Forgotten Realms: Astarion's Book of Hungers - First Impressions

Astarion's Book of Hungers probably doesn't contain enough content to justify its $15 price tag unless a player is absolutely set on playing a dhampir or a vampire-adjacent character in their D&D campaign. Released today alongside the wide release of the new Forgotten Realms books, Astarion's Book of Hungers features a new species (the dhampir, receiving some minor adjustments from its last appearance in Von Richten's Guide to Ravenloft), three new backgrounds, and a collection of vampire-themed feats. Also included in the set are a handful of new monster statblocks and three stripped-down adventures in the vein of the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, all of which are set in the Rat's Run Tavern and are themed around Astarion's extended vampire spawn family.

The new adventure content is also the first of a new kind of product for Dungeons & Dragons - digital "DLC" tied to the release of a physical product. Astarion's Book of Hungers is one of three DLC for the new Forgotten Realms books and can be purchased either via a bundle with the Forgotten Realms books or individually for $15. The price point is where I'm really struggling with this content. Based on the $60 price point of Heroes of Faerun and the 194-page count, one would expect this DLC to have around 50 pages of content in it. It's hard to get an exact page count on this since it's digital, but it certainly feels a lot skinnier than that.

The content itself isn't disappointing - the dhampir contains some minor updates from its last iteration to make the lineage into a standard species. Some of the feats could also be combined to create either a flavorful vampire aspirant or a holy vampire slayer. The new monsters are interesting, especially the new devils that are tied to Mephistopheles. However, I really expected a bit more from this DLC. At the very least, we could have gotten a history of Astarion himself, especially as he's the central character of the book. I suppose Wizards is banking on anyone who purchased this book to have already played through Baldur's Gate 3, but I'm just stunned that there's not more of a focus on Astarion outside of a couple of quick adventures in which players are expected to save him from his vampire kin.

I've expected more digital-exclusive paid content on D&D Beyond for a long while, at least since Hasbro executives complained that D&D was "undermonetized." The key to these releases is to find the right price point and the right amount of content. To be blunt - Astarion's Book of Hungers isn't it. Maybe if the price were lower or if there was more content, this would feel less like a cash grab and more like true add-on content. While I don't mind what we got, I feel like the price point dictated more. Maybe the other DLCs will be more robust, but Astarion's Book of Hungers fell short.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

yeah, I meant if sales numbers were identical, ultimately this will be decided by how many copies they sell

It's a fixed cost vs unit cost thing. Obviously on line sales have a low unit cost compared to a print book. However, the fixed costs are equivalent when adjusted for length. So, if this sells as well as or better than print, it will likely be more profitable. However, if sales are low, then the fixed costs (paying the salaries of the writers and artists) become more significant, potentially making it unprofitable.

One of the things I've noticed is that these three products are quite different in content type. Book of Hungers is focussed on player facing options, Netheril more on lore. It looks like they are conducting tests to see what kind of content works best for online sales.


Now, that's enough on the cost and format, can we get back to discussing the content now please?

 

[TravDoc42]

I really do like what is in here, for what it's worth!! The harvester and speaker devils were nice surprises to see back, and I'll definitely use both of them!

The vampiric feats are great as well, I have players who love vampires and who will enjoy using them with their dhampir characters.

The Vampire Devotee background also comes with a surprisingly sultry piece of art:

 

[Weiley31]

How are the feats? Good or terrible? How many?

 

[TravDoc42]

How are the feats? Good or terrible? How many?

There are 16 in total! 3 are Origin Feats, and 3 are Epic Boons, leaving 10 General Feats! I quite like them, there's a nice mix of cool ideas in them, reflecting both vampires and vampire hunters!

 

[TravDoc42]

How are the feats? Good or terrible? How many?

Oh, and one of those Origin Feats (Vampire's Plaything) has an option for the player, with DM consent, to have a telepathic tie to their former vampire master! A really cool idea, IMO!

 

[Remathilis]

How are the feats? Good or terrible? How many?

They are on par with the ones in Heroes of Faerun. Make of that what you will. They are flavorful, but many are limited use to 1/rest or prof per day. Most could stand a few more uses per session. I could see using some, but if you are an optimizer, you'll probably pass.