WotC D&D Direct--Learn About Upcoming D&D On April 21st!

D&D Direct is a 30-minute video which WotC will be releasing on April 21st at 9am Pacific Time (5pm BST, if I have my time zones correct). They'll be using it to reveal stuff about upcoming D&D projects (including video games and entertainment). The video will be presented by Anna Prosser and B. Dave Walters.

This is being billed in an emailed announcement entitled "Learn Everything That’s Happening This Year for Dungeons & Dragons" as the "first ever D&D Direct", so presumably there are more planned.

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The D&D Team at Wizards of the Coast is excited to debut D&D Direct, a jam-packed thirty-minute video presentation on April 21 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.

Tune in to see exclusive reveals from the world's greatest roleplaying game, including video games, entertainment, and more, guided by hosts Anna Prosser and B. Dave Walters.

D&D Direct will be broadcast on the D&D YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/DNDWizards) and Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/dnd) channels.

To find out more on D&D Direct go to dnd.wizards.com and follow the official D&D social media accounts for more updates.

See you on April 21 at 9:00 AM PT for the first-ever D&D Direct!

 

[ersatzphil]

Well, recall that Monsters of the Multiverse was supposed to come out in 2021, and was delayed: it is not inconceivable that they will have more than 5 books. They never promised a specific number, and they break patterns all the time.

Agreed - I really don't know what year MotM should 'count' for. Last year was a "winter / spring / sept / oct / nov" cadence for releases; I assume the 'expanded rules' slipcase was aiming for December and the holiday buying period, which would have meant 6 new 'products' in 2021. There used to be a fairly predictable cadence to their releases - a new monster book every other year, a new adventure anthology every other year, a new players book every three years - but it's impossible for us on the outside to know how much the shipping issues for the last two years have thrown that off.

 

[Mercurius]

Well, recall that Monsters of the Multiverse was supposed to come out in 2021, and was delayed: it is not inconceivable that they will have more than 5 books. They never promised a specific number, and they break patterns qll the time.

Yes, and I do think they'll go to 6 or more major projects eventually, even this year. But if they stick with five, I think they'll both be setting related - maybe one setting, and one setting-adventure hybrid. I don't think we'll get only one setting and another adventure path. Just a hunch, though.

The confirmed leaker on reddit scorched earth their account, but I recall them saying that WotC was working on a shocking amount of new material. Unfortunately removeddit and ceddit don't seem to be working any more, but I think it was in this thread. Of course, Winninger has mentioned how much they work on gets left on the cutting room floor, but still.

Ooh, I missed a fun one. What did they reveal, other than "a shocking amount of new material?"

 

[Mercurius]

Agreed - I really don't know what year MotM should 'count' for. Last year was a "winter / spring / sept / oct / nov" cadence for releases; I assume the 'expanded rules' slipcase was aiming for December and the holiday buying period, which would have meant 6 new 'products' in 2021. There used to be a fairly predictable cadence to their releases - a new monster book every other year, a new adventure anthology every other year, a new players book every three years - but it's impossible for us on the outside to know how much the shipping issues for the last three years have thrown that off.

If you look at my chart, there still is - it has just been muddied by two factors: 1) the covid disruption in 2020, and 2) hypothetical increased product due to D&D's immense popularity.

But 2018-19 was very similar, it is just that swapped out one of two-part adventures for an anthology. But you had a splat and setting book each year, and two adventure books. Plus, 2019 saw expansion: Essentials, the two alt starters, and Tyranny of Dragons.

I'm not sure if 2020 was altered or just pushed back, but it makes sense that they saw it as a "stabilization year" before an increase in 2021. If MotM had come out that year, it would have been six books - so it does make sense that they have six total--or three more--coming out this year, so we have:

2015-17: 3 books
2018-20: 4 books + extras in 2019-20
2021: 5 books
2022: 5-6 books plus extra (Stormwreck)
2023: 6 books?

 

[ersatzphil]

Ooh, I missed a fun one. What did they reveal, other than "a shocking amount of new material?"

As I recall, the reddit user CriminalNegligee confirmed that the new Radiant Citadel wasn't Spelljammer before it was announced, but that Spelljammer and Dragonlance were coming this year. The mods confirmed that they were actually in the industry in some capacity, and gave them a 'verified leaker' flair. As I said, they mentioned that WotC was working on a ton of new projects at once.

I crawled through their post history a bit, whoever they were, but as I recall they spent way more time talking about Brian Foster and CR than leaking D&D tidbits. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a cache of their posts anywhere.

 

[Mercurius]

As I recall, the reddit user CriminalNegligee confirmed that the new Radiant Citadel wasn't Spelljammer before it was announced, but that Spelljammer and Dragonlance were coming this year. The mods confirmed that they were actually in the industry in some capacity, and gave them a 'verified leaker' flair. As I said, they mentioned that WotC was working on a ton of new projects at once.

I crawled through their post history a bit, whoever they were, but as I recall they spent way more time talking about Brian Foster and CR than leaking D&D tidbits.

Thanks. That almost sounds like an orchestrated leak - and we know WotC likes to mess with us (in a playful way).

 

[darjr]

The confirmed leaker on reddit scorched earth their account, but I recall them saying that WotC was working on a shocking amount of new material. Unfortunately removeddit and ceddit don't seem to be working any more, but I think it was in this thread. Of course, Winninger has mentioned how much they work on gets left on the cutting room floor, but still.

Yea. Deleted stuff going back a ways. WotC isn’t playing around with NDAs. Best thing for that person in this industry would be for that person to go to WotC and mea-culpa. I think. I’m not a lawyer so don’t take my advice.

 

[Faolyn]

Tchotchkes. They’re going to direct sell tchotchkes.

So, miniatures. The most useful of tchotchkes.

 

[Mercurius]

Oh yeah, as far as the chart goes - on my "home version," I do have boxes for "6th Product?" and "Other?" in 2022 and beyond...I just didn't want to muddy it with too much speculation.

 

[Mercurius]

Yea. Deleted stuff going back a ways. WotC isn’t playing around with NDAs. Best thing for that person in this industry would be for that person to go to WotC and mea-culpa. I think. I’m not a lawyer so don’t take my advice.

It could also be a spouse or a friend of an employee. Who knows.

 

[Parmandur]

Yes, and I do think they'll go to 6 or more major projects eventually, even this year. But if they stick with five, I think they'll both be setting related - maybe one setting, and one setting-adventure hybrid. I don't think we'll get only one setting and another adventure path. Just a hunch, though.

Ooh, I missed a fun one. What did they reveal, other than "a shocking amount of new material?"

They revealed, quite a while prior to the Dragonlance UA, that they were aware of three books coming:

- An Adventure compilation (and the leaker gave solid details the weekend before the actual announcement that turned out to be true)

- A Spelljammer book (though this was after the UA with Spelljammer material, so low hanging fruit)

- A Dragonlance book (people weren't really predicting this when the leaker spoke about it, but it seems clear after the Dragonlqnce UA).

So, pretty fair degree of confidence that we have Spelljammer coming from Perkins (who Winninger said was working on a Setting, co-authered the UA with Spelljammer material, and has been teasing a book cover with a hamster and eyes) and Dragonlance from Wes Schneider (who co-wrote the Dragonlance UA, and previously done Theros and Ravenloft).

That means we don't know what James Wyatt, Amanda Hammon, or Jeremy Crawford (the book lead managers) have up their sleeves right now...