Candlekeep Mysteries

Summary

Candlekeep Mysteries is an anthology of one-shot adventure modules that use Candlekeep Library as a central hub and starting point. While the book provides extensive background on the Sword Coast location, it also offers advice for Dungeon Masters to integrate the adventures into other campaign settings such as Exandria, Eberron, and Greyhawk. If set in the Forgotten Realms, the presumed year is 1492 DR. The adventures, listed in order of presentation with their recommended levels and authors, are: The Joy of Extradimensional Spaces (level 1) by Michael Polkinghorn; Mazfroth's Mighty Digressions (level 2) by Alison Huang; Book of the Raven (level 3) by Christopher Perkins; A Deep and Creeping Darkness (level 4) by Sarah Madsen; Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme (level 4) by Ari Levitch; The Price of Beauty (level 5) by Mara Holmes; Book of Cylinders (level 6) by Graeme Barber; Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor (level 7) by Derek Ruiz; Lore of Lurue (level 8) by Kelly Lynne D'Angelo; Kandlekeep Dekonstruktion (level 9) by Amy Vorpahl; Zikran's Zephyrean Tome (level 10) by Taymoor Rehman; The Curious Tale of Wisteria Vale (level 11) by Kienna Shaw; The Book of Inner Alchemy (level 12) by Daniel Kwan; The Canopic Being (level 13) by Jennifer Kretchmer; The Scrivener's Tale (level 14) by Brandes Stoddard; Alkazaar's Appendix (level 15) by Adam Lee; and Xanthoria (level 16) by Toni Winslow-Brill.

Publication history

The anthology was officially announced on January 12, 2021 and released on March 16, 2021. The standard cover was designed by Clint Cearley, while an alternate art cover edition by Simen Meyer was available only through local game stores. Corey Plante, for Inverse, noted that 18 authors are credited, including D&D mainstays like Narrative Designer Ari Levitch, Creative Writer Adam Lee, and Senior Story Designer Chris Perkins, with the full list mixing high-profile players, podcasters, and game designers.

Digital versions were released through D&D Beyond, Fantasy Grounds, and Roll20. Chris Perkins commented on the development, saying it reminded him of working on Dungeon Magazine, and that short adventures are in some ways harder to pull off than longer ones due to space constraints, and that asking someone to write a mystery is a challenge that takes time. After publication, author Graeme Barber requested his name be removed from further printings, stating that editorial reductions resulted in the Yuan-ti being evil for evil's sake, the Grippli having their culture stripped out, and colonialist language and imagery being inserted.

Other contributors reportedly enjoyed more inclusion in later editing stages, and public comments criticized Wizards of the Coast for cutting contact with Barber before substantially altering his submission. Barber acknowledged that Wizards of the Coast had no contractual obligation to inform him of the changes. Wizards of the Coast has not publicly commented.

Reception

In Publishers Weekly's Best-selling Books Week Ending March 25, 2021, Candlekeep Mysteries ranked #4 in Hardcover Nonfiction with 19,542 units sold, dropping to #24 the following week. In USA Today's Best-Selling Books for the week ending March 21, 2021, it placed #18. CBR's 2021 list of the five best stories in the anthology included Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme, Sarah Of Yellowcrest Manor, A Deep And Creeping Darkness, The Price of Beauty, and The Scrivener's Tale.

Screen Rant's 2021 list of the top three adventures named The Joy of Extradimensional Space, The Scrivener's Tale, and Kandlekeep Dekonstruktion. Charlie Hall, for Polygon, noted that the adventures feature some of the best writing of this generation of D&D, with delightful complications, and that the art direction is unusually strong, with each chapter having a different look and feel, while the maps are simple and unadorned. He also mentioned that the book contains subtle nods to previous 5th edition campaigns, and that despite being structurally an outlier, it fits in with the rest of the 5th edition material.