D&D (2024) So what happened to the new and classic campaign settings? (and what's next?)

[Aldarc]

I hope I wasn't phrasing this as "everyone in Gen Z likes this kind of fantasy, and nothing else." I was answering the question of "has fantasy actually changed in the past decade." Look through fantasy bestseller charts and you will see lots of new authors' names -- many of them women and POC -- writing about things like "a retired half-orc adventurer and her best friend open a coffee shop."

Gen Z folks can and do love more traditional styles of fantasy, but the rising tide of cozy fantasy -- which certainly owes a debt to Mercedes Lackey and other romantic fantasy (which is not the same as romance fiction, it should be noted; fiction genres are weird), as well as Tumblr -- is a new thing in the past decade and is largely read by younger readers.

If you are a Gen Z reader who likes other forms of fantasy fiction, I did not intend to erase you or try to tell you what you or your generation should be reading. This was a purely reactive post, based on watching this interesting new wave of fantasy climb the bestseller charts, along with what's in fantasy TV shows.

I sense on the wind a chance to plug a recommendation for Blue Rose by Green Ronin, which has been one of the few TTRPGs over the past 20 years dedicated to romantic fantasy.

 

[mamba]

That may be true. Either way, "Millennial" for someone born up to nearly twenty years before the Millennial turnover doesn't make much sense.

it’s just a definition, whether you cut off at 2k or around 2k on both sides is really just
whatever you decide, and with the existing generations the latter made no sense

Nor does Gen Z following Millennial without a Gen Y to follow Gen X.

Gen Y and Millennials is the same thing

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I sense on the wind a chance to plug a recommendation for Blue Rose by Green Ronin, which has been one of the few TTRPGs over the past 20 years dedicated to romantic fantasy.

100%

I understand the reasons that Green Ronin has gone nearly all-in on AGE -- I was there for the GSL, too -- but I often think that Blue Rose would be much bigger if it had been 3E from the get-go.

 

[Aldarc]

100%

I understand the reasons that Green Ronin has gone nearly all-in on AGE -- I was there for the GSL, too -- but I often think that Blue Rose would be much bigger if it had been 3E from the get-go.

My issue is that when I revisit the original Blue Rose and True20, it hurts. It hurts so bad. The 3.0x feat trees and the like just for two-weapon fighting cuts deep to my soul. I say this as someone for whom True20 was my game of choice for a 5-8 years.

 

[TiQuinn]

"Let's keep doing the same stuff we've been doing for 50 years and not worry about it" seems like a bad strategy, though.

WotC loves, loves, loves their marketing surveys. A more targeted one at younger players would likely be worthwhile.

So here’s the thing - what if kids want to play D&D because they’ve heard what it is about - and like that? I think they should definitely try to find out but I also don’t assume that they haven’t.

 

[Parmandur]

So here’s the thing - what if kids want to play D&D because they’ve heard what it is about - and like that? I think they should definitely try to find out but I also don’t assume that they haven’t.

Yeah, based on what I see from kids shows, books and comics...I think they have.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So here’s the thing - what if kids want to play D&D because they’ve heard what it is about - and like that? I think they should definitely try to find out but I also don’t assume that they haven’t.

I am not attacking anyone's favorite company here.

The question was whether fantasy has changed since the Nentir Vale was released. It has.

I suggested that creating a setting that reflected these modern trends in fantasy alongside existing settings was a good idea.

I am not advocating for burning Chris Perkins at the stake, with every copy of a book containing the Forgotten Realms piled at his feet.

 

[Rabulias]

Weren't there somewhat solid rumors about WotC re-issuing a classic setting this year, to go along with the 50th anniversary? With the lead candidate being a true Forgotten Realms campaign book? And what about the new settings they were talking about a couple years ago? And while we're at it, are they done with Magic setting books (it has been 3 years since the last)?

Are you referring to Ray Winninger's comments from 2021? IIRC, he promised the return of two classic settings (one in a new format) in 2022 and a setting "revisit" in 2023 or 2024, along with two brand new settings in the works. Spelljammer was clearly the new format classic setting, and Dragonlance was the other. We have gotten Planescape since then, and it looks like Greyhawk (originally visited in 5e in Ghosts of Saltmarsh) will be the revisit in the 2024 DMG. Though I guess many settings are getting a revisit in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.

There have been crickets on the two new settings. With Winninger's departure and the OGL blow up, they may be gone. Or maybe Wizards is toiling away at one or both of them for release after the anniversary?

 

[Reynard]

I am not attacking anyone's favorite company here.

The question was whether fantasy has changed since the Nentir Vale was released. It has.

I suggested that creating a setting that reflected these modern trends in fantasy alongside existing settings was a good idea.

I am not advocating for burning Chris Perkins at the stake, with every copy of a book containing the Forgotten Realms piled at his feet.

It isn't like Fantasy (as a entertainment genre) did not significantly change every decade or so from the first publication of D&D until now. The kinds of books and comics and cartoons popular in the 70s were NOT the kinds popular in the 80s or 90s, etc. It shouldn't be controversial to say that especially younge rgamers are going to be looking for a different kind of fantasy than their parents.

Maybe that is part of the problem here: parents who have shared their preferences with their kids are probably over-represented here and so the idea that the kids like the same stuff I do is a bit skewed.

 

[TiQuinn]

I am not attacking anyone's favorite company here.

The question was whether fantasy has changed since the Nentir Vale was released. It has.

I suggested that creating a setting that reflected these modern trends in fantasy alongside existing settings was a good idea.

I am not advocating for burning Chris Perkins at the stake, with every copy of a book containing the Forgotten Realms piled at his feet.

I didn’t say any of that so I think your annoyance is a little misplaced.

I go back to my original statement - the only thing I’ve said, really. I’ve seen a few people posting about what they think kids want out of D&D as if it must automatically be something different than what it currently does, and I’m not sure that is true.