I have bought and backed a variety of D&D 5e supplements, and some of them are amazing. I hope this gives you idea’s about books you will want to buy, each of these has a brief review and all carry my recommendation!
Strongholds & Followers
The first unofficial book I bought, S&F is an amazing way to add variety to a game. Having a good system to add Strongholds to your campaign allows you to reward players in unique ways. And having a guide on using establishments like bars and theatres can make RP that much better for engaged players. The new orc’s, dragons, and different pantheons of creatures are fantastic! All of them have amazing art and are unique monsters. The magic items are also a breath of fresh air, with the codex being a set of powerful magic items I have used before, with great effect.
The weakest part is the adventure. Not to say it’s bad, I just feel like it doesn’t live up to the rest of the book. That is just me, I’ve seen enough people praise it to know it can be used right.
Legendary Dragons
Having run an entire campaign about Legendary Dragons, this supplement is amazing. The Dragon’s are unique and beautiful, one of them could be the focus of the entire campaign. It includes 20 of these dragons, new race options, and a dragon rider class. My players have not used this class yet, but it looks like a lot of fun. The aerial combat system that is introduced in the book is good. It’s complicated enough where there is some depth, but simple enough where the players should grasp it pretty quickly. They also introduce Kobold variations along with a selection of more generic dragon types and other monsters.
The weakest part is the magic items, there are so few I feel like they shouldn’t have included them at all. There are just 10 magic items, all dragon related. All except the morningstar of malady feel generic. They aren’t why I bought the book however, so it is a real minor nitpick.
Explorers Guide To Wildemount
I feel like this is a generic statement to make, but I love Critical Role. An official sourcebook, with good adventures, monsters, and magic items? Sign me up! In all seriousness, I have trouble finding flaws with this book. It is so well done and unique that anyone, not just critters, can enjoy it. With amazing ideas like the heroic chronicle that I will be using for my next campaign, I can’t complain. It allows the DM to help make PCs feel unique, and the class and race options are amazing. The Dunemancy school is my new favorite magic school, with my only complaint is it being I feel like there aren’t enough low-level spells for it.
My main complaint is a very basic one. I never use settings I haven’t made, which means that I will rarely use any of the amazing adventures in the book. I can take inspiration from them, but I haven’t put in the work to port any over yet.
Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting
I love this just as much as Wildemount, a unique setting I will never use. But the magic item’s in here shine the most. The Vestiges of Divergence are a great baseline for story-based magic items that grow with a player. That and an interesting variation on the D&D Pantheon make it an amazing place to get ideas. That’s what I’ve used most of it for, and anything else I say is just a redundant comparison to its cousin the Explorer’s Guide To Wildemount. My main problem with it is the same though, I will personally never use most of the setting info except for inspiration in my own work.
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
More class options? More magic items? Tables for random items? And a large amount of content for DM’s, sign me up! I love this book and it is one of my favorite D&D 5e supplements, and my players love it as much as me. Every single one of my players has used class options from Xanathars. They have also used magic items from it and love the joke items. It is a great example of Wizards of the Coast expanding on previous material, and the only negative I can think of is if someone bought this and was disappointed by the sheer amount of random roll tables. I’m serious I love everything in this book, because I’ve used almost everything in it to great effect!
Kingdoms And Warfare
It isn’t out yet but I had to say something! This is one of my most anticipated supplements ever, and I can’t wait until it comes out next year! Everything from the minis, to the organizations, look amazing! It’s not too late to pre-order it either, so what are you waiting for? Pre-order one of the next best D&D 5e supplements now! (This is not a paid ad, I just love MCDM)
Honorable Mentions
While I have not run them, A Year Of Rogue Dragon’s, and Glaze of Blory seem like fun times. The former being a well-written adventure that lets a DM run a unique campaign. I have been planning to run it ever since buying it months ago, and it looks unique and fun. Glaze of Blory is a semi-complex joke party game that is not a supplement, it’s a different system. But it is unique and cheap, the author even offers it for free! I can’t wait to run it once this lockdown is done and my players and I can meet face to face.
Supplements Are Great
My love for D&D 5e supplements is hopefully shown! You may have discovered something new, or just realized we have similar taste. For new DM’s I can only hope this list helps you get a good idea of what to buy! for any experienced DM’s or players, hopefully, you found something you missed, or can recommend one of these to you DM! Have a great lockdown everyone, soon all of us will be able to return to normal in-person play! If you want to read more of my stuff the best place is always the beginning!
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