D&D 5E Upcoming D&D Tidbits: Phandelver, Book of Many Things, Venger, & More!

D&D Beyond has shared some more tidbits of information about upcoming products, including this summer's new Phandelver campaign, and information about Vecna, Planescape, and spring's Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, and more.

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Here are the highlights:

• In the 2024 Vecna adventure, you will visit various worlds.
• Art by Brian Valezer and Kent Davis from fall 2023's Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants was shared (see below), along with art from the Phandelver campaign by José Manzanedo. There was additional art from Planescape and more which you can see in the video.
• The new Phandelver book will include the existing adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver in the first half and then continue on to higher levels from there.
• They're reimagining Planescape for today's audience--honouring the roots then expanding.
• More cards are being added to the Deck of Many Things in winter 2023's Book of Many Things. A new product type--a deck of cards and an accompanying book. The book digs into the history of the deck and its cosmic place as a force of chaos. It contains player and DM content.
• Venger, the villain from the 1980s D&D cartoon who will be featuring in an upcoming storyline and WotC's Chris Perkins might have hinted he is actually a Red Wizard--'a redder Red Wizard' was the phrase used.
• Many of the various bad guys in the League of Malevolence appeared in the D&D cartoon series -- Kelek, Warduke, etc.

Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants (art by Brian Valezer)

Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants (art by Kent Davis)

Phandelver Campaign (art by José Manzanedo)

Book of Many Things (art by Craig J. Spearing)​

 

[Parmandur]

I hadn't made the connection until a few minutes ago that my idea of what a campaign setting vs. an adventure isnt what I thought it was.

They put Adventure modules I'm full Setting books, too.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I don't follow WotC's announcements too closely anymore, but I was apparently mistaken when I assumed this was a campaign setting and not an adventure? I'm not joking and genuinely asking, is WotC using term campaign and adventure synonymously nowadays?

"Campaign" and "campaign setting" have always been two different things. The Dragonlance Campaign was the DL set of modules. The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is the world those modules take place in, and the various non-adventure books (including one of said DL modules) that detail it.

 

[Baron Opal II]

View attachment 281998
What cards are these?

a) Comet
b) Throne (Wolfhead is sitting on something) / Knight (Wolfhead themselves)
c) Key
d) Fool / Rogue
e) Fates
f) Rogue / Death

 

[BurntToast]

And more cards are being added to the Deck of Many Things in the Book of Many Things, which feels like -- in part -- a way to screw over the folks selling decks on Etsy, since the new cards likely won't be in the SRD any time soon. Gotta buy that Gale Force 7/Wizkids/Hasbro version for the real prop!

I carry around the deck from Madness at Gardmore Abbey.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I carry around the deck from Madness at Gardmore Abbey.

Also out of date!

Depending on how compelling the new cards are, I may just get one of the prop decks off Etsy, which includes some gorgeous ones.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Oh noes! They may go from 22 cards to 52/54 (or 78 and use the whole Tarot instead of just the major arcana)! Whatever will they do?

Finally, someone sticking up for the big corporation!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Absolutely unacceptable and pathetic. If I want the first adventure I'll buy that

You won't, because it's out of print.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

I’d accept that solution. Emphasize some language about it being “extra difficult” to cross into Eberron’s sphere, and that would be plenty enough for we Eberron purists to keep things clean.

That's essentially what they've already done. It's left up to the DM. The Progenitor Dragons sealed off the pocket "demiplane" within the Astral that Eberron and its cosmology are contained within back when they created it.

If you want to connect Eberron to the Great Wheel, go for it, and make it as easy or difficult to get through the seal between the two as you like.
If you don't, then even if someone managed to find the border, the Progenitor Dragons locked and barred the door eons ago.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My group found Lost Mines incredibly average. It was fine but there was nothing particularly interesting or noteworthy about it. Felt like adventures I homebrewed as a teen.

I do not doubt that people can make better adventures. There are likely better published adventures.

But as a published starter adventure? It's head and shoulders better than anything published before it. (I've heard good things about Stormwreck Isle, but don't own it.)

It teaches both players and DMs what they can expect from D&D, starting with a small one-session dungeon, and then a town that has stuff going on in it and then the ability to do all sorts of different adventures on their own, before everything eventually rolls around to the low level BBEG.

The most played D&D adventures, of any era, are the starter adventures. Lost Mines is, without a doubt, better than anything from the TSR era, 3E or 4E. (Yeah, I like Meepo, too, but the Sunless Citadel is a tube without meaningful choices beyond some roleplay ones.)

It should remain in print and now it will be.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I am sure the move to add cards to the Deck of Many Things has zero to do with Etsy or similar kickstarted versions. Maybe after a couple decades it could use a refresh and expansion.

We did just hear about how Hasbro yelled at WotC for leaving money on the table and saw them freaking out about perceived competition from much smaller players in the market.

If it wasn't the primary motivation, it was certainly something they were happy to tell those folks to get them to stop throwing coffee cups around the conference room.