Dungeons and Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set is an interesting choice for the first D&D ‘book’ of 2022. The set brings together three books in one handy slipcase. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and a new book, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
The first two add a variety of new rules to the game; extra classes, ways of handling magic, campaign modes and the like. Xanathar’s and Tasha’s complement each other quite well and are likely to be your next choice of book after the core rules. Monsters of the Multiverse combines two previous books, Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, it’s basically a fancy Monster Manual with extra rules to make it easier to play the more traditionally ‘monstrous races’.
Which brings us to the reason why this set exists in the first place; all of these books have had a slight revision. The stat blocks have been tidied up and the focus on elements that restrict creativity. If you want a culture of ‘good’ goblins in your game, the books no longer discourage you from doing this. No race is inherently ‘evil’, it all depends on how you run your game. The rules are clearer and more accessible. This is a hint as to what the game will look like in the future.
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition is currently the biggest Table Top RPG in the world and this iteration of the game has been around for roughly 8-years. That’s a long time for rule-set, but given it’s popularity, you can appreciate that it’s producer, Wizards of The Coast, are reluctant to radically alter things. A revision is coming in time for the games 50th anniversary in 2024, but it will likely be a slight iteration rather than a major overhaul.
The Dungeons and Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set gives us an indication what that will look like; more flexible rules designed to encourage more creative play and more inclusive language. As a set, this is a solid gift / addition. The slipcase is sturdy and shiny, and you also get a Dungeon Masters Screen, in case you need a handy rules reference.
If you already have some of these books, it’s probably worth waiting until Monsters of the Multiverse comes out on its own later this year. But as a way of suddenly upgrading your collection, it’s well worth a look.
