Help with a gift for Dungeons and Dragons player

[alaska89]

Hi everyone.

Sorry in advance if I sound stupid but I know nothing about Dungeons and Dragons. My brother is very into it and I need to get him something for his birthday. He just bought the "Starter Set" 5th edition and that's all they have so far.

I would really love some ideas for things I could get him. I know its asking a lot but if you could be really specific that would be fantastic because as I said I really do know nothing about the game and don't want to buy the wrong thing.

Maybe things that he wouldn't think to buy himself would be really helpful.

Thanks so much for any help you can all provide I am really grateful.

[Arkhios]

Dungeon Master's Screen is a fun thing to own. Even if you yourself were not the Dungeon Master (the one who runs the game for the group of players). It has some useful rules knobs for easy reference, and if your Dungeon Master didn't have one, they'd probably appreciate if you brought one along to the games.

Another thing that might be useful is to buy a Spellbook Cards Deck (looks like a card deck, and contains spells in card format) for the person's favorite class (if it uses spells) could be nice. Although that would require knowing at least one or two things: what a class is and what is the person's favorite class. :smallbiggrin:

Since they're not very expensive, one might even want to gather the whole set (like I did, and I let my group members use them in our games if they want to and/or if they don't have their own decks).

[Mhl7]

The most obvious thing is the Player's Handbook of the fifth edition. Official link:
http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_playershandbook

However this does not satisfy the following, since it is probably the first thing that he will buy by himself.


Maybe things that he wouldn't think to buy himself would be really helpful.


I would personally go for one of the published adventures. I recommend Storm King's Thunder, as it is really natural to play right after the starter set with the same characters. Official link:
http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/storm-kings-thunder

If you want something more fancy, there are a lot of miniatures out there, which can be pretty nice looking. However, they are useful only if he does play live. Also, they come in booster pack which usually mean you get a lot of scrappy ones, which you don't want. Example of miniature:
http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/miniatures/minis-storm-kings-thunder

If you scroll down in each of those links, you can click on ALL D&D PRODUCTS and have a look at all the stuff they sell by yourself. To actually buy it, you can use Amazon (which is usually way cheaper) or go to your local store (where you can get additional suggestions).

All that said, I would personally stick with the books.

[Lolzyking]

yeah if you know what class they are playing, or if they are the dm, that makes a gift much easier to pick.

Perhaps a custom dice set, themed to the character.

A custom miniature made at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi-vaWe8uTSAhXFRSYKHbYiD_oQFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heroforge.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNHOXVv91zmbtchGe-0VjeR8N8mzCQ&sig2=bJQVCcxUGQbJlwFdyy-dqA

A Spell deck like the above poster mentioned.

A copy of the player handbook if they don't have it https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490006419&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+players+handbook

[Ninja_Prawn]

Books are good... I'd recommend Volo's Guide to Monsters, since it gives you a lot of things you don't get in the starter set or the core books, and you can use it in every game (as opposed to an adventure, which you'll probably only play once).

Fancy dice and minis are always an option. They do some really nice ones (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00MR7XA8I/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490006609&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=ancient+dragon+miniature+d%26d&dpPl=1&dpID=51vf7SnC7eL&ref=plSrch#) if you're willing to splash out.

[alaska89]

Dungeon Master's Screen is a fun thing to own. Even if you yourself were not the Dungeon Master (the one who runs the game for the group of players). It has some useful rules knobs for easy reference, and if your Dungeon Master didn't have one, they'd probably appreciate if you brought one along to the games.

Another thing that might be useful is to buy a Spellbook Cards Deck (looks like a card deck, and contains spells in card format) for the person's favorite class (if it uses spells) could be nice. Although that would require knowing at least one or two things: what a class is and what is the person's favorite class. :smallbiggrin:

Since they're not very expensive, one might even want to gather the whole set (like I did, and I let my group members use them in our games if they want to and/or if they don't have their own decks).

Yes I definitely don't know what a class is or what his favorite is haha but they sound like great ideas thank you so much I will look for them all online :) Also, thank you for dumbing it down for me a bit... all the different terms are pretty confusing haha :)

[alaska89]

yeah if you know what class they are playing, or if they are the dm, that makes a gift much easier to pick.

A custom miniature made
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Unfortunately I don't know anything about classes or what a dm is, I really know nothing and thats why I came here for the help :)

The miniature idea sounds really cool I just had a look at it. Can you just pick whatever looks cool or should it be made depending on how he plays the game?

[Ninja_Prawn]

The miniature idea sounds really cool I just had a look at it. Can you just pick whatever looks cool or should it be made depending on how he plays the game?

