New Ed Greenwood Forgotten Realms Book Hits DMsGuild
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Over the years there’s been a strong overlap between the fiction and the game of Dungeons & Dragons. Yet a new project from Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood blurs the line between the two in a way we’ve never really seen before. Entitled Souls for the Taking: The Return of Larloch Book One, it’s both a Forgotten Realms novella and a supplement for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition. It’s also released outside the official purview of Wizards of the Coast, with the book available only in print and PDF on DMsGuild.
So just what is Souls for the Taking all about and what can fans expect in this new hybrid D&D book? Below, we take a look at all the details.
What is “Souls for the Taking: The Return of Larloch: Book One” about?
Souls for the Taking is a 144-page book on DMsGuild co-written by Ed Greenwood and Rhys Yorke, with cover art by Patricia Pria and maps from TTRPG cartographer Dyson Logos. It’s also produced by Visionary Production & Design, which is a company that’s helped develop a number of third-party D&D products on DMsGuild.
The book itself isbroken into two parts: Part I: The Tale (a 107-page novella) and Part II: The Lore (31-pages of D&D game materials). The story takes place in the Forgotten Realms in 1501 DR, which is the most current year in official lore, and follows three unlikely heroes: Velsaya, a sharp-tongued sorceress, Horngrim, a pragmatic Dalesman, and Gloth, a cynical dragonborn.
After their caravan is massacred along the Trade Way near the Sword Coast, the trio find themselves in possession of several forbidden pages inscribed by a dark goddess and containing secrets powerful enough to destabilize all of Faerûn. They’re soon on the run from agents of the Xanathar Guild, deadly assassins, soul-harvesting night hags and the titular Larloch; an ancient Lich of untold power.
In terms of D&D game content, the supplementary material is all related to the novella and includes new monsters, NPCs, spells, magic items, a tavern entry written by Volothamp Geddarm and a brief mini-gazetteer to the city of Scournbel.
How much is “Souls for the Taking”?
The book is available on DMsGuild as a PDF for $19.95 USD or in softcover for $27.95 USD (the latter is 6×9 inches, making it the size of a standard paperback novel). You can also pick up a bundled PDF and softcover option for $29.95 USD.
When was “Souls for the Taking” released?
The book was officially released on January 15th, 2026. It was, however, announced late in 2025 via Ed Greenwood’s social media channels.
What other D&D novels have been recently released?
Souls for the Taking represents the first Forgotten Realms novel from Ed Greenwood in over a decade, albeit it as an unofficial third-party release. That being said, we have seen other recent D&D novels, including several set in the Forgotten Realms.
- Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit (August 2022)
- Dragonlance: Dragons of Fate (August 2023)
- Dragonlance: Dragons of Eternity (August 2024)
- The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin (March 2024)
- Spelljammer: Memory’s Wake (June 2024)
- Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd (May 2025)
- The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons (July 2025)
- The Finest Edge of Twilight (October 2025)
Final Thoughts
Almost 50 years after it was first created, the Forgotten Realms is bigger than ever, and it’s great to see Ed Greenwood continue to produce new content for the world he created. In fact, Souls for the Taking isn’t the only Forgotten Realms project in the works from Greenwood, with a series of new Dalelands sourcebooks also in development from Mythmaker Studios.
What’s particularly interesting about this current release, however, is how it combines both fiction and gameplay materials into one unique package. Whether this was planned all along or is a kind of loophole for Greenwood to use in order to produce new novels, isn’t entirely clear, but it’s an incredibly creative way to offer the best of both worlds when it comes to D&D’s best world.
You can pick up a copy Souls for the Taking: The Return of Larloch Book One now on DMsGuild.
See Our Complete D&D Book Coverage
Visit our D&D Books page for more reviews of the latest novels and game books.
Subscribe to D&D Fanatics
Get exclusive D&D news, reviews and rules updates delivered right to your inbox.
Jason Volk is the Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics and lives in the wilds of Western Canada. He has been playing D&D for over 25 years and is a huge fan of Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms. His favorite character of all time was a Necromancer named Neek who spent most of his adventuring career resurrecting the corpses of slain monsters. When he’s not playing TTRPGs, Jason enjoys video games, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40K, watching football and spending time with his wife and adorably nerdy children.
