Dungeons & Dragons is starting to preview its World of Warcraft book

Several influencers have revealed some details about the upcoming World of Warcraft crossover book, which is due to be released later this year. Most of the previews appear to center on how dungeons will be used in the book, with the GameMasters YouTube channel confirming that dungeons will be split up into different tiers of play. GameMasters revealed 7 dungeons that will appear in the book, with the Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep set up for Levels 1-4 players, Blackfathom Deep and Scarlet Monastery for Levels 5-10 players, Scarlet Monastery (again) and Dire Maul set up for Levels 11-16 players, and Azjol Nerub and Anoxia’s Lair for Levels 17-20 players.

Crit Hit the Giant provided some additional flavor about dungeon setup, with his preview of Dire Maul containing a large map of the dungeon, plot hooks for the dungeon, and a list of NPCs and monsters that populate the dungeon. From the looks of the preview pages in this video, it seems that each dungeon will be broken out into some detail, although it will be left to the DM to decide how to use each dungeon within their own game.

As I’m not a World of Warcraft player, it’s hard to tell how closely these dungeons skew towards the video game, but it looks like the average D&D DM will be able to use these dungeons in their own games without much issue. I find it interesting that Wizards of the Coast is turning towards D&D influencers, several of whom expressed in their own videos having a general lack of knowledge of the World of Warcraft setting as well. One would think that they’d be leaning on World of Warcraft influencers or Blizzard instead, but it was interesting that BlizzCon (an annual event focusing on Blizzard video games) came and went with no mention of the World of Warcraft/D&D crossover.

 

[Vrindlevine]

CR20 kind of underselling how rough Anduin was back in Sepulcher. Mind is probably normal him and not Sepulcher Anduin, but I'd think reg Anduin show be lower than that.

Converting Deep Lore characters to statblocks is always tough. I doubt you could make everyone happy even by being very careful. WoW goes to level 90 so even more of a pain.

 

[Distracted DM]

Yep. WoW would make a fantastic single-player game. It's the MMO aspects that let it down. Mostly because, as always, people suck.

You should try Hardcore. It literally has the best community and WoW experience, as per Blizzard.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Converting Deep Lore characters to statblocks is always tough. I doubt you could make everyone happy even by being very careful. WoW goes to level 90 so even more of a pain.

Anduin has also had a lot of stuff happen to him in recent years, up through the current expansion, so this version of him is further along than probably many players realize.

Arthas' story is done since Shadowlands (and he didn't get much further development there) and Illidan's story stopped with Legion for a long time, although he's apparently coming back for the next big patch, Eclipse.

 

[Mecheon]

Converting Deep Lore characters to statblocks is always tough. I doubt you could make everyone happy even by being very careful. WoW goes to level 90 so even more of a pain.

Oh absolutely, but going off sheer difficulty? Anduin was infamous. The raid we fought him in, Sepulcher, was the longest uncleared raid in the game's history, and Anduin was a lot of that reason. Illidan and Arthas were fair fights. Anduin wasn't.

Another lot of the reason was a certain giant enemy crab called Halondrus but I don't think the D&D community is ready for that nightmare

 

[Vrindlevine]

so this version of him is further along than probably many players realize.

I'm trying to think what the lowest level named character would be that has actually had some screen time (and that isn't just a boss or mob), maybe Gazlowe lol?

If they provide any commentary on artificers in this book I will take this as confirmation that Tinkers are coming soon and get extremely angry when my delusions are proven wrong.

 

[Scribe]

I love WoW Satyrs, killing those things by the hundreds farming shards and that art brings me back.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Oh absolutely, but going off sheer difficulty? Anduin was infamous. The raid we fought him in, Sepulcher, was the longest uncleared raid in the game's history, and Anduin was a lot of that reason. Illidan and Arthas were fair fights. Anduin wasn't.

That whole raid -- that whole expansion -- definitely showed the effects of A) the pandemic and B) Blizzard's dysfunction reaching a breaking point.

Things are so, so much better now. I played every day during the pandemic -- it was the pandemic! -- and I'd routinely be the only person in any zone.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm trying to think what the lowest level named character would be that has actually had some screen time (and that isn't just a boss or mob), maybe Gazlowe lol?

Moira Bronzebeard, who I don't think has been in combat against or alongside players since vanilla, is probably it. She appeared in a scenario during Pandaria, but I don't know if she was even capable of dying during it -- she was more the inciting incident than an active proponent, as I recall.

Gazlowe and the other goblin trade-princes were heavily featured in Undermine during The War Within. Great patch if you're a goblin lover, torture for those who aren't. (My wife and I love goblins, and I still have an alt parked at the Incontinental Hotel in the middle of the city.)

 

[Distracted DM]

- and I'd routinely be the only person in any zone.

One nice thing about Hardcore (gods I'm a hc proselytizer now apparently) is that every zone, high and low, has folk in it. It was a bit of a drag in retail going through these zones and seeing almost no one until the endgame zones.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One nice thing about Hardcore (gods I'm a hc proselytizer now apparently) is that every zone, high and low, has folk in it. It was a bit of a drag in retail going through these zones and seeing almost no one until the endgame zones.

I am hoping Forever's new realmless realm set up helps with that and, if it does work, that it comes to retail. I'm on a day one RP server and while it's never truly dead outside of the long content droughts in Draenor and Shadowlands, it'd be great if we saw all of the RP server folks our latency could handle at any given time.