D&D 5E Ray Winninger mentions third project!

WotC's Ray Winninger has confirmed that another D&D release, by James Wyatt, will be released in between Witchlight (September) and Strixhaven (November). Strixhaven was Amanda Hamon's project, while Witchlight is Chris Perkins'. That assumes he's not referring to the Feywild accessory kit in September.

A lot of people are asking Qs about the [D&D] releases for the rest of this year.

Yes, WILD BEYOND THE WITCHLIGHT is the [Chris Perkins] story product I referenced in our dev blog. STRIXHAVEN is [Amanda Hamon's] project. We have not yet announced [James Wyatt's] project, which releases between WITCHLIGHT and STRIXHAVEN.

Why did we announce STRIXHAVEN so early? Pretty simple--there was no way to release the STRIX-related Unearthed Arcana without letting the cat out of the bag.

You'll learn a lot more about all of these products at D&D Live on G4, July 16 and 17. And yes, there is still a little surprise or two ahead.

D&D 5E - Two New D&D Books Revealed: Feywild & Strixhaven Mage School

Amazon has revealed the next two D&D hardcovers! The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is a feywild adventure due in September, and Curriculum of Chaos is a Magic: the Gathering setting of Strixhaven, which looks like a Harry Potter-esque mage school, set for November...

www.enworld.org

 

[Aldarc]

Definitely. The continuing work on psionics very much feels like them trying to get it "right" (for certain values of "right") before publishing the setting.

That seems very likely. I think we'll see a bunch of psionic feats and spells that existing classes and subclasses can use, alongside a mechanism to represent defiling. (Now, will they have a mechanism to let player characters evolve into the crazy Dark Sun final forms? Maybe, maybe not. 5E kind of peters out with high level support.)

Apparently Matt Colville's team is working on a psionic class of their own, possibly for a class book. I believe that they may also split the Ranger essentially into two separate classes entirely: i.e., Hunter and Beastmaster.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Apparently Matt Colville's team is working on a psionic class of their own, possibly for a class book. I believe that they may also split the Ranger essentially into two separate classes entirely: i.e., Hunter and Beastmaster.

I doubt that would fix the ranger as I am fairly certain the core to it is just to weak but it might be interesting.

 

[dave2008]

Oh DL is going to get a 5e iteration at some point. It’s practically guaranteed.

That is possible, I just don't think it is coming out this year or next.

I think it’s more likely than Dark Sun for a few reasons. IME more fans have been asking for it, and for longer, first.

That has not been my experience. I hear calls for DS often, but only really started to hear talk about DL after the new novel announcement. But that is just my own experience.

Next, it’s got novels coming soon. Lastly, it ties in to the dragon book that is likely coming this year.

This is why I think we are not getting a DL setting. The dragon book is coming out this year (most likely) and the soonest we will see a DL setting is next year. There really isn't any synergy between those two products. Now the novels may be a different story, but they could also be targeting the end of the trilogy, which could easily push that to 2023.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Right. Leave it to WotC to wait...14 years since the final Harry Potter book and...ten years after the final main character film...and a year after the author, JK Rowling, came out as virulently anti-trans before they do a Totally Not Harry Potter setting...and with WotC trying super, duper hard to clean up their image re: inclusion, etc. Perfect timing as always, Wizards.

Sarcasm is fun, but their timing is actually extremely good.

If they'd tried to publish this when HP was still huge and the author still popular with "young people", they'd have to have actually licensed HP, or they'd have got massive pushback/blowback.

Now, though, they can have their cake and eat. They don't have to license HP, and indeed people would be mad as hell if they did. The fans of HP are looking for alternatives but are still fans of the books. A lot of kids grew up reading the books and are now in their late teens and early twenties. And WotC isn't harmed by Rowling being a jerk at all. Not even slightly. On the direct contrary, this can and is being seen as sort of an anti-Rowling action, because they're effectively ripping her off - but For Good lol.

Dragonlance is a ticking time-bomb of drama for a Youtuber to just tear into. If it gets more of a light shone on it its going to be an event for sure

Yuuuuuuuuuuup.

Been saying this for ages. It's why I'm so mystified people seem to think DL is likely. Not only are the novels pretty seriously problematic but the setting has some hilariously dubious stuff going on on Anaslon (Taladas is a bit more complicated and could be spun either way).

