Our next season for Dungeons & Dragons is almost here with Season of Magic. Centered around the release of the major releases of Arcana Unleashed and Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, this season brings a new mini campaign for D&D Encounters designed to immerse players in new character options as well as build excitement for the epic new adventure taking on the Red Wizards of Thay and Szass Tam.

If you want to learn all about our seasons as well as the details around the D&D Encounters play program, we covered it in our article introducing our first season, Season of Horror. Here, we will discuss the specifics of Season of Magic and how you can get involved.

D&D Encounters: Season of Magic

Our second season of D&D Encounters has players returning to the fan-favorite world of the Forgotten Realms to take on the machinations of the Red Wizards of Thay in D&D Encounters: Red Wizards' Gambit. This season features the following play elements:

• A robust, three-hour Celebration event to kick off the season, taking place when Arcana Unleashed and Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall are released
• Four Weekly Play sessions (approximately 90 minutes to two hours each) designed to keep players coming back each week for more
• Level 3 play to start, with advancements to levels 4 and 5 through weekly play
• Exciting showdowns with the vile Red Wizards of Thay, the featured villains of both Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall and the newest campaign of the Dungeon Masters, the official D&D actual play series.
• Play support through both digital and physical kits (see eligibility information below)

New This Season

We have two updates this season, based on store feedback and program changes.

• Physical kits will now include 25 large promotional d20s as a participation reward, replacing the folders from the first season.
• Premade characters of levels 4 and 5 will now be available as a PDF download, alongside the level 3 premade characters available in both print and PDF, taking the pressure off players to level a character when using a premade character.

Season of Magic Play Kits

D&D Encounters Celebration and Weekly Play adventures will be accessible to everyone through a digital play kit downloadable through the WPN website and D&D Beyond. WPN stores in select regions will have access to a physical play kit containing materials to entice players to join a game in-store, positioning your store as the premier place to play. 

How to Get a Digital Play Kit

All stores will have access to the digital play kit. It provides all materials as a PDF that are needed to run the adventure, though the digital play kit does not include the physical rewards for players and DMs.

Digital play kits contain the following materials:

• PDF of the D&D Encounters seasonal adventure material (Celebration and Weekly Play)
• Premade characters
• Tactical maps used in the Celebration event
• Organizer instructions

Digital play kits will be downloadable from the WPN website's Marketing Materials page beginning August 12. Stores will also receive five D&D Beyond claim codes via email on August 12, which they can distribute to Dungeon Masters. DMs can then claim the adventure and maps free of charge starting on the first day of early access.

How to Get a Physical Play Kit

Physical play kits contain the following materials:

• 5 printed copies of the D&D Encounters seasonal adventure material, including both the Celebration event and Weekly Play
• A pack of 20 premade characters (5 packs with 4 different characters in each pack) for use during the season
• 5 printed double-sided tactical maps used in the Celebration event
• Player rewards for up to 25 players (exact reward may vary from season to season)
• Rewards for up to 5 Dungeon Masters (exact reward may vary from season to season)
• Printed organizer instructions

Physical play kits are limited to the first 1,000 qualified stores to schedule D&D Encounters Celebration events (check the events page for the current season's Celebration event for scheduling details).

Physical play kits are available in English only and are being offered only in the following countries for Season of Magic: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand. We're evaluating expansion to additional markets for future seasons.

To support broad and active participation in D&D Encounters seasons, priority for Season of Magic physical play kits will be given to stores that meet either of the following criteria:

• The store did not receive a physical kit for the previous season, or
• The store received a physical kit for the previous season and reported play data for that season

All stores, regardless of physical play kit availability, will still receive access to the digital kit and D&D Beyond claim codes for their Dungeon Masters.

Season of Magic Marketing Materials

Additional marketing materials for each season will be available to download from the Marketing Materials page.

Key Dates: Season of Magic

Frequently Asked Questions

How limited are the physical play kits for D&D Encounters?

For this season, we are producing 1,000 physical play kits. These are limited to stores in US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand; and one per store while supplies last. Each play kit supports up to 25 players and five Dungeon Masters. If you have more players, digital play kits can provide the playable content needed to scale up as needed. We will assess future physical kit production based on program engagement in stores.

How do I get the adventure material for each season of D&D Encounters?

WPN stores that schedule D&D Encounters events will have access to downloadable PDF versions of the adventures approximately 2-3 weeks before the start of the season. These can be distributed to your Dungeon Masters so they can begin preparing.

In addition, we will send five D&D Beyond claim codes for the adventure material. These should be distributed to your Dungeon Masters and will allow them to claim the seasonal adventure free of charge on D&D Beyond on the first day of early access for the major seasonal release.

Print versions of the adventures are included in the physical play kit—enough copies for five Dungeon Masters to have one.

Why are there scheduling restrictions on D&D Encounters?

D&D Encounters events gather more than just the community of players at your store—they are shared moments in time everywhere a group chooses to participate. Everyone playing the same adventures at the same time builds a powerful connection and helps players feel like they are part of something big. D&D Encounters Celebration events will only be schedulable for the first month, starting on the Friday after early access begins where available or the Friday after wide release for other regions. For D&D Encounters Weekly Play, we recommend scheduling events from Wednesdays to Sundays.

What do I do after the D&D Encounters season has concluded?

Once the season is finished, we recommend that you keep the same day of the week as your D&D day. You can offer other D&D play opportunities during this time, such as continuing with material from the most recent release, hosting Legends of Greyhawk or Adventurers League games, rerunning the D&D Encounters sessions for those who may have missed them, or empowering your Dungeon Master community to come up with other exciting adventures available nowhere else. Before you know it, a new season of play will be around the corner, with exciting new adventures and options available.

We look forward to this new era of seasonal D&D play and supporting your store to make it exciting and engaging every time!

---