D&D 5E WotC: 5 D&D Settings In Development?

WotC's Ray Winninger spoke a little about some upcoming D&D settings -- two classic settings are coming in 2022 in formats we haven't seen before, and two brand new (not Magic: the Gathering) settings are also in development, as well as return to a setting they've already covered in 5E. He does note, however, that of the last three, there's a chance of one or more not making it to release, as they develop more than they use.

Two classic settings? What could they be?​

So that's:

• 2 classic settings in 2022 (in a brand new format)
• 2 brand new settings
• 1 returning setting

So the big questions -- what are the two classic settings, and what do they mean by a format we haven't seen before? Winninger has clarified on Twitter that "Each of these products is pursuing a different format you've never seen before. And neither is "digital only;" these are new print formats."

As I've mentioned on a couple of occasions, there are two more products that revive "classic" settings in production right now.

The manuscript for the first, overseen by [Chris Perkins], is nearly complete. Work on the second, led by [F. Wesley Schneider] with an assist from [Ari Levitch], is just ramping up in earnest. Both are targeting 2022 and formats you've never seen before.

In addition to these two titles, we have two brand new [D&D] settings in early development, as well as a return to a setting we've already covered. (No, these are not M:tG worlds.)

As I mentioned in the dev blog, we develop more material than we publish, so it's possible one or more of these last three won't reach production. But as of right now, they're all looking great.

Of course the phrase "two more products that revive 'classic' settings" could be interpreted in different ways. It might not be two individual setting books.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I could see an "Inner Sea" book, that included a deep dive into the Dalelands (remember, the two core home games the FR are rooted in, one in Waterdeep, the other in the Dalelands).

The Inner Sea/Dalelands region is boring. It's even more generic bog standard fantasyland than the Sword Coast. There are far more interesting parts of the Forgotten Realms.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I must be missing something here.

Wasn’t one of the chief sins leveled against TSR during the 2e era that they released too many settings that competed against each other, and fractured the player base?

Or is that now just regarded as WOTC 3e propaganda these days...?

It's definitely the latter to some extent, but there are two things going on:

1) TSR tended to overinvest in setting regardless of success. Not entirely - it's obvious that successful lines got more products than others (Planescape sold tons, got tons of products), but they still did an excessive amount of setting-specific material beyond the core setting books.

2) The D&D playerbase now is vastly larger - I guess maybe 5x was it was then based on what WotC have said. This means if you're only selling a core setting book, you don't need to get that much of the market to buy it to make it successful.

3) There's a fundamentally different approach in that all settings have at least some cross-setting usable material in the form of subclasses, races, feats, spells, magic items, monsters and sometimes even mechanics. So more people are encouraged to get any given setting book.

But yes, the old "Balkanized the setting market" thing is clearly untrue.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

It would be fine if they did concentrate in giving some detail in one region (which would almost certainly be Cormyr/Sembia/Dalelands/Moonsea), just as long as they don't fob off the remaining areas of the setting with a paragraph or two, as SCAG did (although they could say "For more detail on the Sword Coast region, see the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide", to save some room). Do like Eberron and Ravenloft did, and give like 2 - 4 pages to each country/region outside the core zone, and that will be fine (and 2 - 4 pages to cover each of the main areas outside Faerun, if they care to enter that potential minefield). Honestly, that wouldn't be too much different from what the 3e FRCS did when it came do detailing nations/areas....

I'm curious what the "city of adventure" that would get its own chapter (as Sharn did for Eberron) would be in this case though? None of the cities in the region quite have the cachet that Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, or Neverwinter have. Suzail? Westgate? Raven's Bluff? Maybe they would go the opposite way and give us a "village of adventure" with Shadowdale...

Oh okay I get what you mean now.

Skuld or Calimport, both have probably the most cache outside of the North, Swordcoast, and Western Heartlands.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I have to say I found Ray's post slightly alarming because of "formats you've never seen before".

