D&D 5E D&D and Settings: What's Next?

[Urriak Uruk]

Problem with Ravenloft is that Curse of Strahd uses pretty much every gothic horror trope in it, so expanding seems... mostly redundant.

There are a couple that weren’t in the adventure that were in other older Ravenloft material, like mummies and mind flayers, but I don’t know if there is enough to make a complete book.

Likeliest new book is Dark Sun, but if they are aiming to release a new setting every year Wizard’s may actually sneak something else in. There’s a little buzz about Greyhawk and Dragon lance, and they don’t require too much new rules.

 

[Mister-Kent]

Greyhawk will always have a spot in my heart thanks to my first D&D experience, the Temple of Elemental Evil computer game. I loved that game, bugs and all! Oh Bertram, my pirate husband ❤ RIP you silly man

 

[OB1]

It looks like we now have 3 types of setting books.
1. Full Setting - Primarily about the world and it's mechanics, with a short introductory adventure. Ravnica, Ebberon. Looks like we will get 1 per year of these.
2. Half Setting - Mix of mechanics around a theme with half the book dedicated to adventures around that theme. Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
3. 1/3 Setting - An adventure that also does duty as a setting guide, but doesn't introduce much in the way of new mechanics. Curse of Strahd, Storm Kings Thunder, Out of the Abyss, Tomb of Annihilation, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Here is how I'd imagine they will break down

Full Setting - Dark Sun, Fall 2020/21, Something Brand New, Fall 2020/21
Half Setting - Planescape, Spring 2020/21, Feywild/Shadowfell, Spring 2020/21
1/3 Setting - Spelljammer, Summer 2020/21, Dragonlance, Summer 2020/21

 

[Mister-Kent]

I'd love "Something Brand New" too, just for sake of curiosity. Is there anything they haven't tried that's glaringly obvious, that can't be folded into an existing setting that is?

5E Modern? (ducks the thrown to-mah-toes)

 

[Parmandur]

I'd love "Something Brand New" too, just for sake of curiosity. Is there anything they haven't tried that's glaringly obvious, that can't be folded into an existing setting that is?

5E Modern? (ducks the thrown to-mah-toes)

Urban Arcana, from the d20 era, would be amazing.

A big issue there is that TSR worked awfully hard to cover every subgenre imaginable. Certainly they could come up with something, but it would be a stretch.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I dare to say we will see Spelljammer because Hasbro wants to use it to sell toys, and because is a settin to trying things of "magic technology" like a playtesting for a future d20 Modern 2.0.

Dark Sun is a safe bet. I suggest to hire staff from Dreamscarred Press as subsidiarie (not only for psionic, but also for incarnum magic). Should be the wilder only a subclass? In the right hands it could be a blocbuster videogame like the Witcher or Fallout.

About Ravenloft now it isn't the right moment for the supernatural romance, and it is too gothic for a generation used to the walking dead or resident evil videogames. But it is perfect for young adult players who want a different style and not only killing dragons. Maybe it could be for a game-live show as Critica Role. Cheaper and faster than a movie or teleserie, and (absolutaly) nobody knows who is going to survive.

* Could we see the return of Mystara as a videogame by Capcom?

* Birthright is perfect for a real-time-strategy videogame, and maybe for fans of "Game of Thrones".

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Really unlikely settings would be things like Gamma World, Masque of the Red Death (even if it's sort of related to Ravenloft), Dark Matter, Star*Drive, and Star Frontiers (even though some of its PC races are in Spelljammer).

 

[TwoSix]

Joking aside, it's not that it was perfected. It's that the things the truly differentiate GH date back to 1983.

The real affection felt by many people that love it (not all, I am not discounting those who came to it through the Gord books, or ... ahem .... the LOVING Greyhawk Gazetteer or even the last "rulebook" for 1e- Greyhawk Adventures) is based on that ineffable magic, and the last thing we want to see is what WoTC was doing in the 3e era; turn GH into another forgettable FR clone.

I would much rather they emphasize the weirdness, the difference, and the basic "1983" version- and if people want to insert their own differences, more power to them- a Tabaxi homeland right in the middle of Ratik! With the Capital City of Meowschwitz.

Everyone deserves the chance to create their own Greyhawk, not have another FR clone forced onto them.

That's fair. Here's my (actually serious) take, and really the only reason I pushed back on the issue at all.

Any disagreement depends on the idea that there might be a new Greyhawk produced in the near future, which would actually constitute something I would consider buying. The value of any previously published Greyhawk product isn't something I would desire to argue about.

As I (in general) like picking up official product if it peaks my interest, a Greyhawk product that hews closely to the tropes and trappings of 1983 isn't something that would interest me, so I find the concept to be a negative. The aspects of Greyhawk that tend to be lionized in online discussion (the sword-and-sorcery vibe, the gritty feel, the "just enough sand in the sandbox" level of detail, the Darlene maps) are personally concepts that strike me as either desultory or offputting. Not my cup of tea.

The idea of a rebooted Greyhawk, with some updates to add in some novel concepts mixed in with classic, recognizable names, that strikes me as a bit more interesting. That's something I would look into picking up, so I view it as a positive.

I recognize that not everyone agrees with my aesthetic preferences, of course, but I have no particular desire to advocate for other people's preferences. So I'll continue to push for a "Greyhawk for the 21st century", since I view a remake of the tropes of 1983 to be a path I have little interest in purchasing.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Parmandur]

It looks like we now have 3 types of setting books.
1. Full Setting - Primarily about the world and it's mechanics, with a short introductory adventure. Ravnica, Ebberon. Looks like we will get 1 per year of these.
2. Half Setting - Mix of mechanics around a theme with half the book dedicated to adventures around that theme. Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
3. 1/3 Setting - An adventure that also does duty as a setting guide, but doesn't introduce much in the way of new mechanics. Curse of Strahd, Storm Kings Thunder, Out of the Abyss, Tomb of Annihilation, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Here is how I'd imagine they will break down

Full Setting - Dark Sun, Fall 2020/21, Something Brand New, Fall 2020/21
Half Setting - Planescape, Spring 2020/21, Feywild/Shadowfell, Spring 2020/21
1/3 Setting - Spelljammer, Summer 2020/21, Dragonlance, Summer 2020/21

Good thoughts, but I'd say you make too much of a distinction between 2 & 3, or perhaps the line is not drawn quite right.

I'd say we can safely catagorize all 5E products so far into 4 boxes:

1.) Generic supplements, useful in most games expanding on the generic D&D world metasetting: Volo's, Mordenkainen's, and Xanathar's Guide books.

2.) Storyline book, so far set in just the FR with new big adventure material and a regional Gazeeter component: Tyranny of Dragons, Elemental Evil, Out of the Abyss, Storm King's Thunder, Tombnof Annhilation, Waterdeep, and Baldur's Gate.

3.) Reprints and expansions of Classic Modules, that include the full text of the old Adventures with additional Gazeeter information and expanded information: Curse of Strahd (which reprints the entire text of Castle Ravenloft), Tales from the Yawning Portal, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Arguably, Dungeon of the Mad Mage...

4.) Genre supplements, which provide PHB, DMG, and MM components to really push a certain kind of story using a given world as an example to use or pilfer: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica, Rising from the Last War

It seems that Dragonlance is uniquely suited to fill both 3 & 4 in the scheme, with the classic modules and an Epic Fantasy genre book. Most of the other settings don't have quite the same cache in famous, well-remembered modules that Dragonlance and Greyhawk do. Mearls made the case for Greyhawk in a recent interview as a great "generic" place to put non-storyline Adventures.