D&D 5E Iggwilv/Tasha To Join Volo, Xanathar, and Mordenkainen? [UPDATED!]

Is WotC teasing a new announcement? There have been a few D&D books named after famous personalities from the game's extensive lore - Vole's Guide to Monsters, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. It looks possible that the next such personality might be Tasha of Tasha's Hideous Laughter fame -- which was an adventuring alias of the Greyhawk villain Iggwilv.

UPDATE -- A page has appeared on Amazon entitled Dungeons & Dragons November Title (Announced August 24). It's a hardcover, $49.95, November 17th release date.

On their Discord channel, WotC posted a short audio clip; it features some female-sounding voices laughing, and it is titled "Feather and Tart". It also has a metadata info which says August 24th, 2020, which is Monday. But in addition to that, a WoTC staff member on Reddit's avatar was changed to an image of Iggwilv.

Iggwilv was an evil magic-user, a villain created by Gary Gygax. When adventuring with the Company of Seven, she used the alias Tasha. The lore has it that the witch Baba Yaga adopted her as a child and named her Natasha, and she soon became Natasha the Dark (Baba Yaga also adopted Elena the Fair).

Iggwilv has two forms, one old and one young. You can read more about the character on Wikipedia.


What does seem clear is that WotC is teasing an impending announcement! I assume that the announcement they are teasing will be the announcement of an upcoming announcement, or I'll be disappointed.

 

[Weiley31]

What if, here me out, Tasha somehow scored a Nat 20 and accidently took out Iggz. And ALL THIS TIME Iggz has been secretly Tasha and nobody except the DM knew, but the DM kept it hidden because it's the plot twist for the PCs once they reach that point of the Dragon Magazine Campaign? And the whole thing got forgotten about when Dragon Magazine got cancelled.

 

[Maxperson]

Yes, but Tasha gives them something Vecna doesn't; a powerful FEMALE wizard with the pedigree of other "spell-naming" wizards in the PHB. Tasha is, if I recall correctly, the only female named wizard to have a named spell on the core books.

Being able to tie her back to Iggliv is further icing due to her past as the Demonomicon author.

So WotC probably chose her to get a somewhat iconic female character as the namesake character who is easily on par with their other namesake character authors. Diversity and all that.

I can see that. If they wanted a strong female wizard who was well known, though, they should have gone with The Simbul. She's been around a hell of a lot longer and in the most popular setting. Tasha has a single spell that makes people laugh.

 

[Maxperson]

I was always under the impression that Dragon material was actually canon. It was certainly treated as such during the switch from 3e to 4e where you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting someone quoting some obscure Dragon article that 4e was stepping all over.

Since when is Dragon material not canon?

Since 1976. Issue #1.

 

[Maxperson]

Might as well go for a series then.

Vecna's Handbook: You Only Live Twice.
Vecna's Handbook: Live and Let Die.
Vecna's Handbook: The Lich Who Loved Me.

Lichfinger?

 

[Todd Roybark]

Since when is Dragon material not canon?

Since 1976. Issue #1.

Dragon Magazine for years was primarily non-paid submissions by fans.
A single issue could have an article about Call of Cthulhu, Top Secret, The Marvel Comic RPG, and then have some really overpowered rules giving Druids the ability to be chirurgeons and heal massive hit points without spells.

In the 1980s and early 1990's it was certainly not considered canon. Not, by me at any rate.

Most D&D players have never even read a Dragon or Dungeon Magazine.

Any 'canon' we talk about on these boards is an invisible canon, not seen by 95% of players.

As an aside.:
Ed Greenwood said he was given a non-paid Creative Editor title just so Dragon could feature his work. Ed is so nice....basically TSR gave him a title with no money or benefits so it could continue to exploit his creativity without paying him. I hope this was before TSR bought the Forgotten Realms from him.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What is the difference between a consistently buggy program that no one bothered to fix, and a monster manual full of typos that no one reprints?

Especially if the book doesn't have a non-typo version?

Authorial intent.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Speaking of classic D&D typos, was it OD&D or a BD&D book that gave monsters a percent chance of "liar" rather than "lair?" Still a hilarious thing to think people took seriously.

"Looks like there's a really high chance this dragon is completely full of crap. Let me roll and see."

 

[Khelon Testudo]

Given the nature of the hints we've received about the book, I think it's clear that WotC think Tasha is Iggwilv.
If WotC wants more diversity, they can always create more characters. On the other hand, I wonder if Drizzt would ever write a book?

 

[Maxperson]

Speaking of classic D&D typos, was it OD&D or a BD&D book that gave monsters a percent chance of "liar" rather than "lair?" Still a hilarious thing to think people took seriously.

"Looks like there's a really high chance this dragon is completely full of crap. Let me roll and see."

I don't know, but that reminds me of the April Fools item, the Liar of Building. It was a lyre that when played claimed to have built the best buildings in the area.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Just for me the idea that Tasha was secretly a villain in disguise is already super more interesting then EVRYTHing we knew about her added together...

The fact that the lowest level save or suck spell was made by a villain make too much sense

that little girl who wrote the letter (if she still plays 40ish years later) would probably be way happier with HER mage having a back story then just a name...

I find it extremely funny that a little girl likely wrote the "I'd like a spell that makes people laugh" to Gygax, likely with the idea of a spell that makes people happy.

And it became Tasha's Hideous Laughter, a spell more in common with the Joker's laughing gas than anything resembling joy.

Hopefully the kid, as an adult thinks that's pretty cool, because otherwise it's a little effed up...