D&D 5E More Golden Vault Info!

From a recent press release sent out by WotC.

• “A secret organization called the Golden Vault sends mission briefings to its operatives—the adventurers!—in the form of magical, golden keys that are inserted into what looks like a mundane music box. Instead of a pretty tune, though, the music box then provides a recording with all the information needed for the adventurers to hunt a particular item of interest,” said Amanda Hamon, senior game designer on the D&D Team and co-lead designer of Keys from the Golden Vault. “It’s up to the adventurers to do the reconnaissance necessary to circumvent any defenses and pull off a legendary heist. Teamwork is paramount, because as so often happens in these capers, something will go wrong, and creative thinking could save the day!”
• The Golden Vaiult is linked to metallic dragons, and is good-aligned. It has a motto: "“Do good, no matter the cost.”
• The 13 adventures each have two full-page maps (one player map and one for the DM). The player map is often unreliable or incomplete.

Channel Your Inner Rogue with 13 Heist Adventures in Keys from the Golden Vault

Get the Mission, Plan the Caper, and Make Sure Everyone Gets Out Alive with the Prize

Renton, Wash., D&D players are not strangers to impossible missions. A perilous heist requires careful strategizing followed by daredevil antics when something unexpected happens and the players’ plan goes sideways. Dungeons & Dragons invites players to experience the thrill, drama, strategy, and intrigue of the heist genre in Keys from the Golden Vault, the latest Dungeons & Dragons book of adventures. Keys from the Golden Vault will be released in North America on February 21, 2023 and on March 24, 2023 in the UK/EMEA.

“A secret organization called the Golden Vault sends mission briefings to its operatives—the adventurers!—in the form of magical, golden keys that are inserted into what looks like a mundane music box. Instead of a pretty tune, though, the music box then provides a recording with all the information needed for the adventurers to hunt a particular item of interest,” said Amanda Hamon, senior game designer on the D&D Team and co-lead designer of Keys from the Golden Vault. “It’s up to the adventurers to do the reconnaissance necessary to circumvent any defenses and pull off a legendary heist. Teamwork is paramount, because as so often happens in these capers, something will go wrong, and creative thinking could save the day!”

The Golden Vault is rumored to be associated with metallic dragons and based on one of the good-aligned Outer Planes. Its operatives help the downtrodden and innocent when the law can’t. The organization’s motto is: “Do good, no matter the cost.”

D&D players can live out their fantasies of running a caper like one they might have seen on the silver screen in movies such as Mission: Impossible; Ocean’s 11; or even The Great Muppet Caper. The thirteen adventures in Keys from the Golden Vault range from levels 1 to 11. They can be played as one-offs dropped into ongoing campaigns, or run as a campaign of heists perpetrated by the same crew.
“Each adventure includes two full-page maps: one that players can use to plan their heist, and another the Dungeon Master uses to run the adventure,” said Chris Perkins, Story Architect of the D&D Team and co-lead of Keys from the Golden Vault. “The players’ map, however, is often unreliable or incomplete.”

Keys from the Golden Vault has an alternate cover by Simen Meyer, available only through game stores, and an evergreen cover by Anna Podedworna, available in North America on February 21, 2023. Fans who pre-order the digital/physical bundle at dndstore.wizards.com will be able to access the digital release on February 7, 2023.

 

[dave2008]

2. Once again WotC chickens out and provides no high level scenarios.

I don't know that it is chickening out. Apparently around 1% of campaigns are at really high levels. And I think those would be very hard to write for because there would be a huge power range, depending on party composition and gear. Probably best to let the DM home-brew for those adventures.

They did provide a high level scenario with Vecna on D&D Beyond a few months back. I can't seem to find it anymore though?!

EDIT: Found it!

 

[Parmandur]

Once again WotC chickens out and provides no high level scenarios.

They've explained this in the past: there is a heavy, heavy Venn overlap between people who run high level games and people who don't buy modules because they like tonmake everything themselves. Sure they are people who run level games who would buy modules, but WotC has discovered that the margins are....thin...

It's economics, not cowardice.

 

[Parmandur]

Was that a debate? WotC never advertised it as a movie tie-in.

