Two New Settings For D&D This Year

if it comes out this year i would agree with you. Possibly published by a third party company that has a good reputation (Green Ronin etc) However if it’s coming next year I would stake all the money in my pockets that it will be a Curse of Strahd style book. Campaign with background and new monsters etc. Curse of Strahd was too successful not to repeat!

if it comes out this year i would agree with you. Possibly published by a third party company that has a good reputation (Green Ronin etc)

However if it’s coming next year I would stake all the money in my pockets that it will be a Curse of Strahd style book. Campaign with background and new monsters etc. Curse of Strahd was too successful not to repeat!
 


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Looks like a new cover for Players Handbook off to the right . . . And the words "MER" on the lower left.
I'm thinking my guess of Spelljammer just might be right for once.
Unfortunately, in the responses, he says that it's just the end of "summer". Unless it's a double-trolling attempt!
 

Bitbrain

Lost in Dark Sun
Unfortunately, in the responses, he says that it's just the end of "summer". Unless it's a double-trolling attempt!

The old Spelljammer logo had the "R" trail down below the "E" almost exactly like that . . . For now, I'm thinking that at least one of the new settings will be Spelljammer.
 


lkj

Hero
I wouldn't take Stewart's mentions of Spelljammer too seriously. He's taken every opportunity to 'accidentally' say Spelljammer or hint Spelljammer or suggest Spelljammer in the last several weeks. It's a running joke. In fact, the gist would be that it definitely isn't Spelljammer because he keeps mentioning it, and they clearly want the announcement later this month to be at least a bit of a surprise. Is it possible that it's actually is Spelljammer and that he keeps mentioning it to make us think it isn't? Sure. Totally possible. But that basically puts us back in the situation of not having an idea one way or another. Which is clearly what he wants.

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QuietBrowser

First Post
My two cents on the matter... WoTC has two major things that it's going to take its cues from when it comes to reviving settings; preserving intellectual copyright, and popularity with the fanbase. They have, after all, explicitly stated that the "many settings" approach was actually a financial mismanagement. So, here's my opinions on the settings that I'm aware of:

Planescape: This is perhaps the most iconic "weird fantasy" D&D setting. It's also getting a lot of promotions between things like Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and the recent web-serial "Hell's Belles", which is about a D&D group playing a 5e translation of a Planescape adventure called "The Great Modron March". Properly handled, Planescape is nothing like the Forgotten Realms, and whilst they're most likely to make some major tweaks to the setting, it's still looking like the best and most likely choice for a new setting.

Nentir Vale: They literally had a setting book for the "Points of Light" world ready to be printed under 4e before they hit the cancel button on that, and it does offer a very different and yet still familiar approach to the formula. I wouldn't say this has the highest chance, but I want to think it has a better than average chance.

Greyhawk: This one I honestly think has the lowest odds of getting in as, on the surface, it's too close to the Forgotten Realms. Both have a very strong "Neo-Medieval Europe" feel, and whilst Greyhawk is more Sword & Sandals than the Realms are, that difference isn't enough to make it seem like a "good sell" from WoTC's perspective. Indeed, Greyhawk's comparatively low-fantasy stance is actually an argument against its revival, simply because that minimizes the usefuless of other splatbooks - Greyhawk is supposed to be a world where only the "Neo-Tolkien" races are abundant, whilst the Realms were the first setting outside of Dark Sun to have an official thri-kreen population.

Spelljammer: I don't see this as very likely, simply because the execution was extremely goofball focused. A "5e Spelljammer" would probably be more of an in-name-only translation, and its more likely it'll be folded into Planescape than anything.

Birthright/Dragonlance: Both of these are falling into the same position of "kind of Realmsian, but they do have a unique hook". They're more likely than Greyhawk, but still, I don't think that these would be WoTC's first choice.

