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.

 

[humble minion]

While I would have rather Soth been handled differently in SotDQ, nothing WotC did was anywhere near as damaging to the character concept as the "Lord Soth" novel that was published in 1996. The majority of the criticism I've read about his story arc is because of the way that book portrayed him and it all made it into the wikis as canon.

I'd never read that one back in the day, but i checked it out in the leadup to SotDQ. Couldn't finish it. The whole point of Soth is that he's a good knight who falls, but that book makes him a murderous jackass from day one.

 

[Velderan]

I'd never read that one back in the day, but i checked it out in the leadup to SotDQ. Couldn't finish it. The whole point of Soth is that he's a good knight who falls, but that book makes him a murderous jackass from day one.

Yep, no idea what guidance the author was given but it seems like it was "we think Soth is too likeable so maybe you could fix that in this book"?

 

[Remathilis]

To be honest, it's a flipping miracle we even got Ravenloft 5e.

Since 1997, WotC has only ever equated Ravenloft with Barovia and Strahd. They licensed the 3e rights out for a quick buck (in their opinion). Since then? We got Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (you think CoS was a retcon? EtCR wasn't even gentle about it) and some minor 4e references in Open Grave. Coupled with the fact Tracy Hickman hates the wider Ravenloft setting and you can tell by looking at CoS (hence the reset of the year and the return of Van Richten), I was fully expecting to not see another Ravenloft book again besides CoS. It's a testament to how well that module sold and it was regarded that it even opened the door to them considering the wider setting again.

 

[Remathilis]

Domains are now all just timeloops where the Darklord goes round and round and round in circles, surrounded by people-shapes that are mere shadow-puppets of the Dark Powers, forever failing to learn their lessons. Continuity only matters if anything meaningful exists in the place outside the Darklord's punishment.

I'm sorry, but Ravenloft was always a bunch of timeloops and morality plays for dark lords. Nothing else has canonically happened. The Grand Conjunction reset a bunch of domains, and it pretty much stagnated. Lord Soth leaving didn't even remove Sithicus because that would force the map to change. Azalin breaks free in the Requiem and... Is immediately returned to Darkon with only the loss of Il Aluk being a lasting effect. (And Death as a domain lord was neutered in the process, ruling a tiny domain that you can't even adventure in). Anything else? Vague implications about Malocchio and the Caller and the Time of Unparalleled Darkness. Meanwhile Strahd spent every moment not fighting with Azalin chasing Ireena. And the big finale of 2e Ravenloft, the capture and escape of Venca, passed like a fart in the wind. A nothingburger that didn't shake up the status quo one iota.

If you go back to the Black and/or Red box, a lot of the setting is these isolated xenophobic timeloops surrounded by Mists. The fact Barovia and Invidia shared a border was inconsequential since most of the time one or the other dark lord had their border closed and even if both were open, stepping into the Mists would take you to Har'Akir as likely it would take you to Barovia. Then there were the islands of terror that effectively functioned like an isolated domain anyway. It's not like you could take a boat across the Sea of Sorrows and go to Souragne without the Mists interference.

And Domain Lords were always unkillable. Each one had an Avoid Death trick that amounted to "somehow, Strahd returned". It was never the design of the setting to kill or free the dark lords or restore the land somehow. This is deeply ingrained in the original box set. The last time you could kill Strahd and free Barovia was in I6.

So I don't buy it. It's not the same setting as 2e but all the important things are there. IMHO the 5e one removes a lot of the distractions of trying to make the Core a real setting with trade and politics. What matters is that Mordenheim is going to turn you into a flesh golem, not what gender they are. And as for the "history" of Ravenloft, there is precious little that is worth saving. You lost the Grand Conjunction and the Requiem.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm sorry, but Ravenloft was always a bunch of timeloops and morality plays for dark lords. Nothing else has canonically happened. The Grand Conjunction reset a bunch of domains, and it pretty much stagnated. Lord Soth leaving didn't even remove Sithicus because that would force the map to change. Azalin breaks free in the Requiem and... Is immediately returned to Darkon with only the loss of Il Aluk being a lasting effect. (And Death as a domain lord was neutered in the process, ruling a tiny domain that you can't even adventure in). Anything else? Vague implications about Malocchio and the Caller and the Time of Unparalleled Darkness. Meanwhile Strahd spent every moment not fighting with Azalin chasing Ireena. And the big finale of 2e Ravenloft, the capture and escape of Venca, passed like a fart in the wind. A nothingburger that didn't shake up the status quo one iota.

If you go back to the Black and/or Red box, a lot of the setting is these isolated xenophobic timeloops surrounded by Mists. The fact Barovia and Invidia shared a border was inconsequential since most of the time one or the other dark lord had their border closed and even if both were open, stepping into the Mists would take you to Har'Akir as likely it would take you to Barovia. Then there were the islands of terror that effectively functioned like an isolated domain anyway. It's not like you could take a boat across the Sea of Sorrows and go to Souragne without the Mists interference.

And Domain Lords were always unkillable. Each one had an Avoid Death trick that amounted to "somehow, Strahd returned". It was never the design of the setting to kill or free the dark lords or restore the land somehow. This is deeply ingrained in the original box set. The last time you could kill Strahd and free Barovia was in I6.

So I don't buy it. It's not the same setting as 2e but all the important things are there. IMHO the 5e one removes a lot of the distractions of trying to make the Core a real setting with trade and politics. What matters is that Mordenheim is going to turn you into a flesh golem, not what gender they are. And as for the "history" of Ravenloft, there is precious little that is worth saving. You lost the Grand Conjunction and the Requiem.

So you don't care. Noted.

 

[Remathilis]

So you don't care. Noted.

I care that I can be both a fan of the setting and see it was a badly designed setting. And I don't believe that we should hold onto bad design simply because it's nostalgic.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I care that I can be both a fan of the setting and see it was a badly designed setting. And I don't believe that we should hold onto bad design simply because it's nostalgic.

And I believe that if you don't like the design of something, design a  new thing.

 

[Remathilis]

And I believe that if you don't like the design of something, design a  new thing.

So do you think every edition of D&D should have been a brand new game?

 

[Micah Sweet]

So do you think every edition of D&D should have been a brand new game?

Yeah, pretty much, especially if they're going to retroactively make changes without explanation. Let's face it: every WotC edition has basically been a different game with the same name.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, pretty much, especially if they're going to retroactively make changes without explanation. Let's face it: every WotC edition has basically been a different game with the same name.

So should they have changed the name with every edition and stopped calling it Dungeon and Dragons in 1989? (Or 2000?)