D&D 5E 2020 Release Speculation Thread

[LuisCarlos17f]

DS will come back, because WotC know it's too good and original to be forgotten. And even it will be adapted into a videogame in the next phase (why not a farm simulation or a stronghold managment?).

We don't know. Maybe the have hired writters to publish new novels to continue the metaplot, and later when there is a project for a future media production the scripters have got their own ideas about what new things to add or some retcon as neccesary.

Ravenloft is perfect for adult people who isn't intered about dungeon-crawling and slaying dragons but more about hunting the monster of the week or investigating crimes. And with a XIX century visual look easier to be adapted to an action-live production.

* I guess most of new tittles will be not 100% original, but remakes or other new adaptation of a M:tG setting.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Dark Sun is a very very long way off. Before they even start to plan a Dark Sun setting book the need to sort out the psionics issue, and given that the current UA is unlikely to make the required 70% approval rate, that's not happening any time soon.

I'd argue that the fact that they're doing these psioinic options show that they're trying to bring it back, and allow them to bring back Dark Sun. That's what they did with the Artificer, they didn't bring back Eberron until they had a working Artificer class. They're testing out a new Psionics system in recent Unearthed Arcana, so that makes me suspect that they want to bring Dark Sun back. Dark Sun is an old setting that if brought to 5e would bring something new to the edition. Here are some examples of old settings:

• Dragonlance, doesn't bring anything new that can't already be represented with the current ruleset.
• Greyhawk, again doesn't bring anything new that needs a new book for.
• Mystara, doesn't bring much that is new, certainly not enough to fill a book with besides setting lore.
• Planescape, not much mechanical differences through the editions, we would need a book filled with more information on the planes and maps.
• Spelljammer, would need a whole book and overhaul of how it works to work in 5e. Eberron, Wildemount, Ravnica, Theros, none of those settings have crystal spheres, so if they'd want to include those settings in Spelljammer, there'd have to be a massive overhaul.

There aren't many things popular settings from older editions have that can't easily be brought to 5e. Most of them that do need books to replicate them in 5e (spelljammer, planescape, dark sun) already have some information on how to work and just need some revisions to be brought properly to this edition.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd argue that the fact that they're doing these psioinic options show that they're trying to bring it back, and allow them to bring back Dark Sun.

Sure. But that's what makes it a long process. If (which I think is unlikely) the UA Psionics is accepted, then we might see it in a book at the tail end of 2020. But they will only just be starting on Dark Sun, which would take about two years, starting from now. So 2022.

If, in the far more likely scenario that substantial parts of the psionic UA fail to meet the 70% approval threshold, then work cannot begin on Dark Sun. It was three years between attempts at psionics, so, another three years, plus two years to make the book = Dark Sun in 2025 (which probably pushes it well into 6th edition).

 

[dave2008]

If, in the far more likely scenario that substantial parts of the psionic UA fail to meet the 70% approval threshold, then work cannot begin on Dark Sun.

I don't think we know that and I think it is unlikely to be true. It is not like they waited to get the artificer right before they started work on Eberron. They could easily work on DS without have psionics completely figured out. They just coudn't publish it (from what I am told at least).

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Sure. But that's what makes it a long process. If (which I think is unlikely) the UA Psionics is accepted, then we might see it in a book at the tail end of 2020. But they will only just be starting on Dark Sun, which would take about two years, starting from now. So 2022.

If, in the far more likely scenario that substantial parts of the psionic UA fail to meet the 70% approval threshold, then work cannot begin on Dark Sun. It was three years between attempts at psionics, so, another three years, plus two years to make the book = Dark Sun in 2025 (which probably pushes it well into 6th edition).

I find it very unlikely that they would wait writing the book until they had a psionic option ready to be plopped in it. They can very easily design the races and monsters that will be put in the book, create the Gazetteer and world information, and complete 95% of the book, then they could create psionic subclasses (possibly class) to put inside it at the same time that they write the other information. Why would they wait until the Psionic UA is approved to move on with all of the rest of the book?

It makes much more sense to start the book while you playtest Psionic UA, and when you're done with both, just put them together to complete the book. I'd say we'll see a Dark Sun book in the next 3 years, probably earlier than that. I would not be surprised if it was released in November of 2021.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Why would they wait until the Psionic UA is approved to move on with all of the rest of the book?

Because they have to allow for the possibility of it being rejected. And if it is rejected they can't move forward with Dark Sun. You don't invest time in a project until you are certain you are going to be able to move forward with it.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Because they have to allow for the possibility of it being rejected. And if it is rejected they can't move forward with Dark Sun. You don't invest time in a project until you are certain you are going to be able to move forward with it.

I think that they're sure about moving forward with it. It is the easiest old D&D setting that has new content and themes. I think that they'll keep playtesting psioinics until they get it right, instead of abandoning it. If they actually want to make a Dark Sun book, they wouldn't wait to write the book until they had the mechanics 100% down. They didn't wait to write Eberron: Rising from the Last War until they had the Artificer 100% of the way completed.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I think that they're sure about moving forward with it. It is the easiest old D&D setting that has new content and themes. I think that they'll keep playtesting psioinics until they get it right, instead of abandoning it. If they actually want to make a Dark Sun book, they wouldn't wait to write the book until they had the mechanics 100% down. They didn't wait to write Eberron: Rising from the Last War until they had the Artificer 100% of the way completed.

We don't actually know what 100% down looks like... for example, the Theros material got one UA before publishing, and the Leonine/Satyr races didn't get any UA material. For all we know, the last psionics hit the metric WotC is happy with and they're now fast-tracking whatever it is going into (DS or PS).

 

[Parmandur]

We don't actually know what 100% down looks like... for example, the Theros material got one UA before publishing, and the Leonine/Satyr races didn't get any UA material. For all we know, the last psionics hit the metric WotC is happy with and they're now fast-tracking whatever it is going into (DS or PS).

Well, they did a whole series aimed at Theros, just one set made it in he final product.

They seem to be more comfortable now with putting in some stuff they didn't generally playtest, so far for licensed Settings that need certain things...

 

[darjr]

I think they really need to get psionics right. Before any of the settings that depend upon it for characters.