 

[Wardook]

We are more likely to get a Pathfinder setting than a Dragonlance setting. There are good reasons that we haven't received a decent Greyhawk or Dragonlance setting since 2e. I am aware of third party DL in 3e and Living Greyhawk etc. in 3e. Neither did very well at all. Don't get me wrong, I love both of these settings. Mainly due to the novels, yes I actually enjoy Gary's novels. The point being they can't afford to publish a book that appeals to fans of the settings. They need to publish to a wider appeal.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Here's the irony I see about Greyhawk and Dragonlance as classical settings right now:

The people who don't think WotC should/would/could do them are using the reasoning of "they are generic fantasy no different than Forgotten Realms"... which says a lot about just how little they probably know about all three. Because while they indeed start with our knowledge of prototypical D&D medieval fantasy (the "genre" of Dungeons & Dragons)... all three come at it from different directions and as the hardcore adherents of each of them have pointed out, they all have very specific things they focus on and are concerned with. Which makes all three actually very different thematically. Not as easily "elevator pitched" due to a different genre (like Eberron or Dark Sun)... but if you actually deep dive into them all, you know they aren't the same by a longshot.

However... the problem we will face is that any book they do for Greyhawk and/or Dragonlance is going to be a single volume, just like they've done for every other one. Which means what we'll actually get is a lot of surface-level setting material, and not the deep-dive that our proponents know about, care about, and proselytize about. As a result... those players probably won't be happy with what gets made because it won't be able to nearly match the wealth of material that has been written for them over the decades. And for new players? They might find the settings interesting (or they might not, just like any setting book released)... but because that will be their first and perhaps only way into them... they are going to run up against all the traditionalists who might very well poo-poo the book and we'll end up with a Greyhawk or Dragonlance culture war.

Personally... this is why seeing the classical settings get a 5E book never mattered to me... because I already know and/or have the decades of material already made for them-- meaning that anything put in a 5E book would be a pale shadow of the full setting. And the only reason to have a 5E book made would be to have an easy on-ramp for newer players to learn about it and maybe even fall in love with it. But if the traditionalists thumb their noses at the new book... then the whole hope and purpose of making it in the first place will have failed.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Apparently Matt Colville's team is working on a psionic class of their own, possibly for a class book. I believe that they may also split the Ranger essentially into two separate classes entirely: i.e., Hunter and Beastmaster.

I'm not sure that I buy that hunters and beastmasters have to be two separate classes, rather than archetypes under a single class, but this definitely seems to be a nut that WotC just doesn't seem to be able to crack.

(The Castles & Crusades spell-less ranger, incidentally, works great. And their class-and-a-half multiclassing option lets you do neat stuff like have a ranger with cleric half-class spellcasting, as happened in my campaign, which gave that ranger a very different feel from the ranger with druid half-class spellcasting.)

 

[Aldarc]

I'm not sure that I buy that hunters and beastmasters have to be two separate classes, rather than archetypes under a single class, but this definitely seems to be a nut that WotC just doesn't seem to be able to crack.

(The Castles & Crusades spell-less ranger, incidentally, works great. And their class-and-a-half multiclassing option lets you do neat stuff like have a ranger with cleric half-class spellcasting, as happened in my campaign, which gave that ranger a very different feel from the ranger with druid half-class spellcasting.)

Have to? Of course not. I'm still curious to see how MCDM handles this or even insight into why they choose to go this route.

 

[hopeless]

Technically we can already run Dragonlance provided they don't have problems using Dragonborn instead of Draconians?
Simply rework the story that when Tiamat and Paladine last met their followers deciding to try and avoid causing a massive famine through overpopulation found a way to repopulate their species by altering their descendants into Dragonborn.
These worshipped their family lines and via them their ultimate parents Tiamat and Paladine.
They eventually encountered humanity and the other races, who reacted negatively to them and this Dragonborn Empire decided it was better for everybody if they assumed control to help prevent a genocidal war.
Neither side fared too well with that decision and now at the start of this version of Dragonlance after a bitter war that caused immense losses on both sides the Dragonborn are returning to fulfil their destiny.
With a Follower of Tiamat in charge they have begun to reclaim their lost heritage using mercenaries as their guide.
However a nomadic tribe uncovers secrets of the past that their elders violently reject causing two of their members to be unceremoniously exiled.
The discovery they are carrying has alerted the Followers of Tiamat who have sent bounty hunters after them as in their flight they take shelter at the Forest village whose inhabitants are unaware of the forces closing in on them as they celebrate a warm summer's evening...

Yes needs work, but still an interesting idea.

 

[bedir than]

I'm not sure that I buy that hunters and beastmasters have to be two separate classes, rather than archetypes under a single class, but this definitely seems to be a nut that WotC just doesn't seem to be able to crack.

