The New 2025 DnD Forgotten Realms Books (First Look)
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At the annual D&D Direct event held in 2024, Wizards of the Coast announced a number of major new projects. One particular release that caught the attention of a number of fans was two new Forgotten Realms books designed to bring the lands of Faerûn into alignment with the new 2024 DnD Core Books.
In the past few months, we’ve since learned more about these books, which are slated for release in late 2025. The two new Forgotten Realms books, which are sold separately, are designed for both players and Dungeon Masters, and also include new digital DLC which is available exclusively on D&D Beyond. We’ve also got a glimpse of some of the new art, rules and content.
So just can fans expect with this return to the Realms? Below, we break out everything we know so far.
What are the new Forgotten Realms books about?
With past D&D products, Wizards of the Coast has include both player-facing and DM-facing books in the same slip case (for example, with Spelljammer: Adventures in Space and Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse). Their approach to the new Forgotten Realms books, however, is much different in that both products are available separately.
Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn
Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (which available now for pre-order on D&D Beyond and Amazon) is designed for players (although there is material which will likely be of interest to Dungeon Masters) and includes the following:
- 8 New Subclasses (all of which have been showcased in a recent Unearthed Arcana playtest)
- 18 new Backgrounds
- 34 new Feats
- 19 Spells (including new rules for rules for Circle magic spellcasting)
- 3 Magic items
- 12 non-magic items
- A player-focused overview of 10 famous locales in the Realms
- A player-focused guide on 42 gods (and rules for divine Renown)
- A player-guide to 8 factions (with information on how players can become members and gain rewards from organizations such as the Harpers and Zhentarim)
Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn,
Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn (which is available for pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon) is designed exclusively for Dungeon Masters and includes:
- 50+ “pick up and play” adventure outlines for levels 1–15
- The Lost Library of Lethchauntos starter adventure for characters levels 1-3
- 37 monsters (including the Drow of Lolth)
- 12 magic items
- Regional Bastion options for building strongholds
- 52 maps with tokens, fog of war, and stickers for the D&D Beyond Maps VTT
It also contains gazetter-style overviews on 5 locations in the Forgotten Realms, which are designed around a specific genre and style of gameplay. For example, Baldur’s Gate is presented as a possible setting for urban fantasy, while Icewind Dale is showcased as a potential survival horror location.
Digital Expansions
Wizards of the Coast will also be releasing three digital expansions that are designed to accompany the two new Forgotten Realms books and which are available only on D&D Beyond. These can only be purchased as part of an “Ultimate Bundle.” They are as follows:
- Astarion’s Book of Hungers: Based on the popular Baldur’s Gate 3 character, it includes rules for the playable dhampir species and vampire-themed adventures
- Netheril’s Fall: A time traveling adventure set in the lost Netherese Empire
- A secret third digital expansion that has yet to be announced
When are the new Forgotten Realms books coming out?
Both new Forgotten Realms books are slated for release on November 11th, 2025. As with other Wizards of the Coast products, however, if you pre-order the digital and physical bundle via D&D Beyond, you’ll be able to get access several weeks earlier. This is also the case if you pre-order the physical copy of the books from your local game store if they have opted into Wizards of the Coast’s early access program.
It’s worth noting, however, that the digital expansions will not be available until several weeks after release.
How much are the new Forgotten Realms books?
The print copy of Adventures in Faerûn retails for $49.99 USD. On D&D Beyond you can also purchase a physical-digital bundle for $74.99 USD. A digital-only version is also available on D&D Beyond for $39.99 USD.
The print copy of Heroes of Faerûn retails for $59.99 USD. On D&D Beyond you can also purchase a physical-digital bundle for $79.98 USD (discounted to $59.99 if you pre-order relatively soon). A digital-only version is also available on D&D Beyond for $49.99 USD.
The Ultimate Bundle (which includes both books and all three digital expansions) retails for $159.99 USD.
Will there be an alternate covers for the Forgotten Realms books?
Yes, there are alternate covers to both books. These have the exact same price as the standard covers. What’s interesting, however, is that when all the books are opened up placed side by the side they create a complete four-panel image showing a battle between an army of heroes and villains in the Forgotten Realms.
What other tie-in products will be available?
Typically, WizKids releases a variety of monster and NPC miniatures that tie-in to DnD adventure supplements, so it’s possible we may see similar products. It’s also not clear if Beadle & Grimm’s will be producing any alternate versions of the book, which has been the case for other DnD 5e products. For example, with Planescape they produced a deluxe box set. Given that the Forgotten Realms is incredibly popular, it’s likely we’ll see something similar.
Both the Forgotten Realms books are also available on all major VTT platforms, including Roll20.
Final Thoughts
One major complaint from DnD fans over the past few years is that they’ve been getting too many adventurers and not enough campaign materials. Another major complaint is that content is focused primarily on Dungeon Masters, rather than players. Wizards of the Coast appears to be addressing those concerns and bringing the focus back on one of the game’s most popular campaign worlds. It remains to be seen, however, if the new Forgotten Realms books can leave up to fan expectations.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead and will update this page with more information as it’s made available. In the meantime, you can pre-order Adventures in Faerûn now on D&D Beyond and Amazon, with Heroes of Faerûn also available for pre-order on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
Below is also a teaser trailer from the official D&D YouTube channel which offers more details on what to expect.
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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.
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