WotC 5E 2020 Book Clue - I need your help!

[gyor]

The Gate Towns would be my guess as well.

Based on everything we have seen released, playtested, talked about... I don't think there's any possibility that our autumn AP is anything but a planar adventure with gith and illithid. They have just spent too much time setting all of the planar information up at this point for them not to use it this year.

And the Gate Towns seem to be a facet of the outer planes that have not been done to death with repetitive information printed over the years in all the various Manuals of the Planes from all the different editions. So going in deep on those would allow gamers to go plane-hopping and then jaunt back to Sigil. It'll allow them to describe a lot of the outer planes themselves through how their Gate Town presents, and will make use of all the planar subclasses they've been having us test these last several months. This seems all more likely that just a random Cormyr guide not connected to anything.

I think it premature, BG3 isn't out yet.

 

[Parmandur]

I swear, there has been a LOT of contradictory hints all over the place; I'm going to try and organize some of them, from serious hints to more vague.

• Gem Dragons being in a book this year (this one I find very likely, the Sapphire dragons are already done and released, and was done months ago)
• Welch's "Adventure Compilation" project (including writers Marisha Ray and Debora Ann Woll). This was mentioned months ago, and although it is possible that it was quietly cancelled, I find that possibility strange considering Welch was even willing to talk about the project.
• There is so much UA material that isn't going into Theros (I'm not certain, but everything post-October isn't in Theros). Where does this all go? What is it for? Psionics, new subclasses, class variants, spell tattoos... it's a lot of material and has no clear location.
• Perkin's "Gazetteer Towns" hint
• Perkin's hints of "If you love Curse of Strahd, you'll love this!" Likely the adventure (as that is MO) but could be anything from just a scary-tone to full on Ravenloft return.
• WotC Mindflayer/Spelljammer hints. There are a couple here and there hinting that they want/are doing something with Mind Flayers.
• Perkin's hints of Lantan (I do not remember the source here), but it was that the Lantan tech in Dragon Heist was just a precursor to future material there.

These hints are a mess, and the only clear way to sort them is into 3 books (and I'm not confident in this theory);
1. Welch's book (no idea the theme or what this is; honestly the gazetteers could fit here if they are adventures all over FR).
2. The annual adventure book, likely Lantan plus Spelljammer or Planescape.
3. A monster/player's book, combining new player options with new monsters like the Gem Dragons. Possibly Planescape themed.

This is my broad theory for the year, even though three new books in the fall/winter is a lot (though not unheard of; looking at you 2018).

Now that I've thought about it more, Perkin's gazetteers make sense in Welch's adventure compilation, especially if it was scattered all over the Forgotten Realms.

A Gazeeter to set the stage for a compilation of shorter adventures would fit with Welch's first book, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, stylistically.

The Lantan bits have been dribbing and drabbing for yeeeeeeaaars: hints in SCAG and most especially in Tomb of Annihilation, not just social media. It'll be in something, sometime.

Much of the UA material is "throw it against a wall and see what sticks" sort of situation, possibly. A certain percentage was probably meant for Theros and didn't make the cut, some might be for multiple different other books, some might be hypothetical to see what people are interested in.

There's also the open question of the mass battle system they've been working on, that got partially into Ghosts of Saltmarsh...

 

[DEFCON 1]

I think it premature, BG3 isn't out yet.

BG3 was scheduled for release in 2020, which would bring it in line with an autumn planar AP by WotC. Now the video game might get pushed back due to COVID, but that won't change WotC's publishing order. It'd be nice if both the game book and the game could have been released in the same season, but if they had to split due to the virus, then so be it.

The one thing I would think though is that whatever planned launch weekend WotC was planning on doing along the lines of Stream of Annihilation or Stream of Many Eyes is probably going to be pushed back into late summer if not cancelled altogether. The past two years it was in June I think (?) but I don't see that happening now.

 

[gyor]

BG3 was scheduled for release in 2020, which would bring it in line with an autumn planar AP by WotC. Now the video game might get pushed back due to COVID, but that won't change WotC's publishing order. It'd be nice if both the game book and the game could have been released in the same season, but if they had to split due to the virus, then so be it.

The one thing I would think though is that whatever planned launch weekend WotC was planning on doing along the lines of Stream of Annihilation or Stream of Many Eyes is probably going to be pushed back into late summer if not cancelled altogether. The past two years it was in June I think (?) but I don't see that happening now.

No, Early Access was set for 2020, although Larian's productivity has been reduced to 70%-80% of what it was and anything that requires a studio has halted for now, although Swen has said that EA is still going to happen this year, so the disruption has not been sever enough to change that.

And early access for Divinity Original Sin lasted for full year before release, so if BG3 for example was going into EA in June 2020 hypothically, it wouldn't be at least until June 2021 roughly that full release happens at the earliest.

