D&D 5E 16 More Details About Theros

The latest edition of WotC's online magazine contains some juicy tidbits about Mythic Odysseys of Theros!

1. It features Volothamp Geddarm.
2. It was headed up by James Wyatt, who used to work on D&D, and now works on Magic: The Gathering. He worked on the 3E Deities & Demigods.
3. It's based on a novella, which Wyatt spent considerable time researching.
4. He also read about the government of Athens, and the Greek calendar.
5. Subclasses include the College of Eloquence bard ("the philosopher ideal'), the Oath of Heroism paladin, and the Forge and Grave cleric domains.
6. The DMG piety system has been "blown up into a huge thing"... "That includes all sorts of rewards and restrictions for characters who choose to devote themselves to a god and track their piety.”
7. New magic items of the gods - artifacts and weapons.
8. “Everyone gets this extra leg up that is a gift of the gods, which is separate from the usual character background. It may be a magical thing about your nature, such as you have the mind of a sphinx and your thoughts can’t be read. Or you might be an oracle, which is an opportunity for your Dungeon Master to give you plenty of adventure hooks. It’s a straight power-up but not a huge power-up”
9. A table of omens with 100 entries.
10. Minotaurs, centaurs, merfolk (tritons from Volo), satyrs, leonine.
11. “The leonin is a different, stronger cat person, not just a tabaxi!”
12. "Satyrs are pretty much as you would expect. They’re party animals with good Dexterity and Charisma, they have a headbutt attack, they’re fast, they’re fey, they resist magic and they have musical instrument proficiency and persuasion."
13. Different lore for D&D creatures to match the Greek setting.
14. Mythic threats are boss fights. More than legendary. Aresta of the Endless Web is a spider. Has baby spiders which fight you.
15. Dyson Logos did the maps.
16. "There’s a temple of Athreos in two parts, split by the river that flows between the mortal world and the underworld."

 

[CapnZapp]

I think Dyson Logos is doing the maps. I feel like his tend to no or few colors, but I could be wrong

Yes, the fact the maps are his coupled with how he usually works in b/w was the reason for my alarm

 

[jayoungr]

Was James Wyatt the one who made the Plane Shift documents? If he's been moved over to the MtG department, I guess that explains why we haven't had one of those in a while. Pity.

 

[Azzy]

Was James Wyatt the one who made the Plane Shift documents? If he's been moved over to the MtG department, I guess that explains why we haven't had one of those in a while. Pity.

He was already with MtG when he started those articles.

 

[jayoungr]

He was already with MtG when he started those articles.

Ah, okay. Then I will go back to my original assumption that they were such a hit that WotC decided to make them into full books instead!

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I kind of think that Volo being in Theros was more of a joke than an actual confirmation. They said he was wearing a "Theros or bust," shirt.

Reminds me of when they wrote a short story in Dragon+ of Elminster briefly sending Volo to Ravenloft so he could collect stuff for his new book, but Volo wasn't in Curse of Strahd.

 

[gyor]

Was James Wyatt the one who made the Plane Shift documents? If he's been moved over to the MtG department, I guess that explains why we haven't had one of those in a while. Pity.

He was moved over to the MtG department long before those articles came out, he did them on his own time which is why they are free and unofficial, but it did allow him to prototype for converting MtG worlds to D&D worlds.

And the reason why we haven't gotten a Planeshift article in a while is because they shifted to Hardcover official campaign setting guides, like Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and the upcoming Mythic Odysseys of Theros, which are much bigger and resource intensive then the Planeshift articles.

I'm bettering we will get another such book in 2021 for Zendikar, and uts even possible we will get a Eldraine one later this year perhaps.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

And the reason why we haven't gotten a Planeshift article in a while is because they shifted to Hardcover official campaign setting guides, like Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and the upcoming Mythic Odysseys of Theros, which are much bigger and resource intensive then the Planeshift articles.

I actually think the Planeshift articles were made because they had a conversation about what Magic settings might make good setting books, and the ones that didn't make the cut were given to Wyatt as testing to see the reception.

Amonkhet, Kaladesh, are both pretty unique, but don't seem to have enough content made for them to justify their own settings. Ixalan and Innistrad are pretty unique, but overlap with books already released (Chult in ToA, Ravenloft in CoS). And Zendikar and Dominaria are huge, but aren't really unique enough to truly justify their own releases.

So I don't expect any of those settings to get their own books. If Magic gets more settings, I expect it will be for ones that so far don't have Planeshift articles. Eldraine has been suggested, but I actually think the more likely target is Tarkir. That plane has gotten loads of content from Magic and even different timelines, so there is a lot to explore and plenty of opportunity for new rules and fluff for D&D.

The only reason I can see Tarkir not getting a Planeshift article is the same reasoning as why Theros never got one; it's being saved for a future setting book.

 

[slobster]

The only reason I can see Tarkir not getting a Planeshift article is the same reasoning as why Theros never got one; it's being saved for a future setting book.

There also hasn't been a Magic set released for Tarkir since Planeshift articles started, while the other planes you mentioned have all had a set release. Other than that I agree with your logic though.

I'd love a bestiary pdf release for slivers in D&D!

 

[Urriak Uruk]

There also hasn't been a Magic set released for Tarkir since Planeshift articles started, while the other planes you mentioned have all had a set release. Other than that I agree with your logic though.

I'd love a bestiary pdf release for slivers in D&D!

You are right, as the Planeshift articles coincide with the releases for art books, making it easier to make a PDF that looks good.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

You can probably find them in gaming store, but there's probably a big markup due to shipping cost. Probably not worth it.

Average price for english DND in Italy is 50 euros, exactly the same as Italian version