Ravnica: Is This The New D&D Setting? [UPDATED & CONFIRMED!]

If so... meh?

 

[Parmandur]

That's definitely better than not having that kind of replayability. But, it remains less useful to me than separate adventures. Separate adventures would have separate maps, which is a big part of the benefit I get out of adventures.

The book outlines 9 wards/bouroughs/districts in detail, creating a large sandbox. The multi-valiant adventure proper seems to be less important than creating a setting a DM can use, City State of the Invincible Overlord style: the adventure just provides a MacGuffin and four antagonist organizations within the sandbox.

 

[Parmandur]

"Vedalken Traits
Your vedalken character has certain
characteristics in common with all other
vedalken.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelli-
gence score increases by 2 and your Wis-
dom score increases by 1.
Age. Vedalken mature at the same
rate humans do, and most are expected to
settle down into an adult life by around
age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500
years.
Alignment. Vedalken are most often
lawful and rarely evil.
Size. Vedalken are taller than humans
but more slender. They average 6 to 6½
feet tall, but usually weigh less than 200
pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30
feet.
Vedalken Cunning. You have ad-
vantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and
Charisma saving throws against magic.
Aether Lore. Whenever you make
an Intelligence (History) check related to
magic items or aether-powered techno-
logical devices, you can add twice your
proficiency bonus, instead of any profi-
ciency bonus you normally apply.
Languages. You can speak, read,
and write Common and Vedalken. The
Vedalken language is renowned for its
technical treatises and its catalogs of
knowledge about the natural world and
the aether that pervades it."

From one of the planeshift articles put out by WotC, so unless they radically change it, we have one of the Ravnica races stats already.

It seems weak, good at identifying magic items and has advantage against magic spells that target Intelligence/Charisma/Wisdom. I hope it gets buffed abit. Maybe a free ritual caster feat or the mending cantrip.

Considering those articles were unplaytested Homebrew, I would expect radical change from Crawford's editing.

 

[gyor]

"InGreen Merfolk. These ones prefer living on the land and enjoy the sun. I can’t blame them.

Ability Score Increase. A +2 to Wisdom. Nothing to see here.Mask of the Wild. That’s the Wood Elf racial trait. Perhaps their coloring allows them to do that.Cantrip. You get one Druid cantrip of your choice, with Wisdom being the spellcasting ability for it.

Blue Merfolk. The blue Merfolk prefer staying in the rivers and the sea.

Ability Score Increase. A +2 to Intelligence.Lore of the Waters. Proficiency in History and Nature. I like skill proficiencies in general so I like this feature too. Plus, these are Intelligence skills so they do well with the Ability Score Increase.Cantrip. You get one Wizard cantrip of your choice, with Intelligence being the spellcasting ability for it."

"Vampire

The vampires of Ixalan have very interesting lore. They are humans that become vampires through a ritual.

Ability Score Increase. Like with Plane Shift: Zendikar, vampires get +2 to Charisma. These ones also get +1 to Wisdom instead of Intelligence.Size. Vampires are considered medium. Well, they were humans before so it makes sense.Speed. Base walking speed of 30 feet.Darkvision up to 60 feet.Vampiric Resistance. Resistance to necrotic damage like the Zendikar vampires.Bloodthirst. You have a bite attack that heals a little bit. Its requirements make sure it’s not broken.Feast of Blood. It’s a buff you get when you use Bloodthirst. For 1 minute your speed increased by 10 feet and you gain advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws.

There’s also a Vampire feat called Vampiric Exultation. Using an action you can turn your lower half of your body into black vapor and get a flying speed of 30 feet for 10 minutes. It recharges every short or long rest. It’s not a bad deal."

That is from the planeshift Ixalan article, and I think it's the one they are more likely to go with, the Vampires being like the Vryloka, created by rituals.

 

[gyor]

Considering those articles we're unplautested Homebrew, I would expect radical change from Crawford's editing.

That is a distinct possibility.

 

[thundershot]

Happy for those that want it... but I was looking forward to two returning settings. Now my chance at Spelljammer gets lower...

 

[neogod22]

