30+ Best D&D Books to Read for Better 5e Gameplay

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If you’re a D&D 5e player (or you would like to be), I’m going to guess that you love to read. So do I! And so do many D&D players. That’s because playing D&D requires a lot of reading, and also because D&D was born out of a love for fiction. Fortunately, we as book lovers can rejoice, because there are loads of books for D&D players to read. 

First, there are literally hundreds of pages of rulebook content to read to help us make better characters, understand how to play better, and learn to use our character’s magic. 

Then, there are all kinds of source material to learn more about the worlds we play in. Plus, they make great reads if you’ve ever thought about DM’ing at all. 

Also, if you want to fill the adventuring itch between gameplay and official books just aren’t cutting it, you can enjoy plenty of fantasy fiction to read. Try out reading material from unofficial D&D sources and other RPGs, too. 

So don’t spend too much time reading this post! Sure, there’s a lot to read here, but it’s all in an effort to show you many of the best D&D books for players to read.

Official D&D 5e Rulebooks

Officially, Wizards of the Coast has published four D&D 5e rule books for D&D players to read. That’s just with content for players. It does not include content designed specifically for Dungeon Masters or actual adventures.

Since there are so many official books, this section is divided up into three sections: books that will help you make characters, those for Dungeon Mastering, and adventure books. This serves as a basic categorization as these books can certainly overlap.

Creating Characters

The four books in this section contain everything you need for D&D players to make amazing characters for the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

The Player’s Handbook

This is an essential book for all D&D players and Dungeon Masters. Many of us read it in pieces as needed. By sitting down and reading it in its entirety, though, you’ll become a much stronger player.

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything

Many consider Xanathar’s Guide to be an extension of the Player’s Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide alike. It contains extended subclass options for all player classes, along with additional magic items, game rules, and recommendations for building a campaign.

Volo’s Guide to Monsters

While Xanathar’s Guide helps extend playable classes and tools from the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Volo’s Guide gives more options for playable races and adds more monsters. It also goes deeper into the lore and mechanics of certain monsters from the Monster Manual.

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

If you can’t find everything you want as far as classes and races go in the previous three books, then Tome of Foes makes an excellent fourth. It works as an extension to Volo’s Guide with more lore, more monsters, and most importantly more extensions to playable races. These races include tieflings, dwarfs, gnomes, and halflings. 

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Much like Xanathar’s Guide, this new official D&D 5e book has great options for players and Dungeon Masters alike. The Artificer class is more accessible now along with new subclasses, such as the Wild Magic Barbarian. Players also have the option to serve group patrons as a party.

Curious about DM’ing?

If you want to better understand what your Dungeon Master does or have any interest in becoming a DM yourself, read these D&D 5e books.

Dungeon Master’s Guide

Many of the books for D&D players on this list focus on players rather than Dungeon Masters. However, there is plenty in the Dungeon Masters Guide for players, too, especially information on alternative rulesets.

Monster Manual

The Monster Manual is not a book you’d generally think to sit down and read since most of it contains stat blocks for famous D&D monsters. There are many sections, though, that contain great information on monster lore to help you better understand your foes. If you do read the Monster Manual, just be careful of any temptation you might have to metagame.

Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

The Sword Coast is home to one of the most famous locations in the Forgotten Realms: Baulder’s Gate. If you’re interested in learning more about this important location in Faerun, then the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide needs to be your next read.

Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount

This was heavily sourced from Critical Role’s world. While there are several books specific to that world discussed later in this post, Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount is an official sourcebook. Here, D&D players will find information on new factions and societies, new race options, along with a new kind of magic called dunamancy.

Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica

Ravnica is based largely on source material from Magic: the Gathering. It does not exist in Faerun. Instead, it’s located on a separate plane that consists primarily of a cityscape. In this city, there are ten guilds that make up the foundation of power in Ravnica. These guilds and their power struggles are ripe for great reading for D&D players, along with great campaign building.

What About D&D 5e Adventure Books?

