D&D General Greyhawk to Faerun and Beyond: A Multiversal D&D Lore Book Is Coming This Fall

This coming October, a 360+ page hardcover which delves into Dungeons & Dragons' various worlds and settings will be released. The book isn't from WotC--it's from Ten Speed Press--but it's by Adam Lee, who wrote for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. The book comes full of 50-years of artwork, and is narrated by the famous wizard Mordenkainen. Additionally, the book contains some original fiction.

Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond is available for pre-order already.

The book covers Greyhawk, Mystara, Dragonlance, Faerun, Eberron, the Feywild and Shadowfell, Spelljammer, the Nine Hells, the Abyss, Sigil, and the Far Realm. It's a book of lore and story, not a rulebook, giving an overall of D&D's entire multiverse and its many worlds.

​

Celebrate fifty years of the spellbinding settings and planes of Dungeons & Dragons with this beautifully illustrated exploration of the multiverse.

Worlds & Realms is an illustrated, story-driven retrospective celebrating the immersive worldbuilding of D&D since the iconic game’s inception in 1974. Legendary mage Mordenkainen takes adventurers on a fantastical journey through the multiverse, delving into memorable and fascinating lore and locations across all five editions of the game.

With Mordenkainen’s guidance, readers will revisit worlds that have come to define D&D over the decades, from the familiar realms of the Material Plane to lands beyond the Astral Sea. Mordenkainen’s philosophical musings provide a mage’s-eye view of the worlds’ unique features, creatures, and characters, captivating readers’ imaginations as they learn more about the history and mysteries of the multiverse. Additionally, readers will join adventuring parties with inhabitants of each realm through exclusive short stories by award-winning contributors Jaleigh Johnson, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, Jasmine Bhullar, and Geoffrey Golden.

Full of exciting and enchanting artwork showing fifty years of gameplay evolution from vintage D&D through the present, with original cover and chapter-opener illustrations, Worlds & Realms is a spellbinding tour of the strange and wonderful worlds of the multiverse, appealing to both new and long-standing fans alike.

Polygon has some previews of the book.

 

[Yaarel]

The list of several world settings within the same Material Plane, implies these are planets scattered across outer space.

The easiest way to reach them is by hypespace the Astral Plane of thought. But they coexist in the same universe.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Can you just enjoy something? It’s a pure lore book about the various settings of D&D and lots of people are interested in that.

I love lore, you know that. But there are reasons why this lore book does not appeal to me.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I love lore, you know that. But there are reasons why this lore book does not appeal to me.

Cause you have preconceived prejudice about a book you haven’t read.

Like I get you have some of the older books. But having seen nothing you assume it has no value.

 

[Estlor]

I have a hard time picturing what Mystara brings to the table for them. A third kitchen sink setting in the mix would be a weird choice for them to make. The only thing I can see them doing is a Glantri-focused project, since they haven't done anything with true magocracies in 5E.

The best I can come up with is most settings concern themselves with the morality axis of the alignment (good vs evil) whereas Mystara - as a side effect of how alignment was in BECMI - is more concerned about order vs chaos. But a lot of times they kind leaned into chaos = evil anyway so that's a bit of a stretch.

I mean, clearly Mystara is present because the Known World is one of the oldest D&D settings and was the setting of an entire arm of the game for 20+ years so anything presented as a book spanning the history of D&D needs to at least name-check it. Opening the IP to anyone on Beyond feels unlikely because of the obvious pitfalls of some of the cultures. New in-house content feels unlikely because there just isn't much it brings that Forgotten Realms doesn't already meet.

 

[Remathilis]

The best I can come up with is most settings concern themselves with the morality axis of the alignment (good vs evil) whereas Mystara - as a side effect of how alignment was in BECMI - is more concerned about order vs chaos. But a lot of times they kind leaned into chaos = evil anyway so that's a bit of a stretch.

I mean, clearly Mystara is present because the Known World is one of the oldest D&D settings and was the setting of an entire arm of the game for 20+ years so anything presented as a book spanning the history of D&D needs to at least name-check it. Opening the IP to anyone on Beyond feels unlikely because of the obvious pitfalls of some of the cultures. New in-house content feels unlikely because there just isn't much it brings that Forgotten Realms doesn't already meet.

I oddly think Mystara could work if it was redone as a radiant citadel type project: give chapters to each of the major nations and if that nation has a particular culture, let someone from that culture remake it to align with proper cultural norms rather than old stereotypes. It would be a reinvention of the setting like Ravenloft was, but maybe it's the way the setting lives.

Mystara to me always felt more bright and hopeful than other settings. Due to the BD&D elements, it had limited planar elements and more weird fantasy. Lots of animal people, ancient "future tech" and emphasis on adventure and exploration. I think you could absolutely make a true to spirit Mystara if you exclude the ugly cultural stereotype.

 

[mamba]

Cause you have preconceived prejudice about a book you haven’t read.

Like I get you have some of the older books. But having seen nothing you assume it has no value.

a third party cannot really come up with new lore, it can only rehash existing lore. If you have that lore already, then it does not offer all that much of interest.

Kinda like a greatest hits album from a band you have all the actual albums of. You can still buy it, but it is a lot less interesting than a proper new album.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Cause you have preconceived prejudice about a book you haven’t read.

Like I get you have some of the older books. But having seen nothing you assume it has no value.

I have seen very little in current lore that measures up to what previous editions had to offer, and much I don't care for. This book is basically a guide to using lore I don't like. Why would I spend money on it?

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I have seen very little in current lore that measures up to what previous editions had to offer, and much I don't care for. This book is basically a guide to using lore I don't like. Why would I spend money on it?

This is not even by Wizards. Anyway I am not asking you to buy the book, just saying there is no reason to assume it sucks based on the nothing that you know.

 

[M.L. Martin]

The best I can come up with is most settings concern themselves with the morality axis of the alignment (good vs evil) whereas Mystara - as a side effect of how alignment was in BECMI - is more concerned about order vs chaos. But a lot of times they kind leaned into chaos = evil anyway so that's a bit of a stretch.

The excerpts from the book suggest Mordenkainen's chief concern is the Balance between Law and Chaos. I know very little of Greyhawk, so while I know Mordenkainen has always been big on Balance, I don't know if it's always been an L/C balance or if it was the G/E balance a la Dragonlance and this is a shift. If the latter, it may indicate a shift in the game as well. In that case, given the direction of WotC and the overall fan culture, I strongly suspect that the sympathies will be more with Neutrality or Chaos, with Heaven being nearly as unpleasant as Hell.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is not even by Wizards. Anyway I am not asking you to buy the book, just saying there is no reason to assume it sucks based on the nothing that you know.

I know it's based on the current lore, and I know that I like parts of that lore less than previous versions, and I know that they are excluding aspects of the lore that a book purporting to cover the D&D multiverse shouldn't exclude.