To play the popular tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons (DND) you need dice, rules, paper, a pencil, an adventure, an imagination, and other players. However, there are days when you can’t get the gang together or you just don’t have the bandwidth to play. How do you scratch that adventuring itch? 

You can read.

Here are five books that will make you feel like you’re in a Dungeons and Dragons adventure:

5. Homebrew (Metagamer Chronicles) by Xavier P. Hunter

Creating a character to play is a fundamental part of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, with an emphasis on fun! But how would you survive a DnD adventure with your real-life skill stats?

That’s the situation Gary finds himself in. Useless in a fight and trapped in a world he created, Gary could die in the next bar brawl. He has to prove his worth to the team if he wants to survive long enough to find a way home.

There are three books in the series.

4. The Stray Spirit (The Lutesong Series) by R.K. Ashwick

Leveling up can take time. It can take much longer if you have to utilize a possessed item that won’t shut up.

At least that’s Emry Karic’s experience. He’s just a bard trying to impress and gain membership into the Auric Guild. That is until an unnatural earthquake changes everything. Now Emry’s lute is possessed by the talkative forest spirit, Aspen, and she needs Emry’s help.

Book two, The Spirit Well, is out on March 18, 2024.

3.  Drinks and Sinkholes (The Weary Dragon Inn series) by S. Usher Evans

There’s always something going on at the local Inn, or so it seems in DnD adventures. 

That’s not the story for The Weary Dragon Inn. Or at least it wasn’t. Proprietor, Bev, has no memory of who she used to be five years ago. Now her days are filled with running the Inn and baking her famous rosemary bread. Until sinkholes start appearing and threaten to swallow up the whole town. Now Bev is putting on her sleuthing hat to find out who – or what – is responsible.

Book five, Magic and Molemen, is out on March 26, 2024

2. Sword and Thistle (Tales of Aedrea) by S.L. Rowland

There are no age restrictions on playing Dungeons and Dragons. But the real, active life of a seasoned adventurer can wreak havoc on your body. Or is that just the aging process in general?

Dobin Thornhill is all about that adventurer life, even if his aging body is less willing these days. His next quest is dangerous and can’t be done alone, but the pay is life-changing. Maybe it’s time to retire from solo adventuring and join up with some new companions. 

1. Tools of a Thief (A Series of Decisions of Kairas) by D. Hale Rambo

For DnD adventurers looking to retire and maybe open, say, a coffee shop (you know what I mean) there’s always one last job. At least that’s what Zizy Zaker has been promised.

Pressed into a job she can’t say no to, Gnome Rogue Zizy is resigned to her fate as a thief. But fate comes in many shapes. Following a chance meeting with bold knowledge seeker, Laysa, and an unexpected tragedy, it could be Zizy who is at risk of having something precious stolen.

The final book in the series, Routes of a Ranger, is out on April 25, 2024.

Share your Dungeons and Dragons reading recommendations and/or experiences in the comments.