Mystara: Again, this "Pulp Fantasy" setting isn't that close to the Forgotten Realms when you look close, but it can seem similar at a casual glance. Also, the fact it's such a mash-up of expies of various real-world cultures and peoples alongside its more fantastical races is problematic in this day and age. With "cultural appropriation" such a media hotspot, as much as I miss the lupins, aranea, diaboli, enduks, scorpionmen, phanatons and so forth, I don't think this setting is likely.

Al-Qadim/Kara-tur/Maztica: They're all officially part of the Realms and, even more so than Mystara, they are a big PR risk from the "cultural appropriation" crowd. As much as I want an official Oriental Adventures splatbook for 5e, I don't think any of these are going to make it into the game.

Ravenloft: I think we can cross this off the board altogether; the Ravenloft setting is obscure, the last version was handled by a 3rd party, and WoTC already refreshed their IP rights to this by publishing Curse of Strahd.

Eberron: The most popular fantasy setting of recent years, it was well-received in 3rd edition and 4th; it's got the biggest existant fandom of any of the settings I've named here and it requires the least amount of new rules - yes, yes, I know Kalashtar need psionics, but Kalashtar aren't from the Five Nations, so they can easily delay them until they do a 5e equivalent to "Secrets of Sarlona". Whilst coming out in 4e means that IP isn't a big priority for them, still, this is the big, obvious market to tap.

Dark Sun: This got a major shot in the arm with its well-received 4e release, but because of how much work it needs in order to be pulled off right, and how little a concern its IP is, I would put money against it being released this year.

In conclusion, I think we can be assured of seeing Planescape and either Eberron or Nentir Vale/Nerath/PoLand this year. My money is on Planescape and Nerath, simply because the Nentir Vale requires the least amount of work from WoTC to make ready.
 

gyor

Legend
My two cents on the matter... WoTC has two major things that it's going to take its cues from when it comes to reviving settings; preserving intellectual copyright, and popularity with the fanbase. They have, after all, explicitly stated that the "many settings" approach was actually a financial mismanagement. So, here's my opinions on the settings that I'm aware of:

Planescape: This is perhaps the most iconic "weird fantasy" D&D setting. It's also getting a lot of promotions between things like Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and the recent web-serial "Hell's Belles", which is about a D&D group playing a 5e translation of a Planescape adventure called "The Great Modron March". Properly handled, Planescape is nothing like the Forgotten Realms, and whilst they're most likely to make some major tweaks to the setting, it's still looking like the best and most likely choice for a new setting.

Nentir Vale: They literally had a setting book for the "Points of Light" world ready to be printed under 4e before they hit the cancel button on that, and it does offer a very different and yet still familiar approach to the formula. I wouldn't say this has the highest chance, but I want to think it has a better than average chance.

Greyhawk: This one I honestly think has the lowest odds of getting in as, on the surface, it's too close to the Forgotten Realms. Both have a very strong "Neo-Medieval Europe" feel, and whilst Greyhawk is more Sword & Sandals than the Realms are, that difference isn't enough to make it seem like a "good sell" from WoTC's perspective. Indeed, Greyhawk's comparatively low-fantasy stance is actually an argument against its revival, simply because that minimizes the usefuless of other splatbooks - Greyhawk is supposed to be a world where only the "Neo-Tolkien" races are abundant, whilst the Realms were the first setting outside of Dark Sun to have an official thri-kreen population.

Spelljammer: I don't see this as very likely, simply because the execution was extremely goofball focused. A "5e Spelljammer" would probably be more of an in-name-only translation, and its more likely it'll be folded into Planescape than anything.

Birthright/Dragonlance: Both of these are falling into the same position of "kind of Realmsian, but they do have a unique hook". They're more likely than Greyhawk, but still, I don't think that these would be WoTC's first choice.

Mystara: Again, this "Pulp Fantasy" setting isn't that close to the Forgotten Realms when you look close, but it can seem similar at a casual glance. Also, the fact it's such a mash-up of expies of various real-world cultures and peoples alongside its more fantastical races is problematic in this day and age. With "cultural appropriation" such a media hotspot, as much as I miss the lupins, aranea, diaboli, enduks, scorpionmen, phanatons and so forth, I don't think this setting is likely.

