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.

 

[Nymrod]

Are people seriously debating on gnomes vs. halflings again... I really don't think the average player cares that much about this.

I mean, Critical Role, arguably the most popular piece of D&D content this decade, originally had two gnomes in its first campaign. I get people find D&D gnomes and halflings too similar to each other, but hell, half-elves and humans are pretty dang similar to each other and no one complains.

So let's focus up on the campaign stuff again?

I think it was a tangent on whether campaign settings that significantly restrict options may be less valid options for 5E.
I am not sure that limitations on race are as important once Tasha's will be out. If there will be a new edition at some point, I fully expect the term to die off and honestly there is nothing stopping them from killing it now as Pathfinder 2 and others have done (after all it is such a misnomer).
I think limitations on class are probably far more important on how much they limit playstyle. Dark Sun significantly shuffles how things work for instance. 4E imo did a marvelous job with handling the rules for Athas, Shaman are a much better fit than elemental clerics considering it was always elemental spirits rather than elemental gods; defiling and weapons breaking used simple and elegant rules, themes helped significantly in defining local archetypes (probably the best fusion of crunch and fluff in all of 4E) and personally I'd rather new settings focus on reskinning existing classes/subclasses instead of trying to fit square pegs in round holes by creating a large number of new subclasses just so you can be a bard without magic . . .

 

[Reynard]

Halflings could be "farmer gnomes" or "rural gnomes".

Halflings that aren't hobbits really don't have much of a niche, either. Really, none of the short races are especially valuable and can probably be jettisoned.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Halflings that aren't hobbits really don't have much of a niche, either. Really, none of the short races are especially valuable and can probably be jettisoned.

I’ll never understand why anyone would look at every opportunity to reduce the number of options available to players and DMs.

 

[DnD Warlord]

Not a recommendation when it comes to a modern RPG setting...

It is to some people. Not everyone cares for there settings to be modern, and the fact that GoT was such a cultural touch stone shows there is room in big tent D&D for this.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

One thing to remember when it comes to classic settings - they've been mentioned in the core books and beyond, and to some extent I think this can give us an idea of where they plan to go and where they don't.

For this reason, I can tell you one thing I know for certain: Birthright isn't on the list. It's not mentioned in the PHB or DMG, nor am I aware of any other published 5E books that make mention of it. Also, WotC largely decided two decades ago that they weren't really interested in supporting domain-level play, and I've seen nothing to indicate that has changed. I like Birthright; I like domain-level play; but there's not going to be official support for these any time soon.

This is also why I doubt it will be Spelljammer - I can't recall that setting being mentioned either.

OTOH, this is why I consider Mystara a possible dark horse - Mystara is mentioned a surprising number of times in official books - almost as often as Greyhawk, and more often than Dark Sun or Planescape. (Though not as often as FR, Eberron... or Dragonlance.)

 

[Dausuul]

I’ll never understand why anyone would look at every opportunity to reduce the number of options available to players and DMs.

Designers, writers, and editors are not free, and page counts are finite. Every option that goes in means something else gets left out.

 

[Bitbrain]

One thing to remember when it comes to classic settings - they've been mentioned in the core books and beyond, and to some extent I think this can give us an idea of where they plan to go and where they don't.

For this reason, I can tell you one thing I know for certain: Birthright isn't on the list. It's not mentioned in the PHB or DMG, nor am I aware of any other published 5E books that make mention of it.

Birthright is mentioned on page 68 of the DMG, alongside the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Eberron, and Mystara.

On Aebrynis (the heroic-fantasy world of the Birthright setting), scions born from divine bloodlines carve up the continent of Cerilia. Monarchs, prelates, guildmasters, and great wizards balance the demands of rulership against the threat of horrible abominations born from the blood of an evil god.

 

[Nymrod]

Birthright is mentioned on page 68 of the DMG, alongside the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Eberron, and Mystara.

On Aebrynis (the heroic-fantasy world of the Birthright setting), scions born from divine bloodlines carve up the continent of Cerilia. Monarchs, prelates, guildmasters, and great wizards balance the demands of rulership against the threat of horrible abominations born from the blood of an evil god.

And 3.5 did have Power of Faerun which was pretty much expanded leadership rules so you can have your own domains. The concept is not entirely abandoned. I could see it be one of the many planned video games for 5E as well; hate me for this but I could easily see Birthright domain management tend into a mobile phone game.

 

[nevin]

Birthright is mentioned on page 68 of the DMG, alongside the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Eberron, and Mystara.

On Aebrynis (the heroic-fantasy world of the Birthright setting), scions born from divine bloodlines carve up the continent of Cerilia. Monarchs, prelates, guildmasters, and great wizards balance the demands of rulership against the threat of horrible abominations born from the blood of an evil god.

I only played it a few times but Birthright could be a fun. I liked the concept but Forgotten Realms was what all my friends wanted to play

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Ah. Well, I stand corrected regarding Birthright!