Dungeons & Dragons Teases New Campaign Settings

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Dungeons & Dragons seems to be preparing to explore brand new campaign settings. Last week, EN World had the opportunity to visit Wizards of the Coast headquarters and get new details about D&D's 2025 slate. While much of the focus was on the newly announced Eberron: Forge of the Artificer book or the upcoming pair of Forgotten Realms book, the D&D design team is also looking at expanding their official multiverse to include brand new worlds.

When asked about the decision to return to Eberron in 2025, the D&D design team noted that keeping the Fifth Edition ruleset allowed them to grow the game instead of rehash it. "One of the opportunities that we have by revising the game, as opposed blowing it up and starting over, is we can actually move forward," said Jeremy Crawford, game director . "And I can't wait until we can tell you about 2026 and 2027."

"With Jeremy Crawford taking on the game director role and then Chris Perkins taking on the creative director role is that we were able to really reestablish a world building environment," added Jess Lanzillo, VP of D&D Franchise at Wizards of the Coast. "What does that mean? We can really establish our worlds and settings like the Forgotten Realms and also look to creating new ones again. That's something that we are working on and we don't have anything to really discuss today other than to tell you like we are re-establishing everything that we have and we are going to make some new stuff too."

While Wizards of the Coast has integrated Magic: The Gathering worlds and Critical Role's Exandria as campaign settings for 5th Edition, D&D's last truly new campaign setting was Nentir Vale, a 'points of light' setting that established small bastions of civilization in an otherwise dark world. In 2023, D&D introduced the Radiant Citadel, a new city within the Ethereal Plane that was connected to numerous new civilizations and worlds briefly touched on in anthology books.
 

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Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer


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Well, I think they will invest in FR, Eberron is getting a lil coverage. Other than that, more tie ins with MTG.

I would like to see more Greyhawk but I am actually learning a great deal more about the setting from Dm's Guild sources in terms of authenticity.

Oriental Adventures, hmm, okay may years down the road but not likely (don't get me wrong I loved that setting back in AD&D 2e, along with Dark Sun and Council of Wyrms), simply because it's their default setting. If OA got a 2024e treatment I can see them going oh no that won't do for modern D&D. In some points I can see a rework of OA from the Kara Tur boxed set.

Ther other settings, er,...very unlikely to be updated. I think they need to revisit Spelljammer and Planescape, they need better coverage because both are all glitter and no filler (no species in planescape, no spellhammer combat in spelljammer).
 



Any notable differences between the two versions?
I haven't read the portion of DotMM that details Stardock. Browsing it though it looks like the crystal labyrinth map has been redesigned, and the map of Stardock has been expanded as well as the inhabitants of both areas appear to be Githyanki, Dragons and Mind Flayers instead of the Twisted Rune. So, the plot, & PC motivations seem quite different. There is a side bar in the chapter that directs DMs to the original 1997 adventure for those who want to expand this section of Undermountain. Unless the DM ran the original module first and then the version in DotMM, it might be difficult to incorporate both based Soley on the fact of whose controlling it at any given time. Of course, if the PCs clear these levels of the Githyanki, dragons and Illithids and take it as their base then I could see the Twisted Rune taking it from them and imprisoning Halaster as is the plot of Stardock. Regarding the OP that wanted to see the level get its own setting, I don't see it happening as it relatively small and meant to be fluid in terms of who controls the area at any given time. Although stranger things have happened, but I think there's already enough of it detailed in 5E for people to build upon on their own, and don't see it worth WotC assigning resources to do it themselves.
 

A setting built around the knowledge that people from Earth randomly appear and become adventurers because they have amazing powers.

Not a one-off thing, a setting built around that knowledge.
i could see that maybe resulting in a population rife with Bystander Syndrome and Holding Out For A Hero.

I'm reminded of the opening story of LoZ Wind Waker. "the people hoped for the return of the Hero of Time, But he did not appear..."
 
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I'd be curious to see what WorC makes for a brand new setting, but yet again, third party publishers are doing very creative and interesting settings that blow WotC out of the water.
 

Well, you sort of have that already with 3pp making sci-fi 5e. One of them is even a WotC freelancer and a DM Guild Adept. However, I can tell you that for most D&D fans, such settings will fly like a lead balloon. In reaching out to promote such a setting, a press guy said, "I don't know if my readers will want a sci-fi setting."

I get you, all of my favorite D&D settings are the weirder ones. But I don't envy WotC when it comes to making a new setting when most D&D fans want "The same, but different."


WotC already has 5e Far Scifi setting coming.


 


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