You certainly can read official D&D adventure books if you’d like. There are lots of adventures out there including: 

• Curse of Strahd 
• Hoard of the Dragon Queen
• Tales of a Yawning Portal
• Lost Mines of Phalvender
• Dragon of Icespire Peak
• Acquisitions Incorporated
• Out of the Abyss
• The Rise of Tiamat
• Storm King’s Thunder
• Tomb of Annihilation
• Princes of the Apocalypse

If you read them before you play, though, that would give away major spoilers. So, definitely read these if you plan to run one or if you’ve already played it. That way, you can find all the juicy details you missed. Otherwise, there’s plenty of other reading material to enjoy without the spoilers!

Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook

While it’s not a rulebook, Heroes’ Feast is an official D&D book for players and DMs alike. Divided up by cultural cuisine, such as Elven, Dwarven, and Halfling, it even includes an afterward on enjoying your food while playing. It also includes a section on drinks titled “Elixirs & Ales,” which is sure to delight any game table.

Fantasy Fiction Books for D&D Players

D&D players will most likely love to read anything within the fantasy fiction genre. Dungeons and Dragons, after all, started out as a response to fantasy fiction and the desire to “live” within fantasy worlds. Plus, it’s a great way to cover your craving while waiting for your next game. 

Fantasy in fiction has many sub-genres, and a single book or series can overlap between several of them. Any fantasy subgenre can draw D&D players in, but the books below primarily focus on epic fantasy and young adult fantasy.

Epic Fantasy

If you were to ask anyone on the street to describe fantasy as a genre, their description would sound pretty similar to epic fantasy. The worlds are completely fictional, and the stories feature several characters who go on epic quests. Sounds a lot like Dungeons and Dragons, right? That’s because it is.

Read the Realms

Did you know that there are (at least) half a dozen fiction books out there specific to Dungeons and Dragons lore? Entire series are dedicated to the Legend of Drizzt, the Spider Queen, and the Lady Penitent. You can buy them separately as paperbacks or read them digitally.

Lord of the Rings

Although the Lord of the Rings series is an obvious choice, it needs to be said. Lord of the Rings defined epic fantasy as a genre and played a key role in Dungeon and Dragons’ creation. It may also provide great ideas for your next D&D character and the choices they might make.

The Name of the Wind

The first in the Kingkiller Chronicles, Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind tells the epic story of a hero in his own voice who has since retreated to a life as an innkeeper. He is the stuff of legends but believed to be dead. What happened? Reading this epic saga is the only way to find out. D&D players interested in building bards, wizards, rogues, and artificers will find plenty of inspiration when reading this series.

A Song of Ice and Fire

George R.R. Martin’s series became a sensation thanks to HBO’s Game of Thrones. This work of epic fantasy will appeal to those who enjoy the nuances of alignment, the play between good and evil or lawful and chaotic. Many characters and families fight for their right to the Iron Throne while encountering plenty of treachery and peril along the way.

The Lies of Locke Lamora

D&D players who find themselves often rolling up rogues will love The Lies of Locke Lamora. Orphaned Locke deals with the difficulties of city life as a poor child by pursuing thievery. He soon becomes infamous, which leads to its own kind of trouble. Scott Lynch has contributed to many fantasy anthologies, but Locke Lamora is his most known work.

Mistborn 

For D&D players looking to sink their teeth into one long series, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn is a good choice. With six books in the series as of this writing, you’ll have plenty to read in between your D&D 5e games. The Final Empire is the first in the series and tells of a young Mistborn learning Allomancy, the magic of metals.

American Gods

Technically, American Gods is not considered epic fantasy. Some D&D players may consider this a less conventional read as it takes place in the modern world. However, Neil Gaiman’s novel will give D&D players loads of ideas for potential gods or patrons their clerics, paladins, and warlocks could follow. American Gods tells the story of Shadow and his chance encounter with a mysterious figure that leads him to discover gods on Earth in a way he never imagined.

The Sword of Shannara 

Aside from the fact that the characters split the party, The Sword of Shannara has a classic Dungeons and Dragons feel to it. In this epic by Terry Brooks, a powerful Warlock Lord can only be defeated by the Sword of Shannara, which in turn can only be wielded by a true heir of Shannara. Shea, unknowingly, is the last heir and has no choice but to pursue his destiny.

