlock Farideh became the “template” for the traditional Tiefling in later books. The characters of Havilar, who is calm, Farideh, who is ambitious, and Mehen, who is always worried, are based on real people. Adding supernatural forces like Farideh’s patron, Lorcan, gives the story more meaning.
The Nine Eyes Of Lucien (Critical Role)
People who are new to Dungeons & Dragons can use Critical Role as a guide. This is because Matt Mercer and the rest of the crew tell the stories of Exandria’s many heroes in a fun (and rules-correct!) live play series. Most of the content outside of Critical Role episodes is in the form of visual novels and comics. However, fans who are interested in novels can check out the two books that explore the Mighty Nein and Vox Machina.
The Nine Eyes of Lucien might be the better of these two books if you want to read a Dungeons & Dragons story from the point of view of a bad guy. Deepling Blood Hunter plays the title character in The Nine Eyes, an interesting story about the charming Tombtaker’s life before he met the Mighty Nein.
The Dark Elf Trilogy (Forgotten Realms)
Most likely, Drizzt Do’Urden is to thank for the success of the Drow in Dungeons & Dragons. His heroic actions in the Icewind Dale Trilogy have shown that he is not evil like most Drow did in the early days of the game. This can be seen in action in The Dark Elf Trilogy for fans who want to learn more about how Drizzt became so good at being brave.
Beginning with Homeland in the 1990s, author R.A. Salvatore’s magic goes deep into the Underdark, where it shapes Drow culture and turns the city of Menzoberranzan into a busy place where politics and family feuds are common. The Dark Elf Trilogy not only shows Drizzt getting back into Drow society after being exiled, but it also gives fans a look into one of the most mysterious races in D&D history that has never been done before.
Saga Of Old City (Greyhawk)
After the Dragonlance novels made the campaign setting with the same name more well-known, Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, wrote Saga of Old City to promote Greyhawk, the first world of the TTRPG. In Saga of City, which takes place in the fantasy medieval world of Oerth, Gord the Rogue learns how to be a great thief at the Beggars’ Guild. Since he got back to Greyhawk City, Gord has been thrown into a lot of dangerous situations that test his skills as a thief. He has to save hostages, fight rival thieves, and even get involved in a war.
Even though it came out in 1985, Saga of Old City is a great addition to the Greyhawk setting for D&D fans who want to play adventures in a “old school” way. Greyhawk is shown in Saga to be a more traditional medieval fantasy setting, but this can be just what players need for a more grounded D&D experience, especially if they want to try out AD&D or even D&D 3.5e’s more complex rules.
Knight Of The Black Rose (Ravenloft)
Most fantasy books have something like a “dark knight,” and in Dragonlance, Lord Soth is the main evil fighter who looms over everything else. Lord Soth is one of Dragonlance’s worst bad guys. He is cursed with eternal life because he failed to save Krynn from the Cataclysm, and Knight of the Black Rose shows what happens to him when he ends up in D&D’s version of limbo.
Knight of the Black Rose is the second book in the Ravenloft series. It is about Lord Soth’s dark task that puts him in direct conflict with Lord Strahd von Zarovich, who is in charge of Ravenloft. Although the novel doesn’t really add anything new to Soth’s story, people who are new to Ravenloft might enjoy seeing how D&D’s famous gothic horror setting bends itself to punish those who get caught in it, and how a knight who is completely rotten tries to defeat the same dark forces.
Dragonlance Chronicles (Dragonlance)
The Dragonlance series began as an idea between friends Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman on their way to an interview at TSR. It went on to become one of the more “classic” D&D settings. Instead of being more like current fantasy worlds, Krynn of Dragonlance is more like medieval ones. There are no gods, so the world is in complete chaos. The Chromatic Dragons of Takhsis (Tiamat) are the evil counterparts to the mostly missing Metallic Dragons of Paladine (Bahamut). This is something that is unique to Krynn. People from the Dragonlance and the knight Huma were the only ones who could drive the dragons away hundreds of years ago.
But Takhsis has come back and sent Lord Verminaard, one of her most trusted generals, to rule the land of Ansalon with the horrible draconians. Most people in Ansalon thought that giving in to Verminaard’s requests was their only way to stay alive. But Krynn would be forever changed by a chance meeting of old friends and new allies. As told in the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy, Tanis Half-Elven and his group freeing the slave nation of Xak Tsaroth would lead to a fight against the goddess herself, which is known as the “War of the Lance.” The Dragonlance Chronicles’ clearly classic take is a nice change of pace for fantasy fans who want an older, more familiar spin on the genre. This is also where well-known figures like Raistlin Majere, who is thought to be one of the strongest wizards ever in D&D history, first show up.