Ideally, if you're making a custom miniature, you'd make one that represents the character your gift-recipient plays in the game. So, as an example, I am currently playing a wizard who looks like this:
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g326/Gorgon_Heap/Sorawyl%20Kassanor_zpsrsct99kk.pngSo if I made a custom mini, I'd make one of her.

It shouldn't be too hard to get this person to talk about their character. Just asking them "so, what do you actually do in this game?" might be enough to prompt him to talk about the character he plays.

[alaska89]

Ideally, if you're making a custom miniature, you'd make one that represents the character your gift-recipient plays in the game. So, as an example, I am currently playing a wizard who looks like this:

It shouldn't be too hard to get this person to talk about their character. Just asking them "so, what do you actually do in this game?" might be enough to prompt him to talk about the character he plays.



Thank you I really appreciate it I will try and get some kind of information out of him

[Lord Il Palazzo]

How about a dice tower? It's basically a box with an opening at the top, another near the bottom and some ramps inside so that you can drop dice in the top, they'll make a nice woody rolling sound and come out the bottom. The big benefit is that you don't risk you your dice knocking over any other game pieces that are set up on the table or rolling off the edge. (Having to hunt around on the floor for lost dice is a huge pain.)

Virtually no gamers I know (myself excluded) own their own dice towers but most who've used them have liked it. There's something satisfying about the sound they make and not having to figure out where your dice are when you need them is a huge plus. (Seriously, about once a game I'll have a friend have to figure out where one of their dice went because they didn't pick it up from where it landed after their last roll or got mixed in with someone else's or something like that.)

You can find dice towers for just about any budget from a small $12 plywood one like this (http://www.thebrokentoken.com/mini-dice-tower-kit/) up to a big $75 hardwood one like this (https://wyrmwoodgaming.com/products/red-oak-dice-tower/) and beyond (the second website I linked specializes in gaming gear and storage made of very nice and sometimes exotic and expensive woods). I'd recommend searching "dice tower" on either eBay or Etsy so see some of the different styles and price points that are available and if there's any that your D&D player would particularly like. Even a smaller or cheaper one can be really cool to have; I play with the $12 one I linked, but with a custom stone-texture paint job I did to give it more of a castle feeling.

[BeefGood]

How about a dice tower?

You can find dice towers for just about any budget from a small $12 plywood one like this (http://www.thebrokentoken.com/mini-dice-tower-kit/) up to a big $75 hardwood one like this (https://wyrmwoodgaming.com/products/red-oak-dice-tower/) and beyond (the second website I linked specializes in gaming gear and storage made of very nice and sometimes exotic and expensive woods). .
The stuff at the wyrmwood site looks very nice (though I don't have any myself).
About dice towers--will a d4 roll satisfactorily? or will it just slide down the ramps?

To the OP--I bought some octagonal EZ roller dice rolling trays. I like them. I agree that products that keep the dice from rolling all over the place and getting lost are legitimately useful.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

The stuff at the wyrmwood site looks very nice (though I don't have any myself).
About dice towers--will a d4 roll satisfactorily? or will it just slide down the ramps?

To the OP--I bought some octagonal EZ roller dice rolling trays. I like them. I agree that products that keep the dice from rolling all over the place and getting lost are legitimately useful.
Yeah, Wyrmwood does some very nice products. I've never seen one of their towers in person, but I've seen them used in an online/streamed game (Temple of the Lava Bears from Loading Ready Run, if anyone's interested in checking out the game and/or the equipment) and they look great. (I've had my eye on one for a while, but never quite been able to justify the price tag for one of their towers with my finances.) I do have a deck box from Wyrmwood and a friend of mine has a dice box of theirs (for storage rather than rolling) and I can say from those that their work looks as good in person as it does online.

I've never had a problem with dice I roll via into a dice tower not rolling properly. The ramps are generally built steep enough and there's a little bit of a drop between ramps so even if a die just slid down the first ramp, it wouldn't land flat enough to keep on sliding the rest of the way.

[Tetrasodium]

The stuff at the wyrmwood site looks very nice (though I don't have any myself).
About dice towers--will a d4 roll satisfactorily? or will it just slide down the ramps?

To the OP--I bought some octagonal EZ roller dice rolling trays. I like them. I agree that products that keep the dice from rolling all over the place and getting lost are legitimately useful.

I've seen someone use one & it seemed to work great. The plop-> my dice are right in this little tray in front of me almost convinced me to buy one & I still might

[Malifice]

If he doesn't have it already get him a copy of the players handbook, dungeon Master's guide and the monster manual.

Fifth edition.

It will cost you just over $100. He will marry you shortly thereafter.