Al-Qadim/Kara-tur/Maztica: They're all officially part of the Realms and, even more so than Mystara, they are a big PR risk from the "cultural appropriation" crowd. As much as I want an official Oriental Adventures splatbook for 5e, I don't think any of these are going to make it into the game.

Ravenloft: I think we can cross this off the board altogether; the Ravenloft setting is obscure, the last version was handled by a 3rd party, and WoTC already refreshed their IP rights to this by publishing Curse of Strahd.

Eberron: The most popular fantasy setting of recent years, it was well-received in 3rd edition and 4th; it's got the biggest existant fandom of any of the settings I've named here and it requires the least amount of new rules - yes, yes, I know Kalashtar need psionics, but Kalashtar aren't from the Five Nations, so they can easily delay them until they do a 5e equivalent to "Secrets of Sarlona". Whilst coming out in 4e means that IP isn't a big priority for them, still, this is the big, obvious market to tap.

Dark Sun: This got a major shot in the arm with its well-received 4e release, but because of how much work it needs in order to be pulled off right, and how little a concern its IP is, I would put money against it being released this year.

In conclusion, I think we can be assured of seeing Planescape and either Eberron or Nentir Vale/Nerath/PoLand this year. My money is on Planescape and Nerath, simply because the Nentir Vale requires the least amount of work from WoTC to make ready.

How do you know that Eberron has the biggest fan base of any none FR setting? Not saying I disbelieve, just curious.
 

Remathilis

Legend
More teasing and another look at those SE covers
721441978f58190e28aa2a9a83e726f3.jpg
 


Chronos96

Explorer
My two cents on the matter... WoTC has two major things that it's going to take its cues from when it comes to reviving settings; preserving intellectual copyright, and popularity with the fanbase. They have, after all, explicitly stated that the "many settings" approach was actually a financial mismanagement. So, here's my opinions on the settings that I'm aware of:

Planescape: This is perhaps the most iconic "weird fantasy" D&D setting. It's also getting a lot of promotions between things like Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and the recent web-serial "Hell's Belles", which is about a D&D group playing a 5e translation of a Planescape adventure called "The Great Modron March". Properly handled, Planescape is nothing like the Forgotten Realms, and whilst they're most likely to make some major tweaks to the setting, it's still looking like the best and most likely choice for a new setting.

Nentir Vale: They literally had a setting book for the "Points of Light" world ready to be printed under 4e before they hit the cancel button on that, and it does offer a very different and yet still familiar approach to the formula. I wouldn't say this has the highest chance, but I want to think it has a better than average chance.

Greyhawk: This one I honestly think has the lowest odds of getting in as, on the surface, it's too close to the Forgotten Realms. Both have a very strong "Neo-Medieval Europe" feel, and whilst Greyhawk is more Sword & Sandals than the Realms are, that difference isn't enough to make it seem like a "good sell" from WoTC's perspective. Indeed, Greyhawk's comparatively low-fantasy stance is actually an argument against its revival, simply because that minimizes the usefuless of other splatbooks - Greyhawk is supposed to be a world where only the "Neo-Tolkien" races are abundant, whilst the Realms were the first setting outside of Dark Sun to have an official thri-kreen population.

Spelljammer: I don't see this as very likely, simply because the execution was extremely goofball focused. A "5e Spelljammer" would probably be more of an in-name-only translation, and its more likely it'll be folded into Planescape than anything.

Birthright/Dragonlance: Both of these are falling into the same position of "kind of Realmsian, but they do have a unique hook". They're more likely than Greyhawk, but still, I don't think that these would be WoTC's first choice.

Mystara: Again, this "Pulp Fantasy" setting isn't that close to the Forgotten Realms when you look close, but it can seem similar at a casual glance. Also, the fact it's such a mash-up of expies of various real-world cultures and peoples alongside its more fantastical races is problematic in this day and age. With "cultural appropriation" such a media hotspot, as much as I miss the lupins, aranea, diaboli, enduks, scorpionmen, phanatons and so forth, I don't think this setting is likely.

