D&D 5E D&D's Classic Settings Are Not 'One Shots'

In an interview with ComicBook.com, WotC's Jeremy Crawford talked about the visits to Ravenloft, Eberron, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, and (the upcoming) Planescape we've seen over the last couple of years, and their intentions for the future.

He indicated that they plan to revisit some of these settings again in the future, noting that the setting books are among their most popular books.

We love [the campaign setting books], because they help highlight just how wonderfully rich D&D is. They highlight that D&D can be gothic horror. D&D can be fantasy in space. D&D can be trippy adventures in the afterlife, in terms of Planescape. D&D can be classic high fantasy, in the form of the Forgotten Realms. It can be sort of a steampunk-like fantasy, like in Eberron. We feel it's vital to visit these settings, to tell stories in them. And we look forward to returning to them. So we do not view these as one-shots.

- Jeremy Crawford​

The whole 'multiverse' concept that D&D is currently exploring plays into this, giving them opportunities to resist worlds.

When asked about the release schedule of these books, Crawford noted that the company plans its release schedule so that players get chance to play the material, not just read it, and they don't want to swamp people with too much content to use.

Our approach to how we design for the game and how we plan out the books for it is a play-first approach. At certain times in D&D's history, it's really been a read-first approach. Because we've had points in our history where we were producing so many books each year, there was no way anyone could play all of it. In some years it would be hard to play even a small percentage of the number of things that come out. Because we have a play-first approach, we want to make sure we're coming out with things at a pace where if you really wanted to, and even that would require a lot of weekends and evenings dedicated to D&D play, you could play a lot of it.

- Jeremy Crawford​

You can read more in the interview at ComicBook.com.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Avernus is a prequel to BG3, not s "tie in." What I want is an actual big fat adventure book that is an adaptation for tabletop play.

That would be incredible but I don't think 5E has any official adventures with that level of information density, nor any writers talented enough to do it on staff, certainly nor with Chris Perkins in charge, who has an incredible talent for using up page count without actually providing either information or useful information. He can say in 5 pages what a 2E or 3E (or some 3PP 5E ones) could say in 1.

Even with great adventure writers we'd probably be looking at a 320 page tome or more, perhaps even two.

I think future success will rely on combining edge and twee to make a self-aware combo that becomes the new thing. In other words, the future is anime.

Yes basically lol.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It's literally what everyone playing 5E wants, but most of them just don't know it yet, or don't want to believe it b/c of stigma or something. But yeah, the various flavors of shounen and seinen are pretty much what D&D will probably evolve towards next. Pretty much everyone born in the 90s onwards in the West was raised by anime lmao

I kind of hate to say it but you're basically 100% right and I think this is part of the problem because the people in charge of D&D are all in their 50s or so and just a little bit too old to have been raised the same way. Once someone who is in their 30s now (even late 30s), I think things will change, design-wise, and much for the better. I mean in 45 and was raised that way but it's only more the case as you go younger.

 

[Scribe]

It's literally what everyone playing 5E wants, but most of them just don't know it yet, or don't want to believe it b/c of stigma or something. But yeah, the various flavors of shounen and seinen are pretty much what D&D will probably evolve towards next. Pretty much everyone born in the 90s onwards in the West was raised by anime lmao

We must search our feelings, we know it to be true.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Anime may be a great influence among the new generation of players, and this shouldn't be wrong, but each artist should search her own style.

WotC has to bet for the quality instead qualtity because now it is not a monopoly, and they have to compete with the 3PPs, and this is good for the players.

Hasbro wants D&D settings to be interesting for different type of media products.

If Disney or Warner, for example, or a videogame studio, could create a better version of Mystara or Greyhawk then WotC's work is not enoughly good. Hasbro wants brands hard to be forgotten.

I would bet one of the future setting will be a family-friendly version o Ilkoria, about monster allies as "pets". Maybe in Kamigawa: Neon Dinasty there is a virtual simulation style "Yokay-watch". And there the fictional worlds become "real" in the "dream land" (or "dream aeon").

WotC doesn't want more titles too focused only into one specific setting. Goodbye the old settings where some classes and most of PC species are banned.

If there is a spiritual succesor of Dark Sun, this will be designed to allow dromites, elans, maenads, xephs and even the syands (the complete psionic). Of course it will by a dystopia where some horrible things are possible but not explicitly mentioned.

Manga publishers or anime studios aren't so interested into a licence when they would rather to start from zero with complete control on the work. A different thing could be a collab, for example in Witchlight a "domain of delight" based in a mixture of Candyland and Annpanman (a popular kodomo manga superhero).

* How would be a crossover Harry Potter/Stryxhaven? A curious isekai because both magic systems are radically different.

 

[Incenjucar]

While today's youth have different influences, the differences are not so monolithic. I would expect a bigger difference in rural/urban experiences, as the world has gotten much more indoors-oriented since the 90s. Anime is older than D&D.

 

[darjr]

I do wonder about a more closely connected tie in to both the movie and BG3.

But the Stranger Things and Rick and Morty boxes took a while. There could be one in the works following the same kind of timeline.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nah, it was G.H.W. Bush.

Bush 1 is not nearly as much fun to watch on YouTube.

 

[Vaalingrade]

While today's youth have different influences, the differences are not so monolithic. I would expect a bigger difference in rural/urban experiences, as the world has gotten much more indoors-oriented since the 90s. Anime is older than D&D.

But a certain sad corner of D&D players being angry that anime exists is about 30=40 years old. coming in around the time they needed to bridge their unfounded rage at Diablo to their unfounded rage at World of Warcraft.

There's a reason the antagonists of all those 'totally true' D&D horror stories have anime shirts, carry katanas and talk about waifus all the time.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Bush 1 is not nearly as much fun to watch on YouTube.

Youtube was so buggy and jank in the early 90's.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, I’m guessing it’s a bit like Star Wars in the OT’s release, assuming one only knew of the three movies and their implied setting.

Another good example of a setting that additional detail disappointed as many people as it pleased.