Gnomeless Adventures: Book Series

2-Book Bundle (both Books + Printed Maps + Dice + Tray)

$99.95 $125.90

Bundle Options: 2-Book Bundle (both Books + Printed Maps + Dice + Tray) DM Bundle (with Maps, 1 set of Mystery Dice, and 1 Dice Tray) Module and Maps Bundle Forgotten Bonds - Module Only

The DM Bundle Contains:

- One paperback Gnomeless Adventures: Forgotten Bonds book (154 pages!)
- A complete set of high-quality, printed battle maps for each encounter
- One set of mystery dice in a velvet dice bag
- One dice tray

The Module and Maps Bundle Contains:

- One paperback Gnomeless Adventures: Forgotten Bonds book
- A complete set of high-quality, printed battle maps for each encounter

The 2-Book Bundle Contains:

- One paperback Gnomeless Adventures: Forgotten Bonds book (154 pages!)
- One paperback Gnomeless Adventures: Shipwrecked book (158 pages!)
- A complete set of high-quality, printed battle maps for both books
- One set of mystery dice in a velvet dice bag
- One dice tray

Sound familiar?

You want to run a game.
You just don't know where to start.

You've played D&D. You love it. Your friends keep saying someone should DM. But every time you think about actually doing it, the same doubts creep in.

I don't know the rules well enough to be in charge of them.

I'll spend hours prepping and still feel unprepared at the table.

What if my players go completely off-script and I freeze?

I've never run combat before. What if I mess it up?

I don't want to ruin everyone's night.

I don't even know how to start the session.

The real problem

Most modules give you a story.
None of them teach you how to tell it.

D&D 5e gives you rules and adventures, but it doesn't actually teach you how to run a game. That gap is exactly why so many players never make the jump to DM.

📚

Prep takes forever

Most DMs spend 2 hours preparing for every 1 hour of play. New DMs read the whole module, take notes, and still find themselves flipping through pages mid-session.

I read enough from the module to fit in one session and took notes... when the time came I couldn't even remember the context to some of my notes.

r/DMAcademy

⚔️

Combat is overwhelming

Managing initiative, monster stats, player abilities, and hit points simultaneously can cause new DMs to freeze, forget abilities, and lose their momentum.

I get all the numbers so jumbled in my head. I'm flipping between the monster manual and the DM book and I still can't figure out what my monster roll means.

r/DnD

🌀

Players go off-script

The moment their players ignore the plot hook, new DMs panic. Without knowing how to improvise or redirect, sessions often grind to a halt or end early.

I hit full panic and ended the session early, apologized, and left. I had no idea how to handle a fun idea that one of my players had.

r/DMAcademy

The solution

Gnomeless Adventures™ was built to solve all of this.

This isn't just an adventure module, it's a guided experience that teaches you how to DM while you're running it. The instructions are baked into the book itself and easy to follow:

1

Choose Your Adventure Forgotten Bonds is a Level 1 Adventure, perfect for new DMs. Read through the adventure once and you're ready to roll.
2

Follow the Built-in DM Guide Learn to handle everything from pacing and stats to turning player decisions into memorable moments.
3

Prepare the Table From the clear narration prompts to the battle maps and reference images, everything you'll need to run your first game is included within each module.
4

Level Up as a DM! After your first Gnomeless Adventure, you'll have the confidence to run another game! Test your skills with Shipwrecked, a Level 2 Adventure!

Your path from new DM to confident DM

What Do The Levels Mean?

The levels of Gnomeless Adventures™ refer to how difficult each adventure is to run for your players. As a new DM, we recommend starting with a Level 1 Adventure, then moving to Level 2, and finally Level 3 as your confidence grows.

Level 1 Adventure

Best starting point

The easiest campaign for new DMs. Level 1 Adventures typically feature a linear storyline, a limited number of NPCs to manage, and more built-in hand-holding while you run the game.

Level 2 Adventure

Build your skills

Builds on the skills learned in a Level 1 Adventure. You’ll manage a wider map, more directions for players to explore, additional NPCs and encounters, and slightly more generalized instructions within the book.

Level 3 Adventure

Full campaign difficulty

The most difficult option for a new DM. A Level 3 Gnomeless Adventure™ is comparable to an official D&D adventure you’d find on a game shop shelf, with an open-world story, many places to explore, and more NPCs and encounters to manage.

Start at Level 1 and work your way up. If you can confidently pick up and run a Level 3 Gnomeless Adventure™, you’ll have the skills needed to run nearly any off-the-shelf D&D campaign.

Forgotten Bonds - Level 1

(For Beginner DMs)

Your players wake up in a stream, injured and disoriented. A mysterious woman is standing over them, desperately urging them to resume their quest to find and defeat the necromancer known as Shiv.

