New D&D Monsters and More in Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

Do you want dozens of new D&D monsters from Wizards of the Coast? Does exploring a planet spanning city via membership in one of ten competing guilds sound challenging? If you play or DM Dungeons & Dragons, then Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica will have something for you. Gleaned from WotC interviews and news, this is what we know so far about Ravnica.

View attachment 101477​

Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica, releasing in November, is thoroughly a D&D book for D&D players. Magic the Gathering uses colors in the metagame but flavor text on cards do not mention colors. The colors would be meaningless in a D&D world. Guilds are defined based on philosophy not color. The setting focuses on adventurers, not MtG play. An example is new full page art depicting an adventuring party in the rain with four different guild members on a bridge behind them. An image that is grounded in D&D game play.

Ravnica’s ten guilds serve as both government and voluntary organizations. They clash with opposing philosophies and goals. The traditional magical power keeping the peace is the guildpact. The guildpact currently flows from one man and he is often on other planes, leaving Ravnica open to guild intrigue and tension filled conflict.

The guild is the lens through which the PCs see the world. A player may select a guild in place of a background. Guilds are more about exploration and interaction than combat. Guilds provide skills, special abilities, and NPC contacts. The DM looks at all of the PCs’ guilds and builds a campaign around opposing guilds. Advice covers good guilds to serve as adversaries, plots to oppose the PCs, typical NPCs and monsters to use, and what locations would fit the campaign. The players‘ guild choice combined with the advice for DMs provides a solid direction for a campaign.

James Wyatt gives brief guild descriptions. The Boros Legion are paladins, armored mages wielding fire, and military forces. The Golgari Swarm are sewer dwelling elves living in darkness, using insects, and wielding necromancy. The Selesnya Conclave is a cult speaking in one voice and trying to convert others. House Dimir consists of spies and assassins. The Orzhov Syndicate are a combination of organized crime, bank, and church. The Izzet League is home to inventors and conduct grand experiments. The Gruul Clans combine fiery emotion with a connection to the natural world expressed through barbarian clans. The Azorius Senate governs Ravnica and enforces the law. The Cult of Rakdos is a demonic cult circus. The Simic Combine masters life science and is heavily into body modification and hybrid creatures.

D&D players will benefit from a plethora of new content and rules. The number of new monsters nearly equals those in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. Rules playtested in Unearthed Arcana debuting officially include new races (centaurs, minotaurs, loxodons, Simic hybrids, vedalken, and viashino), the order domain for clerics, and the circle of spores druid subclass. City design in Guildmasters’ provides local description and street level information rather than block by block descriptions. Maps are isometric and have a painted look.

Monsters from Ravnica could easily cross over to other D&D worlds. The circus in Waterdeep from Dragon Heist could be filled with monsters from Ravnica. And the Cult of Rakdos could actually be that circus. The chase rules in Dragon Heist could be used in Ravnica.

Sources for information from WotC on the upcoming book include the official website, a Wizards of the Coast podcast called Dragon Talk with James Wyatt and Greg Tito, and D&D Beyond on YouTube with James Wyatt, Mike Mearls, and Ari Levitch. James Wyatt started merging Magic the Gathering with D&D in his Plane Shift articles. Guilds of Ravnica for MtG releases on October 5 while the D&D Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica releases on November 20.

This article was contributed by Charles Dunwoody as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program.We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I'm excited about this.

I have a homebrew world, but I love setting books for NPCS, locations, rules, monsters, ideas.... and I don't really care where the 5E book comes from - it could be written for 5e, adapted from an earlier edition, adapted from another game, 3rd Party, adapted from a book or movie.. all of it is good. When the book hits, it is a 5E book, no matter the original source.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

This is not something original, it is a setting from another game masquerading as a "new D&D setting". It is just a commercial operation to attract players from another game. It should be fine after release of other D&D settings. It is not fine as the first 5E setting (if we do not consider FR): Ravenloft come out as an adventure and not with the setting, Eberron is still in a play-test stage, so I do not count it.

Up to this point, 5E had been a retread of adventures and a setting from 1E: Forgotten Realms, giants, a vampire, Tiamat, the Underdark, actual conversions of previous modules, etc. Finally, something new to D&D is coming out. Some of us need a break from retreads.

When I wanted to play Dark Sun I just played it using AD&D 2E. The boxed set was $25 used. I can pick up modules for a decent price. It doesn't need to be reprinted (although I'd buy it if it was!). 5E needs new toys. Ravnica is the first and hopefully not the last.

 

[Grimstaff]

I'm interested in this. Don't really know anything about it from a MTG perspective, but it's nice to have a new campaign setting option.

I wonder if the book makes any mention on how to connect this world to the other short MtG setting guides they've released over the last couple of years.

 

[dwayne]

Would have preferred Planescape, this seems like a pushed magic/wanna be planescape to me. I will not be using or buying this why is it so hard to just bring back previous settings as the fan base is there all ready. I guess they are trying to get the card people into the roleplay part, but most do the card thing because they don't do the other. I was doing one for a while mtg but tired of all the damn collectible bull. I buy a game i want all the pieces not just the main ones but all options, like buying monopoly and then them selling you special properties cards to add to the game. I know its a money thing and to make more people to buy more cards and stuff but does not mean i have to like it.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

I'm interested in this. Don't really know anything about it from a MTG perspective, but it's nice to have a new campaign setting option.

I wonder if the book makes any mention on how to connect this world to the other short MtG setting guides they've released over the last couple of years.

The various planes which include Ravnica can be reached via magic spells and abilities, magic items, and psionics. Plane shift and gate would likely work.

http://mtg.wikia.com/wiki/Planes

Planar travel
Planeswalkers
Planeswalkers are capable of transporting between planes using the power of their magical spark. They are also able to summon creatures and spells from one plane to another. However, in the Time Spiral story, Venser realizes that he too can Planeswalk even though he does not have the magical energies of a planeswalker.

Gates and Portals
On some planes there are artificial gates and portals which make artificial planeswalking possible. While one-off portals existed between Rath and Mercadia, Ulgrotha and Dominaria, and Rabiah and Wildfire, the Thran developed a set of portals consistent in design and behavior. These were later twisted by Yawgmoth to create Phyrexian portals that required the sacrifice of creatures, artifacts or a great deal of magical energy, and lead all across the multiverse. Also with the help of Lord Ith, Jodah Archmage Eaternal created a mana based portal that could transport between planes which linking portals were already established. The Artificer Venser, was able to create a planeswalking Machine to simulate planeswalking and travel between planes.

Rathi overlay
During the Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria, the inhabitants of Urborg were taken aback when Phyrexian forces seemingly materialized out of thin air. In fact, the artificial plane of Rath had been slowly producing an artificial substance known as flowstone for an undetermined amount of time. This psionically reactive mineral increased the 'planar density' of Rath to the point that it mimicked that of Dominaria. When this occurred, the two planes started to converge, with disastrous results.

 

[Fandabidozi]

I love the Ravnica setting, hopefully this is a big success. I’d like to see Theros next (based on the heroes, myths, and monsters of Ancient Greece).

 

[Sadras]

I would like to have them open all the settings on DMs Guild, especially the ones they are clearly not intersted in supporting, like my beloved Mystara for example.

Me too

 

[Hussar]

Sounds pretty cool. Can't complain about getting something new. Wonder if it will get module support.

 

[Ymdar]

I wonder if there will be any Simic bioware items for that punk feeling?

 

[DM Howard]

Not really that interested. This might be the first 5E product I don't buy.