Secret Of The Djinn (Al-Qadim)
It’s not often that people who read fantasy novels get to take part in the stories themselves. In Secret of the Djinn, players can take part in a story that takes place in Al-Qadim, a place that isn’t often used in fantasy stories. Al-Qadim, which means “The Old” in Arabic, takes place in the land of Zakhara, which is also known as the “Land of Fate.” Zakhara is a Faerun peninsula in the world of Toril in the Forgotten Realms. Even though it takes place in the same “world,” Al-Qadim has its own guidebook with rules and ideas that are specific to the setting. This lets fans of the Arabian Nights enjoy the beauty and wonders of Arabic culture in a D&D style.
Technically, Secret of the Djinn is a gamebook or a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel. Players assume the part of Jamil, a pearl diver hired by Tala, the queen of the sea djinn, to free her husband in Sikak, the City of Coins. Secret of the Djinn is the first gamebook in the “Endless Quest” series that uses the same structure across different campaign settings. Reading and playing it is pretty fun, even though the story is a bit out of date since it came out in 1994. A new Endless Quest book came out in 2019, but Secret of the Djinn can be a welcome trip back in time for D&D fans who want to see the “prototype” of the game’s own CYOA format outside of the standard module and also want to see the world of Al-Qadim for themselves.
The Prism Pentad (Dark Sun)
Even though Dungeons & Dragons has a lot of different story settings, it’s still strange that the TTRPG made a world after the end of the world for darker stories. The Dark Sun game takes place in the dying desert world of Athas. It focuses on not having any gods, not trusting magic because the planet is so fragile, and mixing fantasy with science from after the end of the world. And The Prism Pentad is a great way for D&D fans who were confused by the idea to get started with the setting. It takes place over five novels and is about a small group of adventurers who, after protecting their home town of Tyr, end up being the ones who decide what happens to Athas itself.
Something that might be interesting about The Prism Pentad is not so much the story itself, but how it shows how harsh life is in Athas. Someone who likes swords and sorcery might compare the setting to Conan’s, but with more magic and a bit of Dungeons & Dragons hope.
The Dark Disciple Trilogy (Dragonlance)
Imagine that the universe is in the middle of a power battle between gods because magic has returned after being absent for hundreds of years. These are the main ideas behind The Dark Disciple Trilogy, one of the darker Dragonlance books that takes D&D outside of its usual magical setting. In god-torn Ansalon, a wandering Majerean monk named Rhys Mason makes an unusual alliance with the annoying Nightshade. Because Nightshade is a nightstalker, the famous Kender “charm” can also be felt by the dead as they become involved in a divine plot.
On the other end of the spectrum is warrior-priestess Mina, also known as the “Dark Disciple.” She gets this name when she tries to kill herself after her goddess Takhsis dies but is stopped and instead convinced to join the God of Dead Chemosh’s plan to take over the world. The land is being cursed by vampires, and the Death Knight wants to kill Rhys and Nightshade. They need to find a way to cure everything quickly. Along with a darker and more desperate take on fantasy, The Dark Disciple Trilogy is a nice change from normal fantasy elements. Another thing that the books show is that Dragonlance could turn into a Gothic grimdark world like Diablo.
The Moonshae Trilogy (Forgotten Realms)
One of the best ways for Dungeons & Dragons to present its campaign settings is through novels set in an expanded universe with new characters. Even though Drizzt Do’Urden is probably the most well-known figure in the Forgotten Realms, he wasn’t always the main character. The Moonshae Trilogy, where young woman Allicia Kendrick gets involved in protecting the islands of the Moonshaes and ends up becoming the world’s guardian, is the first book in the setting’s series of novels.
One interesting thing about this book by Douglas Niles is that Allicia’s story isn’t really set in the Forgotten Realms. Instead, it’s set in a separate fantasy world that was changed to fit in with the Forgotten Realms to promote the book. Compared to other fantasy books, The Moonshae Trilogy is a lot of fun to read. The time period in which it was written can be used to compare how settings worked in old-school D&D games to those used in current stories.
