Candlekeep Mysteries, collection of D&D 5E one-shots by special guest authors out on March 16th

Today D&D announced their latest adventure book release- Candlekeep Mysteries, a collection of stand-alone adventures:

Introducing Candlekeep Mysteries, an anthology of seventeen mystery-themed adventures each centered around a single book found in the iconic library fortress.All of these adventures–many written by new authors—are intended to be played as one-shots in-person or online or simply dropped into any existing campaign. Candlekeep Mysteries is perfect for Dungeon Masters who are looking to inject new characters, story hooks, magic items, and monsters into their game without tons of prep.

Specifically designed to meet a need for more bite-sized content requested by players and DMs alike, Candlekeep Mysteries is rooted in the legendary library fortress set in the Forgotten Realms setting, but any of the one-shots can easily be used in any pre-made or homebrew setting desired. Each adventure is a mystery and kicks off when players pick up a book from one of the keep’s infinite shelves.

Last week we got a hint of what’s in store for the volume from three of the contributing authors: Amy Vorphal, who’s ‘Kandlekeep Dekonstruktion’ is set within Candlkeep itself, provides a look into the past of the ancient library with a hefty dose of comic relief and an NPC by the name of Dog Nuts. ‘Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome’, written by Taymoor Rehman centers on a djinn trapped in a book, who offers the adventurers a wish if they could just find a way to release him. Taymoor indicated that by the end of the tale inspired by the middle-eastern fables he grew up with, players may even be joined by the djinn for future adventures as a companion. Finally, writer and disability advocate Jennifer Kretchmer brings us ‘The Canopic Being’, whose mystery revolves around a series of puzzling organ transplants. She noted that the multi-level maps that she laboriously crafted for the adventure eschewed stairs in favor of ramps, and are totally accessible.

Here’s the full list of the rest of the authors for the book:

• Graeme Barber
• Kelly Lynne D’Angelo
• Alison Huang
• Mark Hulmes
• Daniel Kwan
• Adam Lee
• Ari Levitch
• Sarah Madsen
• Christopher Perkins
• Michael Polkinghorn
• Kienna Shaw
• Brandes Stoddard
• Toni Winslow-Brill
• Derek Ruiz

Candlekeep Mysteries hits our shelves on March 16th with beautiful cover art by Clint Cearley, with independent game stores getting limited numbers of the amazing alternate cover by Simon Meyer. You can preorder from Amazon today!