D&D 5E D&D's Classic Settings Are Not 'One Shots'

Spelljammer-ship-in-space-asteroid-city.jpeg

In an interview with ComicBook.com, WotC's Jeremy Crawford talked about the visits to Ravenloft, Eberron, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, and (the upcoming) Planescape we've seen over the last couple of years, and their intentions for the future.

He indicated that they plan to revisit some of these settings again in the future, noting that the setting books are among their most popular books.

We love [the campaign setting books], because they help highlight just how wonderfully rich D&D is. They highlight that D&D can be gothic horror. D&D can be fantasy in space. D&D can be trippy adventures in the afterlife, in terms of Planescape. D&D can be classic high fantasy, in the form of the Forgotten Realms. It can be sort of a steampunk-like fantasy, like in Eberron. We feel it's vital to visit these settings, to tell stories in them. And we look forward to returning to them. So we do not view these as one-shots.
- Jeremy Crawford​

The whole 'multiverse' concept that D&D is currently exploring plays into this, giving them opportunities to resist worlds.

When asked about the release schedule of these books, Crawford noted that the company plans its release schedule so that players get chance to play the material, not just read it, and they don't want to swamp people with too much content to use.

Our approach to how we design for the game and how we plan out the books for it is a play-first approach. At certain times in D&D's history, it's really been a read-first approach. Because we've had points in our history where we were producing so many books each year, there was no way anyone could play all of it. In some years it would be hard to play even a small percentage of the number of things that come out. Because we have a play-first approach, we want to make sure we're coming out with things at a pace where if you really wanted to, and even that would require a lot of weekends and evenings dedicated to D&D play, you could play a lot of it.
- Jeremy Crawford​

You can read more in the interview at ComicBook.com.
 

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One problem with trying to tie in with BG3 is that the release date kept slipping back, so I imagine it was very difficult to coordinate.
maybe, they manage to slide their own release dates for their own reasons just fine.

I grant you that they do not sit on stuff forever without selling it, but then they can release it ahead of the BG3, the game was in open beta for a long time, people were playing it. Worst case your book can be picked up already by those that buy it after the official release. Still better than having nothing
 

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maybe, they manage to slide their own release dates for their own reasons just fine.

I grant you that they do not sit on stuff forever without selling it, but then they can release it ahead of the BG3, the game was in open beta for a long time, people were playing it. Worst case your book can be picked up already by those that buy it after the official release. Still better than having nothing
I mean, Descent from Avernus was billed as a tie-in from the start, and now they have a new special print-digital combo pack they are pushing.
 

Original D&D release is 1974, 50th anniversary is thus 2024? No? 74+51 = 125.
I see the 50th anniversary like a 50th birthday, so 2024, not 2025. WotC apparently agrees, since they will release the new version in 2024. The special cover in the other hand is most likely in 2025

Am I missing something? Did the new core books get bumped to 2025 when I wasn't paying attention?
are you happy when I write a year later?
 
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I mean, Descent from Avernus was billed as a tie-in from the start, and now they have a new special print-digital combo pack they are pushing.
from the start? From when Avernus was released? News to me.

That book was released slightly over a year before BG3 went into early access, are you sure it is not the other way around and BG3 builds on it and mentioned it from the start?
 

from the start? From when Avernus was released? News to me.

That book was released slightly over a year before BG3 went into early access, are you sure it is not the other way around and BG3 builds on it and mentioned it from the start?
Yup, they announced BG3 and Avernus at the same time, and used the connection to hype the upcoming Early Access release that came within a year of the Adventure. And when the game, they then used "this takes place after the events of Avernus" as part of their marketing there. Bit theybwere always linked.

Word on the street is that originally the low Level materifor Deacent was going to be in Eltruel, so the PCs would get sucked into Hell with the whole city. But they changed it to Baldur's Gate to tie into BG3.
 


Yup, they announced BG3 and Avernus at the same time, and used the connection to hype the upcoming Early Access release that came within a year of the Adventure.
according to Wikipedia it is 55 weeks or so apart, mid-September to early October, that is why I wrote slightly over, not that it matters to the rest of your point
 


Oh I see - do we know why they're delayed? That seems kind of weird.
WotC only said they would come later, we can only guess. I assume because the print runs are so large they have no capacity for it.

They already bragged about the print run being so big that they need several printers and a staggered release for the three core books to manage it
 


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