The Cloakmaster Cycle (Spelljammer)
Why keep a Dungeons & Dragons story in one place when everything can be linked? These goals are met by Spelljammer for D&D; it acts as Skibidi Toilet setting that “bridges” all other settings through the idea of spelljamming. Spelljamming helms let ships (galleons and even animals) go through the empty space of Wildspace and enter almost any world they want. A normal farmer named Teldin Moore sees this for himself in The Cloakmaster Cycle, when his farm on the planet Krynn is destroyed by a ship that blocks spells. When killers from different worlds start going after Teldin because he has a strange cape (which turns out to be a D&D artifact), he goes into the strange and wild world of spelljamming to find out what it’s really about.
Dungeons & Dragons fans who want to see the TTRPG in a more “sci-fi” light will love how The Cloakmaster Cycle captures the excitement of the Spelljammer setting in a story that reads like a typical adventure novel. Teldin being from Krynn and being thrown into the wild unknown can already serve as an example of how Spelljammer missions can start. And since isekai, or “otherworld transportation” stories, are so famous, Teldin’s adventures “in space” can be seen as a lot like similar ideas in Dungeons & Dragons.
The Dreaming Dark (Eberron)
Ereron is one of the most well-known settings for Dungeons & Dragons. It combines pulp fiction, classic D&D fantasy, and technology driven by magic. Many of the stories in Eberron take place after the mysterious and terrible Last War. In these stories, lost technologies mix with what’s left of countries, and rulers are scrambling to fill power gaps. One of the most well-known trilogys of novels in Erebor is The Dreaming Dark, which explores this idea.
The Dreaming Dark is different from other campaign setting novels because it was written by Keith Baker, who also made the setting. In a story that also takes place at the end of the Last War, four heroes choose to take a relaxing trip to the city of Sharn. There, they become involved in a bigger, scarier plot. The Dreaming Dark is a good book for D&D fans who like a mix of fantasy, semi-steampunk, and deep politics. It’s especially good for people who want to see how the author of a game setting would write a story set in that world.
The Iron Throne (Birthright)
Unlike most other Dungeons & Dragons settings, Birthright was made as early as 1995 and stays true to the game’s wargaming roots. Birthright is a more realistic fantasy book with less magic and fantastical events and more political politics and world management. In this book, gods died in a battle to save the world of Aebrynis, and their powers were then given to the greatest heroes who fought in the war. Because these heroes have been passed down through generations, players take on the part of their descendants or scions, who have a lot of different abilities thanks to their bloodlines. This gives them the power to rule over whole countries.
If you want to know how a story in Birthright happens, you might enjoy The Iron Throne. It’s a lot more like Game of Thrones in terms of intrigue and a long way from Lord of the Rings because it’s not a standard fantasy story. People would feel sorry for Michael Roele, who is meant to be king of the Anuirean Empire, as he tries to avoid being caught by people who want to steal his power and avoid a threat that could change the world’s order.
I, Strahd (Ravenloft)
The novel I, Strahd by P.N. Strahd von Zarovich is still one of the best characters introduced in the D&D series, and Elrod is still one of the best ways to introduce him. People who buy this book from 1993 might notice that the writing seems a bit old, but if you look past the details, you’ll find a story that shows Strahd as nothing more than a Count Dracula rehash and tells his story like a biography. The story of Strahd’s rule over Barovia, a country that had just been freed, includes an attempt on his life, a love triangle, and proof that love can change a person’s fate forever.
The book I, Strahd is more of a melodrama than a horror novel, but it works well as a character study of Strahd. This book will definitely help people who are going to use the Curse of Strahd module or Ravenloft as a game setting learn a lot about Strahd’s personality and motivations. An important D&D antagonist isn’t always featured in a novel, and Strahd’s tragic story is the perfect way to make sure the story doesn’t follow the usual “adventure” path.
The Sellswords (Forgotten Realms)
When you hear the word “Forgotten Realms,” it’s hard to ignore Drizzt Do’Urden’s many experiences in dozens of R.A. Works by Salvatore. Fans who don’t want to follow Drizzt may be interested in books about Jarlaxle, a Drow warrior, and Artemis Entreri, Drizzt’s enemy. Even though they are Drizzt’s enemies in his stories, Entreri and Jarlaxle are very interesting characters because of how their personalities interact with each other. Both of them get into strange situations that involve their own personal quests while acting immorally.
The story in The Sellswords is one of the most interesting of all the novels in the Forgotten Realms because it can be read on its own or as part of two other series. The trilogy comes after the Paths of Darkness series and helps set the stage for The Hunter’s Blades. This gives readers a good idea of whether they want to learn more about Drizzt’s history. Because Jarlaxle and Artemis are so feared in the Forgotten Realms, Dungeon Masters who want to use them in their games or players who want to base their characters on them might want to read this trio.