Young Adult Fantasy

As a genre, the concept of “young adult” books is pretty new. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is considered one of the first young adult fantasy books, along with Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. In the past few decades, though, the genre has boomed with some excellent fantasy works. The few listed here are just that – a few.

Throne of Glass

Sarah J. Maas has become a central writer in the young adult fantasy genre. Throne of Glass is her longest series, which focuses on a young female assassin. With seven books in the main series, along with some prequel material, D&D players will have plenty to read and enjoy.

A Wizard of Earthsea

Many readers know of Ursula K. LeGuin’s sci-fi, but not many people know she also wrote this important work of fantasy. A Wizard of Earthsea tells the story of Ged, a powerful sorcerer and how he came to be such. Many considered this book to be a children’s book upon its release, although most would classify it as young adult fiction by today’s standards.

Eragon

If you love the “Dragons” part of “Dungeons and Dragons,” then you’ll love Eragon. The protagonist Eragon discovers a beautiful stone that turns out to be a dragon hatchling. This leads him to discover all sorts of magic previously unknown to him and sets him on the path towards the legendary Dragon Riders.

Sabriel

Garth Nix’s Sabriel tells the story of a young woman on her quest to save her father as she becomes the next Abhorsen. Abhorsens are those who stop necromancers and return the dead to death as they belong. The series continues with Lirael and Abhorsen and provides great inspiration for playing paladins, death and grave clerics, necromancers, and magic users in general.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Remember how Sarah J. Maas is the current queen of young adult fantasy? In addition to the Throne of Glass series, she also wrote A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This series focuses on “Fae” and Maas’ version of the Feywild, which can lead to inspiring character builds for Warlocks with Fey patrons. It also can inspire rangers as the protagonist is well-versed with a bow. The second book, in particular, is one of the highest-rated books on Goodreads.

Graceling

Graceling will make an excellent book for D&D players who love to play characters with secret, deadly powers. Kristin Cashore’s trilogy focuses on Katsa, a person with extreme ability known as a Graceling. She struggles to come to terms with what her deadly powers mean, providing great inspiration for players to build sorcerers and rogues.

Choose Your Own Adventure Books

These classics will hit you with a wave of nostalgia if you’re familiar with them, or help you ou with that D&D craving if you’re not. Not all of them have fantasy themes, but many do. You’ll read through a section and then choose which direction you want to go by turning to the relevant page. You’ll find yourself reading through it over and over again to discover all the possible results.

Unofficial D&D Books and Other Games

For every official D&D rulebook out there, there are dozens of unofficial books for D&D players to read. These include homebrewed adventures, monsters, locations, magic items, and more. They also include books for famous streamed games like Critical Role. And finally, Dungeons and Dragons is not the only amazing TTRPG out there. The last section includes a few recommendations for reading beyond D&D 5e.

General RPG Books for D&D Players

Websites like DM’s Guild have loads of unofficial 5e books for D&D players, but that’s not the only way to read great new D&D reading material. As you’ll see in this section, there are several independent publishers producing great unofficial Dungeons and Dragons books.

*Note: any D&D material published by a source other than Wizards of the Coast is considered unofficial.

The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide

This makes a great workbook to develop your next D&D character without using official D&D character creation material. In fact, you can create a great character for any RPG with this book. Developing an amazing backstory will help you roleplay your character and will help you make strong character choices in your next game. Watch the video below for an in-depth guide to using this workbook.

The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide

This book will help prepare you to play any RPG, not just Dungeons and Dragons. (Keep reading for reading options in other RPGs.) Some of the tips are geared towards Game Masters, but others work perfectly for players. Chapters and worksheets in the book will help you brainstorm more limits or options for your character that will lead to better roleplay, and ultimately better gameplay.

Tome of Beasts

Kobold Press has loads of great unofficial D&D books, and Tome of Beasts might be one of their best. It is like the official Monster Manual, but it contains over 400 new monsters you may have never seen before.

A Dragon Walks Into a Bar: An RPG Joke Book

This book of amazingly terrible RPG jokes will kill when your bard casts Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Or, it’ll just kill your fellow players with the puns. Either way, this joke book makes a great light read for D&D players in between games. 

