Kyle Newman - Heroes Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook

As dedicated Dungeons & Dragons players and Dungeon Masters, we grew up poring over a wide variety of D&D products, all of which taught us a new vocabulary of the imaginary through its art and gameplay. Only now as directors and writers, can we begin to understand the far-reaching effects the game and its art had on our burgeoning imaginations, informing our ability to conceptualize and tell stories. Accordingly, we want to first thank everyone who contributed to creating and expanding upon this incredible game over the last forty-five years. We continue to draw inspiration from the game and feed these ideas back to the world in the media we create, forming a cycle of creativity that all leads back to this amazing game.

In order to bring a project with this broad a scope and this much complexity to market, it certainly took a village. This book wouldnt have been possible without the help, support, and dedication of dozens of individuals beyond the author team. For starters, much love and thanks to our families and friendswhile too many to count, they are our constant source of love, support, and inspiration. Next, to the people and organizations that truly made this piece possible: thank you to the incredible efforts and talents of publisher Aaron Wehner (who conjured the book idea with the D&D team), Emma Rudolph (editor), Kelly Booth (creative director), Emma Campion (deputy creative director), Kimmy Tejasindhu (production editor), Shaida Boroumand (approvals coordinator), Dan Myers (production manager), Mari Gill (production designer), Ray Katchatorian (photographer), Valerie Aikman-Smith (food stylist), Glenn Jenkins (prop stylist), Conceptopolis (illustrators), Tamara White (photo retoucher), Jane Chinn (color manager), Hannah Rahill (SVP backlist strategy and development), Daniel Wikey (assistant marketing director), Windy Dorresteyn (VP of marketing), Lauren Kretzschmar (publicity manager) and the rest of the team at Ten Speed Press, who shared our passion and vision for this project. Our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the team at Wizards of the Coast, D&Ds publisher and our licensing partner, who not only allowed this project to take place but helped us with amazing insights. Special thanks to Nathan Stewart, Liz Schuh, Hilary Ross, Adam Lee, Christopher Perkins, Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Greg Tito, David Gershman, Shauna Narciso, and all the other fine folks who helped us. This is not to forget the incredible recipe developer and chef responsible for making a delicious reality of the fantasy dishes we compiled and conceptualizedour infinite thanks to Adam Ried! Also, a warm thank-you to Matthew Lillard of Beadle and Grimm, Joe Manganiello of Death Saves, and Stefan Pokorny and Nate Taylor of Dwarven Forge, who all loaned us many amazing artifacts from their respective companies and collections, as well as Justin Goby Fields of Sanctum Studios, who custom-made several of our D&D magical items. A hearty thank-you to our literary agent, Jacques de Spoelberch, who flawlessly managed the business side of things and offered us continuous support and guidance. Last, but not least, a very special thank-you to all of the D&D designers and artists over the years who truly made this book possible.

Kyle Newman is a Hugo Award-nominated author and award-winning filmmaker who has directed numerous feature films including the Star Wars-fueled comedy Fanboys starring Kristen Bell and Seth Rogen and the action-comedy Barely Lethal starring Samuel L. Jackson and Hailee Steinfeld for A24 Films. He has created music videos for the industrys top artists including Lana Del Rey (Summertime Sadness) and Taylor Swift (Style). Kyle also produced the critically acclaimed documentary Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, as well as the thriller Happily alongside Jack Black. He also crafted the story for the Netflix Original animated feature Gnome Alone. In 2018, Penguin Random House published his first book Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcanaa history of the worlds preeminent role-playing gameto great acclaim including nominations for Locus and Hugo Awards. Newman, an honors graduate of NYUs Tisch School of Film/TV and a member of the Directors Guild of America, resides in Los Angeles with his two sons.

JON PETERSON is widely recognized as an authority on the history of games. He co-authored Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana (2018), which was a finalist for a Hugo Award. His book Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People and Fantastic Adventures, from Chess to Role-Playing Games (Unreason Press, 2012) revolutionized games scholarship with its rigorous source-driven methodology. Frank Lantz, director of NYUs Game Labs, called Playing at the World the best book thats ever been written about one game. The Village Voice called it the first serious history of the development of Dungeons & Dragons. The book is frequently taught at a university level, and Jon often lectures on games history at universities, conferences, and conventions. He has contributed to academic anthologies on games, including MIT Presss Zones of Control (2016) and Routledges Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations (2018). Jon also writes for various games and geek culture websites, including Boing Boing, the Escapist, and Gamasutra, as well as maintaining his own blog.

MICHAEL WITWER is a bestselling author known for his work on the Hugo-nominated Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana (2018) and the critically acclaimed Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons (Bloomsbury, 2015). He holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and has a diverse professional background that has ranged from his current position as communications director of a national healthcare services firm to significant work in the gaming market. Through his work as an author, Michael has been featured on NPRs All Things Considered; spoken at Google, Pixar, and Lucasfilm; and served as a featured speaker at many of the top gaming conventions and book festivals. His books have won many honors, including being selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month, a GeekDad Best Book of the Year, a Geek.com pick for Best Coffee Table Books, and the Irish Examiners 2018 Best Book, while his other writings have appeared on Slate.com, Tor.com, Signature-reads.com, and GeekDad, where he is a regular contributor. Michael resides in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, two daughters, and two sons.

Afterword: Playing with Your Food

Playing Dungeons & Dragons is nothing if not a social experience. You get together with your adventuring companions, and you laugh, you sweat, you cry, and you bond. And you probably eat. That is after all the meaning of the word companion, the people you break bread with.