2020 Father’s Day DnD Gift Guide

The Perfect Gift for your Nerdy Dad  

No idea what to get your nerdy dad for Father’s Day? Want to get him something special for his D&D hobby but you’re not sure what he wants/already has? No worries mate, I’ve got you covered. No jargon, no assumptions, give us just a minute and we’ll go through the top 10 gifts that will be perfect for your D&D dad.

11: D&D Miniature Blind-Boxes

$14.99-19.99, no prior knowledge needed, great for DMs.

There are quite a few different miniature lines out there, and picking the perfect one for your dad takes quite a bit of knowledge about his current games. If you don’t know all the specifics I really recommend you get him one or more blind boxes. There are a ton of varieties with different sets, but you’re never going to be wrong. Each box will contain 4 pre-painted miniatures, usually with one large mini and 3 small ones and each one will be of use. Every D&D player could use more monster minis to flesh out their games, and these blind boxes will always be a welcome gift. Try mix and matching a few boxes from different series for a larger gift or picking a box out from a particular series if you know your dad is playing a specific correlating adventure path.

10: D&D Acrylic Condition Rings

$29.99, track various conditions easily!

This Acrylic Condition Ring Set comes with 72 Status Rings in 18 conditions that you can hang off your NPC and PC minis to track what Dungeons and Dragons conditions are affecting them. These rings make tracking status effects during combat so much easier, definitely better than using colored rubber bands or colored bottle cap.

9: C4Labs Dice Tower

$34.99, portable, unlike other dice towers.

Dice towers are sort of a gimmick but they’re fun and most players rarely have one already. If you’re unfamiliar, dice towers “contain” your die rolls by letting the dice topple down a tower rather than risk flying across the table to be lost in the shag carpeting. I particularly like this model from C4Labs for a couple of key reasons. Firstly, it’s very easy to disassemble and put back together, so unlike other dice towers, it’s actually reasonable to pack this one up for your next game. Secondly, I love that it’s clear, you get to see your dice tumbling down which I really enjoy. My only issue with them is that they’re a bit noisy but then again that’s half the fun of these things.

8: Master’s Tome DM Screen

$19.99, inserts make it great for any game.

It’s a DM screen so you’ll want to make sure your dad DMs first, but if he does this will make a perfect gift. DM screens basically conceal what the DM is doing so the players can’t snoop, while also providing rules reminders and such on the inside. I recommend the Master's Tome DM Screen because it has pockets meant for inserts and a bunch of inserts already made for both DnD 5e and Pathfinder. Because they can be changed out, this screen can be used for any game and your dad can tailor-pick what he wants for reminders, cheat sheets, and damage trackers. It advertises as “dry-erase” but doing so can leave some unwanted smudges, I recommend grabbing this but using wet-erase markers for it to keep it reusable.

7: Gloomhaven

$100-ish, for your D&D dad without a playgroup.

Does your dad love D&D and other nerdy role-playing games but doesn’t have a playgroup? Grab him Gloomhaven, which is pretty much the closest thing to a full pen and paper experience in a box. Gloomhaven can be played solo or with up to 4 people, and it doesn’t require a DM, the game does all the work. You and your dad can set up a weekly game, advance through the storyline and unlock characters together. I highly recommend Gloomhaven if you don’t understand roleplaying but want to enjoy it with your father, or if your dad loves the hobby but doesn’t have a friend group to enjoy it with.

6: D&D Spellbook Cards

$15 to 20-ish, for your father, the mighty spellcaster.

You’ll have to figure out what class your dad plays and make sure that your father is playing 5th edition D&D (the newest version and it’s the most popular so he probably is). If he does, in fact, play 5th edition and play any form of spellcaster then he’ll love these spell cards. Basically, these cards just repeat the rules from the main book, but they make for handy reference cards that are easy to pull out when you prepare your spells. Grab the “Arcane” spell cards if he plays a sorcerer, wizard, or warlock. Or grab the corresponding card set for whatever class he plays (ranger spells if he’s a ranger, druid spells if he’s a druid, Etc.). 

5: Potion Bottles

$16.99, for the dad who runs a game with THEATER.

It may seem odd if you’re unfamiliar with the hobby, but trust me, your dad will love these. He’s not going to use them for flower arranging though, it’s a common prop idea to take some funky glass bottles and use them as magical potion bottles. You either fill them with dice for healing potions or roll up notes to use the message in a bottle style that explains what the potion does. It’s a great bit of roleplaying theater and if your dad is a DM he’ll love them. You can find a whole mess of different sizes and styles online, I just picked out the arrangement that has some of the best value I could find. You can even try your luck at local hobby shops and dollar stores if you want to pick something up locally (or forgot about Father’s Day until the last minute).

4: Steampunk Dice Box and Dice

$39.99, for the dad who loves metal!

Dice are great, dice boxes are great, but how about a dice-box shaped like a skull? The Steampunk Bundle from Skullsplitter dice has amazing value and your dad will be using these dice for years to come. It includes 2 metal d20s which is extremely cool and other rusted-looking dice sets he’s unlikely to have already. In general, I just love the theming here, and it has a ton more going for it than a simple dice set. It just sets a wonderful mood when you pull a skull out of your bag and start rolling heavy metal!

3: Erasable Tokens / Erasable Playmat

$15.99/$25.99, for the dad who DMs a lot.

You can get all sorts of maps, tokens, and miniature sets, but eventually, every DM runs into a creature or object that they don’t have a mini for or an area they didn’t plan for. Erasable Tokens fix that problem by letting you simply write in what the “thing” is and erase it later. And Erasable Mats let you draw in whatever map you need and wipe it away once you’re done. The tokens work great for oddball monsters, spell area effects, and anything else that crops up unexpectedly. And the mat allows you to set up every scenario you didn’t see coming. Both together are some of the finest tools in the DM’s arsenal. Really more useful for a DM than a player, so figure out what your dad normally plays before picking either of them up.

2: D&D Rulebook Gift Set

$225-ish, for when you want to spoil your nerdy dad.

This is all about the bling. Most of these rules are pretty easily accessible online are the foundational core rules of the game. This set takes those books and dresses them up in absolutely gorgeous covers and puts it all together into a smart box set. Even if your dad already has some of these books, they’ll love the glorious special edition and show it off to the rest of their gaming group. You can find some bling-ed out special editions of other books, but this Core Gift Set is guaranteed to have books he’ll use. Plus the bonus DM screen is extremely nice and I know I’d love to peer menacingly over it at my next game.

1: Skullsplitter Metal Dice Set

$30-ish, best pick for any nerdy dad.

I personally own a LOT of dice, they collect into my dice bags to be forever mixed into the growing dice collection. But there’s one set that has always been kept separate and I’ve ended up using constantly for years now. I got gifted a Skullsplitter Dice Set and It’s been my go-to dice set ever since. They’re metal and just feel great to hold and to roll, and they’re so satisfyingly heavy. What kept them separate for me was the little metal case they came in that was small and easy to keep in my gaming bag.

They’re called “dwarven chests” or “warlock tomes” depending on the design, but make sure you buy a set that has one. They have a lovely foam form-fit interior for the dice and the padded top doubles as a little dice tray. Even if your dad has literal mountains of dice, he’ll still be excited to get a set of these. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love these; I think I’ve used mine every week for about 4 years now? They come in a ton of different varieties and many are regularly sold out, so grab the color you think he’ll like best when you can!

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Last updated: January 27, 2019

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