D&D 5E Chris Perkins drops 2020 hint!

[LuisCarlos17f]

We can bet Dragonlance will come back. That is the most fantasy saga after Lord of the Rings. I guess they have said nothing about it is because they have got some really ambitious project linked to the mass media. My doubt is about a retcon with the age of mortals. Other option would be a videogame adaptation.

* If you want in your game Barovia is a region within Faerun, but I guess the original one is from other crystal sphere, at least because this would allow more open doors in a future.

* If the demiplane of dread comes back, we will need some explanations about the domain of Kalidnay. And this has to fix some things. Somebody who has played some kingdom managing simulation or another videogame or economic strategy should notice all fantasy realms need a right balance about birth and death to avoid a demographic crisis. If a lot of people die when still they could to be productive then the economy will be worse, and then armies will become too expensive. And we are talking about humans and not about other races who marry and create families later. Haven't you read about the demographic crisis in the Roman empire for the first century after Christ?

* We need something like a stone-paper-scissor-lizard-Spock about the monsters: Werebeast eat undead, constructs defeat werebeast, faes defeats constructs, abominations eat faes...How to explain it better? If the players know it is an adventure in Ravenloft then they will go for the "ghostbuster" item, or the vampire-hunter pack, but a good DM should be ready for adventures with no-undead monsters, as constructs, faes, abominations, werebeasts. The players should learn in Ravenloft faes may be so dangerous as vampires, they should worry not only for the undeads.

 

[darjr]

Yeah, since Strahd & Storm King's Thunder, he's only been in charge of one book a year, which is the main Storyline Adventure.

He did the essentials box, he gave up hos hollidays to get it done while getting a ton of other things done.

 

[Parmandur]

He did the essentials box, he gave up hos hollidays to get it done while getting a ton of other things done.

Oh, yes, fair point, and Adam Lee took point in Avernus.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I think some of you are getting pretty ambitious with your predictions, when you break down the hint in this way; what makes Curse of Strahd unique compared to other products released for 5e?

- It's set in Ravenloft.

- It's Gothic Horror (or horror in general).

- It's a remake of a classic, beloved module.

- The original was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman.

Highly doubt it's a setting book, because Ravenloft actually isn't that interesting a setting beyond Barovia, and Chris Perkins is a story/adventure writer more than a rules one.

So let's assume it's an adventure book. Could it be a Ravenloft module? Maybe, but that seems way too close to the mark; none of the other Ravenloft modules truly compare to CoS in nostalgia, and I'd be surprised if they made something wholly original in Ravenloft.

Could it be horror? This I think is distinctly possible. I saw someone on Reddit theorize that he could be reffering to a more eldritch horror module, with Lovecraftian elements and even possibly elements from Spelljammer. This aligns well with some hints about gnome mindflayers and more planar stuff.

Could it be a remake of a different module? Sure, that actually seems to be a common practice in 5e now; Curse of Strahd, Tales from the Yawning Portal, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, are all remakes of some kind. This could very easily be Desert of Desolation, or the Dragonlance modules, both written by the Hickmans.

Truth is the hint alone is actually not much to go on... probably have to wait for more details before a good guess materializes.

 

[gyor]

From the DMSGUILD info on Oasis of the White Palm.

"Tired and sore, you struggle over the burning sands toward the long-forgotten city. Will you reach the place in time to save yourselves from the evil efreeti? The sun beats down, making your wounds stiff and worsening the constant thirst that plagues anyone who travels these waterless wastes. But there is hope - are those the ruins over there?

In the midst of broken columns and bits of rubble stands a huge statue. This is the place! You've found it at last. Gratefully, you sink onto the sand. But there is no time to lose. You must hurry. So with a quavering voice you say the magic words. And then you wait...

A hush falls over the ruins, making the back of your neck prickle. Then, out of the east, a wind rises, gentle at first but quickly growing stronger and wilder, until it tears at your clothes and nearly lifts you off your feet. The once clear sky is choked with white and grey clouds that clash and boil. As the clouds blacken day turns to night. Lightning flashes followed by a menacing growl of thunder. You are beginning to wonder if you should seek shelter, when all of a sudden there is a blinding crash and a bolt of lightning reduces the statue to dust.

For a moment, silence. The, out of the statue's remains, soars a blue flame. Its roar deafens you as higher and higher it climbs, until it seems about to reach the clouds. Just when you think it can grow no larger, its shape begins to change. The edges billow and soften, their roar lessens, and before your eyes materializes a gigantic blue man.

