The Official Elemental Evil Announcement

We've known about it since last August, but WotC has just made their official announcement about the Elemental Evil storyline slated for March. Set in the Forgotten Realms, Princes of the Apolocalypse is a campaign for levels 1-15 and includes the genasi as a new character race. Additionally, a free download in March will include more new races, and tie-ins with the Neverwinter video game will be released. The Adventurer's Handbook is not mentioned.

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One question that springs to mind is what happened to the Adventurer's Handbook? I assume it's still coming out, unless it's been changed into that free download they mention below? This is all they sent me, so I'll keep my ears open for news on the Adventurer's Handbook. It shows as cancelled here.

Also of note is a new DM screen and miniatures. Here's the press release in full.

January 20, 2015 – Renton, WA – Today, Wizards of the Coast announced the newest Dungeons & Dragons storyline and accompanying product offerings for both digital and tabletop RPG players. Coming off of the biggest and most exciting year yet for Dungeons & Dragons, the Elemental Evil storyline starts in March and runs through mid-summer. During that time, heroes are needed in the Forgotten Realms to discover and defeat secret cults that threaten to annihilate the Sword Coast by harnessing the powers of the elements of fire, water, air, and earth.

The product line-up includes the release of a new downloadable module—Neverwinter: Elemental Evil—for the highly acclaimed free-to-play Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment. Serving as an additional way for fans to experience the storyline, Neverwinter: Elemental Evil brings a new playable class—the Paladin—and increases the game’s level cap to 70. Neverwinter is set in the Forgotten Realms, and the new expansion launches in early 2015. Cryptic also recently announced Neverwinter on Xbox One will be available in early 2015 as well.

Characters in the D&D tabletop roleplaying game can help prevent devastation to the lands and people of the Forgotten Realms in the Princes of the Apocalypse adventure by Wizards of the Coast and Sasquatch Game Studio. Princes of the Apocalypse is available on April 7, 2015 and includes an epic adventure for characters levels 1–15 as well as new elemental spells and the element-touched genasi as a new playable race. In addition, a free download will be available in mid-March that includes more new races plus the player content available in Princes of the Apocalypse, just in time for the start of the Elemental Evil season of the D&D Adventurers League.

Other products tied into the Elemental Evil storyline include the Temple of Elemental Evil Adventure System Board Game and pre-painted collectible miniatures, both from WizKids Games. WizKids has also partnered with Perfect World Entertainment to bundle in-game items for Neverwinter with the Temple of Elemental Evil Adventure System Board Game and miniatures boosters. Rounding out the tabletop RPG game products is Gale Force Nine’s new Dungeon Master’s screen featuring Elemental Evil art, as well as unpainted, resin miniatures that tie into the adventure, all slated to release beginning in March.
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[clavejones]

Worries me a bit that the official press release mentioned 1st an expansion to their MMO, other products like minis and games, then, oh yeah, their pencil and paper product last.

I get the business sense behind it, but man, just wish their adventure would've led like it was their bread and butter.

 

[JohnnyZemo]

I'll definitely be getting the board game and the miniatures, but three DM screens in the first year of the edition? Seems like a lot. It's also interesting to me that they're putting the whole adventure into a single book, whereas the previous one took two. I hope the page count is suitably high.

 

[jamesjhaeck]

I think it's cool that the prophet of elemental earth is a male medusa. It's a cool elemental tie-in, and male medusas aren't something you see every day.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

View attachment 66439

Putting this on the new page so people can see the male Medusa.

 

[guachi]

The problem I have with an adventure for level 1-15 is that it's your entire campaign. It's the exact opposite of a module and has very little replay value. We have 35 year old adventures still being purchased and played because of their modularity.

I'll pass either playing or buying this. The whole process reminds me too much of the way WotC handles Magic with a new "story" every... whatever... number of months.

 

[Jester David]

Neverwinter is "highly acclaimed"? Since when?

 

[steeldragons]

So we have an avariel [cool], male medusa [interesting/unique?], a tiefling [sigh/shocker], and I can't really tell what the water guy is supposed to be other than covered in barnacles. Guesses?

 

[Psyga315]

View attachment 66432

These four seem to be the Elemental Prophets.

I recognize one of them as a Tiefling, but not the others. Is one of them a Gorgon?

 

[Jester David]

You know what would be cool?
If the product page told us the level range and page count of the product. What exactly are we paying $50 for? Is it 320-pages like the core books or smaller because it's a niche product?

It's astonishing how this announcement told us very little that we didn't already know or suspect.

 

[DMZ2112]

I think they are doing the adventure books set in the Realms so they can tie in a video game component as an expansion to the Neverwinter MMO.

They stated from the outset they wanted these big story bible things to be broad and encompass things like comics, tabletop board games, and video games not just pen and paper rpg. The easiest way to have the video game part is to make it an expansion for the most current and supported property Neverwinter and that is firmly set in the Realms obviously.

So until a new video game comes out I think we will keep seeing these adventures firmly set in Faerun.

Edit: Just noticed that not only is this adventure set in Faerun but again it is set along the Sword Coast, so yeah they are putting them near Neverwinter so the MMO can do stuff with them.

To play devil's advocate, past D&D video games have not been scared to range far afield from their core setting and Neverwinter is no different. The Baldur's Gate games involve some planar travel, and D&D Online's last few modules have been set in the Realms rather than Eberron. Although it has never had an expansion set outside Faerun, the endgame of the original Neverwinter storyline takes place in Thay, which is a heck of a long way from the Sword Coast.

I don't think this correlation implies causation.