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!

 

[TrippyHippy]

That would be cool, but as you know, Rome had a major infatuation with all things Greek, and they umm... "borrowed" so many elements of classical Hellenistic culture. It could almost be an add on to a Greek-themed book.

Greek is to Rome what the UK is to the USA today.

 

[jayoungr]

Yes that does look good, but I passed on it for the same reasons you stated.

I still might bite eventually. If nothing else, I really like the premise of the setting--which has a considerably different flavor from what you could get with something more Greek-inspired.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

What will be the next, planewalkers in the island of Jackandor? Maybe Athas could become a "guest artist" in M:tG.

I remember when in a past April's Fool I told there was a crossover between Transformers and Kaladesh (the M:tG plane with magictek) about after an official Transformers/my little pony comic by IDW my mind is more open. Even I dare to say maybe Legend of the Five Rings could become a M:tG/D&D plane in a future.

I wonder about a future event to allow the "fusion" of the multiverses from both franchises. And this could justify "accidental retcons" of previous worlds.

 

[slobster]

What will be the next, planewalkers in the island of Jackandor? Maybe Athas could become a "guest artist" in M:tG.

I remember when in a past April's Fool I told there was a crossover between Transformers and Kaladesh (the M:tG plane with magictek) about after an official Transformers/my little pony comic by IDW my mind is more open. Even I dare to say maybe Legend of the Five Rings could become a M:tG/D&D plane in a future.

I wonder about a future event to allow the "fusion" of the multiverses from both franchises. And this could justify "accidental retcons" of previous worlds.

I'm actually more fine, personally, with a "just don't think about it too much" crossover that gives us cards from D&D and campaign settings from MtG without either ever "officially" entering the canon of the other. Invoke the MST3K mantra of "it's just a game, I should really just relax" about the canonicity of everything.

As to L5R, of interest there was an official D&D book about it back in the 3E era, Oriental Adventures. I don't think it made it a part of the great wheel or anything, as D&D has a history of publishing settings which remain in their own cosmology (MtG doesn't, every black border set is within the same canon), but I know my players crossed from FR into Rokugan back in the day as a result.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

The lamias seem different enough to rate a distinct entry. Hope to get 3-headed cereberi and more archons are always welcome. I don't know if Theros has anything like Scylla and Charybdis, but I wouldn't mind stats for them.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I wonder about the "filtration" hasn't been really accidental, but subtile advertising. It is going to be published in May, and this isn't a far date.

I like to especulate and imagine about future titles. For example a family-friendly cartoon based in Throne of Eldraine.

 

[cbwjm]

This should make for an awesome setting. I was talking to someone on Reddit about it, looks like I don't need to worry about working on my theros campaign doc.

 

[Bitbrain]

So, after spending an hour or so on the MtG wiki, I’ll definitely be purchasing this when I get the chance. I know both my dad and adopted sister would love to play in a Greco-Roman type setting, and Theros seems pretty cool in its own right, not just as a Greek Mythology World.

 

[dave2008]

I'm trying to parse what that title is supposed to mean. A guy from Theros whose name is Odysseus and who is mythic? Seems odd.

It is not a proper name (Odysseus), it is the word "odyssey", which is a "wandering journey,' aka an "adventure" so the title is basically: "Mythic Adventures of Theros"

 

[dave2008]

So am I just being skeptical and suspect that this release was not accidental? I mean what a way to garner hype that you can simply ignore so that in a month or two when you make the official announcement it builds on an already building fan exceitement.

No publicity is bad publicity..


Yea, DS5E is not going to happen this decade. Not directly from WotC.

May is right around the corner, the official announcement is coming fairly soon I would think.