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Your Guide to Hosting an Epic Fourth Wing Party
With five books planned in the Empyrean series, there’s no better excuse to gather your fellow riders and throw an unforgettable Fourth Wing party. Hosting a Fourth Wing themed party is the perfect way for you and your book club to fully geek out over dragons, riders, and chaos.
Whether you’re hosting for your book club or just a group of fantasy lovers, this themed event lets you fully immerse yourselves in the high-stakes world of the Riders Quadrant—complete with dragon pairings, challenges, and plenty of competitive chaos.
Designed for my Double Booked club, this guide walks you step-by-step through creating a Fourth Wing party experience inspired by the trials at Basgiath War College. From themed drinks to team-based challenges, you’ll have everything you need to test your squad and crown a winning wing.
What is a Fourth Wing Party?
A Fourth Wing party is a fantasy-themed book club event inspired by the trials at Basgiath War College. Guests are divided into “wings,” compete in challenges, and participate in interactive games based on the Empyrean world.
💡 TIP: If you don’t want to serve drinks as a filler between each of the challenges, you have more options. Keep the momentum going by playing fun and quick group games, similar to those games played between rounds of Trivia Nights!
Step into the Riders Quadrant: What You’ll Need for a Fourth Wing Party
Here’s the setup for this Fourth Wing Party theme
- Event Flow Itinerary Example
- Intro: Fan Art Presentation Kick things off by showcasing fan art or visuals to set the mood.
- Battle Brief: Itinerary Overview Explain the rules, challenges, and how guests will earn points.
- Wing Assignments Divide guests into teams (wings) for competition.
- Dragon Drinks (Rounds 1–7) Serve themed drinks between each challenge to keep energy high.
- Challenge 1: The Parapet (Icebreaker Game) A fun, low-pressure activity to get everyone involved.
- Challenge 2: The Gauntlet (Trivia Rounds) Three rounds of Fourth Wing trivia to test knowledge.
- Challenge 3: Presentation Day (Game Night) Play a themed game like Cards Against Fourth Wing.
- Threshing (Final Activity) Guests discover their dragon type and signet through quizzes or surveys.
- Winning Wing Announcement Celebrate the top team with prizes and bragging rights.
5 Easy Steps to the Perfect Fourth Wing Party Setup!
This post may contain affiliate links for items that I’ve found helpful as a host. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Step 1: Budget Friendly Decor
Transform your space into a Riders Quadrant atmosphere without overspending.
Easy budget friendly decor ideas:
- Faux candles or LED lanterns
- Dragon figurines or silhouettes (check the kids’ toy section)
- Printed quotes from the book
- Dark tablecloths and metallic accents – I chose gold & black
- Parchment-style signage for challenges
- Gold and Black plate chargers
💡 Pro Tip: Use tea-stained paper for an aged, fantasy look.
Dollar stores are your best friend for disposable or inexpensive decor setup
- Black metal candle sticks & LED lights
- Glass vases and dishes (for gold candies and serving pieces)
- Frames (for table wing and Empyrean theme signs)
Step 2: Fourth Wing Menu
Food and drinks are where your theme really shines.
Menu Ideas:
- “Rider Rations” snack boards
- Flame-grilled sliders
- Dark chocolate desserts
- Spicy dips to represent dragon fire
Dragon Drinks:
Offer a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
Additional Dragon Drinks post coming soon ☺️
- Fire-themed cocktails (spicy margaritas, cinnamon whiskey blends)
- “Ice dragon” mocktails (blue lemonade, mint spritzers)
- Color-coded drinks for each dragon – this is what I did
💡 Tip: Serve drinks between challenges to maintain pacing and engagement.
Step 3: Organizing Your Guests into the Riders Quadrant
The Battle Brief
The teacher in me needed to create a visual to guide the flow of the evening.
- Working from a laptop or tablet allows you to sync and mirror image to a television for easy viewing
- Embedded links to directions, trivia, pre-show etc enable quick transitions
💡 Party Introduction Pre-show: Set the tone to your party with a looping slideshow of fan art character and Basgiath images.
I also included the fun guest images in the pre-show that I prompted AI to create as party favors. (Guests didn’t know they’d receive a guest favor with a copy of that image until the end of the party.)
💡 Keep it moving: If you skip drinks between rounds, add quick mini-games to maintain momentum.
Divide guests into teams (wings) to create competition and interaction.
How to assign wings:
- Random draw (colored cards or tokens)
- Personality-based sorting
- Pre-assigned teams for balance
Make it fun:
- Track points with a Wing Team Score Sheet PDF version or the Score Sheet Google Slide document (you will be prompted to make a copy for you to edit)
- Give each wing a name and color
- Assign a team captain
Step 4: Fourth Wing Party Challenges
This is the heart of your party!
Challenge 1: The Parapet (Icebreaker)
- “Would You Survive the Parapet?” scenarios
- Fourth Wing Dragon rider Match-up Game PDF printable (Etsy)
Challenge 2: The Gauntlet (Trivia)
Run 3 rounds, each round can be as short or long as you need.