This adventure can be played alone or as the second part of the Desert of Desolation series. For characters level 6-8.
*
Product History
I4: "Oasis of the White Palm" (1983), by Philip Meyers and Tracy Hickman, is the fourth I-series ("Intermediate"-level) adventure for AD&D and also the second release in the "Desert of Desolation" trilogy. It was published in February 1983, just a month or two after the previous adventure in the series.
Continuing the Story of the Desert. The first adventure in the "Desert" series, I3: "Pharaoh"(1982), was originally written by Tracy & Laura Hickman for publication by their own small press, DayStar West Media, in 1980. When Tracy Hickman came to TSR, he brought "Pharaoh" with him.
TSR not only published "Pharaoh," but they also asked Hickman to adapt a product they had on-hand in order to continue the Egypt-themed story. Thus Hickman took on Meyers' "Oasis of the White Palm" and made it the second of a three-part adventure.
The integration is overall well done, as Hickman focuses much of this new adventure on an efreeti that is accidentally freed in room G7 of "Pharaoh." Rumors within I4 also point to the other adventures in the series. On the downside, the healing of the land that occurred at the finale of "Pharaoh" is largely ignored here.
A Storytelling Adventure. When the Hickmans wrote their original publications for DayStar, they included a "manifesto" detailing how their adventures would go beyond the typical dungeon crawls of the era. One of its edicts stated that DayStar publications would focus on intriguing stories that were well integrated into the adventures.
Though "Oasis" wasn't originally written by Tracy Hickman, it shares those same ideas of storytelling. There's an efreeti taking over desert lands, an ancient djinni that can be summoned to battle it, an Oasis with warring factions, and a bride that's been stolen.
Hickman himself would most famously develop the idea of story-oriented adventures through the Dragonlance series (1984-86), but "Oasis" was still an important predecessor, and one of the earliest TSR adventures with a strong story.
Mystery & Politics. "Oasis" also offers different gameplay from a lot of TSR adventures of its era. That begins with numerous roleplaying and politicking opportunities available at the eponymous oasis. Interacting with notable NPCs had been an important element of TSR adventures since at least T1: "The Village of Hommlet" (1979), but the idea of political differences being a focus of an adventure was still pretty innovative in 1983.
There's also quite a bit of mystery, focusing on a missing bride. Other early examples of mystery-oriented adventures include U1: "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" (1981), N1: "Against the Cult of the Reptile God" (1981), and X3: "Curse of Xanathon" (1982) - so the idea of mystery-based adventures certainly wasn't unknown by 1983.
Expanding the Realms. Like the rest of the Desert of Desolation series, this adventure was eventually subsumed into the Forgotten Realms when it was reprinted as I3-5: Desert of Desolation (1987).
A Trap Worthy of Grimtooth. The traps and puzzles included in "Oasis" highlight the adventure as being from the old school, reminiscent of older products like S1: "The Tomb of Horrors" (1978). One trap in particular, the Pit of Everfall, feels like it came right out of Grimtooth's Traps (1981).
Future History. Hickman would tie up the Desert of Desolation trilogy with a final adventure, I5: "Lost Tomb of Martek" (1983).
About the Creators. Meyers wrote only one other RPG adventure, I7: "Baltron's Beacon" (1985). When Hickman developed Meyers' adventure, it was probably his second work for TSR, following I3: "Pharaoh." He'd see many more publications that same year, including the famous I6: "Ravenloft" (1983).
About the Product Historian
The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, editor-in-chief at RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com."

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think some of you are getting pretty ambitious with your predictions, when you break down the hint in this way; what makes Curse of Strahd unique compared to other products released for 5e?

- It's set in Ravenloft.

- It's Gothic Horror (or horror in general).

- It's a remake of a classic, beloved module.

- The original was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman.

Highly doubt it's a setting book, because Ravenloft actually isn't that interesting a setting beyond Barovia, and Chris Perkins is a story/adventure writer more than a rules one.

So let's assume it's an adventure book. Could it be a Ravenloft module? Maybe, but that seems way too close to the mark; none of the other Ravenloft modules truly compare to CoS in nostalgia, and I'd be surprised if they made something wholly original in Ravenloft.

Could it be horror? This I think is distinctly possible. I saw someone on Reddit theorize that he could be reffering to a more eldritch horror module, with Lovecraftian elements and even possibly elements from Spelljammer. This aligns well with some hints about gnome mindflayers and more planar stuff.

Could it be a remake of a different module? Sure, that actually seems to be a common practice in 5e now; Curse of Strahd, Tales from the Yawning Portal, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, are all remakes of some kind. This could very easily be Desert of Desolation, or the Dragonlance modules, both written by the Hickmans.

Truth is the hint alone is actually not much to go on... probably have to wait for more details before a good guess materializes.

You could have a series of Horror themed adventures that are nominally located in Ravenloft, but in practise can be dropped in anywhere, in the same way as GoS is linked by a Greyhawk location.

Putting together a list of titles, we have House on Gryphon Hill and Castle Amber (which could easily be plane-shifted). What other horror modules can people think of that are not necessarily Ravenloft or Gothic? I can only think of Pathfinder stuff for full-on Lovecraft.

 

[gyor]

I think some of you are getting pretty ambitious with your predictions, when you break down the hint in this way; what makes Curse of Strahd unique compared to other products released for 5e?

