D&D (2024) So what's going on with the October book?

[Remathilis]

(Rhetorical question, unless @LaTia J feels chatty. )

So WotC originally announced four books back in 2024: the two Forgotten Realms books, Dragon Delves, and the Keep on the Borderlands starter box. Then, earlier this year they announced two more books: Eberron Forge of the Artificer and a mystery book for October. We have concrete info on these named books (dates, titles, etc) and two are for preorder and have been for a while. But the October book is still a mystery. So, let's examine the clues and speculation we have.

• It is NOT a module. WotC said there are no actual modules/APs being released this year, save Dragon Delves which is more a collection of mini adventures and the Starter Set. So, it's not the rumored Red Wizards or Venger module.
• It was rumored to be MTG-related: possibly tied to Lorwyn/Shadowmoor. It would have been timed with the Return to Lorwyn set originally slotted for Q4 2025 but moved to Q1 2026. It's very possible if that is what this book is, that too might have moved with it (hence the radio silence).
• It could be tied to one of the two other UA's we had (Horror or psion). Horror came out later than the UA for Forgotten Realms, but there is still sufficient turnaround time for it if they were willing to crunch. I don't think there is enough time to do Psion unless that bad boy is solid green on its survey.
• If it IS horror, there are a lot of potential products it could be tied to: An Undead monster book, a Ravenloft rules update, a shadowfell guide, Innistrad, or Heroes of Horror Redux. Its worth noting that D&D Online and the recent Ravenloft novel both have referenced the domain of Lamorida, if that means anything.
• The pre-orders for Forge started in May, Dragon Delves in April. That's about a four-month window. An October book would have already gone live or will be going live in the beginning of July. (Although the Starter Set pre-orders aren't live either, but that could be due to the board-game nature of the product).

It is also always possible it's not a player-facing book (hence the lack of UAs) which would leave a product like a spell compendium or additional monsters' book as options. I find it unlikely given how much WotC has tried to convince players to buy DM books and vice versa.

So, what is the October book? More importantly, IS there still an October book? I'm getting a sinking feeling the October book is in limbo. Either because it's connected to Lorwyn and thus moved to Q1 2026 OR because the project it's connected to is delayed for any number of problems. If we don't hear anything soon, my guess it's that it's delayed.

But I could have missed something. What do you all think?

 

[Reynard]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Ravenloft focused "Forge of the Artificer" style splat, based on the UA and ongoing popularity of Strahd and the setting in general.

 

[Yaarel]

We are all ready on the far end of June. A Psion class this year would surprise me, ... unless WotC designers already have several versions ready to go, and will use the survey to tweak the closest one.

 

[Parmandur]

The pre-orders for Forge started in May, Dragon Delves in April. That's about a four-month window. An October book would have already gone live or will be going live in the beginning of July. (Although the Starter Set pre-orders aren't live either, but that could be due to the board-game nature of the product).

Based on prior years, I think they will begin talking about it after Dragon Delves drops. They usually talk about books about 3 or 4 months in advance.

Dollars to donuts it is a Ravenloft supplement, similar to how Fprge of the Srtificer supplements Rising from the Last War.

 

[WanderingMystic]

With the new d&d online Ravenloft expansion I think the chance of a Ravenloft book is decent

 

[sevenbastard]

A book with 100 diffrent versions of the Ranger?

The Complete Book of Stealth with rules for every possible stealth situation as we cant just don't trust DMs anymore?

D 100,000 starting trinkets?

Spell "jelly" er confirmed. A smoother version of Spelljammer?

200 pages of obscure polearms like Gygax intended?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think we're either looking at book that's gotten bumped for some reason or a Ravenloft or Ravenloft-adjacent book. Fizban's but for Undead/Libris Mortis 5E seems possible, although it feels early to me in the 2024 cycle to be doing that.