D&D 5E D&D's Classic Settings Are Not 'One Shots'

In an interview with ComicBook.com, WotC's Jeremy Crawford talked about the visits to Ravenloft, Eberron, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, and (the upcoming) Planescape we've seen over the last couple of years, and their intentions for the future.

He indicated that they plan to revisit some of these settings again in the future, noting that the setting books are among their most popular books.

We love [the campaign setting books], because they help highlight just how wonderfully rich D&D is. They highlight that D&D can be gothic horror. D&D can be fantasy in space. D&D can be trippy adventures in the afterlife, in terms of Planescape. D&D can be classic high fantasy, in the form of the Forgotten Realms. It can be sort of a steampunk-like fantasy, like in Eberron. We feel it's vital to visit these settings, to tell stories in them. And we look forward to returning to them. So we do not view these as one-shots.

- Jeremy Crawford​

The whole 'multiverse' concept that D&D is currently exploring plays into this, giving them opportunities to resist worlds.

When asked about the release schedule of these books, Crawford noted that the company plans its release schedule so that players get chance to play the material, not just read it, and they don't want to swamp people with too much content to use.

Our approach to how we design for the game and how we plan out the books for it is a play-first approach. At certain times in D&D's history, it's really been a read-first approach. Because we've had points in our history where we were producing so many books each year, there was no way anyone could play all of it. In some years it would be hard to play even a small percentage of the number of things that come out. Because we have a play-first approach, we want to make sure we're coming out with things at a pace where if you really wanted to, and even that would require a lot of weekends and evenings dedicated to D&D play, you could play a lot of it.

- Jeremy Crawford​

You can read more in the interview at ComicBook.com.

 

[Remathilis]

I specifically said I don't like the monster lore in 5e, and don't use it.

Then those monsters should have never been reprinted in the Monster Manual and new monsters made to take their place. Better forgotten than mangled.

 

[mamba]

so they gave him back to Dragonlance, where Hickman could have him pointlessly killed

the adventure very clearly does not intend for the party to kill him

Then WoTC decided to get his advice on Ravenloft because of his love for the setting.

it resulted in what is widely regarded as the best adventure for 5e, so that seems to have worked out well for them

He had nothing to do with the setting book

 

[mamba]

...no, they wouldn't have been as upset. The paragraph worth of information that most domains had would have been sufficient, DMSGuild could provide the rest.

can’t that detail be added to some DMsG publication regardless? I assume it has, did not check.

Not sure why that paragraph makes a difference

 

[thundershot]

Taking Spelljammer as an example.. they left a lot of stuff unanswered or fleshed out, so another book with that expanding it, even bundled into an adventure, would be great for me, at least.

 

[Velderan]

the adventure very clearly does not intend for the party to kill him

@QuentinGeorge was referring to a storyline in the War of Souls trilogy.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The continuity in TTRPGs is not the same than comics or movies. In the tabletop the DM can change radically the lore to stop players who know too much thanks internet.

A zombie apocalypse in Falkovnia is a videogame for children comparing with the previous dystopia, to use a softer word. And now the rules are different, for example the mind-control powers are taboo. Goodbye the love potions because relations have to be consensual and that type of things.

Do we know how Vecna escaped the demiplane of dread? Maybe it was his fault. Or when a dark lord dies then the dark domain could be rebooted.

What about Innistrad? If this plane has got a Shadowfell, maybe some old domains are relocated there. Maybe Ravnica also has its own "Shadowfell", working practically like a mash-up crossover with White Wolf's World of Darkness.

What if there are secret links in the metaplots of Ravenloft, Innistrad and the future Duskmourn?

* The reboot or retcon may be necessary because gameplay reasons, for example to explain how the new classes and PC species are added.

* My opinion is for a long time the metaplot of all settings (but maybe FR) will be "frozen" or stopped, because Hasbro would rather this to be written by screenwritters for cinematographic productions, or videogames.

* WotC worries more about the lore when it is for the main media, where the money is moving, and within the TTRPG market this can be changed.

* I am afraid WotC worries more about the new generetion of players, the future source of incomes, before the old veterans or grognards. Then they are more willing to sacrifice the continuity. The priority is to get new fans before keeping the loyalty by the old ones.

It sounds like they are willing to sacrifice the old fans, however reluctantly, if it helps get them new ones.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Then those monsters should have never been reprinted in the Monster Manual and new monsters made to take their place. Better forgotten than mangled.

I'm so sorry I prioritize a campaign setting over monster lore.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Scro is still a horrible name for astral orcs. It sounds as scrotum.

