D&D General Dungeons & Dragons Sneak Peek at Gameholecon: 50th Anniversary Adventure, Rod of Seven Parts, The Endless Stair, Tsojcanth, Barrier Peaks?

I was leaving a panel at GameHoleCon when Chris Perkins walked in and then Justice and Bill and then quite a few other WotC folk! So I stayed.

I'm glad I did because what started as a very funny trivia game challenge to the WotC folk and some of the audience soon turned into a discussion about things they are working on. Cool things. Oh and some of those questions were by Jon Peterson and were hard! I pride myself in getting a couple correct! Iron Rations for the win! Chris Lindsay talked about the DMSGuild too, and strongly hinted to me about the Manual of the Planes. I just wasn't on the same plane.

Anyway they discussed things that have already been covered, but I think with a bit more detail on particular things. This was more of a conversation than a presentation after all.

• Ron Lundeen discussed the internal playtests and that he liked it when he would see similar things discussed in the same ways in both public and private testing.
• Bill Benham discussed Jaquaysing the maps and adventures and how they are taking that more to heart. I think she was on everyone's mind at the panel, see this thread if you would, she could use our help.
• Ron also dicussed how he learned that scrolls are a secret magic item table of power and rarity for magic items generally. That's a nice hint I'll have to take a closer look at.

And then Chris talked about how their adventures take this fine line of between having too much and overwhelming new people yet also having to satisfy old hats like myself.

• The new core books will have an update to format and art like the more recent books.
• Gateway to new players was a term they kept using for the new PHB and even the DMG.
• Oh and they mentioned Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron as a new spell, which Hollie will be delighted with.
• All three books will have mostly new art from new artists too, like from two concept artists from Obi Wan and the Avatar shows.

Then they went on to the DMG and how it'll talk about what a DM does, what are the parts of the game, the books and even how to use the DM Screen in play.

• It'll have handouts and tools to help you organize and build your notes and show you a campaign setting designed to be customized as a tutorial to make it your own and eventually build one from scratch.
• There will be new magic items to fill in more rarity niches and more cool common ones too.
• And finally we'll get the 1980 cartoon series magic items, something Chris seemed almost giddy about.

The Monster Manual will have more high level creatures and they noted things they'll put in stat blocks that were missing before, like proficiency bonus.

'Romp around the multiverse', I don't think that's a new book title, but it's a new kind of anthology book that revisits all the things they've done in D&D, a '50th anniversary book'. Chris Perkins actually ran the Ravenloft adventure at the convention, I wish I'd captured the events he ran because I'm guessing the title and a few details are in that entry. Anyone here play in his games? Care to share?

And then Chris started to display cool secrets. I'm not sure if any of these are separate books or part of the above mentioned book, but I think they are separate books the way Chris was hinting. I must also offer an apology. There was no way I could get all of these images. I was caught off guard and in a bit of awe. The last one especially is just killing me, it was wonderful and Chris refused to show me after the panel with that wry smile of his.

So here is the only clear image I got. What do you see? Give me your guesses and I'll later give you what the jokes were they made. I even got a laugh out of the crew with one!

However the missing last image was my biggest regret. It was a cute fluffy bunny on a stump...... Oh the agony! I got a selfie with Chris as a consolation prize!

OK I’ll spill more. I’m not sure but they indeed seemed to be talking about multiple books and this new book for the 50th. I think they intentionally obfuscated things.

• The key to me is that the 50th book is a visit to all the 5e adventures and the stuff that isn’t from those are either for the story to tie them together or are from other books
• The bunny was undead, a Sheep in Wolfs clothing. It was a brand new painting and I didn’t recognize the artist.
• My joke was that the Rod would fall apart way to easily, as they tried to hint what it was.

So from what they were taking about I think.

• A D&D 50th Anniversary book
• An Endless Stair book
• A Rod of Seven parts book
• And Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
• Oh and Tsojcanth

Please note those are all guesses by me. Oh and Tsojcanth.

Chris did say that the D&D 50th book had been announced but I can’t find anything on it.

 

[Parmandur]

There was a 2e Planescape "Tales from the Infinite Staircase" book that was a (loosely-tied together) collection of short adventures, so something along those lines wouldn't surprise me.

Yeah, I could see it as the basis for a Radiant Citadel sort of hub...and indeed, probavly with advice on job to merge the stuff with Radiant Citadel material either which way.

So, given Lost Caverns of Tsojvanth, which goes back to 1976 about as early as anything, set in Greyhawk with ties to a major "multiverse" NPC (Tasha)...what else night we see?

Dragonlance? Mystara? Jakondor...?

 

[dave2008]

Things like this have been done by homebrewers and Indie publishers like myself for years. It will interesting how the official WotC statblocks will resemble some of the formats we (indie publishers and homebreweres) have been doing that are hits with players (like the image size comparison icon, lore checks, and a pronunciation guide).


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Maybe not all your goodies, but WotC has been putting proficiency bonus on their statblocks for years already. So that is a bit of an odd comment from them I think.

 

[Parmandur]

finally we'll get the 1980 cartoon series magic items, something Chris seemed almost giddy about.

That's awesome: did he give any oblique hints at the sample Adventure, Campaign or Setting in the DMG?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Maybe not all your goodies, but WotC has been putting proficiency bonus on their statblocks for years already. So that is a bit of an odd comment from them I think.

We've had almost a decade of fans modifying stat blocks. There's a lot of best practices they can borrow from (Level UP is a good place re: the lore and signs piece). I'd have to think they have to know which ones fans really liked and incorporate them.

 

[darjr]

That's awesome: did he give any oblique hints at the sample Adventure, Campaign or Setting in the DMG?

Not in the panel.

 

[mamba]

So try thisnon for size:

- Tales from the Infinite Staircase: an anthology of.classic D&D Adventures (modules or magazine articles), maybe some new ones, from a variety of Settigns around the multiverse

I’d prefer them following some theme, like Yawning Portal or Saltmarsh did.

I guess Planescape / plane hopping could be a theme, but that feels too early, we just got the PS set

- Rod of Seven Parts: a smorgasbord supplement with odds and ends like the De k of Many Things, that can serve as ingredients in a homebrewed epic quest or one shots with ties tongreater lore...?

feels too early with us getting the deck this year

Both options still, just not necessarily one I would have gone for

 

[DarkCrisis]

I believe the cartoon kids weapons were officially stated for 3rd ed.

Can't wait to see the 5.5 ed versions.

 

[Alzrius]

I believe the cartoon kids weapons were officially stated for 3rd ed.

Can't wait to see the 5.5 ed versions.

One of the few official 3.5 products I have yet to get a copy of...so far.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

More player options? I wonder if this could mean adding a new PC specie and class. The aasimar and the artificier, or the goliath and the mystic?

 

[Parmandur]

I’d prefer them following some theme, like Yawning Portal or Saltmarsh did.

I agree that Saltmarsh is the ideal for an anthology, but...can you explain what theme you saw in Yawning Portal...? Good stuff, but coherent theme is not an appellation I would apply.

I guess Planescape / plane hopping could be a theme, but that feels too early, we just got the PS set

This would have been in he works for a while, and Planar stuff is in the DMG, so not too out of bounds.

feels too early with us getting the deck this year

Not necessarily.

Both options still, just not necessarily one I would have gone for

Yeah, just spit balling. It could be that Tsojcanth, the Rod of Seven Parts and thebInfinite Parts are three books, some combination of two, or one...even the same as Vecna! I expect we will see a D&D Direct once the Deck drops that lays out their big picture plans, which is why they are starting to talk aboutbit at some Cons.