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.

 

[embee]

I mean, it would be wild to me if the other two ended up being anything but Dark Sun and Dragonlance.

Given that they've updated psionics, I still think DS is on its way. Although I'm not happy with it now being a type of magic.

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

doubt they said they would be doing old stuff revivals.

You're probably right.

 

[embee]

I'm predicting one of the two new setting books will be a Magic Plane, like Ravnica and Theros. I'd personally love to see Kamigawa, Tarkir (I think it's called Tarkir) or Innistrad get the setting treatment.

I'm sure there are plenty of grognards just waiting to bitch about MtG in D&D like they will be forced to include it.

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

Given that they've updated psionics, I still think DS is on its way. Although I'm not happy with it now being a type of magic.

Dark Sun doesn't fit the modern culture of the current D&D fan base. Dark Sun is very much a dark, post-apocalyptic, gritty world full of some really vile creatures and characters. And 5e psionics isn't psionics enough. Almost everything in Dark Sun had some kind of psionics in some form. They'd have to do a full psionics system to do Dark Sun right.

 

[embee]

Dark Sun doesn't fit the modern culture of the current D&D fan base. Dark Sun is very much a dark, post-apocalyptic, gritty world full of some really vile creatures and characters. And 5e psionics isn't psionics enough. Almost everything in Dark Sun had some kind of psionics in some form. They'd have to do a full psionics system to do Dark Sun right.

Which I would love.

I mean, the sad truth is that you can't really do DS nowadays. For starters, there's the issue of slavery. Plus, 5e PCs tend to be unkillable whereas DS tends towards the disposable. Plus, the other mechanics like weapon breakage would have to be build out too. And that's a level of crunch that doesn't really jibe with DS.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Dark Sun doesn't fit the modern culture of the current D&D fan base. Dark Sun is very much a dark, post-apocalyptic, gritty world full of some really vile creatures and characters. And 5e psionics isn't psionics enough. Almost everything in Dark Sun had some kind of psionics in some form. They'd have to do a full psionics system to do Dark Sun right.

dark and gritty can be sold if you got a substance to back it up plus it really depends on how they do it.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I'm thinking we'll be seeing a Spelljammer adventure that starts in Lantan in the FR (which was mentioned as a place they would be revisiting when ToA came out and it appears on the edge of the map, and would be a logical jumping-off point for a Spelljammer adventure). It would mainly be an adventure, but the basic Spalljammer rule set would appear as an appendix. The adventure would go through wildspace, the phlogiston, and visit the Rock of Bral.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Dark Sun doesn't fit the modern culture of the current D&D fan base. Dark Sun is very much a dark, post-apocalyptic, gritty world full of some really vile creatures and characters.

Dark Sun literally was a Sword and Sorcery Mad Max, and came from a time in the 90's when people realized what Environmental problems could lead to.

Climate Change and other environmental problems are still a concern today.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

anyone know what the other two will be?

Jakandor and Thunder Rift.

WotC is going to lean into really upsetting fans waiting for Planescape and Dark Sun.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I think the best choice for the other two should be Dark Sun and Spelljammer.

Dark Sun needs a full psionics system, large bestiary, and other crunch to work. As a genre resource (since they want settings to also function as genre resources for those who don't use the setting itself as is), post-apocalyptic isn't terribly popular right now, so they're likely to spin something else into it.

Spelljammer also needs a decent bestiary and setting mechanics. As a genre resource, space opera works.

These would make sense as the choices based on a combination of designer comments, past precedent, and logical value.

Which of course means we will actually get one of those, but be very unlikely to get both, because they seem to be on some sort of kick of "keeping fans guessing" rather than just doing what makes the most sense all around. (I find that attitude annoying in this day and age. Just make products based on the combination of what the fans want and what is best for the game. Don't try to be clever and creatively flirty or whatever you want to call it.)

Dragonlance has the upcoming books in its favor, but cleaves close to a baseline D&D experience and has little enough crunch needed that it could be released in a pamphlet. It has little to offer as a genre resource.

Greyhawk literally is the base D&D experience, so it has no reason for a full hardcover setting other than if they have a particular story they want to do with it.

Mystara's patchwork quilt is an odd one, and given we have Eberron, I think being "pulp fantasy" isn't going to be strong enough for genre appeal. They could however do something completely innovative with it and end up picking it.

Planescape kind of already exists anyway, since it started being woven into the core D&D experience back in 3e. So despite the fact that I run Planescape, I think it's a bad choice for an independent setting book at this point (in a few years it might not be).

Most likely the one that isn't Dark Sun or Spelljammer, will be something unexpected, like one of those settings most people have never heard of and/or based on licensed IP from 1e that most people didn't know was ever a D&D thing.

Or Birthright. While I'd prefer both Dark Sun and Spelljammer because they are most needed, since they are unlikely to both happen, Birthright with mass combat, domain building/management, would be a pleasant option, with a "Game of Thrones" feel serving as the genre resource.