D&D 5E Official D&D Greek-Themed 'Mythic Odysseys of Theros' Setting Coming In May

My inbox just exploded! It looks like Penguin Random House accidentally leaked an upcoming book listing for D&D, before removing the entry. It's dated for May 19th, and it's called Mythic Odysseys of Theros. What's Theros? It's a Greek(ish) themed Magic: the Gathering world! This will make it the second, after Ravnica, to make it to an official D&D campaign setting. Here's what the MTG wiki...

My inbox just exploded! It looks like Penguin Random House accidentally leaked an upcoming book listing for D&D, before removing the entry. It's dated for May 19th, and it's called Mythic Odysseys of Theros.

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What's Theros? It's a Greek(ish) themed Magic: the Gathering world! This will make it the second, after Ravnica, to make it to an official D&D campaign setting. Here's what the MTG wiki says about it:
"Theros is a plane governed by the gods of Nyx, where heroes face monsters, the sea rages, people offer burnt offerings and adventures take place. It is defined by mankind's struggle against the primal forces of the world, and mankind's conflict with the many other sapient races that populate the world."

Meletis.jpg


In ancient times, the archons of Theros held a massive empire, tyrannizing the world in the belief that they were imposing a strict justice. The most notable of these Archon tyrants was Agnomakhos, who used the leonin as an army. Eventually, the Archon empire fell, being instead replaced by the poleis, and the remaining Archons now lash at these, slighting the "honor" they feel was stripped from them.

There's an enormous list of races, too -- though how many of those will translate from MtG to D&D, I don't know. Some of these are clearly 'monsters' in the D&D sense rather than 'races'. It includes cats, centaurs, gorgons, merfolk, minotaurs, satyrs, spirits, zombies, archons, basilisks, chimeras, cyclopses, demons, dragons, giants, hags, harpies, hounds, hydras, krakens, lamias, manticores, pegasi, phoenixes, spines, and sirens.

There's a whole bunch of Greek-themed or inspired D&D settings, including:
  • Arkadia by Arcana Games. "Arkadia is a combined setting and players handbook for 5e - inspired by the history and myths of Ancient Greece. The book contains 100 pages of densely packed all new Greek themed content for both Players and GMs."
  • Hellenistika from Handiwork Games. "From the Pillars of Herakles in the West to the Silken Cities of the East, from the isle of Hyperborea in the North to the Mountains of the Moon in the South, the world spreads before you, alive with gods and marvels."
  • Odyssey of the Dragonlords from Arcanum Worlds. "Odyssey of the Dragonlords is an epic fantasy campaign for the fifth edition of the world’s greatest roleplaying game. The Player’s Guide is a 28-page companion booklet that will provide you with everything you need to begin your career as a prospective hero in the forgotten land of Thylea."
  • Land of Myth by Seven Thebes. "A Fantasy Setting in Mythical Ancient Greece.A world of Heroes, right after the end of
    the Trojan War, steeped in myth and conflict."
Of course, this all assumes this isn't come kind of epic troll on WotC's part -- they have recently started putting placeholder names on products on Amazon and then changing them at the most minute, although with limited success. This could be a more elaborate attempt at that!
 

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jayoungr

Legend
Supporter
Interesting! We haven't had a Plane Shift document in a while; I wonder if they've decided to start making them full-length books instead? If so, I wish they could go back and expand some of the ones that are already out. I could really use more Ixalan.
 

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slobster

Hero
So for playable Theros races, what would people expect? I'd think humans (obvs), satyrs, centaurs, some kind of merfolk (tritons?), leonin (cat-people), minotaurs (MINOTAURS), returned (undead people with no memory of their former lives and stylish masks).

Anything else? As a GM I would shoe-horn in elves and dwarves. Not sure about other races fitting, or if you'd just go full-tilt fantasy kitchen sink?
 


Wow, that's pretty cool.
I'd like to see a "Hellenic Adventures" or "Olympian Adventures" Appendix or Web Enhancement that outlines how the Theros setting can be adapted to the quasi-Greek settings of the (other) worlds of the D&D Multiverse. With at least a paragraph for:
  • Chessenta of Forgotten Realms
  • In the World of Mystara: Minaeans (Minoans) near Skothar; Milenian colonies of the Grass Coast; Cathos and Vacros; Milenians and Traldar of Hollow World. (The Thyatians are medieval quasi-Orthodox Christian Byzantine Greeks and Romans though, not classical pagan Greeks.)
  • Bacchar = "D&D Hellenic Earth", the source of Ancient Greek facets in Ravenloft. Bacchar could be a world which is entirely shaped according to Ancient Greek perspective. Even other cultures would be portrayed according to that perspective. See the maps: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/gr-history-ancient-geography-maps.htm
  • Tharquish Empire in western Oerth, based on how it's portrayed in the Black Moon Chronicles. (The Tharquish IP is owned by Francois Froidival though.)
For more "Oriental Adventures"-style "culture books" see:
 
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JeffB

Legend
Finally, something interesting. Will be following this closely.

For those familiar with it, is this full of "furries" for PC races?
 



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