The 10 Best DMsGuild 5e Books
Over the past few years, Dungeon Masters Guild (better known as DMsGuild) has exploded in popularity, offering a wide range of D&D products from third-party publishers, and covering everything from one shots to full campaign settings. But with new books coming out virtually every day (many of which can vary in quality) it’s hard to know which titles are worth your time and hard-earned gold pieces.
In this list, we’ve put together a list of the very best of the best DMsGuild books, many of which are as good (if not better) than the official D&D 5e books produced Wizards of the Coast, and which you can snag in PDF, print formats or even as add-ons to virtual tabletop platforms like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.
But enough talk. Time to grab your dice and adventuring gear as we dive into the… the 20 greatest DMsGuild books for D&D 5e.
10. Exploring Eberron
Publisher: Keith Baker
Released: July 2020
Why We Picked It: An absolute must-have for fans of the D&D Eberron campaign setting, the book is written by Eberron creator Keith Baker, and offers the kind of rich world building that seems sadly lacking in a lot of newer Wizards of the Coast 5e materials. Both players and DMs will find a ton to love in here, with the book covering everything from world history, religions and races, to new playable character archetypes, spells, monsters and magic items. And while fans of Khorvaire and the Dragon Between will eat up the materials, it’s also chocked full of amazing content that can be ported over to just about any D&D 5e campaign, making it one of the best DMsGuild books ever created.
9. The Ultimate Adventurer’s Handbook
Publisher: Benjamin Huffman
Released: April 2022
Why We Picked It: The brainchild of game designer Benjamin Huffman (with support from a team of other writers), this book is essentially the D&D Player’s Handbook on steroids. It includes a ton of new player content, including 8 unique races, over 100 subclasses, 30 feats, 150 new spells and 150 magic items. The end result is the ability to customize almost any kind of character you can imagine. The art and design is also amazing and easily on par with anything Wizards of the Coast produces, making this one DMsGuild product that every D&D 5e player and DM should have in their collection.
8. Puzzles, Predicaments, and Perplexities
Publisher: Wizard Sleeve Studios
Released: June 2019
Why We Picked It: Don’t let this book’s somewhat generic cover fool you. Because like the unique puzzles contained inside, appearances can be deceiving. The book features 10 amazing puzzles and traps that you can drop into just about any campaign or dungeon, and will work for characters of pretty much any level. The best part is that each puzzle also includes instructions on how to either scale up or down the difficulty and deadliness. It also includes a number of maps and interactive handouts, making this an absolute must-own for any busy Dungeon Master looking to kick their next adventure up a notch, and is easily one of our favorite DMsGuild products.
7. The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox
Publisher: 5e Solo Gamebooks
Released: September 2018
Why We Picked It: One of the biggest challenges with Dungeons & Dragons isn’t slaying monsters or surviving traps, it’s often just findings a DM and getting a group together! Fortunately, there’s The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox, which lets you enjoy the best of D&D 5e by yourself. The book includes a built in system that lets you play alone (or with a group) without the need for Dungeon Master. The book does this via a series of random generators including quests, dungeons, exploration, NPCs and monsters. One may be the loneliest number, but can also be a ton of fun, which is why this is one DMsGuild book we absolutely had to include on this list.
6. Dragonlance Companion
Publisher: Splinterverse
Released: December 2022
Why We Picked It: The 2022 release of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen officially brought Krynn into the world of D&D 5e. And while the official Wizards of the Coast release does provide some world building info and player options, they’re a little sparse and the book itself is really a campaign designed for DMs. Enter the Dragonlance Companion, a book available exclusively on DMsGuild that offers a ton of additional info and some solid production value. For players, this includes more races, subclasses, backgrounds, feats, spells and dieties. For DMs, there’s also new monsters, magic items, encounters, campaign hooks and two new complete adventures. It’s an absolute masterpiece and something that Dragonlance fans will absolutely love.
5. Doomed Forgotten Realms: Fall of Vecna
Publisher: Scott McClintock
Released: January 2023
Why We Picked It: While there are countless Forgotten Realms game books in publication (both official and third-party), there’s really nothing like the Doomed Forgotten Realms series. Available exclusively on DMsGuild, the series asks the question: what is the forces of evil overtook Faerûn? It’s a world where Tiamat has been released from the Nine Hells, the Cult of the Dragon reigns supreme and the Archlich Vevna rules from a black throne in Waterdeep. Fall of Vecna is the third entry in the post-apocalyptic series, and is one of our favorites, taking characters from Level 10 to 20, and including action and exploration in Undermountain, Luskan and a brief foray into Ravenloft itself. It’s an absolute blast for D&D 5e players and DMs looking for an epic high-level campaign that’s a little off the beaten path.
4. Waterdeep: City Encounters
Publisher: Will Doyle
Released: September 2018
Why We Picked It: While this particular DMsGuild 5e book is really designed to work with Waterdeep: Dragon Heist or any campaign set in the City of Splendors, the fact is it will work in just about any urban D&D campaign. The book is absolutely jam picked with bite-sized gaming gems, featuring random city encounters, adventure hooks, rumors and encounters for the Wards of Waterdeep. With additional maps, NPCs and campaign ideas, the amount of value you get with this single publication is incredible, making this one book every DM should have in their collection.
3. Call from the Deep
Publisher: JVC Parry
Released: June 2019
Why We Picked It: While Wizards of the Coast has put out some decent D&D 5e campaigns over the years, few are as good as Call from the Deep, a third-party release available only on DMsGuild. Written by game designer JVC Parry, the campaign is designed to take characters from Level 1-12, with much of the action centred in and around the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms. The story combines high seas adventure, urban intrigue and a touch of horror. It’s not only an amazing third-party product, but stands out as one of the best D&D 5e campaigns ever made.
2. Monster Manual Expanded III
Publisher: Dragonix
Released: July 2021
Why We Picked It: The third volume in the popular Monster Manual Expanded series (the brainchild of Mannix “Dragonix” Manasala), this latest entry features over 300 monster statblocks, including new creatures and variants on popular monsters from earlier D&D editions. Throw in incredible artwork that put even Wizards of the Coast’s production values to shame, and you have an absolute must-own for DMs looking to add to their bestiary, not to mention one of the best DMsGuild products ever created.
1. Chronicles of Eberron
Publisher: Keith Baker
Released: December 2022
Why We Picked It: An expansion of the Exploring Eberron world book, this latest offering from Keith Baker is packed with an incredible range of content for fans of Khorvaire. The book is broken into two section: the Library (which includes new background and setting details for players) and the Vault (a section of rules, factions, history, spells, weapons and magic items designed purely for DMs). It’s over 200 pages of information and inspiration that brings a whole new dimension to the world of Eberron and is arguably the greatest 5e book ever published on DMsGuild.
Related: See our article What is DMsGuild?
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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