Al-Qadim/Kara-tur/Maztica: They're all officially part of the Realms and, even more so than Mystara, they are a big PR risk from the "cultural appropriation" crowd. As much as I want an official Oriental Adventures splatbook for 5e, I don't think any of these are going to make it into the game.

Ravenloft: I think we can cross this off the board altogether; the Ravenloft setting is obscure, the last version was handled by a 3rd party, and WoTC already refreshed their IP rights to this by publishing Curse of Strahd.

Eberron: The most popular fantasy setting of recent years, it was well-received in 3rd edition and 4th; it's got the biggest existant fandom of any of the settings I've named here and it requires the least amount of new rules - yes, yes, I know Kalashtar need psionics, but Kalashtar aren't from the Five Nations, so they can easily delay them until they do a 5e equivalent to "Secrets of Sarlona". Whilst coming out in 4e means that IP isn't a big priority for them, still, this is the big, obvious market to tap.

Dark Sun: This got a major shot in the arm with its well-received 4e release, but because of how much work it needs in order to be pulled off right, and how little a concern its IP is, I would put money against it being released this year.

In conclusion, I think we can be assured of seeing Planescape and either Eberron or Nentir Vale/Nerath/PoLand this year. My money is on Planescape and Nerath, simply because the Nentir Vale requires the least amount of work from WoTC to make ready.

They've already said that it will appeal to to hardcore fans which I'm taking to mean people that played with second edition settings which the majority are.

I honestly doubt that they'll do Nentir Vale as it was only a rectangle in the DM's guide and the fact that it's the most recent "setting" if you want to call it that limits the likeliehood that they'll do anything more with it.

Hardcore also implies difficulty which could suggest Dark Sun,Planescape and Spelljammer. Keep in mind they're only announcing the book tommorow but they did say that they're announcing two things that we'll be able to use as early as this year in the summer which at the latest is sometime in August.

They also said that whatever product they're releasing would be similar to how COS is a primer on just Barovia but will give us just enough detail to start playing with things on our own.

Given those details I feel that Wizards may give us two fifty page plus pdfs on the settings they want to reintroduce to 5E. Stewart also said that the product announced tomorrow will be sometime this year. Dragon Heist comes out in September while Mad mage comes out in November so at the latest that leaves the product being released in December or earlier on the odd chance the didn't tell online retailers like Amazon. Worst case scenario though it gets pushed back to early Q1 2019.

All of the adventure paths in 5E have had little easter eggs that connect to the next product from the Ring of Winter being in Storm King's Thunder to the Black Obelisks that keep showing up in all of the adventures as well as the villian of Mad Mage having a Spelljammer Helm and the creatures from Spelljammer in MToF's.

In my mind D&D has five really distinct settings that are viable.

Forgotten Realms is the default

Eberron- Noir, Steampunk, Adventure

Dark Sun- D&D hard mode

Ravenloft- Horror

Spelljammer- D&D in space

The reason I don't add planescape is because its cosmology, the positive and negative planes, the elemental planes, the 12 outer planes have all been added to the base cosmology in addition to the Feywild and Shadowfell.

Yes, Planescape was its own setting but all the basic componets have been there since 3rd edition-the present. Basically I'd place it as I wouldn't be surprised if they don't make it but I wouldn't be surprised if they did either. For that reason alone I'd argue that Spelljammer is far more likely as well as the fact that their have been more signs pointing towards is that Planescape with the Dungeon of the mad mage easter egg and the monsters from MToF's

The big question is whether or not they've cracked Psionics behind the scenes and are just sitting on it. If they have I'd say that one of these primers we get will be Dark Sun and the other will either be Spelljammer or Planescape.

I feel like they'll get back to Ravenloft later and I feel like they may want to save Eberron as the "Best for last"
 

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