D&D 5E New Year speculation thread!

[see]

I would like to see Planescape/Spelljammer mix

I can only imagine that you never played in at least one of those settings, because mixing the two makes about as much sense as an Eberron/Dark Sun hybrid.

 

[Helldritch]

I can only imagine that you never played in at least one of those settings, because mixing the two makes about as much sense as an Eberron/Dark Sun hybrid.

Own both of them. SpellJammers are already in 5ed. The ships now (from 4ed) sails not the Phlogiston but the Astral and Ethereal. Yep, adaptation from the original material might and will seem weird from old die hard fans, but this is where both have been going since the 4ed (and this is what we see too in the new Baldur's gate electronic game and in DotMM if you have these products.)

So before assuming anything about me, just look at where WoTC has been going with those two settings from 4ed products and even 5ed products. A Nautiloid would not go to Avernus (from SpellJammer setting) and yet, this is what we see in Baldur's Gate. So yep, my point still stands. We will see a fusion of these two settings. How they will pull it off, I am not fully sure, but yep. They will. And to add to my point, the Adventure: Prince of Undeath, you have a SpellJamming ship but now they travel the planes... you go from the Abyss to the Astral to the Plane of Shadow. So yep, WotC are going this way.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We can't forget the class "blood hunter" is perfect for a new "Heroes of Horror".

If we want a book about fae, then we may guess Eldraine, the world of Magic: the Gathering based in fairy tales.


I am opened about the idea of a sourcebook mixing Planescape and Spelljammer, maybe talking about the astral sea.

 

[darjr]

Oh! I would LOVE if the 4e astral sea was the new spelljammer. That way you could sail right up to Sigil. Imagine the city ringed by astral ships going to and fro!

 

[Urriak Uruk]

A possible clue that has not been mentioned yet here- the next set of prepainted D&D miniatures from Wizkids will be coming out in March and it is called Boneyard. According to a Wizkids representative it will feature “everything undead”.

I actually don't think that "Boneyard" hints much about a specific book. Typically the Wizkids boxes titles match the book they intend to tie to (so buyers know what minis to get for what adventure/monster book). For example, minis meant to go with Theros are in the box "D&D Icons of the Realms: Mythic Odysseys of Theros." When there are boxes with original names, like "Fangs and Talons" they add an assortment of minis that haven't gotten sculpts yet, and resculpt others. Unless "Boneyard" is just a codename and is meant to pair with a book, this is likely in the "Fangs and Talons" category.

Off-topic, but Fangs and Talons has a Fire Giant Skeleton mini, which I'm pretty certain doesn't have a statblock anywhere?

 

[Quickleaf]

@AcererakTriple6 If I had to hazard a guess as to why there is no Shadow creature type in 5e – and I agree there's definitely narrative space for it – I'd suspect it has to do with (1) the unseelie fey & things like shadar-kai straddling that line between Shadow/Fey and a faerie-themed adventure planned down the road, (2) potential ambiguity for consumers between creature type "Shadow" and monsters like "shadow" or "shadow demon", and (3) an early design paradigm leaning away from monsters with dual types.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Dark Sun would require some more things to playtest in terms of classes and subclasses and races. While they went with psionic subclasses to existing classes in Tasha's Cauldron, if we ever see attempt #3 (or is it #4?) of a psionic class (whether it gets called the mystic or psion) in UA then maybe it might signal Dark Sun.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

@AcererakTriple6 If I had to hazard a guess as to why there is no Shadow creature type in 5e – and I agree there's definitely narrative space for it – I'd suspect it has to do with (1) the unseelie fey & things like shadar-kai straddling that line between Shadow/Fey and a faerie-themed adventure planned down the road, (2) potential ambiguity for consumers between creature type "Shadow" and monsters like "shadow" or "shadow demon", and (3) an early design paradigm leaning away from monsters with dual types.

1) They do kind of overlap a bit in narrative space, but they're very different, IMO. Unseelie Fey embody emotions like Bloodlust (Red Caps), Hatred, Terror (Meenlocks), Envy (Green Hags), and Gloom, while creatures from the Shadowfell (Sorrowsworn) are physical manifestations of humanity's animalistic/primal emotions, like Rage (The Angry), Thirst (The Thirsty), Hunger (The Hungry), Loss (The Lost), and so on.
2) Shadow Demons are different, but it could confuse people at first glance.
3) Dual types isn't that big of an issue to avoid, IMO. Shadows are undead because they are created when someone is slain and their shadow is animated. A shadow mastiff would be a "Shadow" creature, not undead, because they aren't and never were dead. They are just mastiffs made of shadow-stuff.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The trick to mix Planescape and Spellajmmer is to use skyships in the Astral Sea, allowing PC races, monsters and factions from Spelljammer into Planescape. Sp uses the crystal spheres, an important element in the D&D cosmology, but maybe this can be changed. Even the crystal spheres could be totally rebooted. Why? To explain those new races, monsters and classes from the last editions are added into a 2nd Ed world.

The shadowfell now has got strong links with the demiplane of the dread.

If D&D 5th Ed enters into the age of sailors and pirates, with firearms, you can find lots of headache to find the right balance of paladins and barbarians against corsairs with guns.

With a future Spelljammer we may find easter eggs about Savage Coast/Red Steel.

Maybe not Dark Sun in 2021, but UA articles about the races. DS would be perfect to introduce martial adepts as gladiators in the arenas.

 

[OB1]

I'm gonna go wild with my predictions.

Feywild/Shadowfell short adventure collection - Similar to Yawning portal

Dragon based Volo style monster guide - Possibly with new character options as well

Spelljamming 'roadtrip' style adventure - Interesting that the new Tasha's spell Dream of the Blue Veil requires a magic item from another world to work. So how about a Spelljamming adventure where the party gets picked up on the Sword Coast and becomes part of a crew going from world to world collecting items for someone, with each chapter giving a brief intro to a classic setting. Could include Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and more, which would also open them up to the DMs guild for further exploration.

Sigil/Outer Planes Campaign Setting - In depth on Sigil and then Manual of the Planes style intro to the outer Planes. This will also be the book that the Psionics class launches in.