Forgotten Realms Books to Have Several Digital DLCs, Including One Featuring Asterion

Wizards of the Coast plans to release several "digital DLCs" alongside the upcoming Forgotten Realms rulebooks. This week, Game Informer released a pair of articles about the upcoming Forgotten Realms rulebooks. Tucked away in the article is the announcement that the upcoming releases will include several "digital DLCs" that expand on the new setting. One example was Asterion's Book of Hungers, which focuses on urban vampire adventures featuring the character from Baldur's Gate 3.

No other details were made available about the upcoming releases, such as whether the new supplements will be paid DLC or free to D&D Beyond subscribers. Wizards has released several digital-only supplements alongside their various books, ranging from mini-bestiaries to supplementary adventures, but all were free to D&D Beyond subscribers or available as pre-order bonuses.

Since the Forgotten Realms books aren't currently available for pre-order, it's hard to say whether this is a new strategy or simply a continuation of current works. The fact that Wizards commissioned art specifically for Asterion's Book of Hungers and the usage of the phrase "digital DLC" suggests that this might be a new monetization scheme for the company, albeit one that makes sense given the growing use of D&D Beyond's marketplace.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Is that true for the 5E Realms? I know it was true for the 3E Realms, but WotC has said several times that each edition's canon is edition-specific.

The Outer Planes are Planescape, the Forgotten Realms are the Forgotten Realms. They still connect, but the Outer Planes aren't part of the Forgotten Realms in as much as it is shared by all. Like it was in 2e.

 

[Charlaquin]

And if none of those other methods are economical? If the choice isn't between digital and physical, but between existing and not existing?

Look, I'm against unfair price gouging and against the "own nothing rent everything" model. But my parents were writers, and I'm very familiar with the bottleneck of physical publishing. Paper, printing, distribution, shelf space... it's like the "You must be this tall to ride the ride" sticks at an amusement park. If it isn't going to make enough profit to pay for all those things, plus the manpower involved, then it doesn't get made.

Digital only lowers that bar immensely. There's a lot of small, specialized books that can exist as a digital only release because the economics are so different. The margins are still slim, but the difference between the account books being in the black or in the red is night and day. So if digital only is the price to pay for books I want existing, when they wouldn't exist otherwise, I'll pay it.

We aren’t talking about some small indie publisher here. If we were, I’d be much more open to the digital-only model. But this is WotC. If they wanted to include the content of these “DLC” in the base book and increase the price to cover the cost of the increased page count, they could.

 

[Charlaquin]

Shadowheart is super annoying as well, and people love her, too.

The BG3 player's heart wants what it wants.

I’m pretty sure I’m missing context here cause this looks like it was said in response to some post I can’t see. But, uh, Shadowheart is the only human female romance option. A lot of the playerbase romance her only because they want to do a romance and they don’t want to do it with a male or non-human character.

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm thrilled they are giving us the chance to buy stuff they cut from the books for space reasons.

 

[dave2008]

Man, they used to call them "web enhancements".

That is so 3e!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Shadowheart is the only human female romance option. A lot of the playerbase romance her only because they want to do a romance and they don’t want to do it with a male or non-human character.

That's a fair point. (More Bae'zel for me!) I just find her off-putting.

 

[cbwjm]

Shadowheart is super annoying as well, and people love her, too.

The BG3 player's heart wants what it wants.

I find her to be a little annoying, she has a bit of a snobby attitude that can grate a little. Still, being a cleric she gets a spot on my team. My current attempt kept her, the warlock guy and I think the tiefling or maybe the githyanki. I think I got the tiefling but missed the first opportunity to work on her soul engine so stopped caring about her, will probably go back to the githyanki if I haven't already.

Or I'll restart.

 

[bedir than]

We aren’t talking about some small indie publisher here. If we were, I’d be much more open to the digital-only model. But this is WotC. If they wanted to include the content of these “DLC” in the base book and increase the price to cover the cost of the increased page count, they could.

They're so digital only that things are still in Target (it's the exclusive place, still, for Icespire Peak) and there's reason to think Heroes of the Borderlands will be there too

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I find her to be a little annoying, she has a bit of a snobby attitude that can grate a little. Still, being a cleric she gets a spot on my team. My current attempt kept her, the warlock guy and I think the tiefling or maybe the githyanki. I think I got the tiefling but missed the first opportunity to work on her soul engine so stopped caring about her, will probably go back to the githyanki if I haven't already.

Or I'll restart.

I use a mod that allows me to have everyone in my party and another that makes them all more chatty with one another. I love the intraparty chaos.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

What other supplements are you hoping might accompany these books?

"Leleanor's Whole Realms and Parts of Abeir Catalogue"

My players need to know how much pure quicksilver costs goddamnit!