WotC D&D Universes Beyond

[Eyes of Nine]

Isn't its in-world system much more granular?

I don't know, haven't read it yet - I'm waiting for the RPG

 

[cbwjm]

Might be cool to see the Masters of the Universe translated to DnD, though I wonder if that would instead be given to Renegade games to make a setting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Might be cool to see the Masters of the Universe translated to DnD, though I wonder if that would instead be given to Renegade games to make a setting.

If they're really going ahead with Universes Beyond in-house, I would bet those Renegade licenses won't be renewed.

 

[Remathilis]

So let's realistically look at what a Universes Beyond could be.

MTG:UB comes in different sizes from a secret lair (a handful or cards, some re-themeed and some new) to a full set. I don't know what the D&D equivalent is but let's say it's the difference between a web supplement and a full hardcover book.

The second thing is that I assume the goal is to support D&D, not recreate the d20 heyday. So it's going to have to use the PHB classes mechanically unchanged. That also means the the setting of going to have to accept the classic D&D tropes: fighters, clerics, wizards and rogues. That concession automatically removes a lot of properties that don't (for example) use magic.

Third: it has to be a setting you can run a game in. At the very least, that means something that is self contained or lacks a direct conflict (like SpongeBob) probably isn't a strong candidate.

Lastly, WotC is very deliberate with new mechanics. Species, backgrounds and feats are a given, spells and subclasses are rare and limited, new classes are rare as rooster teeth. Absolutely no way they are creating a new spell system or other base mechanic. If you can't create a Jedi using the majority of the PHB, you probably aren't getting a Jedi class.

So what does that leave?

Magic the Gathering is a shoe in.
Final Fantasy would be an excellent candidate.
Lord of the Rings would probably work but 3pp seems to have that handled.
Ditto Game of Thrones.
Warcraft, the Elder Scrolls, and Dragon Age would probably be good choices.
As would the Witcher.
And maybe the Souls universe.
Harry Potter might have been a coup, but the brand of very polarizing now.
There are plenty of Anime and other video games that could work. I don't know how viable the licenses are, but Castlevania or Legend of Zelda could work.
Any setting that has modern technology or even futuristic would be viable as long as there is magic there too. New tech can be grafted on easy.
Superheroes would be tricky, depending on the type. Despite the popular belief D&D is a superhero game, it's really not good at recreating Spider-Man.
The biggest catch would of course be Disney. Kingdom Hearts type D&D setting?

Now a lot of these concessions are based on how WotC has handled it's listened products since 5e (MTG, Minecraft, Rick and Morty, Stranger Things). WotC could surprise us and buck tradition with Star Wars Saga 2 (based on 5e) but I feel that is unlikely.

Anyway that's my thoughts on this

 

[Remathilis]

Final thought: that also assumes a traditional setting in the vein of Ravnica. A UB product COULD just be something like an Elden Ring bestiary or a Species of Final Fantasy without a larger setting context: a real "use this how you want in your game" style material that could havea module where your PCs fight Jason Vorhees in Camp Crystal Lake without a thought of the larger world building.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

I pray this is not come to be, UB line turned Magic into "pay to ad" - pay money to be shown advertising of different product. Doing this to dnd will kill the game harder than ogl

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Final thought: that also assumes a traditional setting in the vein of Ravnica. A UB product COULD just be something like an Elden Ring bestiary or a Species of Final Fantasy without a larger setting context: a real "use this how you want in your game" style material that could havea module where your PCs fight Jason Vorhees in Camp Crystal Lake without a thought of the larger world building.

You mean Camp Clearwater Massacre?

The Camp Clearwater Massacre - Play on the Roll20 Virtual Tabletop

The Camp Clearwater Massacre Survive the campground with this replayable slasher one-shot! Need help starting your Camp Clearwater adventure? Click here to learn how. There’s someone out there. Lur...

marketplace.roll20.net

 

[Remathilis]

You mean Camp Clearwater Massacre?

The Camp Clearwater Massacre - Play on the Roll20 Virtual Tabletop

The Camp Clearwater Massacre Survive the campground with this replayable slasher one-shot! Need help starting your Camp Clearwater adventure? Click here to learn how. There’s someone out there. Lur...

marketplace.roll20.net

You brought up an interesting point: thanks to the d20 glut, how many properties are left to tap in the RPG square? I guess you could Fortnite it and have a Jedi, a Hogwarts wizard, a white mage and an a member of the Order of Assassins form a party to go fight Freddy Krueger, but it's not like people haven't been doing that unofficially for decades anyway...

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I've been constantly saying they need to get some crossover with Arcane / League of Legends, with a Runeterra setting book. I think it's doable for a D&D setting. I guess they can wait for however many years for when one of the followup series to Arcane gets released.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Final thought: that also assumes a traditional setting in the vein of Ravnica. A UB product COULD just be something like an Elden Ring bestiary or a Species of Final Fantasy without a larger setting context: a real "use this how you want in your game" style material that could havea module where your PCs fight Jason Vorhees in Camp Crystal Lake without a thought of the larger world building.

I think this is likelier than something more....product-intensive. If the idea is to do little pop culture riffs and just kind of have fun with it, I'd expect a lot of reskinning (which is already a thing for the M:TG cards) and only a few new mechanics where it would be particularly interesting. The visual design and physical fobs (maps, character sheets, maybe minis or tokens, definitely some on-brand colorful dice, etc.) would be a key part of this, too.

Which means that even doing something relatively lightweight could be a significant amount of work behind the scenes.

It's probably a lot easier to sell what is basically a particular kind of Spongebob Squarepants board game that is basically a reskin of a D&D adventure with a few extra bits that are a fun vibe than it would be to develop a Bikini Bottom Campaign Setting with unique setting elements that you expect D&D players to adopt.

The audience for the first is probably a lot bigger, anyway, especially if some of the D&D crowd get it to play with their kids or something.