Dungeons & Dragons Will Announce New Products at Gen Con, Modules Returning to Game

Wizards of the Coast plans to use Gen Con as a launching point for future products. During a press briefing at Gary Con on Thursday, Head of D&D Franchise Dan Ayoub said that they would be announcing the product tied to the Season of Champions at Gen Con this year. Additionally, starting at Gen Con in 2026, D&D will also announce the roadmap for the upcoming year at the convention, which will include announcements of upcoming Seasons, announcement of new products, and other "stuff" tied to the season.

Ayoub told the press briefing that early feedback for the seasons have been "fantastic," so it appears that this will be the standard moving forward.

Later in the press briefing, Ayoub noted that the lengthy delay in announcements was due to a combination of internal reorganization for the D&D team and a shift in which products would be released in 2026. He also said that adventure modules will be returning to Dungeons & Dragons as part of the new Season models, although it's unclear whether this will be through the D&D Encounters program, Adventurer's League, or through some other kind of unannounced product.

 

[starchildren3317]

Or better yet, discovered a new TTRPG on the horizon: https://www.shadowmancerstudios.com/

 

[DEFCON 1]

How are Eberron modules on DMs Guild selling? I would no doubt expect WotC knows how sales are for Eberron products made by 3rd parties are doing there. And if so-called "fans of Eberron" aren't supporting Eberron products on DMs Guild in any appreciable number... it would not be surprising at all why WotC would decide not to make their own Eberron adventure anthology.

Heck... even Keith Baker hasn't put together an Eberron adventure anthology on DMs Guild and has instead done other Eberron products in its place. That seems to me to be a pretty good indicator of what the people really plugged into Eberron think is a good and/or poor use of their time and money for production.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... WotC's not going to randomly choose to make some niche product if the supposed fans of those types of products aren't even bothering to support or buy them by the makers on DMs Guild-- the people for whom the entire point of opening these setting up on DMs Guild was meant to allow the possibility of producing additional product. If you as a consumer want something... you gotta put your money where your mouth is and buy that which is available right now, and not just sit back and complain that WotC personally isn't indulging you straight away.

 

[Artamo]

How are Eberron modules on DMs Guild selling? I would no doubt expect WotC knows how sales are for Eberron products made by 3rd parties are doing there. And if so-called "fans of Eberron" aren't supporting Eberron products on DMs Guild in any appreciable number... it would not be surprising at all why WotC would decide not to make their own Eberron adventure anthology.

Heck... even Keith Baker hasn't put together an Eberron adventure anthology on DMs Guild and has instead done other Eberron products in its place. That seems to me to be a pretty good indicator of what the people really plugged into Eberron think is a good and/or poor use of their time and money for production.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... WotC's not going to randomly choose to make some niche product if the supposed fans of those types of products aren't even bothering to support or buy them by the makers on DMs Guild-- the people for whom the entire point of opening these setting up on DMs Guild was meant to allow the possibility of producing additional product. If you as a consumer want something... you gotta put your money where your mouth is and buy that which is available right now, and not just sit back and complain that WotC personally isn't indulging you straight away.

As far as I know, Keith Baker’s Eberron supplements are some of the best selling products on DMs Guild. Also, it’s not the only setting this applies to - I’d like to see a Ravenloft anthology. Ravenloft is probably one of the WotC’s best selling settings as evidenced by their consistent support for it across multiple editions. Finally, there is a difference when it is a product designed by the original creator or it’s an official WotC product. I’m far, far less likely to buy a third party product unless I’ve heard positive things about it through word of mouth or reviews. I wouldn’t put too much stock into DMSGuild sales being a great indicator of demand.

 

[Scott Christian]

Most adventures can be fitted into Eberron, and some, such those in Keys from the Golden Vault, are particularly well suited to the setting.

The PCs wearing trench coats and fedoras doesn't make much difference when they are in a dark hole fighting monsters.

There is much more to incorporating a setting than how an NPC dresses. There is history, culture, geography, use of magic, etc. Then there are also mood, tone, and heck, even writing style.

 

[Von Ether]

I'd rather the modules be as setting-agnostic as possible, so one can more easily drop them into whichever campaign or setting one is running.

If one wonders why most of of WotC adventures are set in Forgotten Realms, and now a bit more in Greyhawk, it's because the company sees both IPs on a spectrum of vanilla fantasy. Fans of both settings may get their feathers ruffled hearing that but from the outside looking in, one could run several FR or GW adventures by changing location names and dialing a thing or two back or forward (or maybe not at all.)

That is part of the secret sauce for WotC. They get a built in IP audience and they also bank that for many GMs either setting is "close enough" for a module to be dropped into their home brews.

 

[mamba]

As far as I know, Keith Baker’s Eberron supplements are some of the best selling products on DMs Guild. Also, it’s not the only setting this applies to - I’d like to see a Ravenloft anthology.

their seasons approach could be a good test for that, have some modules for the season play, sell them online and see how they are doing

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There is history, culture, geography, use of magic, etc

None of which features in a typical printed adventure. “A 20 foot square room containing a wooden table. Around the table sit six orcs. They look up as you come in and grab their axes”.

It’s the DM’s job to supply the context, tone and flavour, that’s not normally in the adventure text irrespective of the setting.

 

[tetrasodium]

Heck... even Keith Baker hasn't put together an Eberron adventure anthology on DMs Guild and has instead done other Eberron products in its place. That seems to me to be a pretty good indicator of what the people really plugged into Eberron think is a good and/or poor use of their time and money for production.

Psst

 

[Remathilis]

None of which features in a typical printed adventure. “A 20 foot square room containing a wooden table. Around the table sit six orcs. They look up as you come in and grab their axes”.

It’s the DM’s job to supply the context, tone and flavour, that’s not normally in the adventure text irrespective of the setting.

Well, except for the fact that the Eberron version the orcs would druids, in the Dragonlance version they would be replaced with Draconians and the Ravenloft version the orcs would be vampires.

Everyone wants D&D settings to have all these unique elements and restrictions and then they want generic modules and options that can slot into them. Either all the settings can accept a bunch of sitting orcs in a dungeon room OR WotC needs to actually support the unique elements of each setting when doing adventures. That doesn't work when large chunks of the PHB and MM aren't canon to the setting.

 

[Von Ether]

None of which features in a typical printed adventure. “A 20 foot square room containing a wooden table. Around the table sit six orcs. They look up as you come in and grab their axes”.

It’s the DM’s job to supply the context, tone and flavour, that’s not normally in the adventure text irrespective of the setting.

In Eberron, it's more likely the orcs will react by asking if you're lost or why the hell you're in the back room. For Eberron, that's not out of place, and that encounter would lead to different opportunities than you wouldn't find in typical adventures unless you mocked up similar atypical organizations and nations.

In FR or GW, questioning orcs would be different type of encounter but it would ultimately just lead to the next room and next challenge.

I'll agree to disagree and say it is indeed the writer's job to supply encounters that reflect the setting to assist a DM - especially one new to a setting - with setting the mood. It's just no surprise that most, but not all, D&D/fantasy settings are mostly the same - and that is by design.

Now cultist grabbing their axes immediately, that would be more generic.