It was speculated because, first, the movies original release date was right next to the book date, and second, the movie is heist themed.

I still think there is a decent possibility the Golden Vault will feature in the movie, actually.

 

[Parmandur]

tie into The Great Muppet Caper.

SOLd, give me two copies.

 

[Parmandur]

They did provide a high level scenario with Vecna on D&D Beyond a few months back. I can't seem to find it anymore though?!

EDIT: Found it!

Beyond drops of small focused bits seem auch more likely venue for high level material.

 

[Reynard]

I don't know that it is chickening out. Apparently around 1% of campaigns are at really high levels. And I think those would be very hard to write for because there would be a huge power range, depending on party composition and gear. Probably best to let the DM home-brew for those adventures.

I think it is a chicken and egg scenario: since WotC doesn't much support high level games, people don't play them, so WotC doesn't support them because no one plays them. Pathfinder is significantly more complicated than 5E and they support high level play all the time, both in APs and stand alone modules.

Besides, it's a little weird that they are using decade old survey data to make such decisions, since they clearly don't have any relevant sales data (except for DotMM, which was poorly executed regardless of its level).

You would think these adventure anthology books would be the perfect places to drop a high level adventure or two and see how things may have shifted.

 

[Jer]

They've explained this in the past: there is a heavy, heavy Venn overlap between people who run high level games and people who don't buy modules because they like tonmake everything themselves. Sure they are people who run level games who would buy modules, but WotC has discovered that the margins are....thin...

Yup. They already count on making money on their campaign offerings by having only a fraction of the playing base buying them. High level games would be a fraction of a fraction.

They could have some high level adventures in their anthologies like this one, but in all honesty it's hard to write high level adventures for a general audience and the adventures they include would only ever be used by a fraction of a fraction of the people buying it, and those folks are honestly most likely to be critical of the adventure because their combination of high level characteristics make it a cake walk/murder machine and the author didn't manage to walk that tightrope for their group. Writing low-to-mid level adventures is much easier because the characters are much more homogenous in their capabilities.

It's economics, not cowardice.

I mean, I won't go that far. Economics is cowardice in the sense of entertainment corporations try to minimize risk to as close to zero as possible for anything they put out. That's why Hollywood doesn't really take risks anymore - minimize that risk to maximize the profit potential. Risk management is in some ways just cowardice with numbers attached.

 

[Parmandur]

I think it is a chicken and egg scenario: since WotC doesn't much support high level games, people don't play them, so WotC doesn't support them because no one plays them. Pathfinder is significantly more complicated than 5E and they support high level play all the time, both in APs and stand alone modules.

Besides, it's a little weird that they are using decade old survey data to make such decisions, since they clearly don't have any relevant sales data (except for DotMM, which was poorly executed regardless of its level).

You would think these adventure anthology books would be the perfect places to drop a high level adventure or two and see how things may have shifted.

They have better data now, with Beyond.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They've explained this in the past: there is a heavy, heavy Venn overlap between people who run high level games and people who don't buy modules because they like tonmake everything themselves. Sure they are people who run level games who would buy modules, but WotC has discovered that the margins are....thin...

It's economics, not cowardice.

Which high level 5E content did they sell that didn't do well? This feels very much like a self-fulfilling prophecy: "We sold zero books of the high level adventures we chose not to publish."

 

[Parmandur]

They could have some high level adventures in their anthologies like this one, but in all honesty it's hard to write high level adventures for a general audience and the adventures they include would only ever be used by a fraction of a fraction of the people buying it, and those folks are honestly most likely to be critical of the adventure because their combination of high level characteristics make it a cake walk/murder machine and the author didn't manage to walk that tightrope for their group. Writing low-to-mid level adventures is much easier because the characters are much more homogenous in their capabilities.

Indeed, there was some high Level material in Radiant Citadel...and it did critiqued just as you say!

I mean, I won't go that far. Economics is cowardice in the sense of entertainment corporations try to minimize risk to as close to zero as possible for anything they put out. That's why Hollywood doesn't really take risks anymore - minimize that risk to maximize the profit potential. Risk management is in some ways just cowardice with numbers attached.

Prudence is a virtue, too. Making a product that isn't fit to purpose isn't brave, per se.