- Vary the style of team answers
- Mix up the question formats between rounds
- Easy: General plot questions
- Medium: Character details
- Hard: Deep lore and quotes
Challenge 3: Presentation Day (Game Round)
- Game Against Fourth Wing like Cards Against Humanity style (nonaffiliate link)
- Meme or caption contests with fan art images
- Acting or charades challenges
- Who Said It? Match Iconic Quotes – quiz or flashcard game
Threshing
Don’t recreate the wheel, there are printables and online digital surveys and quizzes available to help you plan.
- Which Dragon Type from Fourth Wing Matches You Buzzfeed Personality Quiz
- What’s Your Fourth Wing Dragon? Empyrean Riders online quiz
- Fourth Wing Dragon Bonding Quiz Digital Download (Etsy)
- Which Fourth Wing Dragon Would Choose You? The Book Feed online quiz
- Discover Your Relic Signet Quiz – online quiz
- What Is Your Signet Ability? Empyrean Riders online quiz
Attendance Considerations
Knowing your guest attendance count is essential to planning if you’re planning only 4 teams (wings):
- Location & space for your guests to participate
- Event length with transition time and challenge
- 3-4 people to easily facilitate each wing’s challenge collaboration
- Themed food & drink – potluck or catered menu
Hostess Bonus Decor Ideas
This post may contain affiliate links for items that I’ve found helpful as a host. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Decor Must Haves
To get the most bang for your buck, think multi-use – what else can I use this for?
Brick Stone 5’x7′ Wall Backdrop (Amazon)
- Fabric for durability and few creases
- Substitute as a tablecloth
- Other themes: Halloween, 1920s Speakeasy, Medieval – knights, castle etc.
- Hang with or without a Studio Backdrop System from Amazon (easy 1 person assembly)
Black Sheer Arch Draping Fabric (Amazon) 2 Pk 18 foot Panels
- Use for weddings, Halloween, graduations, casino (with red & green accents), just about any party occasion
Table Centerpieces – Mix and match
- Artificial black flowers
- Small Glass Bud Vases: Set of 16 (Amazon)
- Flickering Flameless Candles: Set of 9 (Amazon) – battery operated
Adding the Small Touches
You don’t have to spend a lot to play into a specific theme. Even the strangest niche items can find life in other ways!
Black Dragon Table Runner (Amazon) – Chiffon sheer runner
- Just a fun accent, I couldn’t help it 🤷
- Other themes: Medieval, additional Empyrean series novel parties
Dragon Accents
- Mini Dragon Toy Figures (Amazon) – use the 7 colors of Fourth Wing dragons (use the rest for a birthday party theme)
Food Decor/Accents
- Newspaper Printed Cupcake Liners (Amazon) – a book style decoration
- Dragon Cupcake Toppers (Amazon) – available in both black and gold glitter designs
How to Upgrade to a Large Event
What if your book club has a large membership or you’d like to use the Fourth Wing theme for a fundraiser or trivia night?
- Break down each Wing “team” into the 3 Sections: Claw, Tail, and Flame
- Further break down each Section into the 3 Squads: First, Second, and Third
- Each Squad is assigned 15-16 members according to the novel (you can adjust as needed)
- Sections or Squads can participate as separate teams, yet can collectively tabulate their scores as a Wing
- Go really BIG! Divide your attendees into Basgiath War College’s 4 Quadrants – Riders, Scribes, Healers, and Infantry
DIY Fourth Wing Party Favors
Knowing your guests ahead of time allows you to plan the personal touch that sets your parties apart.
- Upload images of each guest to an AI image generator site
- Keep the images different by inserting a character and dragon name as an example in your prompt
- Prompt keywords: gothic fantasy style of Fourth Wing novels, costume attire of —- character riding —- dragon
- Commercially or personal print of each guest as a Fourth Wing rider on a dragon
- Affix an adhesive business card magnet to the back of each photo to give guests to display at home
Step 5: Winning Wing Celebration
End your party with a memorable finale.
Prize ideas:
- Dragon-themed trophies
- Bookish gifts (bookmarks, candles, reading journal, notepads, stickers)
- Gift cards or themed boxes
- Fourth Wing merchandise
Make it special:
- Play music or sound effects – Rebecca Yarros has promoted her Spotify playlists for each novel
- Take group photos
- Announce winners dramatically
Find even more tips about Events & Hosting and explore Party Themes and ideas for your next celebration!
Final Takeaways
A Fourth Wing party is more than just a themed gathering—it’s a fully immersive experience that brings your favorite fantasy world to life. The friendly competition with the right mix of creative decor, engaging challenges, and themed drinks, you can turn your book club night into an unforgettable Riders Quadrant event.
So gather your wing, prepare for chaos, and may the strongest riders win.
NOTE: Many of these items throughout my site are also copyrighted through my Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers store. If you download a resource from my For Grits & Shins website, they are for your PERSONAL use only. You may not sell any of my original documents or designs, even with modifications of my content.
