D&D (2024) What Should A New Core Setting Look Like?

[Reynard]

I say this because I really dislike SRs system. I’ve played it since 2E. Really anything at this point would be an improvement. Yes I’m aware of Anarchy

There is a serial numbers filed off book for SWADE

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Nerath.

Nerath is my favorite core setting, but it's literally the exact opposite of what most people seem to want. I think it would be a bad idea to make that the new core setting no matter how much I want it.

 

[Laurefindel]

I don't know anymore what kind of setting WotC should publish. Mainly through the PHB, D&D aims to present material that can cover a wide spectrum of fantasy sub-themes and sub-genres, catering to as diverse a crowd as they can. With each passing year, D&D gets broader and broader in scope, to the point where a setting that would allow it all would be too bloated and too spread-out to allow any kind of focus whatsoever.

So I must grudgingly admit that the best they can do is give the broad guidelines of a wide meta-setting (the multiverse) and regularly publish micro-settings disguised as adventures within the meta-setting.

Conceptual (full-scale) campaign settings are now solely the purview of 3rd-party publishers (which is, altogether, not a bad modus operandi).

 

[Henadic Theologian]

D&D needs a new setting where all the classes, races, and monsters have a clear place, history, and explanations in it.

Named Dragonborn empires with histories
Named Warlock Patrons and their cults.
Named Goliath villages.
Named Hobgoblins armies.
Named Sorcererous events
Roaming Eldritch, Rune, and Psi knights.

So the Forgotten Realms?

Nerath works with that as well.

Whatever you come up with has to fill a function the current settings don't, while also displaying all the elements from the new core books, and Monsters of the Multiverse at minimium.

I can't think of anything that does all of that.

 

[Minigiant]

So the Forgotten Realms?

Nerath works with that as well.

Whatever you come up with has to fill a function the current settings don't, while also displaying all the elements from the new core books, and Monsters of the Multiverse at minimium.

I can't think of anything that does all of that.

FR does it after the fact so it's all tacked on.

 

[Kurotowa]

I don't know anymore what kind of setting WotC should publish. Mainly through the PHB, D&D aims to present material that can cover a wide spectrum of fantasy sub-themes and sub-genres, catering to as diverse a crowd as they can. With each passing year, D&D gets broader and broader in scope, to the point where a setting that would allow it all would be too bloated and too spread-out to allow any kind of focus whatsoever.

You might be right. It's not like the days when you could be confident that everyone at the table was familiar with a majority of Appendix N. The playerbase for D&D is larger and more diverse, the novels and movies and comic books that campaigns are taking inspiration from are more numerous and diverse, and it's nigh impossible to jam all the conflicting genres and styles into one world.

While we don't have solid sales data, it should be noted that that WotC has been moving away from traditional setting atlases. Eberron got one, and Theros and Ravnica mostly did as well. But everything more recent has been moving to the Curse of Strahd model where the book is a mix of setting and campaign in some ratio. Strixhaven, Witchlight, Radiant Citadel, even the Spelljammer book looks more like that. And to compliment those we're getting topic books that give a more focused lore dump on a particular theme that can easily be slotted into many worlds; that's where Glory of the Giants and Treasury of Dragons fit.

This may be the new normal. No setting atlas releases, just the setting/campaign hybrid books and a series of topic books that are good material for homebrew worlds. None of them getting follow ups like the setting lines of yesteryear, because that has severe diminishing returns and just fragments your players.

 

[Quickleaf]

Oh! I didn’t realize WotC was working on a new setting.

Did they mention that in the big golden anniversary video or something?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Oh! I didn’t realize WotC was working on a new setting.

Did they mention that in the big golden anniversary video or something?

No, this thread is a 100% hypothetical.

 

[Reynard]

No, this thread is a 100% hypothetical.

The only thing we know for sure is that there will be an example setting in the DMG, but there has been no indication (but much speculation!) On what it is. It may be legacy or it may be new.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

The only thing we know for sure is that there will be an example setting in the DMG, but there has been no indication (but much speculation!) On what it is. It may be legacy or it may be new.

Its a classic setting we know that much.