Prepare players to meet a monstrous menagerie of creatures in the new and improved 2024 Monster Manual with Local Game Store Early Access kicking off for stores in North America on February 4. The book releases on February 18 everywhere except Asia-Pacific, where the release dates are as follows:

March 21 for Australia and New Zealand
April 25 for the rest of Southeast Asia

This book contains iconic D&D favorites and a whole host of mighty new monsters and breathtaking creature art of almost every monster!

From a new 50th Anniversary Play Series event to new marketing materials coming to eligible stores, we've got a suite of support ready for you to make the most of the final release of the newly updated Core Rulebooks.

Start the Party at the 50th Anniversary Play Series Event

For WPN stores in the U.S. and Canada, the 50th Anniversary Play Series event runs from February 4 through March 3, aligning with the Local Game Store Early Access release date. Take full advantage of this period to bring folks in-store for an engaging adventure and send them home with their own copies of the 2024 Monster Manual.

Around the rest of the world, the 50th Anniversary Play Series event aligns with the 2024 Monster Manual release date, February 18, running through March 3.

The adventures that players will participate in for the event this time is called Hold Back the Dead, set in the Forgotten Realms. In this adventure, a routine guard mission at the recently reoccupied Ironspine Keep in the Sword Coast turns into a fight for survival! Szass Tam, the leader of the Red Wizards, has sent his forces to destroy the fortress and overrun the region—and your players may be the key to stopping them!

Hold Back the Dead is a four-hour adventure for 4th level characters featuring fearsome foes from the 2024 Monster Manual. Premade characters are claimable on D&D Beyond.

The Monster Manual Play Series event will feature free claimable adventures on D&D Beyond, using pre-made characters and featuring content from the new core rulebooks. We will provide you with codes to pass along to your store's Dungeon Masters so they can access the content ahead of each event on D&D Beyond.

Neither Dungeon Masters nor participating players need a D&D Beyond subscription to access the content redeemed via codes, though they will need a D&D Beyond account—if they don't have one, signing up is free and only takes a few minutes. The adventure will only be distributed through D&D Beyond.

Tips to Run Your 50th Anniversary Play Series Event

Here are some additional details to consider when preparing for your event:

We encourage you to have players sign up for your event with their existing Wizards Account. If they don't have one, encourage them to create one.
You may consider running this event as an Adventurers League adventure as well. This should be communicated in advance to your community. Adventurers League characters should be 3rd or 4th level to participate. The adventure can be run in the Forgotten Realms (default), Eberron, or Dragonlance campaigns.
Be clear about whether you allow players to bring their own 4th-level characters for the event, or whether characters will be available day-of. Premade characters are available starting on the first event day on D&D Beyond. Adventurers League players can be seated with non-Adventurers League players at your discretion.
We recommend you recruit Dungeon Masters at least one week prior to your event's start date.
D&D Beyond account holders can redeem this adventure on D&D Beyond starting January 28; if you recruit your Dungeon Masters prior to January 28, inform them that the adventure can be claimed beginning January 28.

Hype Up the New Monster Manual to TTRPG Fans in Your Store

As we've mentioned, this new and improved 2024 Monster Manual is the mightiest yet—it includes 75 brand-new monsters and over 500 unique creatures in total. There are over 300 new pieces of artwork in the book, including stunning redesigns of the chromatic and metallic dragons for players to gaze upon in all their splendor.

Each monster has been carefully redesigned based on community feedback to be easier to run and reference, saving Dungeon Masters valuable prep time and helping craft memorable encounters for every campaign. The 2024 Monster Manual is an ideal companion to the Dungeon Master's Guide, and we recommend you encourage new and interested Dungeon Masters alike to pick up both books when they come to your event.

On our marketing materials page, you can find product shots, art and logos, and ready-to-post social media images made using key art from the book.

WPN stores in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam can find additional marketing material support on the WPN Marketing Portal. On the Marketing Portal, you'll find customizable, print-on-demand marketing materials that will print and ship directly to your store. Use the available materials to create print marketing that informs customers and engaged players alike of the events you're running in-store!

Advertise the Book and Event with Marketing Materials

WPN stores in the U.S. and Canada who reported any D&D 50th Anniversary Play Series events in 2024 will receive 20 more promotional d20 dice, themed after the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons and featuring beautiful gold flecks and numbering.

Photo of a black d20 with gold flecks and numbering.

You can use these dice as a gift-with-purchase incentive for the 2024 Core Rulebooks releases, or you may provide them to participants in the 2024 Monster Manual Play Series event; whichever works best for your store and community.

In addition, WPN stores in the U.S. and Canada who purchased 20 or more copies of the 2024 Monster Manual (through any distributor, in any mix of regular and alternate-art cover) prior to January 6 will receive a Mind Flayer standee to display in-store, serving an epic fixture in your store for years to come. This standee will help you start conversations about Dungeons & Dragons and point to the new 2024 Core Rulebooks. Plus the opening between its hands makes for a great photo op for players!

Schedule Now to Be Prepared for February Events

The 2024 Monster Manual Play Series Event kicks off in early February; don't leave your players wondering whether you'll be running an event until the last minute. Capture their attention early by scheduling your event in Wizards EventLink and advertising the details to your community.

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