Taking a Bite out of 'Dragon Delves'

Dragon Delves is the first volume to be published after the ‘trilogy’ of core rulebooks required to run Dungeons and Dragons 2024 was released earlier this year. The book contains ten adventures, each themed around a particular kind of dragon within D&D’s lore, whether it is the corruptive magic of green dragons or the moral priorities of gold dragons. Each adventure can typically be run in one to three sessions. However, DMs can easily adapt these settings and incorporate them into a traditional fantasy setting for their home game if desired.

But is the book worth your time?

I took a look at the text myself, curated the reviews from other critics, and have compiled all the information here for your perusal.

Full disclosure: WOTC provided a review copy of Dragon Delves. I haven't had a chance to run the game myself, so much of my perspective is based on a quick review of the text. DM experiences may vary.

My Perspective

“The book is relatively small compared to past D&D anthologies, with only 192 pages of content. Almost all of that content is dedicated to the adventures. DMs who might look to this book for homebrew supplemental material (such as monster stats and items) will be very disappointed.

The book does contain another addition: a short section dedicated to the ‘history’ of the dragons in D&D at the end of each adventure. While the art here is a nice addition for collectors, it felt like an addition that should have been its own separate book, rather than the few pages at the end of each adventure.

Dragon Delves is a solid first anthology for this new era of D&D, and I think there are a lot of interesting ideas represented within the book. While some of the adventures do require additional modifications from DMs to make them fit their table’s playstyle, the overall vibe that the campaigns offer sets a high standard for whatever comes next from Wizards of the Coast.”

Learn more in my review over at The Fandomentals:

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The Reviews:

I compiled the perspectives of writers from across the internet on this book to help you determine if Dragon Delves is worth your time.

EN World’s Beth Rimmel: “While I like a lot of the book and how it’s organized to make life easier for a DM, the lack of new creatures, though understandable, and the disappointment over the History of Dragons sections shave off some points….”

Bell of Lost Soul’s J.R. Zambrano: “There’s a lot of emphasis on these great wyrms, but they only show up briefly in the adventures. You never get to actually really fight one, unless you screw up really really bad. Which, again, great that it’s an option. And I feel like the anthology does a lot of work to try and give the sense of the biggest and baddest dragons in the Monster Manual. But it feels a little strange, even so. You don’t get the most iconic part of D&D, the cover image of some huge red dragon bearing down on tiny but determined adventurers.”

Wargamer’s Mollie Russell: “Dragon Delves is a stunning, well-organized collection of varied D&D adventures. Many of these feature excellent design ideas, but just as many feel generic and underwritten. Weak writing throughout tarnishes the book’s shine and creates additional work for the DM who would otherwise benefit from the anthology’s clear layout.”

Endless Mode’s Cameron Kunzelman: “Dragon Delves is a fun read, and I think all of the adventures have enough meat on their bones that they would play well. More than any of the other anthology adventure books, this one feels like it is the ideal present for a D&D-curious friend or family member, and I think that any table would be happy to cooperate with (or attempt to kill) a dragon from one of these adventures.”

TechRaptor’s Andrew Stretch: “Normally, it can be a bit difficult to say whether an anthology book should be added to your bookshelf but as this book is just adventures, and no additional mechanical elements have been added, I'd say if you're interested in running the adventures, then of course pick it up. If the adventures don't sound like something for you and your table, then this will be an easy book to pass on.”

What do you think? Have you acquired Dragon Delves for yourself? Have you run any of the adventures yet? Let us know over email or on social media. Send any scoops, tips or press releases to [email protected].