[Tetrasodium]

If they are the GM (the person who runs the game), id badge blanks (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007M413BC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) can be really useful to put dry erase stuff like quick room drawings on to use a grid map (https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Grid-Game-Mat-Battlemat/dp/B019YLRP2G/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1490103787&sr=1-1&keywords=gaming+grid+map)(which is also useful if lacking) without having to redraw it each room. Others have mentioned gm screens (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=GM+screen) already. gm & dm are interchangable terms.
As both player & GM, it's not unusual to be rolling 2-6+ of a particular type of die & to replace lost ones( they are 4/6/8/10/12/20 sided). Some extra dice are almost always useful.

[furby076]

Find out from the other players what his favorite character is, and build it for him on heroforge.com, or invite him to hang out as you build it together. For about 30$ you can make your friend a minature that matches the character he plays for hours on end

[Potato_Priest]

Well, it really depends if this fellow is a player or a DM (dungeon master).

If he's a DM, get him Volo's Guide to Monsters. It's not one of the big three books, and he probably doesn't know it yet, but it's about twice as useful as the dungeon master's guide, which is in the big 3.

If he's a player, get him a notebook. They're super useful for keeping track of inventory and all the NPCs (non-player characters) that he may encounter throughout his travels. It's also probably not a thing that he will think to get for himself, but will be glad to have should he use it.

An erasable grid map may also be useful, whether he is a player or a dungeon master. This is actually something you can make yourself by taking a regular whiteboard and applying thin tape to it in a grid pattern. The squares should be about 1 inch on a side. This will serve as a more detailed battlefield map than can be approximated in the imagination alone.

Perhaps the best gift you can give him would be letting him talk about D&D with you. If you need to play a game to understand what the hell he's talking about, that might be a good idea too.

[The Vanishing Hitchhiker]

Also, what price range do you have in mind? Something as simple as a nice dice bag could work; then all you'd need to know is their favorite color or such (and whether they already have one). Or if they're a more utilitarian sort, I carry my dice (and character tokens) in a small plastic craft box with removable dividers. It was originally for beads, but it packs flat in my D&D bag, and I can divide the dice by type.

Come to think of it, a set of nice polyhedral dice is almost always appreciated. And if they're into jewelry, dice-themed jewelry definitely exists.

If they're really attached to their character and you can get hold of a character reference, you could commission some character art for them, or offer to pay for one.

[alaska89]

If he doesn't have it already get him a copy of the players handbook, dungeon Master's guide and the monster manual.

Fifth edition.

It will cost you just over $100. He will marry you shortly thereafter.

It's my brother I am buying them for so I certainly hope not 😂😂😂

[alaska89]

Also, what price range do you have in mind?
e.

I don't mind how much I spend so all suggestions are definitely appreciated Thankyou ! 😊

[alaska89]

Well, it really depends if this fellow is a player or a DM (dungeon master).

If he's a DM, get him Volo's Guide to Monsters. It's not one of the big three books, and he probably doesn't know it yet, but it's about twice as useful as the dungeon master's guide, which is in the big 3.

If he's a player, get him a notebook. They're super useful for keeping track of inventory and all the NPCs (non-player characters) that he may encounter throughout his travels. It's also probably not a thing that he will think to get for himself, but will be glad to have should he use it.

An erasable grid map may also be useful, whether he is a player or a dungeon master. This is actually something you can make yourself by taking a regular whiteboard and applying thin tape to it in a grid pattern. The squares should be about 1 inch on a side. This will serve as a more detailed battlefield map than can be approximated in the imagination alone.

Perhaps the best gift you can give him would be letting him talk about D&D with you. If you need to play a game to understand what the hell he's talking about, that might be a good idea too.

Those all sound like great ideas Thankyou! I don't know what he plays in the game unfortunately. It's for my brother, he talked to me about it once and showed me some stuff to do with it and it was honestly the most confusing thing I have ever seen haha.

[shadowmage]

For the miniature idea a gift cert to https://www.heroforge.com/ is always fun. That way he could design his own for what ever he is playing. I did that for one Christmas for my gaming group.

[Armored Walrus]

Go to the local gaming shop and get him some dice! The Starter Set only comes with one set of dice, and D&D is typically played with 4 or more people, all of whom need to be rolling specific dice rather often. If he just got the starter set and is trying to get a group of friends into the hobby, more dice will be the first thing he will need.

Your local gaming store trolls will be able to let you know what a full set of dice looks like, but basically for each set you'll need:
20 sided
12 sided
10 sided
8 sided
6 sided
4 sided

Get him a couple sets, make sure each set is visually distinctive from the others. That way he'll be able to hand each of his friends their own set to use while they play.

