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

[Uta-napishti]

That would tie into the movie villain, and good point about it being the right place for Arcane subclasses. Maybe it's a "all the other arcane factions against Thay" kind of world war of the dead vs the living, with Orcus etc... backing Szas Tham. Zombie Apocalypse in the Realms. I might actually like that.

 

[tetrasodium]

Re: Big Campaign. I kind of think they kind of need to make up some new villain if they do a part of the Realms we have recently seen. The exception would be if they do Thay, in which case they could use Szass Tam, for the movie tie in. Most of the old villains feel underpowered and they had to use a God last time (Auril) they did something in the western Realms. Pretty much all the villains other than Tam are played out long ago, so it would be good to either avoid the FR or invent a proper new threat. Maybe something in Shou if WoTC is finally brave enough to tackle non-European fantasy in a longer form.

In the Perkins/Crawford era they really loved recycling old Villains, so if they were more into Greyhawk as a setting I could see Iuz or someone making an appearance, but I think the new crew are less into looking backward. If the Vecna book didn't already try multiverse-spanning adventure, I would say they might try that.
Personally, I wouldn't hate an Eberron adventure, but that was done in the Adventuerer's League with Oracle of War.

Or maybe they really try to fuse the adventure with a new setting and do a Darksun hardcover with campaign. This was the 5E Dragonlance approach, which I felt was moderately successfull resucitating an old setting (less so), while putting a fairly good longer adventure out (more so).

Thay could be developed into a fairly solid subsetting+adventure chain but almost needs some core mechanics changes for important elements like the red wizards as an organized elite force of mage enforcers and the oppressive mageocracy to matter without trying to squeeze it all into a tier1 adventure/setting

 

[Uta-napishti]

Thay could be developed into a fairly solid subsetting+adventure chain but almost needs some core mechanics changes for important elements like the red wizards as an organized elite force of mage enforcers and the oppressive mageocracy to matter without trying to squeeze it all into a tier1 adventure/setting

Now you are making me realize that an inside Thay campaign and a Dark Sun campaign might not be too different in the sense that these are extremely oppresive societies are ruled by evil demi-god level mages served by secret magical police.

 

[Uta-napishti]

Either (but expecially Thay) would have to be far beyond Tier 1.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Pretty much all the villains other than Tam are played out long ago

They're still new to the vast majority of D&D gamers, who only started playing in the 5E era.

That said, there's a deep bench of villains in the Realms, and having a lieutenant make a move and step up to the big time would be a good way to focus on regions in the new Forgotten Realms books without featuring someone that some fans may have grown tired of.

Maybe something in Shou if WoTC is finally brave enough to tackle non-European fantasy in a longer form.

They just published two new sourcebooks featuring five areas of the Realms. A new Forgotten Realms campaign would almost certainly take place, at least partly, in one or more of those regions. (I can certainly see them trying to do a campaign that bounces between all five regions, to appeal to groups playing in one or more of those regions.)

 

[darjr]

Where is this art from? Is it new?

WotC posted on Facebook “Let’s circle back next week”.

 

[tetrasodium]

That would tie into the movie villain, and good point about it being the right place for Arcane subclasses. Maybe it's a "all the other arcane factions against Thay" kind of world war of the dead vs the living, with Orcus etc... backing Szas Tham. Zombie Apocalypse in the Realms. I might actually like that.

Thay is peaceful on the surface, if you are among the privileged, but it's a cruel place of brutality that has a strong reaction to anyone who says or does the wrong kinds of thoughts.

Now you are making me realize that a Thay Campaign and a Dark Sun campaign might not be too different in the sense that these are extremely oppresive societies are ruled by evil demi-god level mages served by secret magical police.

In some ways the red wizards might be more effective than the SK armies at keeping everyone in line and managing the world's only industrialized∆ arcane manufacturing hub without overt leg breaking and generalized unfocused fear. Being hamstrung by Darksun's civilization collapse limited resources and and efforts to stomp out wizards makes it tough for the SK forces to leverage some of the heavy magic stuff even at the low ranking/local level like the red wizards and mageocracy could. Thay and the red wizards by contrast... I seem to recall abit in the Thay section of frcs being stable and developed enough to require children of a certain age be tested for magical aptitude and educated as wizards if promising.

∆ also largely made up of enslaved elves and dwarves but that's hardly unique for aber-toril beyond the fact that it takes place in a stable nation that can actually be called that rather than feif or city state at best.

EDIT: It might not explicitly come out and say it but a lot of the stuff in BoVD was almost purpose built for the powers that be in Thay.

 

[darjr]

Arts not new. From the FR setz

 

[Uta-napishti]

Arts not new. From the FR setz

Yes, see my previous posts complaining about Chonky Dragons.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yes, see my previous posts complaining about Chonky Dragons.

That's Themberchaud, who's a bit of a joke as a Fat Dragon, as seen in the D&D Movie. He was in Gracklestugh in Out of the Abyss. Here he's shown fighting the 80's Cartoon Characters.

Or in other words, he's not supposed to look like what dragons normally look like.

(That said, they HAVE been making their necks pretty thicc these days!)