Can the party regain their memories and finish their quest? Or will this undead plague continue to spread across the land?

Shipwrecked - Level 2

(For More Advanced DMs)

Your players meet as strangers on a ship set for the neighboring continent of Thuryn. Their fates collide as a mysterious beast attacks the ship one stormy night, destroying the ship and leaving your players to wash up on a nearby island - battered and bruised, with only the items they were able to hang on to during the attack.

Can your players survive long enough to find a way home, or will the island and its mysteries devour them whole?

Gnomeless Adventures: Forgotten Bonds DM Bundle — book, maps, dice, tray

Everything you need

The DM Bundle: From Setup to Final Battle!

One box. Everything you need to run your first game.

📖

Full Color Module (154 pages!) Full one-shot story arc with NPCs, monsters, narration prompts, and step-by-step GMing instruction built right in.
🗺️

Printed Battle Maps High-quality printed maps for every encounter. Lay them on the table and play! No printing, no setup.
🎲

Mystery Dice Set One set of mystery dice in a velvet bag. Every great DM deserves a new set of dice!
⬡

Hexagonal Dice Tray Keep your rolls contained and your table looking sharp.
👤

Character Sheets & Tokens Everything your players need to sit down and start playing. No downloads or extras required.
✅

5 & 5.5E Compatible Built to work with either D&D 5th Edition version! If your group has played before, they already know the system.

From the community

Real players. Real frustrations.
Real reason this exists.

These are the actual conversations happening on Reddit right now, in the communities where your future DMs live.

r/DMAcademy

New DM here. How do you deal with how overwhelming being a DM can be? I feel like I need to know everything before I can run anything.

First-time DM ▲ 847

r/DnD

There is a lot of work that goes into being a DM. It's like being a teacher. You need to create a lesson plan before every game... It's like 10x the work compared to being a player.

r/DnD thread ▲ 1.5K

r/DMAcademy

I hit full panic and ended the session early. I had no idea how to handle what my players were doing. I just froze.

New DM ▲ 2.1K

r/DungeonMasters

The problem with 5e is that the DM's guide teaches you how to build a world, but not how to actually run the game. Other systems do this so much better.

Experienced GM ▲ 139

r/DnD

I'm a new DM and I'm horrible at combat. I get all the numbers so jumbled in my head. I'm flipping between the monster manual and the DM book and still can't figure it out.

New DM ▲ 312

r/DungeonMasters

I'm easily overwhelmed. I need something easy to run but still rich enough to be fun. I've been a player for years and I just want to try DMing without it being a disaster.

Experienced player, first-time DM ▲ 94

Is this for you?

Gnomeless Adventures™ is built for new DMs.

✓ This is for you if...

✓You've played D&D as a player before
✓You want to try running a game but don't know where to start
✓You want something you can prep in an evening
✓You want a complete, physical product you can bring to the table
✓You want to run a fun one-shot for your friend group
✓You want actual guidance on how to DM, not just a story to read

✕ This probably isn't for you if...

✕You've never played D&D at all (we recommend starting as a player or watching some instructional videos first)
✕You're looking for a very long, multi-session campaign in a highly intricate world setting
✕You're an experienced DM looking for a complex challenge (although many experienced DMs have also enjoyed this adventure!)

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions:

No. Forgotten Bonds is designed for people who've played D&D as a player and want to try running a game. You don't need to be a rules expert. The module walks you through everything you need to know to run this specific adventure, and the built-in DM guide covers the basics of actually running the table.

Forgotten Bonds is designed as a one-shot adventure, typically running 5-8 hours depending on your group's pace and how much they engage with the story. It's built to be completed within 1-2 sessions, perfect for a game night.

The adventure is designed for 2–4 players plus the DM. Character sheets and tokens are included for the full party, with optional NPC character sheets included as well in case you need more party members.

The DM Bundle includes the adventure book, printed battle maps for every encounter, a mystery dice set in a velvet bag, and a hexagonal dice tray. The Module and Maps Bundle includes the book and printed maps. The Module Only option is for DMs who already have maps and dice. We recommend the DM Bundle for first-time DMs - having everything in one box makes everything nice and simple.

Yes. Forgotten Bonds is fully compatible with both 5E and 5.5E versions. If your group has played D&D 5th Edition before, they already know the system. You just need to learn how to run it - which is exactly what this module teaches.

No. No AI-generated content was used in the creation of this product. Forgotten Bonds was written by Daryen O'Dell and the GM experience was designed by Mike O'Dell. All artwork and illustrations were created by the Gnomeless Games team.