Critical Role Books

Critical Role is arguably the most famous game of D&D ever played. Voice actors play through a homebrewed campaign live on Twitch every Thursday evening. Thousands of viewers watch it every week. Previous episodes are available on YouTube. Be warned: you’ll find hours of content to enjoy.

Tal’dorei Campaign Setting

Critical Role does not take place in Faerun. Instead, it takes place in Exandria, which has two primary continents. Tal’dorei is the first and where most of Critical Role’s first campaign takes place. The second is Wildemount, the setting for the second campaign. This book gives DMs and players resources for setting a campaign in a whole new world.

Vox Machina Origins

Fans of Critical Role’s first campaign will enjoy this beautiful graphic novel. Vox Machina Origins dives into the stories of the beloved characters from Campaign 1 before the stream began. As of this writing, only the first volume is available, but more will be released soon.

The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. 1 and 2

This artbook will appeal to fans of Critical Role’s second campaign and art lovers alike. The Critical Role team compiled fan art from the early episodes of the second campaign that captured pivotal moments in the story. This will make a great book for fans everywhere to revisit again and again.

The World of Critical Role

History buff meets “Critter” in this book. This book covers not only the history within both Critical Role campaigns, but it also covers the real-world origin story of how Critical Role came to be one of the most famous and beloved games of Dungeons and Dragons.

Books for Other TTRPGs

While Dungeons and Dragons is easily the most famous tabletop roleplaying game, it’s certainly not the only one. The selection below covers some TTRPGs that D&D players are likely to love. Do not consider it a full list in any way, though. Hundreds of amazing games are available to play right now. For many more indie TTRPGs in particular, check out DriveThru RPG and Itch.io.

Pathfinder

Many players loved the 3.5 edition of Dungeons and Dragons, but the 4th edition of D&D was the least popular. Pathfinder came out shortly afterward to preserve the feeling of D&D’s 3.5 edition and earlier ones while adding new flavor. Critical Role’s home game started as a Pathfinder game and switched to D&D once the stream began. All this makes it an obvious read for D&D players.

Lone Wolf

The Lone Wolf series by Joe Dever is one of the earliest and most famous solo RPG books around. They play much like a Choose Your Own Adventure book with three major differences.

1. You can play with dice, indicating resulting outcomes or your health level.
2. The books are designed for adults rather than children.
3. They are available for free online.

The Lone Wolf series has recently been updated to play as a group TTRPG as well. Plenty of adventures and source materials are available to buy.

Star Wars

For D&D players who often think to themselves, “I like D&D, but I wish it were in a sci-fi setting,” then the Star Wars RPG is for you. In addition to their main rulebook, there are several starter sets. Some starter sets focus on a different point in the franchise and provide relevant characters while another exists in the Star Wars universe but provides completely unique characters. The Star Trek RPG provides the same feel.

Call of Cthulu

For the Warlocks out there who think, “Gee, I wish everyone in the game had to deal with an Old One patron,” Call of Cthulu might grant you that wish. It is consistently ranked as one of the best TTRPG systems out there, and the base rules will make a great read for all D&D players.

Monster of the Week

Based on the popular Apocalypse World RPG, Monster of the Week aims to give players an old school RPG vibe with a simplified rules system. It’s a standalone RPG for 3-5 players where you’ll fight monsters in more modern situations scenarios like a government investigation or high school gone wrong.

Need more?

Hopefully, these 30+ recommendations of books for D&D players to read will keep you satisfied for quite a while. If you still feel like you’d like more options, though, find more reading in the following ways:

• Ask for recommendations in D&D forums.
• Check out popular fantasy reads on Goodreads.
• Visit your local library or bookstore and check out displays.
• Bookmark this post and check back for new additions.

Book subscriptions can also allow you to check out a lot of great books for D&D players through simple exploration. Audible is a great option for reading on the go, while Kindle Unlimited is the way to go if you have an e-reader or for reading on your phone.

Finally, if you have any recommendations of books for D&D players to read that are not listed here, share it in the comments! Books, just like D&D, are a great way to connect with others through shared storytelling.

What are your favorite books for D&D players?