D&D 5E Is there even a new D&D setting?

Though we’ve been speculating about what the new setting recently pre-announced for D&D might or might not be (Icewind Dale being one suggestion), there's some doubt about whether it exists at all!

The press release that was sent out said:

Fans of D&D will learn all about the new setting and storyline as well as accompanying new products

The web page for the event says:

Fans of D&D will learn all about the new storyline as well as accompanying new products

The word “setting” is missing from the web page, but exists in the press release. The text is the same otherwise.

I don’t know which order the two were written in, or if the latter changed, or if the former contains extra information.

 

[Jacqual]

I'm hoping for Darksun with all the Psionics stuff they been doing. I am really hoping they don't do Dragonlance as the novels were good but the gaming to me felt like it was for younger players and I was so bored I also never liked the 18th level limit and I really feel that in this day and age that if that wasn't in there folks would freak and say it isn't really DL and if they kept it in then everyone would go but what about the level 20 capstones. But now no matter what anyone does they get all those negative responses from around the world.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I'm hoping for Darksun with all the Psionics stuff they been doing. I am really hoping they don't do Dragonlance as the novels were good but the gaming to me felt like it was for younger players and I was so bored I also never liked the 18th level limit and I really feel that in this day and age that if that wasn't in there folks would freak and say it isn't really DL and if they kept it in then everyone would go but what about the level 20 capstones. But now no matter what anyone does they get all those negative responses from around the world.

Dragonlance hasn't had an 18th level limit since 1st edition. The 2nd edition release didn't have it, the 3rd edition release didn't either.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Sure: any setting can be used as a sandbox. But my point is that Dragonlance was designed around an epic story, which gives it a tonal difference from, say, GH and FR, which developed more organically around game-play.

Dragonlance plays far better if you don't play through the epic story (or even better, pick a totally different continent).

 

[carmachu]

If its dragonlace,awesome(or any legacy setting). If not, pass most likely.

 

[Mercurius]

Dragonlance plays far better if you don't play through the epic story (or even better, pick a totally different continent).

It may also be that there are a variety of play styles and preferences. Some of the OSR/traditionalist crowd hates Dragonlance because of its epic story line which can be perceived of as railroading, and see it as the big downfall of D&D (thus 1974-83 is Golden Age of "Pure D&D"). I'm a big umbrella kind of person, though, enjoying both epic storylines and sandboxing, and everything in-between. More importantly, I think phrases like "plays far better" really is a subjective thing; the more fun you and your group are having, the better it plays.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

It may also be that there are a variety of play styles and preferences. Some of the OSR/traditionalist crowd hates Dragonlance because of its epic story line which can be perceived of as railroading, and see it as the big downfall of D&D (thus 1974-83 is Golden Age of "Pure D&D"). I'm a big umbrella kind of person, though, enjoying both epic storylines and sandboxing, and everything in-between. More importantly, I think phrases like "plays far better" really is a subjective thing; the more fun you and your group are having, the better it plays.

Once the novels came out "playing through the modules" becomes an exercise in frustration with most players, since they want to have it play out exactly as it does in the novels. In addition, all future Dragonlance products take the novels as canon, not the modules, meaning you now have trouble using any of the other setting material.

And finally, you're right, they are horribly railroaded. They were revelatory in the 80s, but now, especially as people aren't into railroaded dungeon crawls, the originals are not very playable out of the box. The 3rd edition conversions by Cam Banks et al did a lot of work to try and rectify this but the problem remains. shrugs Sure, this is all just my opinion (but I think others share it too), but Dragonlance has always worked better for me as a setting with the War of the Lance years in the past (or even better, decades).

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Once the novels came out "playing through the modules" becomes an exercise in frustration with most players, since they want to have it play out exactly as it does in the novels.

That was certainly true 30 years ago, but I expect if they made a new DragonLance book, the best thing to do would be to simultaneously make it a Krynn gazetteer AND make the War of the Lance as the adventure. The job would be to play against the novels being canon (your PCs being the Heroes of the Lance, rather than the characters from the book). They could (and should) sandbox-it-up as much as they can.

I think this would really work now, because a) There's a slew of new D&D players who probably have barely heard of it, far or less played it before and b) many of us old-schoolers haven't played it in long enough for it to be new again.

I'd be in, myself.

 

[ddaley]

I usually try to avoid finding out about upcoming releases, because, when there is something I am interested in, I hate the wait. But, now, I am really hoping for more Icewind Dale material. And, it's all because of this thread!

 

[Mercurius]

Once the novels came out "playing through the modules" becomes an exercise in frustration with most players, since they want to have it play out exactly as it does in the novels. In addition, all future Dragonlance products take the novels as canon, not the modules, meaning you now have trouble using any of the other setting material.

And finally, you're right, they are horribly railroaded. They were revelatory in the 80s, but now, especially as people aren't into railroaded dungeon crawls, the originals are not very playable out of the box. The 3rd edition conversions by Cam Banks et al did a lot of work to try and rectify this but the problem remains. shrugs Sure, this is all just my opinion (but I think others share it too), but Dragonlance has always worked better for me as a setting with the War of the Lance years in the past (or even better, decades).

FitztheRuke explained well much of what I was going to say. As you yourself said, they were "revelatory in the 80s" and as Fitz said, they would likely be done differently now.

My underlying point is not that it is all just your opinion, but that there is a wide spectrum of play styles in relation to the scaffolding of adventures. So, yes, your view is shared, but there are also many who feel differently, or don't mind a more structured adventure. WotC is doing a pretty good job of bridging the gap, publishing adventures that have story lines within sandbox environs, so that different DMs and groups can decide how they want to proceed.

 

[Mercador]

Which one appears first? The PR or the webpage?