"Dust" and "Midway" - Codenames for Upcoming D&D Hardcovers

Tales from the Yawning Portal was codenamed Labyrinth. Curse of Strahd was Cloak, and Storm King's Thunder was Dagger (or vice versa). Now two new codenames have emerged, spotted by EN World member kettite. Dust is dated 19 Sep 2017, hardcover, $49.95, and Midway is dated 21 Nov 2017, hardcover, $49.95. These have both appeared over on edelweiss' catalog. They do not match the four unnamed RPG Accessories on Amazon. Engage speculation mode - two new hardcovers later this year!

Typically the September release has been an adventure, and the November release a rules book (Sword Coast Adventurers Guide; Volo's Guide to Monsters). WotC has been hinting at a "major rules expansion" for a while now.

My guess? Take it with a massive truckload of salt, but I'm going to guess that Dust is fey or fey wild related. Possible the thing Adventure Time's Pendleton Ward helped with. But it really is a wild guess.

"Dust"
Wizards RPG Team
FRONTLIST
On Sale Date: 19 September 2017
9780786966103, 0786966106
Hardcover
$49.95 USD, $63.95 CAD


"Midway"
Wizards RPG Team
FRONTLIST
On Sale Date: 21 November 2017
9780786966110, 0786966114
Hardcover
$49.95 USD, $63.95 CAD

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[robus]

What, like, Curse of Strahd?

That was a bit of a bodge though wasn't it?

 

[Reynard]

Let's add them all together:

June 20 $9.95
July 18 $14.95
Sept 17 $19.95
Sept 19 $49.95 hardcover
Oct 17 #24.95
Nov 21 $49.95 hardcover

Note that all of those dates are Tuesdays except September 17, which is a Sunday. Magic sets sometimes prerelease on Sunday.

 

[Bera]

If we're getting an adventure in a different world, it'd be likely that the game expansion/options book (i.e. all those subclasses, artificer, and mystic) might be before the adventure.

None of the recent UA stuff screams Dark Sun to me except for the mystic. Mystic, Artificer, and some of the others fit Eberron much more than they all fill in gaps for Dark Sun or Al-Qadim/Zakhara. A few of the recent options like Kensai, Samurai, and Wu Jen might be consistent with a Kara-Tur adventure too, but I don't get a feeling of any other setting (Maztica, Dragonlance, etc.).

 

[Zhern]

November is the time for lore/mechanics/expansion books - 11/3/15 was Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and 11/15/16 was Volo's Guide to Monsters. September has been the time for the APs - Storm King's Thunder, Rage of Demons, Rise of Tiamat (I think this was actually October because Monster Manual was in September).

That being said:
Dust: much like the others I'm going to hope for Dark Sun but I don't really have faith that we'll see anything but more Forgotten Realms anytime soon (Strahd was a nice departure).

Midway: the BBoM (Big Book of Mechanics) that Mearls has talked about.

 

[FallenAkriel]

Midway is definitively the wording for a book half-player half-dm.
Dust, I will go with Fairy Dust aka Feywild adventure, too soon for Dark Sun.

 

[Lidgar]

Dust = Al-Qadim? Seems a little out of the blue, but its FR.

Or perhaps a reboot of the Desert of Desolation Series? You know how they like to go retro.

Agree Midway likely the rules expansion/options.

 

[paul1]

Dust: Immediately Dark Sun comes to mind

Midway: I am going to guess a version of Manual of the Planes with a possible series of short quests like Volo's did.

 

[gyor]

Dust will be a return to the Desert Desolation

This is my thought as well. WotC has shown a strong focus on new spins to beloved classic adventures, and they have not touched Desert of Desolation and that one is even in FR, in the Raurin Desert near Mulhorand.

I'd love to see it explore the Old Empires region of the realms, a region where we've only had a brief glance that shows radical change in 5e.

As for Undermountain they won't go their till the movie which is set in Water deep and Undermountian is going to be released, no way they miss out on the Synergies.

Midway I believe like everyone else will be the big book odmf rules.

 

[Morrus]

That was a bit of a bodge though wasn't it?

Was it? Sounds rather like the No True Scotsman fallacy!

 

[gyor]

Dust = Al-Qadim? Seems a little out of the blue, but its FR.

Or perhaps a reboot of the Desert of Desolation Series? You know how they like to go retro.

Agree Midway likely the rules expansion/options.

You ninja's me with your retro point in regards to Desert of Desolation.

It's set in a part of the Realms that is as exotic in it's own way as Zakahara, but with God Kings/Queens, Dragonborn Kingdoms, Genasi, Aasimar, Tieflings, Imaskari Wizards and Artificers, Pharaoh's, Pyramids, and a history of fallen Empires and exotic magic's.