D&D 5E (2024) Predict WotC's 2026 D&D releases

[GarrettKP]

I was right! We did get a D&D announcement today.

Unfortunately it’s for the Fan Fest nights at Universal

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think with some of them you a in a bit of a Ship of Theseus situation. How much can you change and have it still feel like that classic adventure you played when you were 12?

As someone who did play the G series as they came out when I was, in fact, 12 -- who cares?

Those players are a fraction of the market. Now that 5E didn't turn out to be the "close the lights and put up the chairs on the table" close-out edition of D&D, adventure books shouldn't just cater to the old folks.

If WotC put out a new adventure anthology today as underwritten as Tales of the Yawning Portal, people would freak out about how half-assed it was.

The good adventures in the book (which isn't all of them) deserve a full ass.

I think it's significant that there were more changes in the Infinite Staircase adventures - published when 5e has established it's own fanbase, independent of the nostalgia of the older generations.

And that's basically what I'm advocating: Let Yawning Portal go out of print and bring back the new adventures in more expanded format. (The original could/should still be sold on digital platforms, for those who want it.)

Give us a Queen of the Spiders campaign adventure that makes the storyline make more sense and add meat to the bones throughout.

If we want tor return to Tamoachan, have the folks who did Radiant Citadel do it -- and maybe stick it in one of the Concord Worlds, where it would fit in well -- and make the monsters fit the setting and make it work as a contemporary adventure.

Make the Forgotten Realms site-based adventures the major set pieces of new Forgotten Realms-based campaigns.

And so on.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There is an expansion on DMG by the original authors that describes San Citlan in more detail, including a big map of the city.

Yep, I've got it. I just felt the pressure to keep zipping along with the adventure -- which has multiple ticking clock elements -- rather than letting the player characters play tourist, which they really wanted to do.

I think it's unlikely, but would love to see San Citlan have its own campaign adventure and really expand the setting beyond what we see in Journeys Through and the Journeys Beyond PDF. It's basically Mexican Eberron, which isn't immediately obvious without the PDF, but which is very cool once you realize what you're dealing with.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And that's basically what I'm advocating: Let Yawning Portal go out of print and bring back the new adventures in more expanded format

Why? Shorn of their nostalgia, most of them simply aren’t very good. How would you turn White Plume Mountain into anything other than a silly fun house? And what would be the point? You might recycle the Giants adventures for a Decent Into The Depths campaign book, but there is no point in redoing the whole of YP.

The adventures in Infinite Staircase were selected because they have something to offer now. The adventures in YP where selected based on the myth.

And there is still Castle Amber and a bunch of other classic adventures that stand up better than the YP selection that have yet to be touched.

 

[Burnside]

Yep, I've got it. I just felt the pressure to keep zipping along with the adventure -- which has multiple ticking clock elements -- rather than letting the player characters play tourist, which they really wanted to do.

I think it's unlikely, but would love to see San Citlan have its own campaign adventure and really expand the setting beyond what we see in Journeys Through and the Journeys Beyond PDF. It's basically Mexican Eberron, which isn't immediately obvious without the PDF, but which is very cool once you realize what you're dealing with.

Not a campaign adventure, but FWIW Shard of the Accursed in Keys from the Golden Vault is set in the mountains south of San Citlan.

I'd love to see many of the Radiant Citadel setting used more in official products. I was happy to see Godsbreath used in Dragon Delves (although I didn't like the Dragon Delves Godsbreath adventure as much as the Radiant Citadel one).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not a campaign adventure, but FWIW Shard of the Accursed in Keys from the Golden Vault is set in the mountains south of San Citlan.

I did not know that! Now I'm even more annoyed that I can't do a la carte purchases from D&D Beyond. (The rest of the book would be wasted on me, as it's 100% not what I was hoping for when the title was first announced.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Why? Shorn of their nostalgia, most of them simply aren’t very good.

That's why I repeatedly said not all of the adventures should be brought forward.

And you'd bring the good ones forward because they have good bones and can be the basis of something good. The giant modules have that potential, for instance.

But yes, I agree that WotC shouldn't be keeping bad adventures in print.

The adventures in Infinite Staircase were selected because they have something to offer now.

Tsojcanth was brought forward strictly for the Tasha connection. It was a very ordinary adventure at the time, most notable for having a defacto mini-Monster Manual included with it, ahead of Monster Manual II being published.

And there is still Castle Amber and a bunch of other classic adventures that stand up better than the YP selection that have yet to be touched.

Touches my OAR collection, including Castle Amber.

 

[bergec]

• I'm not sure we are going to get a dedicated rules expansion, but it is possible that's where the Arcane subclasses from the UA will go. If there's a fifth book, that's what I'd bet on.

Given the Mystic Subclasses UA that just dropped, I'm leaning towards a magic-focused rules expansion being a near certainty.

https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/ua/mystic-subclasses/mrF6k4xf0yYFJL2m/UA2026-MysticSubclasses.pdf

 

[bedir than]

They also announced some quality of life improvements to Maps

Changelog

D&D Beyond - Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition Tools, Rules, Races, Classes, Items, Spells, Monsters, and More

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[GarrettKP]

If they have the same book release schedule as last year (1.25 per quarter), I think we could see something like this:

Q1 - Ravenloft expansion/companion to Van Richten's Guide. Similar to Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, a companion to the Ravenloft setting book that focuses on Player mechanics. Most of the Horror Subclasses UA falls here.

Q2 - Arcane players supplement. Here are most of the Arcane Subclasses, along with the new Mystic ones that make the cut. Plus expanded spells and other options.

Q3 - Tasha's/Xanathar combo/update book. Taking the revamped Xanathar's Subclasses they have tested in various spaces along with the left over Tasha's ones in a combined book to bring all the main 2014 mechanics up to date with current standards.

Q4 - Dark Sun Player and DM books. A combo of Player and DM books in the vein of the Forgotten Realms books from 2025.