Legends of Greyhawk: Heralds of the Old One comes to D&D Beyond in October 2026: three adventures for levels 5 to 10 from Baldman Games, set in the Land of Iuz and the Horned Society. The Ruins of Castle Greyhawk follows in November with four more. Both run in the Legends of Greyhawk organized play campaign, or as one-shots at your own table.
James wants to know if his level 1 cleric can go. Arthur has the campaign guide open and a calculator beside it. Short answer: not yet. The long answer is 10 adventures, and it is a better deal than it sounds.
Heralds of the Old One: release date and what is in it
D&D Beyond's Q4 2026 partnered content schedule lists Heralds of the Old One for October, publisher Baldman Games, edition 5.5e (the 2024 rules), levels 5 to 10 [1]. Its pitch: "Journey through the Land of Iuz and the Horned Society to unravel a far-reaching and deadly conspiracy orchestrated by an old foe, Iuz the Evil!" [1]. Wizards has not given an exact day in October yet; the schedule names the month only.
| Month | Title | Publisher | Levels | Adventures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | Heralds of the Old One | Baldman Games | 5-10 | 3 |
| November 2026 | The Ruins of Castle Greyhawk | Baldman Games | 5-10 | 4 |
| December 2026 | Beasts of Johrase | West Coast Adventurer's Guild | 1-4 | 4 |
All three are "approved for play in the Legends of Greyhawk organized play campaign" or as home one-shots [1]. Castle Greyhawk promises three towers and the dungeons beneath them [1]. Greyhawk is having a year: Wizards has Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch Queen on its 2027 slate, covered in our Gen Con 2026 recap.
What Legends of Greyhawk is
Legends of Greyhawk is Wizards of the Coast's shared campaign: you build one character, play adventures anywhere they run, and keep your levels and loot from table to table. The official Legends of Greyhawk page lists three ways in: the D&D Discord, local game stores, and conventions, with monthly Virtual D&D Weekends and dates at Gamehole Con (15-18 October) and PAX Unplugged (4-6 December) [2]. Each adventure is one session of two to four hours [3].
What you need, per the campaign guide [3]:
- The 2024 Player's Handbook or the free D&D Beyond Basic Rules.
- A D&D Beyond account or a printed character sheet.
That is the whole shopping list. The Basic Rules are free.
Making a character: the rules that trip people up
The guide is short, and four of its lines catch new players [3]:
- Everyone starts at level 1. No jumping in at level 5.
- Only the 2024 Player's Handbook and the Basic Rules. In the D&D Beyond builder, untick every source and the "All" box under Partnered Content. Legacy content is out.
- No rolled ability scores. Standard Array or point cost only. If your group loves rolling, our guide to rolling ability scores still applies at home, not here.
- No evil alignment.
You may also pick a home region from the Dungeon Master's Guide Greyhawk Gazetteer. Ten are "supported locations", where adventures happen more often, and hailing from one "may provide you with additional benefits": Bandit Kingdoms, County of Urnst, Domain of Greyhawk, Duchy of Urnst, Furyondy, Highfolk, Lordship of the Isles, Veluna, Verbobonc and the Wild Coast [3].
James picks Furyondy because it sounds like "fury". Arthur says the region should give the character a reason to care about the adventure's villain, and goes to find the Dungeon Master's Guide map.
The maths: 30 adventures from level 1 to level 10
Legends of Greyhawk has no XP. You level by counting adventures. The guide's table [3]:
| From level | Adventures to next level |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 to 10 | 4 each |
Added up, with two to four hours per session [3][6]:
| Reach level | Adventures from level 1 | Hours at the table |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2-4 |
| 3 | 3 | 6-12 |
| 5 | 10 | 20-40 |
| 7 | 18 | 36-72 |
| 10 | 30 | 60-120 |
So Heralds of the Old One needs 10 adventures behind you before your character qualifies. A fresh level 5 character who plays all three Heralds adventures and all four Castle Greyhawk adventures reaches level 6, three adventures into the four needed for level 7 [6]. Each character may play each adventure only once [3], so seven adventures is the ceiling for those two bundles.
One adventure a week gets you to level 5 in two and a half months, and to level 10 in about seven. That is a real campaign's length, spread across strangers.
Fixed hit points: the guide takes the dice away, in your favour
When you level up, the guide says to use the Fixed Hit Points by Class table, not rolls [3]. SRD 5.2.1 sets those values: 7 + Con for Barbarians, 6 for Fighters, Paladins and Rangers, 5 for Bards, Clerics, Druids, Monks, Rogues and Warlocks, 4 for Sorcerers and Wizards [4].
