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Deep down, every D&D campaign is about storytelling. Even if your group is more focused on beating down some monsters more than roleplaying, there is always a narrative tying the combat encounters together and towns, dungeons, and forests with not just enemies but NPCs and story hooks to keep players invested. A new set of official D&D workbooks coming out in May understand that playing Dungeons & Dragons is as much a writing exercise as anything else – and they’re here to help with that.

The two books in question are the Dungeon Master’s Workbook of Worldbuilding: An Official Companion to the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Player’s Workbook of Epic Adventures: An Official Companion to the Player’s Handbook, both of which are out on May 5, 2026. Inside are exercises and scenarios designed to help both players and DMs flesh out their characters and the world around them. While they’re obviously designed with D&D in mind, complete with a breakdown of classes and backgrounds available, they read more like a series of creative writing exercises than campaign planning.

Both books lean far more heavily into the fluff side and have far less crunch than you might expect. Some of this is to be expected as these are meant to complement rather than replace the core rulebooks, though I think many new DMs would probably appreciate more guidance on building encounters than is present here.

It is perhaps better to think of these two workbooks as exercises designed to help players and DMs improve their writing skills, which will, in turn, help them enjoy D&D that much more. The Player’s Workbook serves as an admirable deep dive into character, helping players build a character with depth, connections to the rest of the party, and, importantly, a reason for adventuring. Likewise, the Dungeon Master’s Workbook feels like it tackles everything else in the novel writing process, with exercises to flesh out the setting and build a plot that everyone enjoys.

There is an argument that these books could stand to have slightly more rules in them, but they serve their purpose admirably all the same. With the focus on character and worldbuilding, the Player’s Workbook and Dungeon Master’s Workbook could help D&D fans branch out into novel writing if they choose to.

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