D&D Adds Two New Books to 2025 Slate, Including New Eberron Book

Wizards of the Coast is adding two Dungeons & Dragons books to its 2025 slate, including Eberron: Forge of the Artificer in August and an unnamed mystery book in October. Eberron: Forge of the Artificer will include the revised Artificer class, several new backgrounds and feats, and revised Eberron species, including the “classic” species that previously appeared in Eberron: Rising From the Last War and the new Khoravar species. The design team for Eberron: Forge of the Artificer includes James Wyatt (who worked on the original Eberron line), with original Eberron designer Keith Baker consulting on the new book.

The Forgotten Realms Player's Guide will introduce circle-casting, a new way to cast spells. Full details on the new mechanic was not revealed, but it will involve multiple spellcasters working together to amp up a spell or give it additional effects. One example given was making a spell's effects permanent instead of having a temporary duration.

While no other details were provided for the October mystery book, EN World received a host of new details about the rest of D&D's 2025 slate during a press visit to Wizards of the Coast's new office headquarters last week.

Dragon Delves - July 8, 2025 Release Date

The previously unnamed dragon anthology is called Dragon Delves and will feature 10 short adventures, each of which features a different type of chromatic or metallic dragon. Three campaign options will be provided in the anthology to link together the adventures. Not every adventure pits players against dragons, especially as the adventures range from Level 1 to Level 12. The adventures are described as being relatively short and utilize the prep-style seen in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. There's also an art section showcasing dragon art from across 50 years of D&D material.

Dragon Delves also noticably departs from Wizards' in-house style for D&D. Each adventure features art by a different artist, with the artists each providing their own style instead of conforming to the "fantastic realism" typically found in D&D books. Artists in Dragon Delves includes Luke Eidensink, Dominik Mayer, and Ed Kwong, with example pieces seen below.


white dragon ed kwong.jpg

green dragon.jpg

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Eberron: Forge of the Artificer - August 19, 2025 Release Date
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Eberron: Forge of the Artificer serves as a "companion" book to Eberron: Rising From The Last War, with looks at different parts of Eberron that wasn't explored in the previous rulebook. The book will include new backgrounds, new bastion options tied to Eberron, and expanded rules for airships. The book also includes some changes/evolutions of Eberron lore. Notably, dragonmarked houses are no longer "species-locked" with characters able to join the houses later in life. Dragonmarks are also being made into feats as opposed to having a separate subsystem.

As a note, lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford specifically noted that the Khoravar are being considered a new species and distinct from half-elves. Crawford noted that this change came from Eberron lore itself and reflects how the existing lore of D&D is influencing the mechanics.

While the book won't include a full campaign, there are three chapters presented as campaign "options" with sample adventures. The three chapters, titled Sharn Inquisitives, Dragonmark Intrigue, and Morgrave Expeditions are organized using the methods explained in the Dungeon Master's Guide and include several sample adventures.

At one point, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer was described as a "Xanathar's Guide to Everything" book, but specific to Eberron. The book will also have a different page count and price point than typical D&D rulebooks, although no further details were given.



Heroes of the Borderland Starter Set - September 16, 2025 Release Date

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Heroes of the Borderlands is a return to the Keep in the Borderlands, although "time has passed" since the original adventure module. The physical starter set will also contain several new innovations designed to make playing D&D easier for beginners. Notably, the starter set includes numerous new components including "tiles" that players mix and match to create new characters. The tile system was described as one of the quickest character creation systems ever for new players, short of giving them a pre-generated character. The Starter Set will also include support for having multiple DMs run the campaign.

Forgotten Realms Player's Guide - November 11, 2025 Release Date

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The Forgotten Realms Player's Guide will feature new backgrounds, feats, and 8 new subclasses. The 8 new subclasses will be revealed today as part of an Unearthed Arcana (found here). Instead of rehashing existing subclasses, at least some of the subclasses are inspired by different parts of the Forgotten Realms. For example, the bard subclass is inspired by the Moonshae Isles, while the genie-themed paladin is focused on Calimsham.
The eight subclasses are:

  • College Of The Moon (Bard)
  • Knowledge Domain (Cleric)
  • Purple Dragon Knight (Fighter)
  • Oath Of The Noble Genies (Paladin)
  • Winter Walker (Ranger)
  • Scion Of The Three (Rogue)
  • Spellfire Sorcery (Sorcerer)
  • Bladesinger (Wizard)

Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide - November 11, 2025 Release Date

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The Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide will contain deep dives on five different parts of the Forgotten Realms, each of which are meant to focus on a "different kind of fantasy." The five areas include the Moonshae Isles, Icewind Dale, the Dalelands, Calimshan, and Baldur's Gate. Each area will have short adventures for DMs to run or help launch a campaign.

