D&D 5E Planescape, Bigby, Phandelver and the Deck of Many Things: Covers & Details Revealed!

The covers of the upcoming D&D books — including Planescape, Glory of the Giants, and the Deck of Many Things have been revealed.

• August 15th -- Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants ($59.95)
• August 15th -- The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons ($39.95)
• September 19th -- Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk ($59.95)
• October 16th -- Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse ($TBA)
• November 14th -- Book of Many Things ($TBA)

Coming August 15th with two variants. Lore about giants, 76 stat blocks, feats, and a giant subclass.

3 hardcovers in a boxed set-- 96 page guide to Sigil, 64-page bestiary, and 96-page adventure, along with a poster map and DM screen. Coming October 16th.

224-page adventure for levels 1-12, poster map, 16 new monsters. Coming September 19th.

66 illustrated cards, 192-page book with lore, character options, magic items, and monsters, 80-page card reference guide, all in a slipcase. Coming November 14th.​

These Are Dungeons & Dragons' New Products For 2023

New books for the fantasy role-playing game include Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, and a look at the legendary Deck of Many Things.

themessenger.com

 

[Maxperson]

whispers "you did see that spelljammers just sail through the Astral Sea now, though ..."

They can sail through any plane.

DMG page 47

"Gateways leading from the Astral Plane to other planes appear as two-dimensional pools of rippling colors, 1d6 x 10 feet in diameter."

I think a good number of spelljamming ships would be able to fit through the larger pools. 60 feet in diameter is pretty sizable. Once through to the abyss or mechanus the ships would be able to fly on those planes, unless something local kept it from happening.

 

[Azzy]

Manifest it, my friend, manifest it.

Calling Jakandor for the sample setting in the 2024 DMG.

 

[ersatzphil]

Calling Jakandor for the sample setting in the 2024 DMG.

I kind of hope it’s Greyhawk, but I’d guess Mystara would have a fighting chance.

 

[JEB]

Given that Perkins admitted in this recent press conference that the mysterious Chapter 8 of the new DMG is a sample Setting with a fold out map, I'm feeling bullish in Greyhawk in 2024, in the DMG at least.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's the "First World"... a.k.a. the Nentir Vale.

 

[Demetrios1453]

They can sail through any plane.

DMG page 47

"Gateways leading from the Astral Plane to other planes appear as two-dimensional pools of rippling colors, 1d6 x 10 feet in diameter."

I think a good number of spelljamming ships would be able to fit through the larger pools. 60 feet in diameter is pretty sizable. Once through to the abyss or mechanus the ships would be able to fly on those planes, unless something local kept it from happening.

1. Color pools are rare and difficult to find.

2. Most ships from the Spelljammer set are 30 feet or more in width, so in most cases, half of those already rare pools are too small.

That's not to say it can't happen, but it will be far rarer and much more difficult than visiting the Material Plane.

 

[Maxperson]

1. Color pools are rare and difficult to find.

2. Most ships from the Spelljammer set are 30 feet or more in width, so in most cases, half of those already rare pools are too small.

That's not to say it can't happen, but it will be far rarer and much more difficult than visiting the Material Plane.

Sure. I'm not saying it's as easy as going to another prime world, but it can be done and once you find a pool, a trade route can easily be set up with smaller ships.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

According to the full-on freak-outs that the idea of "Planejammer" caused around the internet, it's definitely something people were worried about.

Speaking strictly for myself, I don't think the idea of "Planejammer" was ever the problem - I've always felt Planescape and Spelljammer fit together perfectly well, and bringing the latter into the Astral makes a lot of sense to me.

For me, the issue was always in the practicalities of the execution. It seemed akin to saying "we don't need a revised Kara-Tur or Zakhara setting book, just have the next Forgotten Realms setting guide cover the entire Faerun/Zakhara/Kara-Tur mega-continent and call it a day". While that's something that could hypothetically be done, I suspect would only serve to leave everyone disappointed unless they literally just made it a bundle of three full size books anyway. People who want Zakhara and Kara-Tur want them to have the space to show how they're distinct from Faerun and each other, and people who want a proper Faerun guide probably don't want the other two continents eating up page space after having not seen anything outside the Sword Coast since 4e.

The realities of what a unified Planejammer would entail always felt like it'd either require butchering one setting and stitching everything worth salvaging into the other, cramming two books worth of material into the page space of one and consequently doing neither justice, or just...publishing two separate books anyway.

 

[Parmandur]

Calling Jakandor for the sample setting in the 2024 DMG.

Yes, that's the way to do it!

I wouldn't be surprised if it's the "First World"... a.k.a. the Nentir Vale.

I doubt it is the Nentir Vale, because it includes a foldout map.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I doubt it is the Nentir Vale, because it includes a foldout map.

The map is all black except for a few detailed hexes!

 

[teitan]

Why is Bigby a gnome?