Divining the Perfect Gift this Christmas

Looking for a fun holiday present to get a fellow gamer, significant other, your overworked DM, or even yourself? Well look no further!! The hobby of tabletop gaming has a large number of resources available from mini's to maps, supplements to subscriptions, books to bags, and even dice to dresses.   

In the spirit of honesty, I have no affiliation with any of these products or companies, apart from having purchased almost everything on this list and personally recommending them as great resources which I have enjoyed using.  

For Newer Players/DM's

• To begin with, if you are contemplating jumping into the world of D&D, there's no other gift i could recommend more highly than the 5e Starter Set. Its where my family and I started and gave us hours of enjoyment for a little over $25aud.

• The next item newer players will most likely want to invest in would be a 7 piece dice set. Chessex would most likely be the default brand, with a large range of colours and patterns. They can be found in any reputable games or hobby shop from around $18aud or $15us. 

• A tile set for for table top adventures can be a great addition to save time on drawing your own maps. These sets are often modular and come themed. Book Depository usually has the 4e versions available for less than $30aud with free international shipping. They come with a whole stash of tiles in either a city or wilderness setting.  

• Additionally all the core books for 5e can also be found at very reasonable prices at book depository. Picking up the Players Hand Book, Dungeon Masters Guide or even the Monster Manual is a great place to start for newer players. 

For People who have Ventured Beyond Level 5

• Minis are a fantastic present for players and DM's alike. DM's would enjoy any monster or humanoid miniature where as players may prefer a mini to represent themselves. The nice folks over at Wiz Kids have a great line of unpainted minis that are a great gift idea as they are customisable and very affordable. Additionally for something totally unique, Hero Forge allows you to create your own mini specifically for any character in mind. They also do gift certificates that can be given as the ultimate gift to a picky PC. 

• There are a range of supplement books available for players and DM's alike to build off the content found in the core books. My personal recommendations are Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tomb of Annihilation and for lore/story fanatics like myself Swords Coast Adventures Guide. For DM's I'd suggest Volo's Guide to Monsters before all else.

• For people who have taken to online games through programs or sites like Roll20 or D&DBeyond, a number of subscription options are available to unlock additional features and items useful for hosting such games.

• For the more practical or fashion savvy among us, there are a number of fun themed products such as shirts, bags, jumpers, dresses, posters etc, available from sites such as Thinkgeek or Redbubble. 

• Lastly, for the more bookish and collector types, a terrific gift idea is finding some older books from previous editions which can be found on second hand goods websites, thrift shops or even garage sales. Some of these books can be quite valuable and make for great reading/inspiration for your current games. They are often cheap as people may be getting rid of them to clear space or because they are no longer interested in the hobby. 

In the spirit of the holiday season I truly hope you all have a great Yuletide and merry festivities. From down under Australia merry Christmas and happy holidays.