- It's set in Ravenloft.

- It's Gothic Horror (or horror in general).

- It's a remake of a classic, beloved module.

- The original was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman.

Highly doubt it's a setting book, because Ravenloft actually isn't that interesting a setting beyond Barovia, and Chris Perkins is a story/adventure writer more than a rules one.

So let's assume it's an adventure book. Could it be a Ravenloft module? Maybe, but that seems way too close to the mark; none of the other Ravenloft modules truly compare to CoS in nostalgia, and I'd be surprised if they made something wholly original in Ravenloft.

Could it be horror? This I think is distinctly possible. I saw someone on Reddit theorize that he could be reffering to a more eldritch horror module, with Lovecraftian elements and even possibly elements from Spelljammer. This aligns well with some hints about gnome mindflayers and more planar stuff.

Could it be a remake of a different module? Sure, that actually seems to be a common practice in 5e now; Curse of Strahd, Tales from the Yawning Portal, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, are all remakes of some kind. This could very easily be Desert of Desolation, or the Dragonlance modules, both written by the Hickmans.

Truth is the hint alone is actually not much to go on... probably have to wait for more details before a good guess materializes.

Barovaria is the single worst, most boring Ravenloft setting, Starhd is a 2 dimensional Dracula clone, there are more interesting Ravenloft Domains. A lot of them. I like the one with Doppelgangers for example. But I agree I don't think it will be Ravenloft, because Perkin does adventures not setting books.

I don't think it will be a Dragonlance AP because you want a Setting guide out first. Plus that is too big a AP for just one book.

DoD on the other hand is an adventure in the Forgotten Realms. It won the same contest Saltmarsh did the year before. D&D 5e doesn't have a major desert themed adventure yet. It's widely believed to be one of the best adventures in D&D, and the first game product for the Forgotten Realms.

The only thing is is that because the original is already canon, I'm leaning on this being a sequel rather then an update, but I could be mistaken and they find away to get around that issue.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If you go to dm guild to glance at, to take a gander, to have a look you can find a lot of titles. This means there is a great section of public who like this line. If we know nothing about the return of Ravenloft maybe it isn't because it may forgotten, but because they are working and need a lot of time. This would be like a comic publisher preparing other mega-event.

And we have to remember we are almost in 2020. It has rained a lot since then, a lot of time has passed. The new players will want to add their own favorite characters from other lines, for example Baby Bonnie Hood from Darkstalkers, Ruvik from the Evil Within, Alma Walde from "F.E.A.R", Hisako from Killer Instinct, or Eveline from Resident Evil 7. The "old" demiplane of Dread has become too small. We need a door for a bigger world.

Sorry, I am diverting the subject. I mean we will see the return of the demiplane of the dread, but not yet, and maybe with some really big changes, for example more domains with oriental cultures. And even it could be an complete reboot. What changes would you allow in a new edition of Ravenloft, vampire clans and werewolves tribes for example?

If finally there is a new module linked to Ravenloft or gothic horror, then we will see again fans asking about the date for the return of the setting.

 

[Arnwolf666]

It would be nice if it was a non-barovian ravenloft adventure. Domains of dread may have been the best ad&d book ever written. Would kill to see that setting converted to 5E.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

You could have a series of Horror themed adventures that are nominally located in Ravenloft, but in practise can be dropped in anywhere, in the same way as GoS is linked by a Greyhawk location.

Putting together a list of titles, we have House on Gryphon Hill and Castle Amber (which could easily be plane-shifted). What other horror modules can people think of that are not necessarily Ravenloft or Gothic? I can only think of Pathfinder stuff for full-on Lovecraft.

As others have said, Deserts of Desolation (not gothic horror, but more mummy-archaeology horror). There isn't anything full-on Lovecraft, but anything Tharizdun is. Plus, the Shackled City and Age of Worms APs were definitely pulling horror and eldritch vibes.

Barovaria is the single worst, most boring Ravenloft setting, Starhd is a 2 dimensional Dracula clone, there are more interesting Ravenloft Domains. A lot of them. I like the one with Doppelgangers for example. But I agree I don't think it will be Ravenloft, because Perkin does adventures not setting books.

I don't think it will be a Dragonlance AP because you want a Setting guide out first. Plus that is too big a AP for just one book.

DoD on the other hand is an adventure in the Forgotten Realms. It won the same contest Saltmarsh did the year before. D&D 5e doesn't have a major desert themed adventure yet. It's widely believed to be one of the best adventures in D&D, and the first game product for the Forgotten Realms.

The only thing is is that because the original is already canon, I'm leaning on this being a sequel rather then an update, but I could be mistaken and they find away to get around that issue.

Desert of Desolation seems pretty likely to me. I think it won when I held the "best modules" elimination vote, excluding ones already released for 5e.

I think we are forgetting the possibility that this is a setting book, or even a boxed set, and Perkins is just writing the adventure portion while others tackle different sections.