D&D General Greyhawk to Faerun and Beyond: A Multiversal D&D Lore Book Is Coming This Fall

This coming October, a 360+ page hardcover which delves into Dungeons & Dragons' various worlds and settings will be released. The book isn't from WotC--it's from Ten Speed Press--but it's by Adam Lee, who wrote for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. The book comes full of 50-years of artwork, and is narrated by the famous wizard Mordenkainen. Additionally, the book contains some original fiction.

Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond is available for pre-order already.

The book covers Greyhawk, Mystara, Dragonlance, Faerun, Eberron, the Feywild and Shadowfell, Spelljammer, the Nine Hells, the Abyss, Sigil, and the Far Realm. It's a book of lore and story, not a rulebook, giving an overall of D&D's entire multiverse and its many worlds.

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Celebrate fifty years of the spellbinding settings and planes of Dungeons & Dragons with this beautifully illustrated exploration of the multiverse.

Worlds & Realms is an illustrated, story-driven retrospective celebrating the immersive worldbuilding of D&D since the iconic game’s inception in 1974. Legendary mage Mordenkainen takes adventurers on a fantastical journey through the multiverse, delving into memorable and fascinating lore and locations across all five editions of the game.

With Mordenkainen’s guidance, readers will revisit worlds that have come to define D&D over the decades, from the familiar realms of the Material Plane to lands beyond the Astral Sea. Mordenkainen’s philosophical musings provide a mage’s-eye view of the worlds’ unique features, creatures, and characters, captivating readers’ imaginations as they learn more about the history and mysteries of the multiverse. Additionally, readers will join adventuring parties with inhabitants of each realm through exclusive short stories by award-winning contributors Jaleigh Johnson, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, Jasmine Bhullar, and Geoffrey Golden.

Full of exciting and enchanting artwork showing fifty years of gameplay evolution from vintage D&D through the present, with original cover and chapter-opener illustrations, Worlds & Realms is a spellbinding tour of the strange and wonderful worlds of the multiverse, appealing to both new and long-standing fans alike.

Polygon has some previews of the book.

 

[Mercador]

I hope it will be better than Lore & Legends, quite disappointed by that one.

 

[Azzy]

This is spread waaaaayyyyy to think. Outside of maps and the short stories I think this will be a little use. Disappointing.

I don't think it's supposed to be "of use" outside of being a fun little book for reading.

 

[Parmandur]

I don't think it's supposed to be "of use" outside of being a fun little book for reading.

Yeah, it is a coffee table artbook: based on the prior two in the series, I am sure it will be great for perusing as an artbook.

 

[GrimCo]

I'm glad they left out Dark Sun. Would be more happy if they dropped Ravenloft also. Not cause i don't like the settings, quite opposite, those are my two favorite settings. Personally, don't care for most settings in the book, except Planscape and Spelljammer.

As for DS and Ravenloft, i personally, wouldn't mind forking over 70-80 euros for proper R rated campaign setting book with all the "problematic" parts still inside. Not all settings need need sanitized pg-13 version.

 

[Yaarel]

Because the 2024 rules are solid and adaptable, especially with background feat, I feel dont really need mechanics.

I prefer a narrative overview of each setting, to get the main point of each setting.

If I need more mechanics, such as psionic feats, I can easily do that myself. DMs Guild will have decent options as well.

I am curious how WotC distinguishes between Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms, and what the point of Dragonlance is now. Mystara I have never played, and I wonder what a today version of it and its immortals looks like.

I love the Feywild and find the Shadowfell creepy. I am curious how these officially relate to the alignment planes. The "virtual reality" of the Astral Sea of Spelljammer, is the new interesting place for me.

A narrative overview sounds great.

 

[dave2008]

Some excerpts from this new D&D Worlds & Realms book:

Interesting that it is not using (it appears) the new 2024 art

 

[Parmandur]

Interesting that it is not using (it appears) the new 2024 art

This is the third in a series, after Art & Arcana and Lore & Legends: the point is to showcase a large swath of art from across all 50 years of D&D, but in the framework of in-world lore as opposed to the external history of the game.

 

[Dire Bare]

This is the third in a series, after Art & Arcana and Lore & Legends: the point is to showcase a large swath of art from across all 50 years of D&D, but in the framework of in-world lore as opposed to the external history of the game.

And it was likely completed, manuscript and art orders, before WotC was willing and able to share art from the 2024 books, of which only one has been released so far.

 

[AK_Ambrian]

Interesting that it is not using (it appears) the new 2024 art

There seems to be a few pictures from recent 5E, I think both of these paintings below are from last year's 5E Planescape set.

 

[Parmandur]

There seems to be a few pictures from recent 5E, I think both of these below paintings are from last year's 5E Planescape set.

Yeah, they seem to be drawing from all across D&D'Souza art history for the Settings.

At a guess, Mystara may have made it in mainly because they had so much art fir it from that super fruitful 80s-90s period that they wanted to include it for completeness as an artbook...