D&D Gift Ideas for Players and DMs, Even If You Don't Play
Find a gift that fits their game. Ask who they play, where they play and which character matters before choosing a book, table gear or portrait.
Jan
5 min read
Someone you love plays D&D. You've heard about their character for months, including a twenty-minute story about a door that turned out to be a mimic. Now you need a gift, and the one thing you know for sure is that they own a lot of dice.
Dice are fine. The gifts that get used come from knowing how they play, and three questions will tell you.
Ask these three questions first
- Do you play, or run the game? Players look after one character. The Dungeon Master runs everything else and needs things for the whole table.
- Do you play in person or online? A battle mat is great on a kitchen table and useless on Discord.
- Which character are you playing now? Anything personal should be about the current one. They've moved on from the wizard who died in March.
To keep it a surprise, ask someone from their group. Every party has a rogue, and this is what rogues are for.
Gifts for players
A portrait of their character
Full disclosure, this is what I make. It's the right gift when they've played the same character for a while and talk about them like an old friend. There's more on this below.
Dice they'd pick themselves
Match their taste, and find out what they already own. Metal dice are heavy and loud, so check they have a tray before you buy a set.
Spell cards
For spellcasters, a deck of spell cards saves flipping through the rulebook in the middle of a fight. Check that the deck matches the rules their group plays.
A custom mini
Great if their table plays on a physical map. Sites like Hero Forge sell both printed minis and digital files for 3D printers, so read which one you're buying.
The book they asked for
Get the exact title and edition, and ask which rules their group uses. Check whether they want a printed book, D&D Beyond access or both. Some listings offer physical and digital bundles, so read the selected format before buying.
A notebook for session recaps
If they write down everything that happened last session, a good notebook gets used every week. It's cheap, and it's personal once it fills up.
Gifts for Dungeon Masters
Table gear they'll use
A DM screen or a battle mat suits an in-person game. Measure the table first, because a mat that hangs off the edge ends up in a closet.
Portraits of their NPCs
A painted villain gets a reaction the moment it hits the table. Ask which NPC the players love to hate, and that's your subject.
Terrain for the big fight
A few pieces of terrain turn a final battle into a set piece. Ask what their next big fight is, and buy for that one.
A night off
Offer to run a one-shot so they get to play for once. It costs nothing, and it gives them a turn on the other side of the screen.
When a portrait is the right gift
A portrait works when they've lived with a character for a while. They know the scar and the ridiculous hat, and they've never seen either one outside their own head.
You need a few details to order one. Get their character's name, plus any pictures they've used, like a HeroForge mini or a Pinterest board. If you can't get those without spoiling the surprise, ask their DM. DMs keep notes.
You can also order the portrait and let them fill in the details. The brief comes after checkout, so they still get the surprise and they make the choices about their own character.
A guess
"They play an elf, so any elf portrait will do."
A useful brief
"Pale hair, the white wolf, and that patient little smile. Those are the details their group would recognize."
For the whole party
A party portrait makes a great end-of-campaign gift. Each character is its own order, and I paint them one by one before bringing them together, so everyone also gets their own portrait. One person collects the details, and each player keeps a say in their own character. The party portrait guide covers the rest.
Price and timing
Half-body is $99, thigh-up is $139 and full-body is $199. The format guide shows what each one includes.
Plan ahead. Portraits open in turns through a waitlist, so join early for a holiday or birthday. Tell me the date when your turn comes and confirm the concept and finished-file schedule before you commit. Leave time for review, revisions and any printing or framing.
The portrait arrives as a digital file. If you're printing and framing it, give the print shop a few days too.
Skip these
- A book they already own. Check their shelf, or ask which rules their group uses.
- Table gear for an online group. Ask how they play before you buy anything big.
- A portrait of a retired character, unless it's a memorial for one they loved.
- A custom gift with a date you haven't checked. Ask about timing before you pay.
A gift doesn't need to cover their whole hobby. One thing that fits the way they play is enough.
Gift questions
What's a good D&D gift if I know nothing about the game?
Ask the three questions above. If you still can't choose, a gift card for their favorite game shop lets them pick.
Are dice a boring gift?
Dice they'd pick are a great gift. Random dice join the pile.
Can I surprise someone with a portrait of their character?
Yes. Get the details from their group or their DM, or order it and let them write the brief themselves.
Does the portrait come framed?
It arrives as a high-resolution digital file, big enough to print. You can print and frame it wherever you like.
Turns out all those mimic stories were research.
If a portrait fits, join the waitlist on the portrait page early, and I'll text you when your turn comes.
