D&D 5E Official D&D Greek-Themed 'Mythic Odysseys of Theros' Setting Coming In May

My inbox just exploded! It looks like Penguin Random House accidentally leaked an upcoming book listing for D&D, before removing the entry. It's dated for May 19th, and it's called Mythic Odysseys of Theros.

What's Theros? It's a Greek(ish) themed Magic: the Gathering world! This will make it the second, after Ravnica, to make it to an official D&D campaign setting. Here's what the MTG wiki says about it:

"Theros is a plane governed by the gods of Nyx, where heroes face monsters, the sea rages, people offer burnt offerings and adventures take place. It is defined by mankind's struggle against the primal forces of the world, and mankind's conflict with the many other sapient races that populate the world."

In ancient times, the archons of Theros held a massive empire, tyrannizing the world in the belief that they were imposing a strict justice. The most notable of these Archon tyrants was Agnomakhos, who used the leonin as an army. Eventually, the Archon empire fell, being instead replaced by the poleis, and the remaining Archons now lash at these, slighting the "honor" they feel was stripped from them.

There's an enormous list of races, too -- though how many of those will translate from MtG to D&D, I don't know. Some of these are clearly 'monsters' in the D&D sense rather than 'races'. It includes cats, centaurs, gorgons, merfolk, minotaurs, satyrs, spirits, zombies, archons, basilisks, chimeras, cyclopses, demons, dragons, giants, hags, harpies, hounds, hydras, krakens, lamias, manticores, pegasi, phoenixes, spines, and sirens.

There's a whole bunch of Greek-themed or inspired D&D settings, including:

• Arkadia by Arcana Games. "Arkadia is a combined setting and players handbook for 5e - inspired by the history and myths of Ancient Greece. The book contains 100 pages of densely packed all new Greek themed content for both Players and GMs."
• Hellenistika from Handiwork Games. "From the Pillars of Herakles in the West to the Silken Cities of the East, from the isle of Hyperborea in the North to the Mountains of the Moon in the South, the world spreads before you, alive with gods and marvels."
• Odyssey of the Dragonlords from Arcanum Worlds. "Odyssey of the Dragonlords is an epic fantasy campaign for the fifth edition of the world’s greatest roleplaying game. The Player’s Guide is a 28-page companion booklet that will provide you with everything you need to begin your career as a prospective hero in the forgotten land of Thylea."
• Land of Myth by Seven Thebes. "A Fantasy Setting in Mythical Ancient Greece.A world of Heroes, right after the end of
  the Trojan War, steeped in myth and conflict."

Of course, this all assumes this isn't come kind of epic troll on WotC's part -- they have recently started putting placeholder names on products on Amazon and then changing them at the most minute, although with limited success. This could be a more elaborate attempt at that!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Satyrs already sound 100 percent more fun to me than tieflings or dragonborn ever did.

 

[cbwjm]

She might be a planeswalker. The Chronohopper was something she was hired to fix, not something she needed.

The gnome (Vai i think her name is) in the acquisitions inc games is a planeswalker. She explains what she is in the episode she is introduced.

 

[vpuigdoller]

That alternate cover thumbnail on the dnd.wizards.com page looks nice!! Wish there was a bigger version lol to see it properly.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The gnome (Vai i think her name is) in the acquisitions inc games is a planeswalker. She explains what she is in the episode she is introduced.

Well, I don’t think she actually says that, as such. She says she has a trick that means she doesn’t need a device like the cosmohopper.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

For those arguing about Medusa, D&D making it into a race of creatures was definitely different from the myths, where Medusa is an individual and is one of three Gorgons:

Gorgons - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Von Ether]

That alternate cover thumbnail on the dnd.wizards.com page looks nice!! Wish there was a bigger version lol to see it properly.

Well! That's now two sexy alt covers for my must buy list.

 

[cbwjm]

Well, I don’t think she actually says that, as such. She says she has a trick that means she doesn’t need a device like the cosmohopper.

Maybe she doesn't say planeswalker but it is pretty clear that that was what Crawford meant when introducing her.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

They could create some new centaur subrace, or recover the centaur-kin from AD&D, for example the ha'pony. I think WotC wants to create a new centaur subrace, enought cute to be sold as toy or for collectors of furry fandom, but also enough "shonen" to be heroines of a sword & sorcery story. Later when they find the right sketch, it will be used for a action-live version of My Little Pony, but trying to avoid the controversy about the first look of CGI version of Sonic the hedgehog.

A race of demigorgons or gorgontouched could be possible if the petryfing gaze is nerfed. Maybe a first level demigorgon only cause a temporal paralysis, and the petrification is only if that is her will. The goddess Pharika would dare to create this race for women chosen to be defenders of sacred places, for example secret hidden temples. If demigorgon have true snakes on the head...could see being blindfolded using those snake eyes?

* Does anybody remember 1981's "Clash of the Titans"? Olimpian myths are true classics, but enough remembered today thanks Disney's Hercules or God of War videogames.

* A question, if my PC is a blonde-haired+blueyed barbarian from the developing regions in the North, but I haven't got a green card... how could I be allowed to live within city-states?

* Don't you miss a Xerxes for Theros as antagonist?

---

OH MY GOD! Now I start to feel nostalgy because I am remembering "Ulises 31", a cartoon from 80's what mixed space opera and Olimpian myths.

 

[gyor]

I
If you’re desperate for playable nymphs (with subraces), Odyssey of the Dragonlords has you covered!

I have it, but it would have been interesting to see the Theros take on it, although it occurred to me that Nymphs might be represented by the race mechanic like Supernatural Gifts mechanic. They could also do Gorgons via such a mechanic.

 

[slobster]

They could create some new centaur subrace, or recover the centaur-kin from AD&D, for example the ha'pony. I think WotC wants to create a new centaur subrace, enought cute to be sold as toy or for collectors of furry fandom, but also enough "shonen" to be heroines of a sword & sorcery story. Later when they find the right sketch, it will be used for a action-live version of My Little Pony, but trying to avoid the controversy about the first look of CGI version of Sonic the hedgehog.

That's not really a thing in Theros, where centaurs are pretty much the same as they are in normal D&D. If that's your jam, I think homebrew or 3rd party are still your best bet if you want such a race for your game.

On the other hand, Magic itself actually did have a My Little Pony crossover with a trio of promotional cards for some charity or another (my memorey is bad): My Little Pony invades the world of Magic: The Gathering

So there is a proven crossover at least for Pony fans and Magic, not sure how long you'll be waiting for the D&D crossover but you can keep on dreaming!