D&D General Dungeons & Dragons Sneak Peek at Gameholecon: 50th Anniversary Adventure, Rod of Seven Parts, The Endless Stair, Tsojcanth, Barrier Peaks?

I was leaving a panel at GameHoleCon when Chris Perkins walked in and then Justice and Bill and then quite a few other WotC folk! So I stayed.

I'm glad I did because what started as a very funny trivia game challenge to the WotC folk and some of the audience soon turned into a discussion about things they are working on. Cool things. Oh and some of those questions were by Jon Peterson and were hard! I pride myself in getting a couple correct! Iron Rations for the win! Chris Lindsay talked about the DMSGuild too, and strongly hinted to me about the Manual of the Planes. I just wasn't on the same plane.

Anyway they discussed things that have already been covered, but I think with a bit more detail on particular things. This was more of a conversation than a presentation after all.

• Ron Lundeen discussed the internal playtests and that he liked it when he would see similar things discussed in the same ways in both public and private testing.
• Bill Benham discussed Jaquaysing the maps and adventures and how they are taking that more to heart. I think she was on everyone's mind at the panel, see this thread if you would, she could use our help.
• Ron also dicussed how he learned that scrolls are a secret magic item table of power and rarity for magic items generally. That's a nice hint I'll have to take a closer look at.

And then Chris talked about how their adventures take this fine line of between having too much and overwhelming new people yet also having to satisfy old hats like myself.

• The new core books will have an update to format and art like the more recent books.
• Gateway to new players was a term they kept using for the new PHB and even the DMG.
• Oh and they mentioned Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron as a new spell, which Hollie will be delighted with.
• All three books will have mostly new art from new artists too, like from two concept artists from Obi Wan and the Avatar shows.

Then they went on to the DMG and how it'll talk about what a DM does, what are the parts of the game, the books and even how to use the DM Screen in play.

• It'll have handouts and tools to help you organize and build your notes and show you a campaign setting designed to be customized as a tutorial to make it your own and eventually build one from scratch.
• There will be new magic items to fill in more rarity niches and more cool common ones too.
• And finally we'll get the 1980 cartoon series magic items, something Chris seemed almost giddy about.

The Monster Manual will have more high level creatures and they noted things they'll put in stat blocks that were missing before, like proficiency bonus.

'Romp around the multiverse', I don't think that's a new book title, but it's a new kind of anthology book that revisits all the things they've done in D&D, a '50th anniversary book'. Chris Perkins actually ran the Ravenloft adventure at the convention, I wish I'd captured the events he ran because I'm guessing the title and a few details are in that entry. Anyone here play in his games? Care to share?

And then Chris started to display cool secrets. I'm not sure if any of these are separate books or part of the above mentioned book, but I think they are separate books the way Chris was hinting. I must also offer an apology. There was no way I could get all of these images. I was caught off guard and in a bit of awe. The last one especially is just killing me, it was wonderful and Chris refused to show me after the panel with that wry smile of his.

So here is the only clear image I got. What do you see? Give me your guesses and I'll later give you what the jokes were they made. I even got a laugh out of the crew with one!

However the missing last image was my biggest regret. It was a cute fluffy bunny on a stump...... Oh the agony! I got a selfie with Chris as a consolation prize!

OK I’ll spill more. I’m not sure but they indeed seemed to be talking about multiple books and this new book for the 50th. I think they intentionally obfuscated things.

• The key to me is that the 50th book is a visit to all the 5e adventures and the stuff that isn’t from those are either for the story to tie them together or are from other books
• The bunny was undead, a Sheep in Wolfs clothing. It was a brand new painting and I didn’t recognize the artist.
• My joke was that the Rod would fall apart way to easily, as they tried to hint what it was.

So from what they were taking about I think.

• A D&D 50th Anniversary book
• An Endless Stair book
• A Rod of Seven parts book
• And Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
• Oh and Tsojcanth

Please note those are all guesses by me. Oh and Tsojcanth.

Chris did say that the D&D 50th book had been announced but I can’t find anything on it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I could see a sandbox that includes Tsojcanth, Tharuzdun, and Barrier Peaks very compelling.

WG4 is pretty long on (excellent) vibes but is a very, very minor dungeon. It's basically a one-chapter side quest in a bigger adventure, at best. All of the coolness regarding Tharizdun has come through 4E or through fanon. The actual pre-4E content around him is incredibly minor.

 

[Mercurius]

Maybe I missed it, but any word on when in 2024 the core rulebooks come out? All at once or over the span of a few months? And presumably the other books will come out later in the year?

Anyhow, it sounds like the three core rulebooks plus another three? That would make sense, with the usual five plus a sixth 50th book.

It doesn't sound like we'll see a setting book. Maybe 2025?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I am a Milleniel, my dude.

Impossible. You have never once posted "bet" or "cap."

 

[Parmandur]

This feels pretty unlikely to me, unless they announce that they're letting Yawning Portal go out of print. (Which, to be clear, would be my preference. Give us new and improved versions of those adventures instead, please.)

I think it is pretty unlikely, too, and wouldn't have even suggested it this morning (unlike the DMG chapter having a high likelihood of being Greyhawk, that is my pretty sober speculation). But it is doable, and would be a heck of a gonzo 50th anniversary celebration of Gygax's contributions to the hobby.

Thing is, I am very flummoxed at the elephant parts Perkins is laying down out there, which is fun trying feebly to figure out.

 

[Parmandur]

Impossible. You have never once posted "bet" or "cap."

I think that's Zoomers? Get off my lawn?

 

[mamba]

As someone who's run a nautical campaign, even having a book on stuff on islands or adjacent to the water is much easier to use than "well, they're all in dungeons." It would have been nice if there had been a bit more connective tissue, especially since they went to the trouble of fleshing out Saltmarsh the way they did.

yes, it connects better than 'another dungeon with literally no connection to the previous one', just not the way APs do, It is still a collection of adventures with a mostly independent plot that the DM has to connect or pluck individually into their own campaign

 

[Parmandur]

Maybe I missed it, but any word on when in 2024 the core rulebooks come out? All at once or over the span of a few months? And presumably the other books will come out later in the year?

Anyhow, it sounds like the three core rulebooks plus another three? That would make sense, with the usual five plus a sixth 50th book.

It doesn't sound like we'll see a setting book. Maybe 2025?

Nope, other than that they will be staggered due to logistical challenges.

The current status of the playtest and D&D release history suggests the Core books will be in the back half of the year.

 

[Parmandur]

yes, it connects better than 'another dungeon with literally no connection to the previous one', just not the way APs do, It is still a collection of adventures with a mostly independent plot that the DM has to connect or pluck individually into their own campaign

But they sort of works for me, particularly since it situates them all in a sandbox

 

[mamba]

This feels pretty unlikely to me, unless they announce that they're letting Yawning Portal go out of print. (Which, to be clear, would be my preference. Give us new and improved versions of those adventures instead, please.)

I would have preferred improved versions, but I really only care for the first two from YP, and they have improved versions on DMsGuild already

 

[mamba]

Maybe I missed it, but any word on when in 2024 the core rulebooks come out? All at once or over the span of a few months?

definitely over a few months, their print runs are too big to come at the same time....