"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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[evilives]

Dust: I offer three steaming piles of prophecy.
1. Possibly a rousing update of the Master of the Desert Nomads/Temple of Death modules from D&D Expert, and the re-appearance of the beloved nagpa.
2. Possibly a romp in the Tomb of Horrors.
3. Possibly a version of Peter Pan, set on a revamped Isle of Dread, with the Lost Boys as monk assassins, Peter Pan as a hermaphroditic avatar of nature, Wendy as a Paladin of Vengeance, and Captain Hook as a quadruple amputee mindflayer psionically conjoined with his ship.

Midway: Again, the piles three.
1. The D&D 5e equivalent of d20 Modern.
2. A miscellany of DM and Player tidbits ala Unearthed Arcana
3. Mass combat rules ala Battlesystem

 

[Wasgo]

Dust is clearly Mystara because it's been gathering dust for a couple of decades. And Midway is Hollow World because it's midway through Mystara. Clearly.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I hope it's a superdungeon.

 

[Curmudjinn]

When I think of midway, I think of the Battle of Midway and how that one battle completely changed WW2 after that. Even in theatres many thousands of miles away.

Which makes me think Midway as a book is going to offer a huge change to D&D, likely in the advanced rules book.

 

[happyhermit]

Someone mentioned it already I think, but when I just went to an Unearthed Arcana survey that "Midway" in the page title really stood out to me.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Someone mentioned it already I think, but when I just went to an Unearthed Arcana survey that "Midway" in the page title really stood out to me.

I think this is it. The date implies a game expansion rather than an adventure, and the feedback surveys are on future mechanical content. Now...this doesn't tell us exactly what content or format it will be, but I think this is the answer to the meaning of the code name.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think this is it. The date implies a game expansion rather than an adventure, and the feedback surveys are on future mechanical content. Now...this doesn't tell us exactly what content or format it will be, but I think this is the answer to the meaning of the code name.

That's probably because they are only jusy starting to nail down the content and format for it, I expect.

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[Quickleaf]

Someone mentioned it already I think, but when I just went to an Unearthed Arcana survey that "Midway" in the page title really stood out to me.

I think this is it. The date implies a game expansion rather than an adventure, and the feedback surveys are on future mechanical content. Now...this doesn't tell us exactly what content or format it will be, but I think this is the answer to the meaning of the code name.

Yep, that was me. Here's a screenshot to clarify it for everyone. When you click on the survey link, it opens the D&D Midway Survey 13 (Traps...) tab.

Where it gets interesting is wondering how this will be distinct from previous edition's "Player's Handbook 2" or player's supplements. For example, they changed things up with Volo's Guide to Monsters, making it a monster book combined with a lore book and a monstrous humanoid race supplement. Maybe we'll see the several-parts-in-one-book approach again in "Midway"?

Here's a quick recap of things we've seen in UA (crossing out things already in SCAG)...

• Eberron, 2/2/2015: Races (Changeling, Shifter, Warforged), Arcane Tradition (Artificer), Action Points, Dragonmark Feat(s)
• When Armies Clash, 3/2/2015: Mass Combat Rules
• Modifying Classes, 4/6/2015: DM Guidelines, Spell-less Ranger, Favored Soul
• Waterborne Adventures, 5/4/2015: Race (Minotaur of Krynn), Fighting Style (Mariner), Roguish Archetype (Swashbuckler), Sorcerous Origin (Storm)
• Variant Rules, 6/8/2015: Players Make All Rolls, Vitality, Custom Alignments
• Awakened Mystic, 7/6/2015: first attempt at the Mystic class
• Modern Magic, 8/3/2015: Divine Domain (City), Warlock (Ghost in the Machine), Arcane Tradition (Technomancy), New Spells
• Ranger, 9/9/2015: first revision of the Ranger
• Prestige Classes and Rune Magic, 10/5/2015: Updating Prestige Classes, Rune Scribe
• Light, Dark, Underdark, 11/2/2015: Fighting Style (Close Quarters Shooter), Ranger Archetype (Deep Stalker), Sorcerous Origin (Shadow), Warlock (The Undying Light)
• That Old Black Magic, 12/7/2015: Race (Tiefling Variant), New Spells
• Kits of Old, 1/4/2016: Bardic Colleges (College of Swords, College of Satire), Martial Archetypes (Cavalier, Scout)
• Gothic Heroes, 4/4/2016: Race (Revenant), Marital Archetype (Monster Hunter), Roguish Archetype (Inquisitive)
• Feats, 6/6/2016: weapon mastery feats & tool feats
• The Faithful, 8/1/2016: Warlock (The Seeker), Arcane Tradition (Theurgy)
• The Ranger, Revised 9/12/2016: second take on the Ranger revision
• Encounter Building, 10/10/2016: alternate encounter building guidelines
• Barbarian Primal Paths, 11/7/2016: Path of the Ancestral Guardian, Path of the Storm Herald, Path of the Zealot
• Bard Colleges, 11/14/2016: College of Glamour, College of Whispers
• Divine Domains, 11/21/2016: Forge, Grave, Protection
• Druid Circles and Wild Shape, 11/28/2016: Circle of Dreams, Circle of the Shepherd, Circle of Twilight, Optional Rule (Wild Shape Forms)
• Martial Archetypes, 12/5/2016: Arcane Archer, Knight, Samurai, Sharpshooter
• Monastic Traditions, 12/12/2016: Way of the Kensei, Way of Tranquility
• Paladin Sacred Oaths, 12/19/2016: Oath of Conquest, Oath of Treachery
• Artificer, 1/9/2017: revision of the Artificer from 2/2/2015 as its own class
• Ranger and Rogue, 1/16/2017: Ranger Archetypes (Horizon Walker, Primeval Guardian), Roguish Archetypes (Scout)
• Sorcerer, 2/6/2017: Favored Soul, Phoenix Sorcery, Sea Sorcery, Stone Sorcery
• Warlock and Wizard, 2/13/2017: Warlock Otherworldly Patrons (The Hexblade, The Raven Queen), New Eldritch Invocations, Arcane Tradition (Lore Mastery)
• Mass Combat, 2/21/2017: major revision of the mass combat rules from 3/2/2015
• Traps Revisited, 2/27/2017: trap design & complex traps
• The Mystic, 3/13/2017: major revision of the Mystic from 7/6/2015

So, looking at all that, there is a LOT of content. 2 new classes, lots and lots of subclasses, new feats, and new spells. However, maybe there's some stuff coming on the DM side of the screen too, like the mass combat rules & more traps.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I still think "Midway" refers to "midway through the initial publishing plan" as opposed to "midway through the edition" (as some people fear).

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[darjr]

Interesting find! Note that the previous survey is titled midway 12. How many of the surveys have midway in the title?
[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION]