WotC Why WotC SHOULD Make A New Setting

Parmandur · Mar 25, 2026

Reynard said:
It is so strange that some folks want to fight against the simplest reason: it is fun to be excited for official D&D things.

Sure, I mean, there is a lot of thst Togo around already?

Reynard · Mar 25, 2026

Artamo said:
I don’t understand what possible point can be made for saying Ptolus, a magical setting that is entirely based in a massive city is not urban fantasy versus a fantasy version of New York or London.

Because a key defining feature of "Urban Fantasy" the genre is that it is set in the contemporary world (or a second world very, very close to it). I don't quite understand what the confusion is.

Parmandur · Mar 25, 2026

Artamo said:
I still feel like the point is being missed. My fantasy city full of magic is New Crobuzon, yours is a fantasy version of Underground London like Neverwhere. Both exclusively use an urban setting as a backdrop. They typically explore the same themes of dystopia, urban blight, classism, etc.

I don’t understand what possible point can be made for saying Ptolus, a magical setting that is entirely based in a massive city is not urban fantasy versus a fantasy version of New York or London.

You are being overly literal about a standard term of convenience: "Urban Fantasy" is less of a mouthful than "non-secondary world fantasy set in a contemporary context familiar to readers except with magic".

Whizbang Dustyboots · Mar 25, 2026

WotC/D&D haven't had an urban fantasy setting or book since Urban Arcana for D20 Modern back in 2003.

That said, urban fantasy as a genre probably peaked 15 years ago. While it probably is a hole that should eventually be plugged, cozy fantasy and romantasy are far more popular now and it would probably make better business sense to create settings around those.

Cozy fantasy could also be slotted into the Forgotten Realms pretty easily, which historically has had plenty of content that wasn't just about swords and magic. We know all about what baked goods and non-alcoholic beverages are available in the Realms, thanks to Ed Greenwood, and it'd just be a matter of assembling all that content in one place, creating some campaign frames around cozy fantasy and creating the obligatory extra crunch and you're all set.

Parmandur · Mar 25, 2026

Reynard said:
Because a key defining feature of "Urban Fantasy" the genre is that it is set in the contemporary world (or a second world very, very close to it). I don't quite understand what the confusion is.

The upcoming Ghostblood trilogy by Brandon Sanderson is going to be an interesting question of genre definitions: the setting is 1980s Cold War like tech level and social structure, with computers and cars and such, but is fully secondary world.

Reynard · Mar 25, 2026

Parmandur said:
The upcoming Ghostblood trilogy by Brandon Sanderson is going to be an interesting question of genre definitions: the setting is 1980s Cold War like tech level and social structure, with computers and cars and such, but is fully secondary world.

Aren't the later Mistborn books basically noir second world urban fantasy?