This Dungeons & Dragons book is the world-building deep dive you’ve been waiting for
It’s a big year for Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards of the Coast has released not only the final campaign for the original fifth edition rules, but also a slew of products celebrating the game’s 50th anniversary – including three revised core rulebooks. Even if the D&D Lego sets and Converse sneakers weren’t your thing, you might be interested in their upcoming offerings: Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and beyondwritten by former D&D designer Adam Lee (Baldur’s Gate: descent to Avernus, Waterdeep: Dragon Raid).
The book normally costs $50 available to pre-order ahead of its October 29 release at a slightly lower price of $46.50. And if you’re someone who enjoys delving into D&D lore and world-building, then you’ll definitely want to check out this book.
D&D’s multiverse is extremely large and complicated Worlds and realms looks to fill a much-needed gap to help newcomers and experienced players alike understand its fantastical realms. Featuring illustrations from 50 years of sourcebooks and adventures, each chapter of this illustrated guide delves deeper into one of the many worlds, planes, and settings in the D&D multiverse—from the beloved plane Mystara to the dangerous Shadowfell to The Boundless Astral Sea of Spelljammer.
But this is not a dry, factual history book. Instead, readers will explore these environments through the story of the archmage Mordenkainen, who shares his personal experiences with these locations and thoughts on the legendary characters who lived there. Readers will take a deep dive into Mordenkainen’s beloved homeland of Greyhawk (the default setting for the upcoming 2024 revision of the version). Dungeon Master’s Guide), and learn how his belief in the Balance affects his encounters with beings across the multiverse.
Worlds and realms also includes original stories by Jasmine Bhullar, Geoffrey Golden, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, and Jaleigh Johnson.
Polygon gets an exclusive first look inside Worlds and realms below, revealing 22 of the book’s 368 pages. To guide you through it, we’ve enlisted our very own narrator – author Adam Lee himself – to share insights into the historical art and how Worlds and realms came together.
Our interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Image: Press ten speeds
Adam Lee: There is a place in my mind reserved for childhood memories, which are of a different quality than other memories. This image lives in that space. I remember watching it with my little child’s imagination, every detail creating stories in my head.
Even before I knew how to play D&D or even what it was, I made stories just by looking at the art on the box. Erol Otus’ art is so mythical and perfect for capturing the atmosphere of D&D in the 80s.
For example, what was behind that dark stone arch in the background?
Image: Press ten speeds
It’s so strange to look at the table of contents because it seems so short for fifty years and the impact D&D has had on culture in that time.
There could be a lot more in there, but then this book would be big enough to possibly be an imitation.
Also one of the best babbling illustrations ever.
Image: Press ten speeds
I want to say that it took a long time, as I stared at the blank page in artistic agony, crumpling page after page, before the first words for the introduction came.
But I became (my version) of Mordenkainen quite quickly and his voice and his intentions were clear. I had spent some time thinking about the world from his perspective while working on D&D, so I wasn’t working from scratch, but he flowed onto the page and there were times when I had to write quickly to keep up.
As always, amazing art inspires the imagination. When I first saw this piece arrive after it was commissioned, I felt like it revealed another dimension of the master magician.
Image: Press ten speeds
One of the things you can do when writing from an archmage’s perspective is discover what really matters to him/her. What do they notice? If their world is so fantastic, what compels them to look deeper?
Here is a person who wields the power of magic, who has traveled the multiverse, who has fought interdimensional monsters and dined with angelic beings. Why not leave humanity behind for all the splendor of a host of extreme and otherworldly experiences?
I wanted to shine a light on the value of humanity through the eyes of Mordenkainen. For some reason he did not join the heavenly army, nor did he become a demigod, or a tyrant on a high mountaintop. He became a protector of the multiverse.
I think there’s something about humanity that he’s extremely curious about. There is something sacred in every being. A mystery that goes beyond mere magic.
Image: Press ten speeds
Getting the chance to write about Greyhawk from Mordenkainen’s point of view was an experience not unlike this illustration (at times). But that’s the adventure of life. I never know what will come out of the woods.
Image: Press ten speeds
Figuring out how to write this book – a combination of lore and story – was something I thought about a lot.
I wanted to talk about the worlds and share the existing lore, but I also wanted to add something new to them, something that had never been revealed before, so that no matter what your experience with D&D was, you would discover new and interesting things.
Writing from Mordenkainen’s point of view allowed me to delve outside of canon lore to allow for a bit of wizardly speculation, which I found exciting – I was on an adventure with Mordenkainen as he explored his own mind and the mysteries of the multiverse investigated .
Image: Press ten speeds
Long before I worked on D&D as a professional, I was a player and a fan of these worlds, and had my own opinions about them.
While working on D&D, I had the opportunity to dive into many of the worlds at different depths, but mostly from a very agnostic point of view. We set the stage for the adventure and described the world so the Dungeon Master could interpret it however they wanted. . The players would experience the story and then form their own opinions.
When I played the character Mordenkainen for this book, I got to write from his perspective. After a while, I started to have different opinions about the world as seen through his eyes. The most surprising reaction to all these worlds was his reaction to Krynn.
I have to say I learned a lot from seeing Krynn through his eyes.
Image: Press ten speeds
When I write something for D&D I always think about a DM getting a great idea for a one shot or a character for their campaign. I’m always in “modular mode,” where I know that any part of what I write can be taken out and put into someone’s game.
When I enter the great beyond, I wish I could sit in front of a cosmic TV and see how many snippets of my silly writing have been made into games or made people laugh. Hopefully I’ll be looking at it for a long time. That would give me great joy.
Image: Press ten speeds
Revisiting Ravenloft for Curse of Strahd was one of my favorite moments working on D&D. We’ve covered so many questions about the nature of evil, the story of Strahd, and the metaphysics of Barovia.
Ironically, it was a lot of fun living in Barovia, walking with the people, exploring the grounds and writing down a few locations that were sure to be disturbing.
Image: Press ten speeds
Each version of D&D has its own take on D&D’s legendary monsters and villains. For From the abyss we got the treat of revisiting all the superstar demon lords and creating the 5th edition version of them to continue that creative legacy.
For me, D&D is as much a visual experience as it is a written one, and the images from the early days of the game until now have iconic status in my mind and are forever etched in my memory.
Image: Press ten speeds
Throughout Mordenkainen’s journey, it is the Balance that keeps him grounded and possibly sane as he explores the multiverse and encounters all manner of fantastical creatures and bizarre entities.
The multiverse is a bewildering place, and without purpose it can become as confusing as a hall of mirrors. But through it all, Mordenkainen follows the beacon of Balance as the rope that allowed Theseus to navigate the labyrinth, defeat the Minotaur, and emerge alive and victorious.