Evil Drow Statblocks to Return in Forgotten Realms Rulebooks Later This Year

Drow-specific NPC statblocks will be included in the upcoming Forgotten Realms Adventurer's Guide set for release later this year. Over the past several weeks, much hullabaloo has been made over the Monster Manual, specifically that the D&D design team replaced specific drow and orc statblocks with generic NPC statblocks that can be used for any kind of humanoids. In a video released today, D&D lead designer Jeremy Crawford confirmed that more specific statblocks tied to specific humanoid sects or characters would return in future rulebooks, with evil drow given as an example.

"Also for anyone who's eager to see more species-tailored humanoid statblocks, people are going to see more of that in our setting books," Crawford said. "You're going to see that in our Forgotten Realms products, for example. The malevolent drow of Menzoberranzan are an important part of that setting and so they get their own statblocks. This is really true of all the creatures in the Monster Manual. This is your massive starting toy box of monsters that are usable anywhere in the multiverse. The bestiaries in our setting products, that's where we can provide you versions of things tailored to the cultures and histories of our different worlds."

 

[Scribe]

A multiverse of alt history Universes for Marvel & DC vs different planes of existence (although Marvel & DC have those too), I get what your saying, but it's more then technicality that both of these are multiverses, it's an Extremely broad term that both D&D, MtG, and Comic books have been using for ages, I get why folks are acting like it's a new fangled term, it's been in use for at least decades, if not centuries, in both fiction and physics and may e theology and philosophy for a very long time.

Sure. I still dont care. The 'multiverse' that Wizards has recently (MotM and beyond) tried to latch on to is the one in the public eye, the Marvel Multiverse.

These things are not the same.

Planes of Existence, the Great Wheel. There is still only one Scribe, making his way throughout the Planes.

Its not a Multiverse, in the line of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.

 

[Oofta]

Sure, riding Marvel's coat tails and all that, but still it's not the same.

There are only so many ways to say that there are multiple different campaign worlds that are all D&D. We've had this concept for a long time, that PCs could bounce from one setting to the next. Elminister visiting earth was a thing in a lot of the old Dragon magazines. Seems like an odd hangup of yours, I don't see it riding anyone's coattails.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There are only so many ways to say that there are multiple different campaign worlds that are all D&D. We've had this concept for a long time, that PCs could bounce from one setting to the next. Elminister visiting earth was a thing in a lot of the old Dragon magazines. Seems like an odd hangup of yours, I don't see it riding anyone's coattails.

The term that makes more sense to me is universe. Makes at least much sense as multiverse.

 

[Scribe]

There are only so many ways to say that there are multiple different campaign worlds that are all D&D. We've had this concept for a long time, that PCs could bounce from one setting to the next. Elminister visiting earth was a thing in a lot of the old Dragon magazines. Seems like an odd hangup of yours, I don't see it riding anyone's coattails.

Its not a hang up, I already know the answer.

They could have just called it Planes. Much as they have Planeswalkers in MtG, and various spells (and a ton of references) to "Planes" in the 5.0 PHB.

Then they went with a shift to 'multiverse' for 'reasons'.

But no, I'm sure it had nothing to do with what Marvel was doing. Nothing at all.

 

[Oofta]

The term that makes more sense to me is universe. Makes at least much sense as multiverse.

So we have multiple universes. Abbreviated as multiverse. I don't see an issue.

 

[Oofta]

D&D's multiverse has no strong conception of alternate history, which is to me part and parcel of the multiverse concept.

Really? We've always been told that your Forgotten Realms can and will deviate from official Forgotten Realms (or any other setting). How is that not alternate history? Heck, I remember old articles about "What if a WW II tank division ended up in FR?"

 

[Oofta]

Its not a hang up, I already know the answer.

They could have just called it Planes. Much as they have Planeswalkers in MtG, and various spells (and a ton of references) to "Planes" in the 5.0 PHB.

Then they went with a shift to 'multiverse' for 'reasons'.

But no, I'm sure it had nothing to do with what Marvel was doing. Nothing at all.

But that's confusing because planes are the prime material, ethereal, and so on.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Its not a hang up, I already know the answer.

They could have just called it Planes. Much as they have Planeswalkers in MtG, and various spells (and a ton of references) to "Planes" in the 5.0 PHB.

Then they went with a shift to 'multiverse' for 'reasons'.

But no, I'm sure it had nothing to do with what Marvel was doing. Nothing at all.

There's a question. Why didn't WotC start calling it a multiverse before a few years ago? It's not appreciably different than it's been in concept since the TSR days.

 

[Scribe]

But that's confusing because planes are the prime material, ethereal, and so on.

Thats not confusing at all, thats D&D 101.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Really? We've always been told that your Forgotten Realms can and will deviate from official Forgotten Realms (or any other setting). How is that not alternate history? Heck, I remember old articles about "What if a WW II tank division ended up in FR?"

Do you think the multiverse concept in D&D marketing is more about the game at individual tables, or more about all the different setting products WotC wants to sell us? I believe that second one is their priority, and it does have a financial motive, and there's nothing wrong with admitting that.