D&D Releases ‘Red Wizards Gambit’ Adventure Pack for Season of Magic

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Dungeons & Dragons’ ongoing Season of Magic is officially upon us. As part of the event (which runs from September to November), Wizards of the Coast has launched the next phase of its recently revived D&D Encounters program, with an adventure pack known as Red Wizards’ Gambit.

The adventures – which can be run individually or together as a complete mini-campaign – take characters from Levels 3 to 5 and are designed primarily to be run at friendly local game stores on a weekly basis from now until October 11. That being said, if you aren’t able to make it to any of the in-store events, you can also buy the adventures and run them at home now via D&D Beyond.

In addition to giving local game stores an in-person play experience, the adventures also serve as a prologue to the new high-level campaign, Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, as well as featuring new character options and monsters taken from the high-magic themed Arcana Unleashed supplement.

Below, we break down everything you need to know about these new organized play D&D adventures and how they connect to the dreaded Red Wizards of Thay.

What is Red Wizards’ Gambit?

Red Wizards’ Gambit is an episodic organized play mini-campaign for Level 3 to 5 characters built for the D&D Encounters program as part of the Season of Magic. The content is designed to be run as follows:

• The Celebration Event: A 3-hour kickoff adventure created for multi-table play (also known as an “epic”) with up to four simultaneous groups managed by an Event Coordinator volunteer at a friendly local game store.
• Weekly Play Sessions (Weeks 1–4): Four 90-minute standalone encounters designed to fit flexible weeknight schedules at participating stores or home tables.

All the material is designed for the D&D 5.5E 2024 core rules as well as including specific elements from the Arcana Unleashed supplement. Players can create their own characters from scratch or use pre-generated Level 3 characters that are provided in the pack.

What are the adventures about?

*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

The central plot follows an ambitious Red Wizard named Delia D’caryn who plans to launch an invasion of the neighboring nation of Rashemen. To do that, she first captures four Rashemi craftsmen who are renowned for their ability to create powerful magical artifacts. Taking each of the craftsmen to a separate secure location, she has forced them to create four pieces of a powerful artifact that she plans to assemble and use to crush Rashemen once and for all.

The storyline unfolds across five connected adventures as follows:

• Celebration Event: Stolen Spirits (Level 3): Taking place in the Rashemi capital of Immilmar, players are hired by a Harper agent to investigate suspicious activities by the Red Wizards. They’ll then have to brave the sacred Ashenwood Forest while facing down monsters and powerful Thayan sorcerers.
• Week 1: The Height of Danger (Level 4): The party must take to the skies to raid a massive earthmote floating high above Rashemen. There, they must rescue the first of the four Rashemi craftsmen who has been forced to create a deadly artifact.
• Week 2: The Depth of Despair (Level 4): Venturing into a subterranean complex corrupted by tortured souls, the party must face mutated soldiers and bizarre monsters to rescue the second captured Rashemi craftsman.
• Week 3: The Weight of Responsibility (Level 5): Scaling a perilous mountain top guarded by heavily armored spellguard mercenaries, the heroes must free the third Rashemi crafter.
• Week 4: Delia’s Dagger (Level 5): The climax leads to a heavily fortified wizard’s tower protected by deadly monsters and traps. There they must face down Delia and stop a ritual that will combine the four artifacts into a powerful weapon.

*** END OF SPOILERS ***

When can you play the Red Wizards’ Gambit adventures?

The schedule for in-store D&D Encounters play is as follows:

• September 4–13: Stolen Spirits (Celebration Kickoff Event)
• September 9–October 11: Successive weekly play mini-adventures (Weeks 1 through 4)

To see when tables are running it near you, check with your local store or look for events through the Wizards Play Network and D&D Event Finder.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to wait or can’t make it to the events, you can always run the adventures at home by picking up the pack from D&D Beyond for $4.99 USD.

Final Thoughts

With 24 pages of adventure content in the package, Red Wizards’ Gambit is definitely more than just an afterthought and represents a major milestone for the recently revived D&D Encounters program. Whether or not fans will get on board, however, remains to be seen.

To play in the adventures for yourself, check in with your local friendly game store or use the new D&D Event Finder. Alternatively, you can purchase the pack now on D&D Beyond.

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