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

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.

 

[Vaalingrade]

That is not really a solution in that it avoids none of the downsides that were being discussed.

That's still the solution. Most of those 'downsides' are losses that need to be cut.

 

[Retros_x]

Everything in VRGtR was intentionally illusionary. The populace mostly don't have souls, the darklords are unkillable in any permanent way, nothing you do can change the world. It all being explicitly fake really uncuts any claim to edge for me.

ok so not changing the world is kids content, and changing the world is adult content? Doesnt make sense IMO. These are debatable design decisions but are not related with protecting kids from disturbing content. I would not run a horror VRGtR campaign for kids with the content provided in the book, its clearly not PG, no matter how much you dislike the content for personal reasons. Plus your complaints are easily fixable (make them killable, give the inhabitants souls) without destroying essential properties of the setting.

 

[mamba]

That's still the solution. Most of those 'downsides' are losses that need to be cut.

I guess we quite literally disagree on everything

 

[Micah Sweet]

ok so not changing the world is kids content, and changing the world is adult content? Doesnt make sense IMO. These are debatable design decisions but are not related with protecting kids from disturbing content. I would not run a horror VRGtR campaign for kids with the content provided in the book, its clearly not PG, no matter how much you dislike the content for personal reasons. Plus your complaints are easily fixable (make them killable, give the inhabitants souls) without destroying essential properties of the setting.

I'm thinking about in regards to whether I would consider 5e Ravenloft edgy or not PG, not whether or not I would be ok running my kids through it.

 

[Retros_x]

I'm thinking about in regards to whether I would consider 5e Ravenloft edgy or not PG, not whether or not I would be ok running my kids through it.

That is literally what these age ratings are made for. Is the content appropiate for kids. Do you think VRGtR was written by WotC with the intention to write PG content to be family friendly?

 

[Micah Sweet]

That is literally what these age ratings are made for. Is the content appropiate for kids. Do you think VRGtR was written by WotC with the intention to write PG content to be family friendly?

No, but again I'm looking at it from a creative point of view (as I always prefer to do), not a legal one.

 

[Remathilis]

So what is the solution then, release nothing new, because it in some minor way resembles something you already did ?

Of course not. But there is no reason to reinvent the wheel just because the spokes need changing. Why make a whole new setting just because some elements of it no longer work?

 

[mamba]

Of course not. But there is no reason to reinvent the wheel just because the spokes need changing. Why make a whole new setting just because some elements of it no longer work?

What are 'some elements'? If you throw out 50%, then you might as well make it a new setting. If you tweak a detail here or there, be my guest

How do you decide what 'needs changing'?

 

[Scribe]

Of course not. But there is no reason to reinvent the wheel just because the spokes need changing. Why make a whole new setting just because some elements of it no longer work?

Because those elements do still work, the analogy isnt quite right.

I'm thinking of some of the changes to Lord Soth, that simply didnt need to happen, except to make it a softer take in the recent DL release.

The real reason they will just update settings, is that 1, they are beloved, and 2, it takes a ton of work to create something new.

Its simply easier to update what existed before, sell it as an update, hope you dont piss off the old timers, and the new folks dont know better.

 

[Remathilis]

Everything in VRGtR was intentionally illusionary. The populace mostly don't have souls, the darklords are unkillable in any permanent way, nothing you do can change the world. It all being explicitly fake really uncuts any claim to edge for me.

None of that is original to Van Richten's guide. Most Dark Lords has get out of death free cards. Most donations only spawned into existence when the dark lord emerged from the Mists, fully populated. The core had changed geography once, including a giant nation-sized hole in it. Islands appear, disappear and merge into bigger islands. The coast disappears crossing from Mordent to Valachan. The moon is different in three neighboring domains. A whole fricken sea appeared on the Eastern side of the core and people just started fishing and boating there. Strahd can throw a hissy fit and close the borders of Barovia to traders and invaders alike. Ravenloft has been artificial from the jump and Arthaus's attempts to make Ravenloft behave like a real campaign world were admirable, but it was never going to work. Let Ravenloft be a nightmare or let it be a spooky prime world, but straddling both didn't work.