D&D 5E 3 Classic Settings Coming To 5E?

On the D&D Celebration – Sunday, Inside the D&D Studio with Liz Schuh and Ray Winninger, Winninger said that WotC will be shifting to a greater emphasis on settings in the coming years.

This includes three classic settings getting active attention, including some that fans have been actively asking for. He was cagey about which ones, though.

The video below is an 11-hour video, but the information comes in the last hour for those who want to scrub through.



Additionally, Liz Schuh said there would be more anthologies, as well as more products to enhance game play that are not books.

Winninger mentioned more products aimed at the mainstream player who can't spend immense amount of time absorbing 3 tomes.

Ray and Liz confirmed there will be more Magic: The Gathering collaborations.

 

[Nymrod]

For Planescape I think they should just advance the timeline so the factions are back in some form (remove the limit of 15 only). It's metaplot was mainly about Rowan Darkwood as the primary point, and the thing with Orcus/Tenebrous being only a 2-part adventure path that was mostly in isolation of the first plotline. They should put at least 80 years past Faction War and anything to do with Rowan Darkwood (or Vecna, from that let's explode 2e module).

That would kill off several perfectly fine NPCs who'd die in that time.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

That would kill off several perfectly fine NPCs who'd die in that time.

Some of them they could definitely hand-wave as having long lifespans, especially if they're Planetouched. For others they could have just found ways of extending their lives, like Harys Hatchis who is a Human but also is a Wizard.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

If I saw a Kayak hovering up the side of a pyramid, you would definitely get a surprise attack on me.

(Sorry dude. I know predictive can be a bugger).

(let me go back and kick my auto correct in the pants...)
LOL!

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Back on the subject of Spelljammer, in it's 2e rules there were 2 different damage tracks/scales. One being the normal HP for personal combat between characters, and the other being the damage track for ships with Hull Points as the HP. While 5e does have vehicle rules, it doesn't currently have 2 separate tracks.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I would love to see a 5e Dark Sun bring out some of the original races that the design team was told they could not do because they were too different from the core rules races. In a past interview, I think it was either Troy or Tim who said the scene of Kalak hovering up the side of the pyramid, with all the various creatures working away, were all the original races the design team wanted to do. Belgoi, gith, jozhal, baazrag, and others that showed up in the gladiator games

I wouldn't mind if 5e Dark Sun went back to the original pitch as a starting point. Leave the elves, dwarves and halflings on the cutting room floor.

 

[Mecheon]

I wouldn't mind if 5e Dark Sun went back to the original pitch as a starting point. Leave the elves, dwarves and halflings on the cutting room floor.

Elves as Thri-kreen food is a longstanding Dark Sun tradition though, no way they'd go that far back

 

[humble minion]

For Planescape I think they should just advance the timeline so the factions are back in some form (remove the limit of 15 only). It's metaplot was mainly about Rowan Darkwood as the primary point, and the thing with Orcus/Tenebrous being only a 2-part adventure path that was mostly in isolation of the first plotline. They should put at least 80 years past Faction War and anything to do with Rowan Darkwood (or Vecna, from that let's explode 2e module).

They'd be more likely to rewind the timeline to pre-Faction War rather than try to advance it way beyond Faction War, imho. I reckon WotC learned a bit on how to handle problematic legacy lore between the relative success of 4e Dark Sun and the radioactive dumpster fire full of covid-infested skunks that was 4e FR...

 

[Hatmatter]

Curse of Strahd let the PCs, literally,

Spoiler

discover the Dark Powers sealed in little coffins in a lost temple in Barovia

Fair to say it makes no attempt to adhere to Ravenloft Canon at all. I suspect it'd be an excellent adventure to play with a good DM, but when it comes to canonicity it's rhyming slang of the 2e/3e Ravenloft setting, at best.

Wow! Really? Well, to be fair, that sounds more like a development of canon rather than actually contradicting canon. Contradicting canon would be pretending that Dark Powers never existed or something like that. But, just to be clear here, I not only haven't read Curse of Strahd, but it has been a while since I read through my old Ravenloft books.

Well, Humble, I guess we'll see how Wizards of the Coast treats the Domains of Dread now in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. I am optimistic.

 

[Hatmatter]

I think there is something to your last sentence, along with the simple observation that the kind of controlled release schedule that Wizard's adopted since 2014 means that they have not had time to get to a whole bunch of potential ideas. I recall hearing the different Domains of Dread addressed in a Dragon Talk from the last couple years...perhaps in a Lore You Should Know segment? I am hazy on those details, but what I do firmly recall is that, as someone who is pretty well versed in the original 2nd Edition Ravenloft boxed set and someone who designed his own Domain and integrated it into the Domains map included with that set, I did not hear anything on Dragon Talk that contradicted my understanding of the idea of Ravenloft expressed in that box set.

The Barovia in Curse of Strahd does not at all resemble the Barovia from the 2nd and 3rd edition settings except for a few place names and the vampire Strahd in Castle Ravenloft.

Glad to hear that they are going to be err fleshing out the Domains of Dread, Quentin? I hope so!

 

[Charlaquin]

Well, Humble, I guess we'll see how Wizards of the Coast treats the Domains of Dread now in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. I am optimistic.

I’m... not sure I agree with humble’s interpretation of the amber temple.

Here’s a handy video explaining how the vestiges in the amber temple and the Dark Powers are different things (spoilers for Curse of Strahd, of course).