Because I just don't see any way that ends well, unless it's ridiculous hype for "this time it's a boxed set and there's a map!"

I am very pleased to hear they have two new settings in development at least, that aren't MtG settings, I was kind of thinking that might never happen again.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah, it's very difficult to imagine a different format that hasn't been done before. Paperback? Done. Magazine/folio? Done. Boxed set? Done. A5 booklet? Well Traveller did it in the 80s.

It maybe that he is simply talking about blurring the distinction between core rules, settings and monster books. I think it's marketing hype rather than reason to panic though.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Yeah, it's very difficult to imagine a different format that hasn't been done before. Paperback? Done. Magazine/folio? Done. Boxed set? Done. A5 booklet? Well Traveller did it in the 80s.

It maybe that he is simply talking about blurring the distinction between core rules, settings and monster books. I think it's marketing hype rather than reason to panic though.

But I'm very good at panicking Paul!

Yeah hopefully though it's just a bit of hoopla. I'm still scarred from early 2E setting books which came with multiple booklets, dozens of A4 pieces of cardboard with random-ass info or pictures on them (sometimes stuff useful for showing players, admittedly), various maps, and sometimes other stuff like cut-out tokens as well, or that weird-ass flip-book in Dark Sun 1. That was annoying to deal with. I didn't even like it when I was 11, for god's sake, and I really liked dumb tat at that age.

I think the worst case scenario, and I only mention this because I've heard it suggested, positively, by people before (admittedly not for a few years), is if a setting was released purely as an app and/or website.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Yeah, it's very difficult to imagine a different format that hasn't been done before. Paperback? Done. Magazine/folio? Done. Boxed set? Done. A5 booklet? Well Traveller did it in the 80s.

It maybe that he is simply talking about blurring the distinction between core rules, settings and monster books. I think it's marketing hype rather than reason to panic though.

Did he mean never done before period or never done in 5e?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

But I'm very good at panicking Paul!

Yeah hopefully though it's just a bit of hoopla. I'm still scarred from early 2E setting books which came with multiple booklets, dozens of A4 pieces of cardboard with random-ass info or pictures on them (sometimes stuff useful for showing players, admittedly), various maps, and sometimes other stuff like cut-out tokens as well, or that weird-ass flip-book in Dark Sun 1. That was annoying to deal with. I didn't even like it when I was 11, for god's sake, and I really liked dumb tat at that age.

I think the worst case scenario, and I only mention this because I've heard it suggested, positively, by people before (admittedly not for a few years), is if a setting was released purely as an app and/or website.

Ray also dismissed the idea of a pure digital product, these are still print products.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But I'm very good at panicking Paul! /

Yeah hopefully though it's just a bit of hoopla. I'm still scarred from early 2E setting books which came with multiple booklets, dozens of A4 pieces of cardboard with random-ass info or pictures on them (sometimes stuff useful for showing players, admittedly), various maps, and sometimes other stuff like cut-out tokens as well, or that weird-ass flip-book in Dark Sun 1. That was annoying to deal with. I didn't even like it when I was 11, for god's sake, and I really liked dumb tat at that age.

Seems like it would be very expensive to produce, and therefore unlikely.

I think the worst case scenario, and I only mention this because I've heard it suggested, positively, by people before (admittedly not for a few years), is if a setting was released purely as an app and/or website.

They have said not doing that, but I would be fine with it. I'm already moving over to mostly online, there are far too many heavy rulebooks for me to lug around these days.

 

[JEB]

Leave Planescape the [bleep] alone. Other than transposing from 2E to 5E, don't mess with it in any way, shape, manner, or form.

There are almost certainly going to be changes, but the question is whether they'll be minimal (like Eberron) or nearly total (like Ravenloft). I would hope for the former, but now that the line's been crossed, I expect the latter (for Planescape and any other classic setting).

I advise avid fans of the old settings to keep their expectations low for any revival; it's a good way to avoid disappointment.