Each fixed value sits half a point above the die's average. Over nine level-ups (2 to 10) we worked out how often rolling would have beaten it [6]:
| Hit Die | Fixed total, levels 2-10 | Rolled average | Chance rolling ends lower |
|---|---|---|---|
| d6 (Wizard) | 36 | 31.5 | 78% |
| d8 (Cleric) | 45 | 40.5 | 72% |
| d10 (Fighter) | 54 | 49.5 | 68% |
| d12 (Barbarian) | 63 | 58.5 | 65% |
Constitution adds the same either way, so it is left out. The rule sounds like a restriction. It is a gift two times in three.
Treasure, limits and death
At the end of each adventure you choose your treasure, which may include magic items; anything you found during the adventure stays behind [3]. The cap depends on tier:
| Levels | Magic item limit |
|---|---|
| 1-4 (tier 1) | 5 Common, 1 Uncommon or Rare |
| 5-10 (tier 2) | 5 Common, 3 Uncommon, 1 Rare or Very Rare |
Tier 2 is the tier Heralds plays in. SRD 5.2.1 describes it as the tier where characters are "full-fledged adventurers" [4]. At the cap, taking a new item means dropping one, old or new [3]. Physical magic item cards go to players with verified D&D Beyond accounts, and most can be traded, one-for-one, with someone who played the same adventure [3].
Death is real. If nobody revives you by the end of the adventure, you stay dead, unless the party carries your body to a town and pays 2,500 GP for Raise Dead [3]. Everyone present may chip in, and your own gold counts [3]. Split five ways, that is 500 GP each [6]. (Dying is free. Coming back is where they get you.) The spell must land within 10 days of death and returns you at 1 Hit Point [4].
Why a shared campaign pulls you back
Two findings explain the hook.
The closer the reward, the harder we try. Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng studied a café loyalty card: customers bought coffee more often as they neared the free one, and cards handed out with two bonus stamps already on them were completed faster [5]. Legends of Greyhawk runs on the same card. "Three of four adventures to level 7" is a stamp card, and the fourth stamp pulls hardest.
Collect ten stamps, get one evil demigod free.
Games that meet three needs hold us. Ryan, Rigby and Przybylski found that players' sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness in a game predicted enjoyment and wanting to play again [7]. A shared campaign covers all three: you choose where to play and what to take (autonomy), levels and magic items show you growing (competence), and a character known at three stores and a convention brings people with it (relatedness).
The warning that comes with both: a stamp card can pull you to the table on a week you wanted off. The guide lets you decline advancement to stay at a level you like, at the price of that adventure's treasure [3]. Use it if the counting starts running you.
Should you play Heralds of the Old One at home?
Yes, if your group is between levels 5 and 10 and likes Iuz as a villain. The adventures are built for two-to-four-hour sessions [3], which suits a group that can't meet for six hours. Organized play or home, the adventure is the same. What organized play adds is the shared record: your cleric's history travels with you.
Table Talk
James: Ten adventures before Iuz. I'll be there by Christmas.
Arthur: One a week, you'll be there in two and a half months. Nobody plays one a week.
James: I do now. It's a stamp card. You said so.
Arthur: I said it works like one. That was a warning.
James: Fixed hit points, though. You can't argue with 68%.
Arthur: I don't. My tip: pick one of the ten supported regions. Adventures land there more often, and the DM gets a hook for free.
James: Mine: save 500 gold before tier 2. Raise Dead is a group bill.
References
- D&D Beyond. "Q4 2026: Partnered Content Release Schedule." 2026. https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/2235-q4-2026-partnered-content-release-schedule
- D&D Beyond. "Legends of Greyhawk." Official campaign page, accessed 28 September 2026. https://www.dndbeyond.com/en/legends-of-greyhawk
- Wizards of the Coast. Legends of Greyhawk Guide, version 0.5 (beta), 24 July 2025. Sections: What You Need to Play; Character Creation; Playing Adventures; Treasure; Gaining Levels; FAQ. https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/Legends_of_Greyhawk_Guide_v0.5_July_2025.pdf
- Wizards of the Coast. System Reference Document 5.2.1. 2025. CC-BY-4.0. Sections: "Character Creation" (Fixed Hit Points by Class; Tiers of Play); "Spells" (Raise Dead). https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/srd/5.2/SRD_CC_v5.2.1.pdf
- Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006). The goal-gradient hypothesis resurrected: Purchase acceleration, illusionary goal progress, and customer retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.1.39
- DnD Dice Roller. Legends of Greyhawk odds script: adventures per level from the guide's table; 2-4 hours per adventure; Raise Dead 2,500 GP split evenly; fixed vs rolled Hit Points over nine level-ups, exact distribution, Constitution excluded. 2026.
- Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., & Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: A self-determination theory approach. Motivation and Emotion, 30(4), 344–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-006-9051-8
