D&D 5E Iggwilv/Tasha To Join Volo, Xanathar, and Mordenkainen? [UPDATED!]

Is WotC teasing a new announcement? There have been a few D&D books named after famous personalities from the game's extensive lore - Vole's Guide to Monsters, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. It looks possible that the next such personality might be Tasha of Tasha's Hideous Laughter fame -- which was an adventuring alias of the Greyhawk villain Iggwilv.

UPDATE -- A page has appeared on Amazon entitled Dungeons & Dragons November Title (Announced August 24). It's a hardcover, $49.95, November 17th release date.

On their Discord channel, WotC posted a short audio clip; it features some female-sounding voices laughing, and it is titled "Feather and Tart". It also has a metadata info which says August 24th, 2020, which is Monday. But in addition to that, a WoTC staff member on Reddit's avatar was changed to an image of Iggwilv.

Iggwilv was an evil magic-user, a villain created by Gary Gygax. When adventuring with the Company of Seven, she used the alias Tasha. The lore has it that the witch Baba Yaga adopted her as a child and named her Natasha, and she soon became Natasha the Dark (Baba Yaga also adopted Elena the Fair).

Iggwilv has two forms, one old and one young. You can read more about the character on Wikipedia.


What does seem clear is that WotC is teasing an impending announcement! I assume that the announcement they are teasing will be the announcement of an upcoming announcement, or I'll be disappointed.

 

[Kurotowa]

I disagree. As far as I know, it was just Erik Mona doing it in Dragon Magazine prior to shifting it to Paizo. Not really well established lore at all. Not something reflected in any official setting books I know about. Am I wrong in that?

You say it's not well established or reflected elsewhere, but where else has she appeared since 1992? By default, that makes it the most official material on Iggwilv in a nearly 30 year span. You may not like it for grognard reasons, but there's nothing else offering a more up to date and conflicting take. Maybe it's not what Gygax originally intended, sure, but lots of stuff has changed since his home games were determining the lore of the world.

 

[Mistwell]

You say it's not well established or reflected elsewhere, but where else has she appeared since 1992? By default, that makes it the most official material on Iggwilv in a nearly 30 year span. You may not like it for grognard reasons, but there's nothing else offering a more up to date and conflicting take.

Dragon mag is not official lore. Particularly when it was already under Paizo.

 

[Thirteenspades]

I disagree. As far as I know, it was just Erik Mona doing it in Dragon Magazine prior to shifting it to Paizo. Not really well established lore at all. Not something reflected in any official setting books I know about. Am I wrong in that?

It might fit if they changed it up a bit.

 

[Thirteenspades]

Given that they already did that in Mordekainen, I'd expect them to spend relatively little time on that compared to all the other stuff that could be in such a book.

How else would you do a Demonomicon? Unless Iggwilv has other works to share.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I feel like they are going to lean into Tasha's Hideous Laughter as the marketable and pronounceable angle, so I predict Tasha's [Adjective] [Noun].

Tasha's Hilarious Miscellany

Tasha's Unearthed Arcana

Tasha's Mysterious Treasury

Tasha’s Last Laugh

 

[Wishbone]

Dragon mag is not official

This might be splitting hairs, but Iggwilv was called Tasha in a 4E Dragon Magazine article made by WotC after they took the title back from Paizo.

“Let us begin with our fair maiden. She has been known by many names over the years: Natasha, Hura, then Tasha, and finally Iggwilv." (Dragon Magazine 414, p. 2)​

I don't know that many players who started since 3.5E would have any idea who Tasha is if she wasn't associated with Iggwilv.

 

[dave2008]

How else would you do a Demonomicon? Unless Iggwilv has other works to share.

I think the point is that this book is not going to be a Demonomicon. The book will be: Tasha's Tome of the Planes or something similar, not The Demonomicon of Iggwilv.

 

[dave2008]

This might be splitting hairs, but Iggwilv was called Tasha in a 4E Dragon Magazine article made by WotC after they took the title back from Paizo.

“Let us begin with our fair maiden. She has been known by many names over the years: Natasha, Hura, then Tasha, and finally Iggwilv." (Dragon Magazine 414, p. 2)​

I don't know that many players who started since 3.5E would have any idea who Tasha is if she wasn't associated with Iggwilv.

And 4e Dragon content was core/official, sorry @Mistwell

 

[Mistwell]

And 4e Dragon content was core/official, sorry @Mistwell

It really was not. Dragon Mag isn't official. And that article was just acknowledging a prior article called her that. Which isn't lore man, it's just acknowledging someone called her that in a prior Dragon magazine.

Let me know when it ends up in a setting book. Or even an official adventure. Until it does, it's just dragon magazine extra content which just plain isn't official stuff. Often, it's just like UA stuff is now - testing ideas out.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

How else would you do a Demonomicon?

You'd call it Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.