D&D 5E Last Chance for Idle Q4 Product Speculation

[Parmandur]

So, ladies and gentlemen, today is the 3rd Tuesday of August. Throughout 5E's lifetime, the latest WotC have announced any Q4 book has been Eberron: Rising from the Last War on the third Tuesday of August in 2019. Every previous Q4 book had been announced in June or July.

Given the entire Coronavirus situation, it might be that the Q4 book isn't coming out on the normal 3rs Tuesday of November timeslots, but Icewind Dale is in line with previous Q3 Adventure books, and WotC has already announced the Dungeons & Dragons Great Dalmutti card game for the third Tuesday in November.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying, I expect that WotC will announce the Q4 book they have been talking about soon, if it isn't leaked first. Given that, any last minute speculation or wishlisting that anyone wants to get in while we still have a chance?

So far, the evidence by my tea-leaf reading seems to point either either to another Setting book (probably Planescape if so), or a Xanathar's Guide 2: Eldritch Bugaloo situation. I hope a good selection of the material they've been testing makes it in, and I really hope the new Race approach is a radical change for the better.

 

[Morrus]

There's some 'race'-related stuff coming up. A couple of people I hired to do work on that specifically suddenly quit to do conflicting jobs they couldn't refuse. It can't be anybody but WotC. Nobody else pays that well! They do work a year or two in advance though.

 

[Parmandur]

There's some 'race'-related stuff coming up. A couple of people I hired to do work on that specifically suddenly quit to do conflicting jobs they couldn't refuse. It can't be anybody but WotC. Nobody else pays that well! They do work a year or two in advance though.

Well, that's interesting: they might have a multipronged plan on that front. What they said about the Q4 book (which they've hinted at here and there in streams and such) specifically on this front in their diversity statement is:

"Later this year, we will release a product (not yet announced) that offers a way for a player to customize their character’s origin, including the option to change the ability score increases that come from being an elf, a dwarf, or one of D&D's many other playable folk. This option emphasizes that each person in the game is an individual with capabilities all their own."

They haven't previewed this aspect in UA, and it's a bit late to do that at this point, so I'm very curious to see what they have cooking...

 

[Retreater]

I predict the new product will be "Announcements & Announcers."
But seriously, I think it will be something like a campaign setting for Innistrad to be able to shift Strahd and Ravenloft to the MtG world in their WotC intellectual property. Something MtG-related is my guess.

 

[Morrus]

Well, that's interesting: they might have a multipronged plan on that front. What they said about the Q4 book (which they've hinted at here and there in streams and such) specifically on this front in their diversity statement is:

"Later this year, we will release a product (not yet announced) that offers a way for a player to customize their character’s origin, including the option to change the ability score increases that come from being an elf, a dwarf, or one of D&D's many other playable folk. This option emphasizes that each person in the game is an individual with capabilities all their own."

They haven't previewed this aspect in UA, and it's a bit late to do that at this point, so I'm very curious to see what they have cooking...

I can't think they'd be hiring people this late in the year for that. It's August, and you can't print and ship stuff that quickly. So maybe some followup next year.

 

[Parmandur]

I can't think they'd be hiring people this late in the year for that. It's August, and you can't print and ship stuff that quickly. So maybe some followup next year.

Or, indeed, further out.

 

[Retreater]

Or, indeed, further out.

I would expect an announcement about when to expect the announcement.

 

[Morrus]

I would expect an announcement about when to expect the announcement.

I think I love you.

 

[ccs]

A book that there's an even 50/50 chance of my being interested in.


Seriously, I've found a pattern in WoTC releases. Of three consecutive books?
1 will be something I'll definitely buy.
1 will be something I'm just not interested in.
And the other one has a 50/50 chance of being either.

Well, we've just had Theros (buy), & Wildmont (skip), so the next book will be the 50/50 one.....

 

[Ruin Explorer]

A book that there's an even 50/50 chance of my being interested in.

Truth.

Personally I'm somewhat skeptical that we'll see anything major in Q4, at this point. I think Xanathar's 2 is inevitable, and it'll have "the race stuff", but it's likely coming out no earlier than early next year if people have been hired for it recently.

If it is a setting book, my guess is it won't be an extant D&D setting, based on the survey. That said, if they do make a surprise Planescape setting, and actually have the Factions in it and so on (not the terrible Monte Cook version that 4E inexplicably used), then'll I'll buy the fanciest physical version they have, maybe twice if they get DiTerlizzi back for the art (and buy it on Beyond as well of course).