Do you know a young adventurer who is keen to hone their skills in the mythical worlds of Dungeons and Dragons? Are you perhaps looking to join an adventure yourself, but have never quested before? Dungeons & Dragons has something perfect for both young readers and those who might be new to the game. This month they released two brand new guides geared toward younger readers, Monsters & Creatures: A Young Adventurer’s Guide and Warriors & Weapons: A Young Adventurer’s Guide, which can help anyone get ready to join a campaign.

The Young Adventurer’s Guides are from the same publisher who released Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana, which I previously reviewed on The Nerdy Girl Express. These new books break down the very detailed world of D&D in a way that can either be used as a quick reference guide or can be read all the way through. Jim Zub, Stacy King, and Andrew Wheeler provide readers with gorgeous illustrations of the various creatures, monsters, and characters that exist within this universe. While D&D is often considered a game focused on imaging the situations you are encountering yourself, the pictures provided in these books will help people to get a better understanding of what the world they are encountering is like.

Beyond illustrations, the books define and break down each of the characters and creatures, while also providing tips for a variety of reasons. In Monsters & Creatures each being has their primary attributes broken down and then there is a guide for what to do and what not to do during an encounter with these creatures. For example in the description of a Treant readers are told under the Do This section to let druids and rangers take the lead, regard every tree as if it could be a treant, and keep your fire starter handy! Each of these tips also include a description of why this should be done. Under Don’t Do This readers are told don’t disrespect the forest, don’t get lost in enemy territory, and don’t start forest fires. There are also example encounters spread throughout the book to help give you an idea of what could happen in a campaign. This is designed to help you brainstorm and get used to working through a situation. Warriors & Weapons provides descriptions of races, character classes, and equipment. There are also discussions of how to create a character and what should influence this creation. They note that reading about adventure will help you to spur on your imagination and help you create your character. As someone who has only briefly planned D&D this discussion is something that I think would have been very beneficial when I started out. No matter how old you are if you have ever had an interest in D&D these Young Adventurer’s Guides are something you need to check out.

You can get the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guides for Monsters & Creatures and Warriors & Weapons today.

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