When asked whether the Forgotten Realms would have any changes, Crawford said that some areas of the Forgotten Realms would have new developments, particularly in areas where Fifth Edition hasn't touched before. Additionally, Baldur's Gate 3 will be referenced in the artwork of the Baldur's Gate section and there would be some other nods to the game in that section as well.
 

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Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer

Not remotely surprised they're doing a 2024 Eberron update (already seemed an obvious product even before the artificer playtest). Slightly surprised it's coming out this year, though.

Seems like a pretty short playtest window for all this material, in fact.
 

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Also, Eberron's half-elves counting as distinct enough to be their own species in 2024, but half-orcs being erased and replaced with 2024 orcs, isn't a great look. (They should have treated them both the same.)
They're fairly different lore-wise, though. Khoravar form separate sub-communities in the areas where they live, and consider themselves separate from both elves and humans. Half-orcs on the other hand generally live in merged communities which have both humans, orcs, and half-orcs in them.
 

Not remotely surprised they're doing a 2024 Eberron update (already seemed an obvious product even before the artificer playtest). Slightly surprised it's coming out this year, though.

Seems like a pretty short playtest window for all this material, in fact.
Probably the only playtesting they ate doing is for the Artificer, given the turnaround time.
Also, Eberron's half-elves counting as distinct enough to be their own species in 2024, but half-orcs being erased and replaced with 2024 orcs, isn't a great look. (They should have treated them both the same.)
Orcs and Half-Orcs are not mechanically very distinct, while Elves and Half-Elves are. I also haven't much thematic outcry from Half,Orc fans like from Half-Ekf fans. They are not the same situation, so treating them the same would not necessarily make sense.
 



Also, Eberron's half-elves counting as distinct enough to be their own species in 2024, but half-orcs being erased and replaced with 2024 orcs, isn't a great look. (They should have treated them both the same.
Eberron treated full orcs as "tradition" orcs; living in the swamp and practicing druidic faith, while half-orcs were "city" orcs who adapted to Galifar modern traditions. Unintentionally, that replicates a rather unpleasant trope (full blooded natives are backwards and traditionalists, intermixed natives are civilized and modern). Additionally, House Thraask was the only house where humans and half-orcs were both marked, speaking to the idea that the race wasn't strong enough to hold a whole mark on its own (half-elves on the other hand got three marks that they share with neither parent race).

Since the modern 5.24 orc is essentially half-orcs minus the injection of "civilizing blood" in them, I'm perfectly fine with orcs taking their role. They can be traditionalist or modernistic, playing on a common theme of adaptation many cultures deal with but in a far less biological way. They can have a mark without needing human blood to get it. I just think it's probably the best recon. There was never enough daylight between orc and half-orc and there is practically none anymore.
 

Eberron treated full orcs as "tradition" orcs; living in the swamp and practicing druidic faith, while half-orcs were "city" orcs who adapted to Galifar modern traditions. Unintentionally, that replicates a rather unpleasant trope (full blooded natives are backwards and traditionalists, intermixed natives are civilized and modern). Additionally, House Thraask was the only house where humans and half-orcs were both marked, speaking to the idea that the race wasn't strong enough to hold a whole mark on its own (half-elves on the other hand got three marks that they share with neither parent race).

Since the modern 5.24 orc is essentially half-orcs minus the injection of "civilizing blood" in them, I'm perfectly fine with orcs taking their role. They can be traditionalist or modernistic, playing on a common theme of adaptation many cultures deal with but in a far less biological way. They can have a mark without needing human blood to get it. I just think it's probably the best recon. There was never enough daylight between orc and half-orc and there is practically none anymore.
"Half orc" could even be a slur that "traditional orcs' use against "city orcs" because how they have ingrained and ingratiated themselves into 5 Kingdoms society.

As an aside: one of these days I need to run a Droamm campaign.
 

"Half orc" could even be a slur that "traditional orcs' use against "city orcs" because how they have ingrained and ingratiated themselves into 5 Kingdoms society.

As an aside: one of these days I need to run a Droamm campaign.
Oh I like that idea. The old timers in the Shadow Marsh see an orc fresh from Sharm all dressed in shiny platemail and they start calling him half-orc because he's go so much human culture in him.
 

As someone whose first character was a Half-Orc...it was really just an excuse to play a full Orc.
Yes, sounds accurate. I've personally never cared too much about both races (orcs and half-orcs) and I've always seen them as rather similar. I know that orcs are quite popular, so no complaints about their inclusion in the PHB. Plenty of other choices to pick from...
 

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