[UPDATED] RAGE OF DEMONS! New D&D Storyline Features Drizzt, Underdark, & Demon Lords!

Following Elemental Evil this fall, Rage of Demons will launch a new storyline featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, the Underdark, and various demon lords from the Abyss including old favourites like Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt. This will feature on tabletop, console, and PC. "The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface." It begins with the adventure Out of the Abyss, which releases on September 15th for $49.95, and is being designed for WotC by Green Ronin Publishing. (Thanks to Charles Akins for that last scoop!)

Following Elemental Evil this fall, Rage of Demons will launch a new storyline featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, the Underdark, and various demon lords from the Abyss including old favourites like Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt. This will feature on tabletop, console, and PC. "The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface." It begins with the adventure Out of the Abyss, which releases on September 15th for $49.95, and is being designed for WotC by Green Ronin Publishing. (Thanks to Charles Akins for that last scoop!)


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Drizzt? WotC's Chris Perkins says: "Drizzt's role in the RoD story varies depending on the platform. In the TRPG adventure, the PCs are the stars."

Inspiration: "My inspirations for RAGE OF DEMONS were Lewis Carroll's Wonderland stories and EXILE, by R.A. Salvatore." [Perkins] So this is the Alice in Wonderland inspired story that's been previously alluded to.

Here's the full announcement.

"Today, Wizards of the Coast announced Rage of Demons, the new storyline for Dungeons & Dragons fans coming in Fall 2015. The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface. Rage of Demons is the story all D&D gamers will be excited to play this fall, whether they prefer consoles, PCs or rolling dice with friends.

Following on the critically-acclaimed Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil stories, Rage of Demons will transport characters to the deadly and insane underworld. Rumors of powerful demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt terrorizing the denizens of the Underdark have begun to filter up to the cities of the Sword Coast. The already dangerous caverns below the surface are thrown into ultimate chaos, madness and discord. The renegade drow Drizzt Do’Urden is sent to investigate but it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations.

Dungeons & Dragons fans will have more options than ever to enjoy the Rage of Demons storyline. The themes of treachery and discord in the Underdark are in Sword Coast Legends, the new CRPG (computer role-playing game) coming this fall on PC from n-Space and Digital Extremes. The epic campaign that drives Sword Coast Legends' story forces players deep into the Underdark and continues well after launch with legendary adventurer Drizzt Do'Urden.

For fans of Neverwinter, the popular Dungeons & Dragons-based MMORPG will bring a new expansion – tentatively titled Neverwinter: Underdark – in 2015. The update will see adventurers travel with Drizzt to the drow city of Menzoberranzan during its demonic assault as well as experience a unique set of quests written by the creator of Drizzt, R.A. Salvatore. The expansion will initially be released on PC and will come out on the Xbox One at a later date.

Players of the tabletop roleplaying game can descend into the Underdark in Out of the Abyss, a new adventure which provides details on the demon lords rampaging through the Underdark. Partners such as WizKids, GaleForce 9 and Smiteworks will all support Rage of Demons with new products to help bring your tabletop game to life. To really get in the mind of Drizzt, fans will have to check out Archmage, the new novel by R.A. Salvatore, scheduled for release in early September.

“Rage of Demons is a huge storyline involving all expressions of Dungeons & Dragons, and we’re excited to bring players this story in concert with all of our partners,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director at Wizards of the Coast. “I can’t wait to see everyone interact with one of the world’s most recognizable fantasy characters: Drizzt Do’Urden. Descending into the depths won’t exactly be easy for him, and D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face-to-face with all the demon lords.”





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DEFCON 1

Legend
Supporter
I hope next year the focus is on something other than FR.... I mean first Tyranny, then the princes of elemental evil, and now Orcus... that seems like a really bad world to be on lately.

Heh. You know, I used to think that too before I ran anything in the Realms and knew very little about it. But once I started running Tyranny and starting actually delving into Realms history... fact is the entire world is RIFE with these kinds of events, even single month in every single year. Just looking at each year in the Forgotten Realms Wiki with all the historical information that occurred in RPG setting book, RPG adventures, computer games, and all of the novel lines (which are all theoretically "canon")... the Realms have always been and always will be a chaotic mess of a magical pot that is continually boiling over. Thousands of years of catastrophic events occurring over and over and over again, each and every year. LOL.

So no... the fact the Realms have dealt with the potential return of Tiamat, the Elemental Lords, and Demon Princes all in the span of like 2 years in the Realms timeline is pretty much par for the historical course. ;)
 

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Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel
I hope next year the focus is on something other than FR.... I mean first Tyranny, then the princes of elemental evil, and now Orcus... that seems like a really bad world to be on lately.
In an interview to Forbes, Nathan Stewart said the FR will be the default setting for a long time.
 

steeldragons

Steeliest of the dragons
Epic
"Here's your guide to the Underdark, the infamous mega-hero who is waaaay more awesomeer than you lot, Drizz't Do'Urden. He'll take you down where you need to stop the most powerful demons of the Abyss."

Encounter #1: Beaten to near-death Drizzt is taken captive down into the darkness by a group of glaberzu.

Players unanimously agree to turn the party around and return to the surface, dancing a gig.

"That was GREAT! Where can we go adventure next?"

XPs all around.
 
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Astrosicebear

First Post
In an interview to Forbes, Nathan Stewart said the FR will be the default setting for a long time.


Unfortunately... Other worlds need love too.. But its a good business decision since a massive investment and number of people play Neverwinter MMO, and you cant just up and pop Eberron into that.... brand unity and all...
 

Wicht

Hero
Oh wow. They are actually going to produce a mega-adventure that features the PCs having to put up with Drizzt as a mary sue.

That should go over well.....

I hate to say it, but that was my first reaction also...

Adventure Writing 101: The PCs are meant to be the heroes of the adventure. Don't allow NPC heroes to steal the show.

I have a hard time seeing how this plays out well on the table top... Either 1) Drizzt just can't do it without the PCs, which undercuts him as a character and is a weak marketing move (and sorta a transparently pandering story-line). 2) The PCs get to trot along and fight behind Drizzt which undercuts them as characters and seems a bad idea. or 3) Drizzt is just window dressing and doesn't figure much into the adventure; which raises the question of why include him?

Yeah, color me skeptical... Maybe they can pull it off, and if they do, they have props from me; but that just sounds like a bad idea on so many levels.
 
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Jan van Leyden

Adventurer
Hey, they actually name smiteworks as licensee in the announcement! Did they do something similar with Trapdoor when they were announcing the first two story lines?
 

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel
There is a mention of Drizzt's darker side. Maybe the PCs have a chance of facing him. They did something like that during 4e's reign. Gimmicky, but this is where D&D is at nowadays.

What I wonder if Drizzt will have a stat bloc with PC classes and levels. Some of us like to see those.
 

Astrosicebear

First Post
We haven't seen the text yet, so lets give the writers some leeway here. I am sure they wont fall into the tropes and obvious pitfalls the Internet seems so sure of.
 

TwoSix

Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
I hope next year the focus is on something other than FR.... I mean first Tyranny, then the princes of elemental evil, and now Orcus... that seems like a really bad world to be on lately.
Considering that both of their video game IPs are based in FR, I don't think we'll see any of those transmedia initiatives outside of FR for quite a while.
 


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