D&D 5E 3 Classic Settings Coming To 5E?

On the D&D Celebration – Sunday, Inside the D&D Studio with Liz Schuh and Ray Winninger, Winninger said that WotC will be shifting to a greater emphasis on settings in the coming years.

This includes three classic settings getting active attention, including some that fans have been actively asking for. He was cagey about which ones, though.

The video below is an 11-hour video, but the information comes in the last hour for those who want to scrub through.



Additionally, Liz Schuh said there would be more anthologies, as well as more products to enhance game play that are not books.

Winninger mentioned more products aimed at the mainstream player who can't spend immense amount of time absorbing 3 tomes.

Ray and Liz confirmed there will be more Magic: The Gathering collaborations.

 

[Reynard]

I am hoping they find a way to marry Spelljammer and Planescape into a single "cosmic D&D" meta-setting (PlaneJammer FTW!!). Not that I need WotC to do that for me, but it would be nice to have some of the leg work done for me when I want to Go Big and save or destroy multiple universes at once.

 

[Hurin70]

Dark Sun.

Make it happen.

 

[Nymrod]

I would actually love if they made the effort to remake The Hordelands/Kara Tur. While it was a culturally insensitive pastiche of oriental cultures, it was also fairly low on detail and you could retcon the hell out of it as long as some basic concepts could be kept. I'd love it if they could do a decent setting inspired by any number of Asian mythologies.

 

[Nymrod]

I am hoping they find a way to marry Spelljammer and Planescape into a single "cosmic D&D" meta-setting (PlaneJammer FTW!!). Not that I need WotC to do that for me, but it would be nice to have some of the leg work done for me when I want to Go Big and save or destroy multiple universes at once.

Always though Spelljammer could just be converted to Adventures into the Astral Sea instead of Adventures in Wildspace.

 

[Reynard]

Always though Spelljammer could just be converted to Adventures into the Astral Sea instead of Adventures in Wildspace.

^^^^This.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

No, they do not. I've looked at running the original adventures with people's own PCs. That's easy, but the problem then becomes that some of the books' characters' decisions are hardwired into the modules. Not doing one of the things could potentially send you way off track.

I think the best path would be to do a new War of the Lance. Put the PCs front and center, but look to how to evoke some of those classic moments in new forms. I'd use Lord Soth as the big bad instead of Takhisis, since we've already had one confrontation with Tiamat.

So, in other words... re-writing the whole thing from the ground up?

Because those railroad tracks are solid steel and don't bend easily.

 

[Nymrod]

^^^^This.

In essence it would be just like Spelljammer but without the Phlogiston (did people really adventure in the Phlogiston anyway???) and with added Githyanki, god corpses and Astral Dreadnoughts.

 

[Reynard]

In essence it would be just like Spelljammer but without the Phlogiston (did people really adventure in the Phlogiston anyway???) and with added Githyanki, god corpses and Astral Dreadnoughts.

The cinematic trailer for Baldur's Gate 3 shows that you don't need Spelljammer to make Nautiloids cool.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

In essence it would be just like Spelljammer but without the Phlogiston (did people really adventure in the Phlogiston anyway???) and with added Githyanki, god corpses and Astral Dreadnoughts.

Yeah agreed, the Phlogiston can easily be retconned away and switched as just the Astral Sea. Sounds better anyway.

 

[AmerginLiath]

My thoughts, if we’re looking at three open settings returning, would be Dark Sun, Spelljammer, and Greyhawk.

(like Eberron before it, Greyhawk in 5e would stress the systems where it differs from playing in FR, probably even playing with a lot of the DMG variant rules as recommended standards)

i think we’ll be seeing more Planescape elements return, both in any sort of high-level material that comes out describing the planes in more detail, and mixed into Spelljammer somewhat.

I expect Dragonlance to make a return in some fashion, but not necessarily as an open setting (as much as I’d personally like it). Rather, I’d expect a campaign book or set — either adapting the original DL series from 1984 or running similar to it — allowing players to interact with mass combat, war, and the sort of high romantic elements the setting calls for (see the various “mini-game” elements of the recent produced campaigns).