[Knaight]

There's also the option of a high end* pencil sharpener. D&D is a game that involves a fair amount of writing, and having a nice sharpener and a bunch of pencils makes a big difference. I use one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Pencil-Sharpener-Angel-5-premium/dp/B00777UA9A/ref=sr_1_21?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1490358554&sr=1-21&refinements=p_36%3A1253551011)(or similar, I don't know the brand name), and honestly consider it more useful than most accessories. It does have the disadvantage of being really mundane though, which might be a problem depending on personalities involved. There's also always battlemats (http://www.chessex.com/mats/Battlemats_MegamatsReversible.htm) for D&D specifically. Get those, get the markers for them as well, and it's a bit more flashy and also pretty useful.

*By which I mean made almost entirely out of metal and durable, not plated with gold or whatever.

[poolio]

It's probably a little late to suggest something for the OP here, but i would say a nice case for gaming books/dice/spell cards ect. It's nice to be able to have everything you need read to go in one nice container, and something made yourself is always a plus in my book... if you're crafty enough that is lol :smalltongue:

Sense op probably has their gift needs taken care of, turn this into a general "gifts for gamers" thread?:smallsmile:

[Honest Tiefling]

I advise against a DM screen, only dedicated DM screens were ever interested in that in my experience.

More dice (ask at a local gaming store what types to get!) is never bad. A dice bag or a box for miniatures may be easier for you to purchase and select one he likes, as they are well...A cloth bag and a box, usually.

My sister once gave me a gift certificate in a 2nd edition DnD book as a prank (I thought the book WAS the gift, and I really love the thing even if I have never played 2nd edition). If you want to do the same, obtain an Amazon or local game store (I recommend the later, especially if he hangs out there) and slip it into a book about poker or something. The prank might make a gift certificate seem more personal, if you are still afraid of buying the wrong thing.

We can also provide amazon links if you need to see a picture of the correct product, I suppose.

[JellyPooga]

There's also the option of a high end* pencil sharpener. D&D is a game that involves a fair amount of writing, and having a nice sharpener and a bunch of pencils makes a big difference. I use one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Pencil-Sharpener-Angel-5-premium/dp/B00777UA9A/ref=sr_1_21?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1490358554&sr=1-21&refinements=p_36%3A1253551011)(or similar, I don't know the brand name), and honestly consider it more useful than most accessories. It does have the disadvantage of being really mundane though, which might be a problem depending on personalities involved. There's also always battlemats (http://www.chessex.com/mats/Battlemats_MegamatsReversible.htm) for D&D specifically. Get those, get the markers for them as well, and it's a bit more flashy and also pretty useful.

*By which I mean made almost entirely out of metal and durable, not plated with gold or whatever.

If you want to go down the pencil route (and it's seriously a good idea) then I'd recommend a mechanical pencil (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_pencil); those character sheets have some tiny boxes and mechanical pencils are only a click away from a fine point!

[alaska89]

So many things I would of never known about! It's not too late for suggestions I made this post early so that I would have Plenty of time to figure it out. I am writing everyone's suggestions down and looking them up.
Honestly I was not expecting so much help, and no one has called me any names yet haha, it's really amazing thank you all so much.
I like the idea of getting a 'prank' present and putting the dungeons and dragons stuff inside it!

[alaska89]

Since they're not very expensive, one might even want to gather the whole set (like I did).

I want to get these but I've been looking online and I can't figure out how many sets there are.😖 Are you able to tell me what they are?

[alaska89]

Do the erasable grip maps have to be a certain size?
I found two different sizes online,
66cm x 60 cm and 90cmx 60cm

[Steampunkette]

Do the erasable grip maps have to be a certain size?
I found two different sizes online,
66cm x 60 cm and 90cmx 60cm

Just make sure they've got 1 inch squares or hexes on them.

Another thing: Dice.

No gamer ever has too many dice. You can go to sites like Amazon or E-bay and pick up big sacks of randomly colored dice sets for pretty cheap.

Dice bags are also cool.

Fake coins are also fun, even if they're not super useful. Grab a "Treasure Chest Jewelry Box" and fill it with "Fantasy Coins" like these:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=68981&d=1435084822

Even if he never uses it in a game, it'll be pretty on a shelf or a desk. And he -could- use the coins for in-character gambling with the other people at the table, or to emphasize a rogue's love of coins by counting them or stacking them during a game.

I had a DM, once, who would pass out coins like those to players during roleplay for particularly witty lines or insightful comments and they could be turned in, later, for improving dice rolls. It was great!