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.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I actually kinda doubt that.

They're crossing the streams, and it's working.

Well, maybe not all, but certainly more than 2, right? I don't see them bringing planeswalkers to Greyhawk or Eberron anytime soon. The cosmologies are too different. M:tG worlds don't have crystal spheres.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Well, maybe not all, but certainly more than 2, right? I don't see them bringing planeswalkers to Greyhawk or Eberron anytime soon. The cosmologies are too different. M:tG worlds don't have crystal spheres.

They already have. Vi the Gnome, a Planeswalker, has an apartment in Waterdeep, another in Sigil where she runs her business, and is from Eberron.

It's all connected.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

They already have. Vi the Gnome, a Planeswalker, has an apartment in Waterdeep, another in Sigil where she runs her business, and is from Eberron.

It's all connected.

How would that even work? How are they explaining the lack of lore-mentioning Planescape in the M:tG settings? How are they explaining how planeswalkers never existed before? Or that Eberron is shielded by the Ring of Siberys? Or that the M:tG settings don't have crystal spheres or spelljammer?

It just doesn't work, IMHO. Is Vi a planeswalker, or just a plane-traveler?

 

[whimsychris123]

I don't understand why you would feel subordinate to the heroes of the lance, even if you (for some reason) decide to stick to canon while playing a dnd campaign.

As a DM, I can do anything, but publishers have certain obligations. The setting is so tied to the novels, it's hard to separate them. They could set it near the beginning of the Chronicles timeline, but then there's no healing. They could set it later, but then you have a history intimately tied to a group of heroes. You could ignore the novels, but then you're ignoring a large group of gamers who were introduced to the setting from the novels.

If you include the heroes in the setting, and take your PCs on separate adventures from the "main" storyline, you'll know there are bigger, more important events happening in the background and you're mostly side characters in the great battle against evil.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but Dragonlance is unique in that its adventures and setting are intimately tied to the heroes and events in the novels. It presents a challenge.

Ultimately, I think WotC will do what they think will make money. If Dragonlance has enough buzz to warrant a setting or adventure book, they'll make it happen and surmount all its historical obstacles. I mean, I would definitely buy a Dragonlance 5e book. It would be like visiting my childhood.

Sidenote: I'm still gonna go with my prediction of Desert of Desolation or Egyptian style setting/adventure for the next hardcover reveal.

Edit: Reading a little more of the buzz behind the next release, it does seem an adventure set in Icewind Dale is the most likely candidate. Sigh...and the most boring.

 

[darjr]

The AI book did very well at first. And is still selling pretty OK. I think there is a limited audience, but might be a bigger one if folks knew what all was in it. I personally love the book but I'm a biased observer.

 

[Fenris-77]

The AI book did very well at first. And is still selling pretty OK. I think there is a limited audience, but might be a bigger one if folks knew what all was in it. I personally love the book but I'm a biased observer.

How are you biased? I thought the book was fantastic too, both played with all the bells and whistles, but also, stripped of the satire, for the mechanics.

 

[darjr]

How are you biased? I thought the book was fantastic too, both played with all the bells and whistles, but also, stripped of the satire, for the mechanics.

Shawn Merwin was our guest of honor at Nuke-Con one year. The first time I organized a big event like that. He was super fun and gracious and made me into a super fan.

 

[Fenris-77]

Shawn Merwin was our guest of honor at Nuke-Con one year. The first time I organized a big event like that. He was super fun and gracious and made me into a super fan.

Neat. I'd be in the same boat. I do think people's impressions of what AI is and what's in it often fall short of the mark.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I think I have found the solution. Walt Disney creates a new show about a group of teenages who create a streaming game-live show as Critical Role and they are playing Dragonlance, with animation scenes showing characters, with Disney art style, within the story.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

How would that even work? How are they explaining the lack of lore-mentioning Planescape in the M:tG settings? How are they explaining how planeswalkers never existed before? Or that Eberron is shielded by the Ring of Siberys? Or that the M:tG settings don't have crystal spheres or spelljammer?

It just doesn't work, IMHO. Is Vi a planeswalker, or just a plane-traveler?

She is a Planeswalker IIRC. She doesn’t need any device or a spell, as such, and she takes jobs in Ravnica sometimes.

It’s connected.