 

[gyor]

I swear, there has been a LOT of contradictory hints all over the place; I'm going to try and organize some of them, from serious hints to more vague.

• Gem Dragons being in a book this year (this one I find very likely, the Sapphire dragons are already done and released, and was done months ago)
• Welch's "Adventure Compilation" project (including writers Marisha Ray and Debora Ann Woll). This was mentioned months ago, and although it is possible that it was quietly cancelled, I find that possibility strange considering Welch was even willing to talk about the project.
• There is so much UA material that isn't going into Theros (I'm not certain, but everything post-October isn't in Theros). Where does this all go? What is it for? Psionics, new subclasses, class variants, spell tattoos... it's a lot of material and has no clear location.
• Perkin's "Gazetteer Towns" hint
• Perkin's hints of "If you love Curse of Strahd, you'll love this!" Likely the adventure (as that is MO) but could be anything from just a scary-tone to full on Ravenloft return.
• WotC Mindflayer/Spelljammer hints. There are a couple here and there hinting that they want/are doing something with Mind Flayers.
• Perkin's hints of Lantan (I do not remember the source here), but it was that the Lantan tech in Dragon Heist was just a precursor to future material there.

These hints are a mess, and the only clear way to sort them is into 3 books (and I'm not confident in this theory);
1. Welch's book (no idea the theme or what this is; honestly the gazetteers could fit here if they are adventures all over FR).
2. The annual adventure book, likely Lantan plus Spelljammer or Planescape.
3. A monster/player's book, combining new player options with new monsters like the Gem Dragons. Possibly Planescape themed.

This is my broad theory for the year, even though three new books in the fall/winter is a lot (though not unheard of; looking at you 2018).

Now that I've thought about it more, Perkin's gazetteers make sense in Welch's adventure compilation, especially if it was scattered all over the Forgotten Realms.

"I swear, there has been a LOT of contradictory hints all over the place" truer words have never been spoken, just when I think I've guessed what they are up to they throw in another twist, so I change my guess and then they throw another one, and another one, which is why I made 10 guesses instead of just one and I still acknowledge we all could be way off base.

Hopefully we will know their plans for the rest of the year by Summer.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

BG3 was scheduled for release in 2020, which would bring it in line with an autumn planar AP by WotC. Now the video game might get pushed back due to COVID, but that won't change WotC's publishing order. It'd be nice if both the game book and the game could have been released in the same season, but if they had to split due to the virus, then so be it.

The one thing I would think though is that whatever planned launch weekend WotC was planning on doing along the lines of Stream of Annihilation or Stream of Many Eyes is probably going to be pushed back into late summer if not cancelled altogether. The past two years it was in June I think (?) but I don't see that happening now.

Last year's "The Descent" event started on May 17th. I think they probably announced ticket sales by this point in April.

My guess is there is no event this year; they are usually themed around whatever book is releasing, and I don't think they want to push the book's release for an event maybe being able to happen later.

They may do a streaming event, but that hasn't been announced either. I think they may just follow the Magic the Gathering / Warhammer strategy for announcements during COVID-19, of releasing a video that showcases all the product releases plus softball interviews of the developers talking about the product. They will probably give a date for such a video about a week before it happens.

I do think they probably planned to hold an event in May; there original plan would probably be to have the event a week or two before Theros' release (June 2) and sell copies there (they did this last year with Ghosts of Saltmarsh).

So there very probably won't be any real news of new products until mid-May, but maybe even later.

 

[Enrico Poli1]

2. The annual adventure book, likely Lantan plus Spelljammer or Planescape.

This. I bet on this: Lantan and Spelljammer

 

[vpuigdoller]

This. I bet on this: Lantan and Spelljammer

I don't think so but I really wish for it lol.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

He's working on towns right now, it doesn't mean its the only thing this book has.

And if its focused on say the Sea of Fallen Stars region they could dive down into towns or if its a bigger book.

That being said of you read my list of possiblities its more than just FR, so I'm not setting myself up for disappointment, I am open to other possiblities, alot of them including ones folks haven't concidered.

Its just that I think a book just on Cormyr is unlikely, its changed alot less then other regions, hence why I suggested a middle ground, the Sea of Fallen Stars which includes Cormyr.

I suppose its possible that its an AP in Cormyr, but I am hopeful its something more interesting then that.

You put a new FR sourcebook as your #1 possibility... which I find optimistic.

I just find it odd that Perkins mentioned towns for gazetteers. Makes more sense to say regions or cities like Wildemount if it was actually for a whole setting.

I actually don't think it's Cormyr anymore... these gazetteers remind me of Welch's book, which could be all over Forgotten Realms.

 

[gyor]

Now that I have time I'm going to listen to it myself.