Ravenloft: The Horrors Within Announced, Release Date Scheduled for June 2026

[mamba]

There was a strong case put forward for Season of Champions referring to Dragonlance, specifically a revamp of the War of the Lance adventure path. I found it convincing.

strong as in Champions could refer to the Champions of Krynn and Soth is on that graphic in the area the Season of Champions is in? It’s not impossible but I am not expecting it, as I said then it is too early for a tie-in

 

[Parmandur]

strong as in Champions could refer to the Champions of Krynn and Soth is on that graphic in the area the Season of Champions is in? It’s not impossible but I am not expecting it, as I said then it is too early for a tie-in

And that Margaret Weiss said that WotC would have something tosnay about Dragonlance plans in August, when they would begin marketing for whatever project is next to Lord Soth on their schedule, and Raistlin and other Dragonlance characters being brought to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms all this year.

It is not nothing, I do suspect Dark Sun is what we will see later this year...but if it turns out to be Dragonlance, it would not be a surprise.

 

[mamba]

And that Margaret Weiss said that WotC would have something tosnay about Dragonlance plans in August, when they would begin marketing for whatever project is next to Lord Soth on their schedule, and Raistlin and other Dragonlance characters being brought to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms all this year.

It is not nothing, I do suspect Dark Sun is what we will see later this year...but if it turns out to be Dragonlance, it would not be a surprise.

yeah, as I wrote, it’s not impossible, but I would be really surprised if we got DL this year. I consider DS or a generic martial focused equivalent to the Q3 player book much more likely.

A tie-in with the TV series would make a lot of sense, having a few DL characters in a idle klicker does not have much draw imo, but maybe that is just me.

I expect to hear more about DL in August, that is a given, but I expect that to be about the show. They might announce some D&D books in the setting but I would expect those at the earliest in the second half of 27 and more likely in 28

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It is definitely a possible outcome: Dark Sun still seems most likely, bit we will find out soon.

I really don’t think season of champions feels remotely Dark Sun-ish. Season of survivors or season of desolation would be more evocative. I suspect Dark Sun will be next year, and I would rather they take their time and get it right. If you remember the Dark Sun UA we pretty much all felt that they had the preserver/defiler mechanics wrong.

My initial thought was that champions was a martial character splatbook, like arcane is for wizards, but the Dragonlance argument was far more compelling, especially considering there is still no big adventure for the 5.5 rules.

 

[Parmandur]

yeah, as I wrote, it’s not impossible, but I would be really surprised if we got DL this year. I consider DS or a generic martial focused equivalent to the Q3 player book much more likely.

A tie-in with the TV series would make a lot of sense, having a few DL characters in a idle klicker does not have much draw imo, but maybe that is just me.

I expect to hear more about DL in August, that is a given, but I expect that to be about the show. They might announce some D&D books in the setting but I would expect those at the earliest in the second half of 27 and more likely in 28

Basically wouldn't be surprised either way at this point in time.

I really don’t think season of champions feels remotely Dark Sun-ish. Season of survivors or season of desolation would be more evocative. I suspect Dark Sun will be next year, and I would rather they take their time and get it right. If you remember the Dark Sun UA we pretty much all felt that they had the preserver/defiler mechanics wrong.

My initial thought was that champions was a martial character splatbook, like arcane is for wizards, but the Dragonlance argument was far more compelling, especially considering there is still no big adventure for the 5.5 rules.

"Champions" is vague as all get out, it could be a Krynn reference or for Dark Sun would imagine a Campaign Frame would be a revolutionary war against the Dragon Kings...

Dragonlance as a big classic Adventure anthology would balance out the kinds of books released for the year more than a second big Setting Book.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Champions" is vague as all get out, it could be a Krynn reference or for Dark Sun would imagine a Campaign Frame would be a revolutionary war against the Dragon Kings...

Not that it’s impossible, but I would consider that another example of “getting the setting wrong”. The sword and sorcery aspect is an important element, and part of that would be morally ambivalent protagonists, at least as a base line. Epic good versus evil storyline is the wrong genre.

 

[Remathilis]

Its worth considering the UAs that haven't made final products yet (so ignoring the Artificer/Eberron and Forgotten Realms ones)

Horror came out May 2025. We can assume most of that UA will go into Ravenloft (June 16th, 2026)
Psion also came out in May 2025 and revised in October. The Apocalypse Subclasses came out in August.
Arcana came out in June 2025 and revised in September. Arcana Unleashed releases Sept 16, 2026.
The "Mystic" subclasses only came out in January. I wager they aren't for Arcana Unleashed (the Mystic vs Arcana naming of the UA is big hint, but I could very well be wrong).
The Subclass Revisions Came out in October. It was a hodgepodge of revised martial themed subs, and it was the last one of 2025.

So this is my guesses.

The Horror Subclasses are clearly for Ravenloft, with the possible exception of Hexblade (which might go Arcana Unleashed instead).
The Arcane Subclasses are for Arcana Unleashed, again with Hexblade being a wild-card between products.
The Revised Subclasses COULD be for the Champion book, but there isn't a lot of meat here yet. Two barbarians, a fighter, a monk, and a paladin sub. And we don't have stuff like spells to pad the book out with, plus ALL of these are retreads, nothing new. I don't think we're getting a martial book in Champions, or if we do, its gonna be very lackluster. That said, I don't have a clue where these go save for a general book of revised options...
The Mystic Subclasses are too new. UA seems to generally go a year from initial offering to final product. I don't expect these until 2027. I suspect there will be a Mystic Season sometime next year.
The Psion and Apocalypse Subclasses All fit the window of UA release perfectly (Psion will be almost two years from the first IA, Apocalypse a year and change).

Other Considerations:
I don't think the Psion is appearing anywhere but the Dark Sun book first. It playtested with the Wild Talent feats and those appear to be the special category feats (dragonmark, dark gift) of Dark Sun. Though Abi-Dazim's Horrid Wilting was in the Psion UAs and appeared in the preview for Arcana Unleashed. Take that all as you will.
That said, if a new official class was coming in Arcana Unleashed, they'd have screamed it from the rooftops as a selling point.
If Dragonlance was going to be redone, I think the Lunar Sorcery (DL's only unique subclass) would have gotten a revision playtest. And nothing that has been playtested screams Dragonlance.
I'm assuming nothing that didn't get a revision UA (Arcana and Psion) got so red-marked that they are abandoning it. Of course, that could absolutely throw things into chaos, but my guess is even if something redlined, they would just replace it in house rather than abandon the whole idea (See Purple Dragon Knight/Banneret).

COULD anything happen? Sure. But I'd put safe money on Dark Sun this December (and the reason they didn't announce it is they want a big fanfare for it all on its own).

 

[Parmandur]

Not that it’s impossible, but I would consider that another example of “getting the setting wrong”. The sword and sorcery aspect is an important element, and part of that would be morally ambivalent protagonists, at least as a base line. Epic good versus evil storyline is the wrong genre.

That’s fair.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm assuming nothing that didn't get a revision UA (Arcana and Psion) got so red-marked that they are abandoning it.

Good thoughts in general, but this part is close to the opposite of the case: into heir articles at the tike of the revisits they specifically said that some of the options nto being revisited had been so green-marked that they had no further questions for players on the.

nothing that has been playtested screams Dragonlance

Cavalier?

Though if they are doing Dragonlance, I wouldn't expect options being necessary for a big Adventure collection.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

One think that might be worth mentioning is that the Horrid Wilting spell we know is in the Arcana book was trialled in the Psion UA. But it’s a classic spell so I doubt it means much.