(The Castles & Crusades spell-less ranger, incidentally, works great. And their class-and-a-half multiclassing option lets you do neat stuff like have a ranger with cleric half-class spellcasting, as happened in my campaign, which gave that ranger a very different feel from the ranger with druid half-class spellcasting.)

I backed Strongholds & Followers, because it was a powerful idea and Colville's reputation was strong. Unfortunately, I found that so many of the rules didn't embrace the natural language and standard tiering of 5th edition I'm uncomfortable backing his other projects.

Does Castles & Crusaders feel like a 2e supplement like Strongholds did?

 

[hopeless]

Didn't get too far into the pdf copy of Strongholds & Followers book that I picked up.
Castles and Crusades was more like ad&d 1e wasn't it?
Or am I mixing that up with something else?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Castles & Crusades is basically 3E, stripped back to make it feel as much like 1E as possible (no skills or feats by default, for instance), with some house rules -- spell-less rangers and paladins by default, although you can add those back in with class-and-a-half multiclassing.

For someone like me, who grew up with 1E and noped out of 4E, it was a great fit.

It's also phenomenally compatible with OD&D through 3E, to the point that I could convert monsters, magic items and spells on the fly during games.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My opinion is the best way to promote old lines are the "iconic heroes".

Dungeons & Dragons iconic characters - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My doubts is who is going to produce the future D&D movies or streaming series. Now Hasbro has got a deal with Paramount, but this will end in some years. Then the next partner could be Netflix, Disney or Paramount again.

 

[Faolyn]

But let's be honest... what are the good ideas in Dragonlance?

Aerial combat.

And... OK, I'm not a fan, but that's all I can think of.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Aerial combat.

And... OK, I'm not a fan, but that's all I can think of.

The Knights of Solamnia were kind of fun and almost original back in their day.

Errrr Draconians are better basic enemies than most humanoids for a variety of reasons.

Hmmmmm thinking hard - maybe Taladas rocked and only exists because Dragonlance does, but it's not quite Dragonlance.

The Irda provide an absolute magnet for both powergamers and power-trip-roleplayers so it's really easy to identify them?

They created Tinker Gnomes so others settings didn't have to? I'm really reaching now.

I think I'm out.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Aerial combat.

And... OK, I'm not a fan, but that's all I can think of.

dragon people that was good, but we have those now.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The Knights of Solamnia were kind of fun and almost original back in their day.

Errrr Draconians are better basic enemies than most humanoids for a variety of reasons.

Hmmmmm thinking hard - maybe Taladas rocked and only exists because Dragonlance does, but it's not quite Dragonlance.

The Irda provide an absolute magnet for both powergamers and power-trip-roleplayers so it's really easy to identify them?

They created Tinker Gnomes so others settings didn't have to? I'm really reaching now.

I think I'm out.

also, only one set of gods for everyone, really trying to reinvent some races(they failed but hay they tried)

 

[hopeless]

Depends when they want to set this as a setting as after a certain period Kender lose their fearlessness and a number of the gods die for various reasons.
Please note this is stuff I'm recalling so don't accept as gospel as I'd rather be wrong from what i recall.

 

[Faolyn]

Hmmmmm thinking hard - maybe Taladas rocked and only exists because Dragonlance does, but it's not quite Dragonlance.

Sadly, all I know about Taladas is that Vlad Drakov is from there.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

This has got an easy solution: Pam awakes and she discovers Sturm, the Solamnian knight, in the shower. He is not dead, everything that happened was only a horrible nightmare!

OMG! Youngest generations will not understand what I am talking about.

---

A reboot of Dragonlance is possible, but too risky. The modules, a possible videogame, or even a future production for a streaming service, could alter the canon, but they are too many novels to be "descanoniced", become non-canon now. Maybe the idea of parallel timelines in the comple D&D multiverse could fix some retcons, but a mistake is enough to cause a "jumping the shark effect".

Another idea? Opening Dragonlance in the DM-Guild, and allowing non-canon alternate timelines to test the reaction by the fandom. Other idea is to insert the "isekai" option. Characters from Gamma World or some d20 Modern setting know the books, believeing they are only fiction. Then something happen and they appear "within the novels". Really they aren't in the original Krynn, but an "akashic realm", a demiplane (within the Feywild?) working as a "theme park". Then the "visitors" or intruders can interfere with the events of the books (Do you know the miniserie "Lost in Austin"? You can imagine the consequences) but the original timeline isn't altered by these "isekai".

If we chat about retcons, I wonder how would be Raitslin with tribal tatoos on the face, caused by Fistandantilus' curse. (And this becomes dark lord of Neo-Sithicus).