What about the Vodoni empire and the sphere wars in Spelljammer?

Shouldn't D&D cosmology include oficially the parallel timelines? What if in the Greyspace appeared "parallel Oerths"? Dragonlance is a good example to explain we need the option lore may be different, for example the age of mortals didn't start in Krynn yet, or the Cataclysm was avoided.

Chronomancers could be a transitional setting about order of chronomancers working as a timecop/Time Variance Authority and keepers of "time spheres", like demiplanes created to safe "nexus events", for example the birth of the time-traveler although this killed his grandfather in the original timeline. And also like the Hollow World of Mystara, a "Snowball" to keep without changes ancient species and civilitations.

And the "uchronies" or parallel universes could allow collabs and crossovers.

* Today they aren't so interested into selling the lore of old settings because this can be found free in internet.

* We could see a spiritual succesor of Red Steel/Savage Coast but not in Mystara but in other world.

* Today Greyhawk is like one of those "theme parks" imitating a previous age of the past. Nostalgia is not enough to sell. If it worked, then we would watch a wave of remakes of old cartoons and TV series.

* Yes, maybe they are willing to sacrifice the old players to earn a new generation. And they are more focused into the digital market, the VTT and videogames.

* Nentir Vale could become a transitional setting style "reverse isekai", about receiving visitors and sending traders and explorers to other wildspaces.

* How would be the cultural shock if a planar gate was opened from Kamigawa: Neon Dinasty to Gamma World?

 

[Mecheon]

I'm so sorry I prioritize a campaign setting over monster lore.

What are we even saving from the old ones?

Har'Akir has a city now, which was.... Basically implied by the number of Egyptian-themed critters in every single. Seriously, you could not find a place for all of those Egyptian critters in the domain as written in 2E
Falkovnia was trying to be Historical Vlad, where there really isn't any player facing horror other than 'Oh he's a jerk and oops your druid has set a bear on him but we buffed him to stupid levels and his whole thing is being grumpy that he can't invade other places, which are far more advanced and this setting does not logically function how are people not trading technology" which. How is the players suppose to interact with this? Whereas "Endless zombie apocalypse and a general endlessly sacrificing their people" is at least something the players can, y'know. Interact with.
I'Cath was a glorified advertisement for Kara Tur, and it was also just referencing the movie "A Chinese Ghost Story", because that's all Tsien Chiang was. Her ruining everything in an unobtainable dream at least does something rather than a reference to a comedy movie that, let's be honest, has a liiiiitle bit less pop-culture impact than say, Dracula
Sri Raji isn't around any more , which is frankly good given how it handles "Actually worshipped IRL goddess Kali". Just saying, actual IRL goddess who's thing is destroying Evil (and sometimes going a bit too far) is probably not the goddess you want involved in that. This one was unsalvagable and deserved to be destroyed, continuity be damned. Seriously, the whole gimmick of it was "Welcome to Ravenloft, they don't like outsiders" which was.... Oh, wait. Basically the gimmick of every other bloody domain. Except this time it was India and not pop-culture Transylvania
Urik was "Yup its another vampire (But this time there's a bit werepanther) just in a slightly different area. Changing it to "Congratulations its now the Deadliest Game" makes it unique and not just "Strahd but this time he's looking for a furry (to avoid that whole 'wife finds out about the werepanther curse and gets murdered' by her being into it)".
I don't even remember what original Dementleiu was, but the revamp has its whole themes of facade
Also like, Lamordia. Just a big case of "First time reading Frakenkstein and not realising that Frankenstein is the monster, not Adam", plus its weird anti-athiest tone it took. Viktra goes far more with the Hammer horror feel plus, y'know. Makes Frankenstein the monster and her creation somewhat innocent (i mean she stole corpses but, look)
The Dreamlands losing its, frankly, downright racist use of "Yeah those are entirely Australian Aboriginals" and, once again, actual IRL creator spirit the Rainbow Serpent being repurposed as "Spooky big bad nightmare creature" alongside a bunch of made ups was always One Hell Of a Look

I mean I gues you may want the Red Wizard flavour from old Hazlan as opposed to the "Weird magic" one it has at the moment. But what's worth it from these settings that the new ones won't do the trick? Did enough people care that much about a Ravenloft that isn't even big enough to support people with the farmland it was supposed to have?

 

[QuentinGeorge]

@QuentinGeorge was referring to a storyline in the War of Souls trilogy.

Indeed I was. That was what he was used for immediately after being removed from Dragonlance. (Hickman had nothing to do with Shadow of a Dark Queen)