"Merfolk Traits
Your merfolk character has a number of traits in com-
mon with other members of this race.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score in-
creases by 1.
Age. Merfolk mature at the same rate humans do
and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live
considerably longer than humans, though, often reach-
ing well over 100 years.
Alignment. Most merfolk are neutral, though merfolk
of the Emeria and Cosi creeds have chaotic leanings.
Size. Merfolk are about the same size and build as
humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You
also have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Com-
mon, Merfolk, and one extra language of your choice.
Creeds. The merfolk race is divided into three
creeds, founded on the principles of Emeria (wind), Ula
(water), and Cosi (the trickster). A merfolk isn’t born
into a creed but chooses it upon reaching adulthood, and
it is rare for a merfolk not to choose a creed. Merfolk of
the wind and water creeds aren’t hostile to each other,
but members of each creed regard the other creed with
a vague disdain. Members of both those creeds regard
the Cosi creed with suspicion and some degree of fear,
and Cosi-creed adherents tend to keep their affiliation
secret. Choose one of these creeds for your character.
Emeria (Wind) Creed
Merfolk who followed Emeria’s creed seek wisdom
and truth in the Wind Realm, exploring the mystical
forces—rather than natural causes—behind historical
events. They are evasive and intentionally enigmatic
in their interactions with others, and are often de-
scribed as manipulative and deceptive.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score in-
creases by 2.
Wind Creed Manipulation. You have proficiency
in the Deception and Persuasion skills.
Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice
from the druid spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting
ability for it.
Ula (Water) Creed
Ula-creed merfolk emphasize intellectual pursuits,
stressing hard evidence and reason over passion. They
are analytical scholars, chroniclers, explorers, and
navigators who pride themselves on being blunt and
straightforward.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score
increases by 2.
Water Creed Navigation. You have proficiency
with navigator’s tools and in the Survival skill.
Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice
from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spell-
casting ability for it.
Cosi Creed
No merfolk will openly admit to following the creed
of the trickster, but those who do view Cosi as an ally
who can grant them control over the chaotic forces of
the world.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score
increases by an additional 1 (for a total of 2), and your
Intelligence score increases by 1.
Creed of the Trickster. You have proficiency in the
Sleight of Hand and Stealth skills.
Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice
from the bard spell list. Charisma is your spellcasting
ability for it."

"Vampire Traits
Your vampire character has the following traits as a
result of the unique origins of your kind.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score
increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.
Age. Vampires don’t mature and age in the same
way that other races do. Every living vampire is either a
bloodchief, infected by Ulamog’s influence in the distant
reaches of history, or was spawned by a bloodchief from
a living human. Most vampires are thus very old, but few
have any memory of their earliest years.
Alignment. Vampires have no innate tendency
toward evil, but consuming the life energy of other
creatures often pushes them to that end. Regardless of
their moral bent, the strict hierarchies of their blood-
chiefs inclines them toward a lawful alignment.
Size. Vampires are about the same size and build
as humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Thanks to your heritage, you have su-
perior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see
in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright
light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t
discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Vampiric Resistance. You have resistance to ne-
crotic damage.
Blood Thirst. You can drain blood and life ener-
gy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by
you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack
against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing dam-
age and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target’s hit point
maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the ne-
crotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to
that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finish-
es a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its
hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid killed in this way
becomes a null (see “A Zendikar Bestiary”).
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Com-
mon and Vampire."

Merfolk stats from another Planeshift article from WotC, I think it's very possible we will see reprints of these as well.

Merfolk are not in the book, and neither are this version of vampire

 

[gyor]

The book outlines 9 wards/bouroughs/districts in detail, creating a large sandbox. The multi-valiant adventure proper seems to be less important than creating a setting a DM can use, City State of the Invincible Overlord style: the adventure just provides a MacGuffin and four antagonist organizations within the sandbox.

The adventure is basically early level prep and home city for the second half, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, which goes all the way to twenty.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

C'mon WotC. Are you purposely trying to irritate and divide the D&D fanbase?

Just do this:

1) Release a Manual of the Planes hardcover which includes a chapter on each of the classic D&D Worlds (Oerth, Mystara, Eberron, Abeir, Nerath, etc). Cover Planescape and Spelljammer (and Chronomancer) as combined meta-setting the same time.
2) Open all the D&D worlds to DM's Guild in one go.
3) If you want to cross-promote M:tG, then you'd better first (or simultaneously) satiate the desire for the classic D&D worlds! At least mention in the Manual of the Planes that the D&D Multiverse is beginning to overlap with the with M:tG Multiverse.
4) *Then* release M:tG planar D&D sourcebooks. Staggered with classic D&D worldbooks (Oerth, Mystara, Athas, Eberron, etc). If you do both at the same time, then classic aficionados won't be irked.

As it stands, the day-early leak about Ravnica is arousing some ill-will and divisiveness. "Divisiveness": because it would be "cool" to see more and more D&D M:tG books...but not at the expense of Classic D&D worlds. C'mon.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Having done a lot of research into Ravnica way back when I was writing Agents of Artifice, I have to say that it could make a fascinating D&D setting. This isn't anything I saw coming, and might not have been my first choice, but I don't think it's a bad thing, and it could be amazingly cool.

As for people wondering about working Planeswalker or "color magic" mechanics into the book... Why? I mean, maybe they're going to, but it's not remotely necessary. It is certainly possible--and I very much hope--that this is "Ravnica as D&D setting," as opposed to "Magic: the Gathering in D&D." If that's so, it would be about building the setting so it's thematically the same, but mechanically works around D&D rules, not M:tG rules.

If that's what they've chosen to do, I'd buy this in a heartbeat, for all that I might have preferred something else.

 

[neogod22]

The adventure is basically early level prep and home city for the second half, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, which goes all the way to twenty.

Pretty much. But if the maps and lore is enough to create your own adventures in Waterdeep, then it'll be worth buying for DMs.