Spelljammer D&D Direct Live Report: 9am PDT (5pm BST) SPELLJAMMER CONFIRMED! DRAGONLANCE!

D&D Direct, WotC's new video-format announcement show launches today at 9am PDT (5pm BST). If you aren't able to watch it, I'll be updating this article live. Feel free to comment below! Once it launches, you will need to refresh this page when you want to see new updates. The video is expected to last about 30 minutes.

If you CAN watch it, you'll find it on YouTube or Twitch at the above times. Otherwise, follow along below!

• 45 mins to go. Live updates incoming!
• 30 mins to go!
• 5 minutes to go!
• Here we go! Opens with a sea shanty.
• Forgive typos. They talk fast and I can't type.

• Spelljammer is confirmed!
• They talk REALLY FAST!
• Spelljammer Adventures in Space, project lead Chris Perkins, Trystan Falcone graphic designer
• Cities built on asteroids, dead gods floating in the ether
• 6 races---astral elves, autognomes, hedozi(?), gif, plasmoids, thri-kreen
• 3 hardcovers in a slipcase: Astral Adventurers Guide, Boo's Astral Menagerie, Light of Xaryxis adventure
• Prequel adventure in July
• Wizkids miniatures

Other stuff also discussed!

• Baldur's Gate 3 CRPG preview video (game is in 2023)
• Journeys Through Radiant Citadel intro video -- 3 of the adventures are: Wages of Vice (5th level), Caribbean; Orchids of the Invisible Mountain (14th level), feywild, far realm, Whistler new monster; Fiend of Hollow Mind (4th level), skeletons and spirits

• "Campaign Cases" -- Creature tokens! Terrain tiles! July!

D&D Movie directors now onscreen. The movie in March 2023 is called HONOR AMONG THIEVES.

• New D&D starter set. Comes with 'digital onboarding'. Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. We knew about that one.
• D&D digital monstrous compendium. Available to those with WoTC or D&D Beyond Accounts. Volume 1 has an eldritch lich and the 10 legged asteroid spider. And the starlancer. Might have misheard some of that!

• MMO Neverwinter video. Dragonslayer begins June 2022. (I wonder if they'll need a dragonance for that?)
• New D&D actual play video, Legends of the Multiverse. Lots of 80s cartoon style soft rock music. Boo is in it.

WIzKids skirmish game D&D Onslaught. October

Finally -- DRAGONLANCE WARRIORS OF KRYNN! SHADOW OF THE DRAGON QUEEN!

 

[Parmandur]

Wait....$150??? I thought the slipcase set was less. Okay need to research.

No, thst of this was a higher page count, it would be $100.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

It’s $70. People are being really loose with their comparisons.

Thanks...yeah I figured that out after I did a bit of post-panic-post research LOL

 

[Doctor Futurity]

There it is: three $20 books (based on PRERECESSION prices, even!) and a $15 DM screen: not a "deal" per se, but fair based on market prices.

The original two book boxed set for Spelljammer totalled about 192 pages as well. It had a lot of cardboard sheets (common for the time) and a couple maps, too.

 

[dave2008]

I'd be fine with that. I believe someone pointed out that inflation is about 20% since 2014, when the price was originally $50. That would make a fair price $60.

Instead, the do a slipcase and three books for $70. And I don't like it!

Two points:

1. Three books, a DM screen, map, & a slipcase
2. Inflation has been even higher recently. In 2021 the price of steel was $4500/ton (installed), we got prices on a project in February '22 and the cost $9000/ton. That is 100% inflation in one year.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Is it really such an enraging issue? I'm not sure were you live, but cost are going crazy here in the States. I'm an architect and just had the budget on a project jump 25% and we didn't change a damb thing. Steel has jumped %100 in the last year. I just see this as such a big issue. Cost are going up everywhere, why should this be any different?

Yes it's an enraging issue. You can complain about "costs jumping", but guess how much costs have gone up for digital? Approximately a big fat 0% or very close to it.

How much have WotC raised the price of a 192 page book on digital? By 80%.

Also, inflation has gone up 21% since 2014, so let's not misrepresent the issue with ridiculous numbers about steel, which was drastically underpriced, as you probably know. You're destroying your own argument with such a ridiculous point.

If you think an 80% price rise on a digital product is okay, well, come out and say an 80% price rise on a digital product is okay, don't beat around the bush.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Two points:

1. Three books, a DM screen, map, & a slipcase
2. Inflation has been even higher recently. In 2021 the price of steel was $4500/ton (installed), we got prices on a project in February '22 and the cost $9000/ton. That is 100% inflation in one year.

Stop trying to misrepresent the issue by bringing in steel, which if you know the market, you know was underpriced drastically. That's not "inflation", and calling it "inflation", just shows you're misusing the word, and I question your intent in misusing the word, frankly.

 

[michaeljpastor]

Called it!

LOVE the fact that they're segregating content. I have 6 books I have not cracked open yet because I'm not a DM and I don't want anything spoiled for me. However making them hardcover seems a bit much for me. I would much rather if they were a very sturdy softcover book (the one thing I called wrong).

So it looks like Crystal Spheres, phlogiston and the ethereal plane are all MIA. Which also means that Radiant citadel is not a part of this setting. However it also sets up a lead in to the outer planes and Planescape, which is Astral. And I thought that something was up when they included Astral Elves in UA when Spelljammer was Ethereal.

And lastly, the multiversal player races dovetail nicely with Star Frontiers. So maybe long-term wotc is looking to compete with Starfinder.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

There it is: three $20 books (based on PRERECESSION prices, even!) and a $15 DM screen: not a "deal" per se, but fair based on market prices.

$15 is not "fair" for a DM's screen, it's highway robbery.

And $20 is not "fair" for a 64-page book, either. Nor is it "fair" to have no option for a non-hardback book which would presumably be considerably be cheaper unless WotC are truly super-gouging.

Nor is an 80% price increase on a digital product "fair", I would suggest, and I don't think you even disagree with that last.#

This is luxury pricing/packaging for fans, not reasonable pricing/packaging for players/DMs, and it's testing the waters, I would suggest, for D&D rebranding itself into a sort of "premium" or "lifestyle" brand/IP, rather than a TTRPG. Something I've been anticipating them doing for a while.

 

[dave2008]

Yes it's an enraging issue. You can complain about "costs jumping", but guess how much costs have gone up for digital? Approximately a big fat 0% or very close to it.

How much have WotC raised the price of a 192 page book on digital? By 80%.

Also, inflation has gone up 21% since 2014, so let's not misrepresent the issue with ridiculous numbers about steel, which was drastically underpriced, as you probably know. You're destroying your own argument with such a ridiculous point.

If you think an 80% price rise on a digital product is okay, well, come out and say an 80% price rise on a digital product is okay, don't beat around the bush.

I know architecture /construction. Our budget was $10.9 million on a project in Dec. '21. Three months later the cost was $13.4 million (with no change in scope). In three months the cost raised 23%. It is not just steel, but yes steel is crazy right now. I also know we raised all of our hourly rates over the past year - and we are all digital. Digital is not free.

 

[dave2008]

Stop trying to misrepresent the issue by bringing in steel, which if you know the market, you know was underpriced drastically. That's not "inflation", and calling it "inflation", just shows you're misusing the word, and I question your intent in misusing the word, frankly.

Sorry, that is the number that stood out to me because it was such a shock. The $4500 price I quoted as supposed to take into account Covid based inflation - boy was our engineer wrong.

And please stop assuming negative intent on my part. Relax a bit.