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.

 

[ZeshinX]

Developed but not publish...well, depending on what is meant by "developed", perhaps if there's no interest in going the traditional ink and paper publishing route, put it up on DM's Guild instead.

Assuming developed means more than just a list of brainstormed concepts and ideas lol.

 

[Yaarel]

I will be surprised. Some of the richest mythical stories are of Indian origin. Just sadly, many white creators in America are too reliant on Norse myth..

Indian belief is tricky because it is a reallife living religion.

It isnt really possible to do a Gygax bull-in-china-shop approach to Hindu names and themes.

There is correct canon versus disrespecting someone elses culture.

I am sure there can be creative artistic license to reinvent Hindu tropes. But it seems like something to be done by persons who are part of Hindu culture and sensitive to Hindu sensibilities.

 

[Steampunkette]

Developed but not publish...well, depending on what is meant by "developed", perhaps if there's no interest in going the traditional ink and paper publishing route, put it up on DM's Guild instead.

Assuming developed means more than just a list of brainstormed concepts and ideas lol.

It was confirmed in a later tweet that they won't be Digital-Only.

 

[overgeeked]

This is a thing I, in retrospect, see a lot of in old D&D: dulled down concepts. The planes are one of the main culprits, possibly due to the box-checking nature of their design. So we get things like the Plane of Fire, which is all fire all the time oh so much fire hahaha burn burn burn. And maybe a tiny bit of non-fire but only a wee little bit. And save vs breath weapon or die, and even if you save you take 4d10 damage/round. That's not very conducive to good adventures. You either make sure everyone involved has a lot of protection which negates the danger entirely (and probably negate like half the damage of all the monsters on the plane), or you die.

Compare this to the description in the 5e DMG, which has the plane of fire being hot like a hot desert, not hot as in burn you alive. It also describes a number of geographical features like the Cinder Plains or Fountains of Creation. This is a lot more interesting and useful. It is also not immediately lethal, which means you get to survive it while still suffering from the heat and stuff.

I wouldn't consider that toning down, rather making them playable. Especially places like the Plane of Fire. In the old days, if you went there you'd just die. Period. At least with the change in 4E cosmology made the planes playable. Back in the day it was nothing more than a mildly interesting footnote, now you can actually go there and adventure.

 

[Mercurius]

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.

Yes, very much agree with this.

My biggest concern is that format is entirely online, which would just suck.

I'm hoping they mean a box set, and I suppose they could get away with calling it "new" because it would be for a lot of newer folks, at least as far as a setting is concerned.

It could also be a multi-media, with a hard-copy component and online resources to "unpack" certain elements. For instance, a Magic-style "art of" book, with rules online. But I'm not sure why they'd bother.

Another option would be multiple products, so the "new format" is just presenting the setting in several products, including a book, an accessories set (or box) with a screen etc. But they've already kind of done that.

So, yeah, there's a sense of creeping doom about "new format," mainly because of the concern that it will either be something too novel and annoying to use, or entirely in cyberspace, which would remove the joy of having a hard-copy product.

 

[Mercurius]

It was confirmed in a later tweet that they won't be Digital-Only.

Oh, good. Link?

 

[overgeeked]

Indian belief is tricky because it is a reallife living religion.

It isnt really possible to do a Gygax bull-in-china-shop approach to Hindu names and themes.

Of course it's possible. It's just an incredibly terrible idea.

There is correct canon versus disrespecting someone elses culture.

It all depends on which version of Hinduism you want to go with in regards to "correct canon". Hinduism isn't so much one monolithic religion as several hundred really large and fairly similar religions with mostly similar sets of canon. And there's the question of how slavish you should be to the "correct canon" and how much invention and fantasy you can inject while still being respectful. I want a fantasy India that draws inspiration from Indian culture, religions, and history, not a slavish representation of a real-world India analog.

I am sure there can be creative artistic license to reinvent Hindu tropes. But it seems like something to be done by persons who are part of Hindu culture and sensitive to Hindu sensibilities.

Absolutely.

 

[Mercurius]

Here's a "new format" idea. One of my all-time favorite products was the Necromancer Games "Wilderlands of High Fantasy" box, which had detailed hex maps and descriptions of thousands of hexes for a hex-crawling sandbox. Would love to see that for, say, Dark Sun.

 

[Steampunkette]

Oh, good. Link?

It's earlier in the thread. Page 4. Also if you go through Winniger's Twitter that's where he says it.

 

[Mercurius]

It's earlier in the thread. Page 4. Also if you go through Winniger's Twitter that's where he says it.

OK, thanks - that's a relief. I can go back to being positively excited.

It is also interesting to note that it sounds like they are being offered in two different formats. His emphasis on "you've never seen before" is confusing, though. Hard to imagine what that would be, considering 47 years of D&D history. Or is he just talking about 5E?