D&D 5E The New D&D Book: Candlekeep Mysteries: 17 Mystery Adventures [UPDATED!]

The cover of the upcoming D&D book has been revealed! Candlekeep Mysteries is an anthology of 17 mystery-themed adventures for character levels 1-16. The image has appeared on Penguin Random House's product page for the book. UPDATE! Penguin's product page appears to have now vanished, but we now have the product description! Thanks to @Fezzwick for spotting that! An anthology of...

The cover of the upcoming D&D book has been revealed! Candlekeep Mysteries is an anthology of 17 mystery-themed adventures for character levels 1-16.

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The image has appeared on Penguin Random House's product page for the book.



UPDATE! Penguin's product page appears to have now vanished, but we now have the product description! Thanks to @Fezzwick for spotting that!

An anthology of seventeen mystery-themed adventures for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.

Candlekeep attracts scholars like a flame attracts moths. Historians, sages, and others who crave knowledge flock to this library fortress to peruse its vast collection of books, scribbled into which are the answers to the mysteries that bedevil them. Many of these books contain their own mysteries ̶—each one a doorway to adventure. Dare you cross that threshold?

· 17 mystery-themed D&D adventures, each tied to a book discovered in the famed library fortress of Candlekeep
· Easy to run as stand-alone mini adventures or to drop into your home campaign
· Adventures span play from levels 1 to 16
· Includes a full poster map of Candlekeep, plus detailed descriptions of the various locations, characters, and creatures that reside within it
· Introduces a variety of Dungeons & Dragons monsters, items, and non-player characters (NPCs)

Candlekeep Mysteries is a collection of seventeen short, stand-alone D&D adventures designed for characters of levels 1–16. Each adventure begins with the discovery of a book, and each book is the key to a door behind which danger and glory await. These adventures can be run as one-shot games, plugged into an existing Forgotten Realms campaign, or adapted for other campaign settings. This book also includes a poster map of the library fortress and detailed descriptions of Candlekeep and its inhabitants.


There have been mentions of an upcoming adventure anthology since 2019, with Kate Welch's name attached, along with other celebrity adventure writers including Critical Role's Marisha Ray, and actor Deborah Ann Woll. There were also suggestions that the authors might all be women. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow!

 

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Also, for those focusing on the word "Mysteries", remember that that could mean a number of things outside the stereotypical Agatha Christie fare. It could also apply to characters investigating mysterious locations (or persons or beasts for that matter). "There are rumors of a strange new power in the forest", "All who have investigated that cave have never returned", "Where are all the goblins suddenly coming from and why", and so on are all mysteries.
 


Younger DMs without enough experience aren't ready for investigation games. And we shouldn't forget some players want to use magic like a magictek version of CSI, but also criminals could use magic or alchemy to erase possible clues. This is also a challenge when you are designing an investigation game, in different ages of real world. Could the fingerprints to be the proof for a trial in a D&D realm? Or to use alchemy to discover who is the true father of a alleged ilegitimate child, or to know if the blood from a taint in a murder scene is by male or female, or by humanoid or from a farm animal. Are there microscope to watch cells and tissues? What is the level of chriminology as science in D&D worlds? Could shapesifting magic be used to become a hound, or a boar, with a good smell to detect subtances, and possible poisons, in a crime scene?
 

Lidgar

Gongfarmer
Personally I am not going to get too hung up on the "mystery-themed" wording on the cover. That looks like a nice marketing schtick to get folks interested. It's 17 different adventures (that's a nice amount!), so my guess is it will be a bunch of short (8-10 page) adventures that accommodate a variety of playstyles with hooks to other "mysteries", perhaps all loosely linked.
 


Stormonu

Legend
Also, for those focusing on the word "Mysteries", remember that that could mean a number of things outside the stereotypical Agatha Christie fare. It could also apply to characters investigating mysterious locations (or persons or beasts for that matter). "There are rumors of a strange new power in the forest", "All who have investigated that cave have never returned", "Where are all the goblins suddenly coming from and why", and so on are all mysteries.
If they are "here there be dragons" or "track down the missing Dr. Livingstone", I might be able to get behind that, but I would consider that more exploration-style that mystery-style adventures, personally.
 

Personally I am not going to get too hung up on the "mystery-themed" wording on the cover. That looks like a nice marketing schtick to get folks interested. It's 17 different adventures (that's a nice amount!), so my guess is it will be a bunch of short (8-10 page) adventures that accommodate a variety of playstyles with hooks to other "mysteries", perhaps all loosely linked.
I'm guessing there will be some sort of linking plot for a DM to use if they want. I also wouldn't be surprised if Tasha's patron system also comes into play here, with a patron assigning the mysteries/adventures.
 

Burnside

Space Jam Confirmed
Supporter
In theory I'm interested, but with a few caveats:

1. I very much hope it's new material and not adventures mined from earlier editions
2. Mysteries are NOT something that 5E has done particularly well so far
3. I hope the emphasis is more on good storytelling and less on tables and new "mystery mechanics" that I will never use
4. That cover is bad.
 


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