Dungeons of Drakkenheim Coming to D&D Beyond
Popular campaign is one of the few third-party products to be made available on D&D Beyond
Originally published in 2022, Dungeons of Drakkenheim is an epic DnD 5e campaign and setting designed by popular YouTubers “The Dungeon Dudes” and published by Ghostfire Games after a record breaking Kickstarter.
Now, the campaign is coming to D&D Beyond, marking only the second time in history that third-party content has appeared on Wizards of the Coast’s popular online platform (notably, Critical Role’s Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn was also released on D&D Beyond in August 2023). This new version of Dungeons of Drakkenheim will be launching on December 21st, 2023, and is available now for pre-order on D&D Beyond.
So is this return to the ruins worth taking? Below we break out all the details.
What is Dungeons of Drakkenheim?
Dungeons of Drakkenheim is a complete campaign for DnD 5e that takes players from Levels to 1 to 13 and was created by popular YouTubers Monty Martin and Kelly McLaughlin (better known as The Dungeon Dudes). Much of the campaign, however, was inspired by a live stream actual play series run by the duo from October 2017 to December 2019, which was also entitled Dungeons of Drakkenheim.
In 2021, the Dungeon Dudes planned to release an official supplement, launching a Kickstarter that was funded in less than 5 minutes and which would eventually generate almost $1.3 million dollars in backing. Clocking in at 249 pages in length, the completed book was released in 2022 to Kickstarter backers, with print and digital copies later made available to the general public via TTRPG publisher Ghostfire Games.
The campaign itself is set in the city of Drakkenheim, a once vibrant fantasy metropolis that was devastated 15 years earlier by an otherwordly meteor storm. The city is now an urban wasteland filled by foul sorcery, mutated monsters and various factions vying for control of the ruins. It’s a unique blend of cosmic horror and dark fantasy, with the campaign featuring non-linear story progression (earning it a spot on our list as one of the best DnD campaigns of all time). It’s also a remarkably detailed campaign setting, featuring a ton of unique locations, NPCs, monsters and magic items.
More recently, Ghostfire Games launched a new tie-in product entitled Sebastian Crowe’s Guide to Drakkenheim, which further expands on the setting and introduces a number of new subclasses, spells and magic items.
What’s included in the D&D Beyond version of Dungeons of Drakkenheim?
The D&D Beyond version of Dungeons of Drakkenheim is really a port of the original 249 page hardcover book and includes:
- A complete campaign designed to take characters from Levels 1 to 13
- 50 new monsters, NPCs, and legendary creatures for use with D&D Beyond Encounters
- 40+ new magic items, 14 new spells, and 5 new backgrounds
- New game rules for personal quests, rivals factions and urban exploration
- Detailed maps and tokens for use with the new D&D Maps VTT
How Much is Dungeons of Drakkenheim on D&D Beyond?
Currently, the D&D Beyond version of Dungeons of Drakkenheim is retailing for $29.99 USD, which is actually a solid deal considering how much content is included with the material (on Ghostfire Games the hardcover retails for $49.99 USD and the PDF is $24.99, so it’s a fairly comparable purchase).
If you’ve already snagged a physical or digital copy of the book, you’re not really missing out any new content. However, if you’re a D&D Beyond subscriber, one key advantage is being able to port over official Wizards of the Coast materials, including characters and the latest rules set. Being able to use the D&D Beyond Encounters and Maps VTT is also a bonus (although the latter tool is still fairly rough and remains in Beta testing).
Notably, D&D Beyond is also porting over Lairs of Etharis, a supplement from Ghostfire Games that contains 20 unique monster lairs. The digital version is available separately on D&D Beyond for $14.99 USD (the PDF version retails for $9.99 on the Ghostfire Games website).
Why is the Book’s Release on D&D Beyond Such a Big Deal?
Currently, there are only two ways for third-party DnD publishers to release their works: 1.) They can other publish it directly on their website (which is the case with large publishers like Kobold Press, Green Ronin and Darrington Press) or 2.) They can publish content through online platforms like DriveThruRPG and DMsGuild (although in the case of the latter, Wizards of the Coast gets a cut).
Official Wizards of the Coast digital content, however, has remained in a separate, siloed publication stream, with D&D Beyond being the primary distribution method. The release of the digital version of Dungeons of Drakkenheim on D&D Beyond is therefore a significant change, since it marks the only the second time ever that Wizards of the Coast has opened up the platform to any form of DnD third-party content. Notably, the first was the rerelease of Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, which was published on D&D Beyond in August 2022.
It’s not clear if Wizards of the Coast has plans to publish any other third-party materials on D&D Beyond anytime in the near future, but it is a welcome sign that the company may be opening up the platform to other publishers.
Final Thoughts
It’s great to see Wizards of the Coast publishing third-party content on D&D Beyond, especially with a product as unique and brilliantly conceived as Dungeons of Drakkenheim. It remains to be see, however, if other third-party content will be given a similar treatment on D&D Beyond.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead. In the meantime you can pre-order your copy now on D&D Beyond.
Below is also a trailer which first appeared on the official D&D Beyond YouTube channel.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
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