After Waterdeep what should be the next FR adventure?

[qstor]

A pirate adventure set in the Sea of Fallen Stars would be cool.

 

[Prakriti]

Don't forget this paragraph from Volo's Guide to Monsters:

"You might be wondering why certain monsters were chosen above others. Where are dragons and githyanki? What, no fiends or undead? We hope to tackle other monsters in other products over time." (p. 5)

 

[Parmandur]

Early on I said:



Having a spring accessory makes sense given how busy the adventure team would have been with two back-to-back adventures. Making it four in a row would kill Perkins, and they're not swapping out the summer adventure: the summer adventure tends to be the big one, as that ties into minis, Neverwinter, and other product lines.

Thinking more that, I think pirates makes the most sense for the big summer adventure. Cast it as a reflavoured version of the "Slavers" series and make the PCs heroic freebooters hunting the slavers.
People love pirates and sailing, and it's supported by the boat miniature.

For the spring... who knows?
Mearls and Crawford handled Tales from the Yawning Portal without Perkins, so it's possible that we'll still get another set of reprints/ updates. But that still means four adventures in a row, which might be a long time for fans to wait for non-adventure content.

Who knows what they'll do? They've surprised us with most of the splatbooks and (most) of the adventures.

WotC has earned a reputation for unpredictability now, impressive given how steady their release schedule has been. They aren't afraid to mix it up.

Not sure what you mean by four in a row: the last D&D release this year is a setting and rules accessory, not adventure material.

If I had to guess what they might do, assuming four books work for them:

- Winter adventure material ala TftYP
- Spring accessory, ala MYoF
- Summer big AP, tying into AL and licensed properties
- Fall accessory ala XGtE or the GGtR

They have said that TfTYP was successful and they might do something like it again: nearly two years seems a sufficient gap for a follow-up. The Volo's/Mordenkeinan formula seems successful and popular. The big central AP of the year seemed very successful past year, and is shaping up well this year. XGtE is one of the biggest D&D books ever made, and again, two years seems fine for a follow-up.

 

[Parmandur]

An undead book would be cool, but that should detail corporeal and incoporeal undead...
I don’t think we need a half-dozen pages on wraiths and a comparable amount on specters. They don’t have a culture to expand or personalities that need explained.
Focusing just on spirits feels small for one of the 5e tent pole releases. Those tend to cover a lot of different topics.

Personally, I think they just wanted to have Volo writing a new book (because he’d always be working on the next one) and opted for one that best justified why he bought a haunted house. I don’t think it was more than an offhand reference and not some cunning Easter egg.
If they wanted to tease the next book, it would have been more vague and generate more speculation.

Maybe they're working to have a D&D cocktail recipe book with a third party licensee, in persona Volo.

 

[Parmandur]

Don't forget this paragraph from Volo's Guide to Monsters:

"You might be wondering why certain monsters were chosen above others. Where are dragons and githyanki? What, no fiends or undead? We hope to tackle other monsters in other products over time." (p. 5)

They already have done this for Fiends and Githyanki. A whole book like those two about Dragons and Dragon like entities is entirely doable, and would sell.

A Spooooky one about Undead (through in Lycanthropy for fun) would be very doable. Throw in charts to help come up with a unique Lich or Vampire? Playable undead options? Actual rules for playing werebeasties?

 

[Jester David]

WotC has earned a reputation for unpredictability now, impressive given how steady their release schedule has been. They aren't afraid to mix it up.

Agreed. They've been hard to predict and not always doing the expected thing…. if ever.

Not sure what you mean by four in a row: the last D&D release this year is a setting and rules accessory, not adventure material.

I'm not really counting Ravnica. That's being half done by the MtG team (writing and also likely art) and is really a "bonus" book.
It's not coming at the expense of an existing book "slot". It's only half aimed at D&D; it's uncertain if it will even be AL legal.

They have said that TfTYP was successful and they might do something like it again: nearly two years seems a sufficient gap for a follow-up.

Maybe. It is a fairly safe bet. Which is almost why I'm hesitant to "call" that.

The Volo's/Mordenkeinan formula seems successful and popular. The big central AP of the year seemed very successful past year, and is shaping up well this year. XGtE is one of the biggest D&D books ever made, and again, two years seems fine for a follow-up.

They *were* successful. But new books will be competing against those. They'll want new players to go to those first, and will likely hope they continue to have decent sales.

It's a good format, but we need a finite number of races and monsters. Guide to Monsters was half humanoid lore and half low level monsters, while Tome of Foes had a focus on higher level critters.
A third really should do something other than more of the same...

Were I planing their books, I’d do monster hunting book ‘written’ by Van Richten focusing on the “horror” monsters, such as undead, lycans,
and golems that gives monster hunting and investigation adventure advice. Less new monsters and more monster customization to allow you to make foes more unique. Perhaps expanded advice on PC werewolves and related new races (revenant, hagkin, dhampire).

 

[SkidAce]

And honestly it's too late now likely for them to back out of Volo's Guide to Spirits and Spectres, part of the work might already have been done, and the Easter Egg has already been revealed.

When did this news break? This is the first I've heard of it...

 

[Parmandur]

When did this news break? This is the first I've heard of it...

No announcement, there is a joke in Dragon Heist about Volo's work on his next book stalling because his knowledge of Spirit's being mostly of the alcoholic variety.

 

[Parmandur]

Agreed. They've been hard to predict and not always doing the expected thing…. if ever.


I'm not really counting Ravnica. That's being half done by the MtG team (writing and also likely art) and is really a "bonus" book.
It's not coming at the expense of an existing book "slot". It's only half aimed at D&D; it's uncertain if it will even be AL legal.


Maybe. It is a fairly safe bet. Which is almost why I'm hesitant to "call" that.


They *were* successful. But new books will be competing against those. They'll want new players to go to those first, and will likely hope they continue to have decent sales.

It's a good format, but we need a finite number of races and monsters. Guide to Monsters was half humanoid lore and half low level monsters, while Tome of Foes had a focus on higher level critters.
A third really should do something other than more of the same...

Were I planing their books, I’d do monster hunting book ‘written’ by Van Richten focusing on the “horror” monsters, such as undead, lycans,
and golems that gives monster hunting and investigation adventure advice. Less new monsters and more monster customization to allow you to make foes more unique. Perhaps expanded advice on PC werewolves and related new races (revenant, hagkin, dhampire).

Oh, man, I'm not gonna "call" anything, for the reasons you point out. However, if they move to do four books a year, the books they have done up to now can be put in four broad catagories...

 

[Markh3rd]

Put me down for a Pirate/Sinbad adventure.