Dungeons & Dragons Teases New Campaign Settings

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.

 

[polyhedral man]

Birthright is probably deader than dead. A setting about domain management, conquest and rulership determined by bloodlines and divine right is absolutely the wrong thing for this moment. I don't want to invoke Morrus's lire, but a setting based around Blood and Soil is not a good idea at this point in history.

I'd argue that if we wanted to go out of our way to find concepts that are 'potentially problematic' in fantasy. We could very easily do that with any setting. And absolutely any aspect that is fantastic, anything could be 'potentially' problematic. Anyone that disagrees, here is my challenge: Pick any aspect of your favourite setting, and I guarantee you people can pick holes in it, and find something that 'may offend others, somehow, somewhere'.

But if we succumb to that kind of thinking, the end result is self-censorship. People generally detest the idea of burning books. But I'd argue self-censorship has a similar effect - it means that we don't explore ideas, that books don't get written... not because the author feels that there is something wrong with them, quite the opposite, they would really like to explore an idea* (especially in fantasy or sci-fi, same as children do)... But because other people might be offended by a certain tenuous link. In the end, we as a whole (i.e. the culture) are missing out.


*By the way this is how Birthright started. The creator wanted to write his own fiction, inspired by Tolkien and that novel became the setting. Which I personally am very fond of. And never found any reason to draw analogy to real life conflicts - same as when I watch Krull I don't think that monarchy should be abolished etc etc.

 

[Remathilis]

'But if we succumb to that kind of thinking, the end result is self-censorship. People generally detest the idea of burning books. But I'd argue self-censorship has a similar effect - it means that we don't explore ideas, that books don't get written... not because the author feels that there is something wrong with them, quite the opposite, they would really like to explore an idea* (especially in fantasy or sci-fi, same as children do)... But because other people might be offended by a certain tenuous link. In the end, we as a whole (i.e. the culture) are missing out.

Yes yes, everything is problematic if you look at it hard enough, but my point is Birthright itself is prone to bad light. First, I think the whole "PCs have the blood of God's" thing is ok but not great, but when the next line is "and therefore gives you divine right to rule", it gets icky. If the setting was about domain management, it would be fine. If it was about exploring magical connections to divine or other supernatural entities, that would be fine. But the core premise of "my divine blood gives me the right to rule over people" really starts cutting close to a wide variety of fascist ideologies, past and present. And I don't think that fits with the more egalitarian vibes WotC's going for.

I'm not one to yuck anyonea yum; I love Mystara but admit it's not a good candidate for revival either. And for reasons I am not fully privileged to, WotC has exceptionally taken steps to memory hole Birthright. I can help but feel they don't feel there is enough demand for it to be worth any firestorm regarding the core premise.

 

[Reynard]

Yes yes, everything is problematic if you look at it hard enough, but my point is Birthright itself is prone to bad light. First, I think the whole "PCs have the blood of God's" thing is ok but not great, but when the next line is "and therefore gives you divine right to rule", it gets icky. If the setting was about domain management, it would be fine. If it was about exploring magical connections to divine or other supernatural entities, that would be fine. But the core premise of "my divine blood gives me the right to rule over people" really starts cutting close to a wide variety of fascist ideologies, past and present. And I don't think that fits with the more egalitarian vibes WotC's going for.

Those damn Skywalkers.

 

[Remathilis]

Those damn Skywalkers.

Skywalkers and Palatines you mean.

 

[TiQuinn]

My issue with Birthright was domain management has just never been why I’ve played D&D. I’ve always seen it as a shift to a game that D&D isn’t - from an rpg to a miniatures war game or similar. Then you had the tongue twisting names: Roesone, Medoere, Tuarhievel.

The whole thing just seemed like it was made for a totally different game.

 

[Aldarc]

* Eberron was the winner of a contest, but there were also other two selected and we know nothing about these.

The other two runner-ups were likely salvaged for cool ideas to incorporate into Eberron. The setting that Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick) submitted was one of these two, and he believes that the death-worshipping elves were taken from his submission and used in Eberron.

 

[Atomoctba]

Yes yes, everything is problematic if you look at it hard enough, but my point is Birthright itself is prone to bad light. First, I think the whole "PCs have the blood of God's" thing is ok but not great, but when the next line is "and therefore gives you divine right to rule", it gets icky. If the setting was about domain management, it would be fine. (...)

A significant portion of the setting is just about domain management and your divine bloodline plays an important factor on that. Some decades ago (I am feeling old just because this phrase) we did an entire Birthright campaign that forget adventures and such and concentrate exclusively in domain management without house rules, just using the rules for the setting. Things escalated quickly to a cold war with Gorgon and no one wanted a full open war.

 

[Reynard]

Skywalkers and Palatines you mean.

Point being: I don't think "magic heritage" is as problematic as you are making it out to be. it is still everywhere.

 

[payn]

My issue with Birthright was domain management has just never been why I’ve played D&D. I’ve always seen it as a shift to a game that D&D isn’t - from an rpg to a miniatures war game or similar. Then you had the tongue twisting names: Roesone, Medoere, Tuarhievel.

The whole thing just seemed like it was made for a totally different game.

Its strange to hear Birthright "shifting from RPG to miniature wargame" when domain management rules takes thing to a macro level where miniatures make little sense. I actual felt the opposite that BR raised the stakes on a po!itical intrigue level that seemed like an evolution of D&D. The fiction is mysterious and rife with angles to approach with endless opportunities. I do, however, see how that doesn't feel like a traditional D&D experience.

 

[Reynard]

Its strange to hear Birthright "shifting from RPG to miniature wargame" when domain management rules takes thing to a macro level where miniatures make little sense. I actual felt the opposite that BR raised the stakes on a po!itical intrigue level that seemed like an evolution of D&D. The fiction is mysterious and rife with angles to approach with endless opportunities. I do, however, see how that doesn't feel like a traditional D&D experience.

It is the kind of complaint that reveals an unfamiliarity.

Also, D&D started as a miniatures wargame.