D&D 5E Speculation Thread: the "Wonderful, Scary, Terrifying" book being announced this month

[J.Quondam]

I doubt it will be as wonderful, scary, and terrifying as this:

A Thousand Thousand Islands

Reach Of The Roach God A tabletop roleplaying game campaign set in the deep places of the earth. Inspired by the vast caves of Southeast Asia. Part of A THOUSAND THOUSAND ISLANDS. Now live ! Click below. What's Inside Three starter adventures, leading you on trails into the dark. Memorable…

athousandthousandislands.com

* shudder *

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I'm personally hoping for a Spelljammer/Far Realm book, as per the Boo Cover. But that may be an entirely different release than this one (whatever book has Boo on the cover).

 

[Gradine]

It would be really fun if it was a prehistoric setting with big demonic dinosaurs, breakable weapons made from bone, wood, and scavenged bronze, and cults worshipping ancient gods who should be forgotten.

It’s Florida.

Excellent post combination

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

When it is said about "scary and terrifying" it sounds as gothic horror (Ravenloft and Innistrad) or post-apocalypse as Dark Sun (and Gamma World). Lovecraftian horror? With the Far Realm it would be possible, but this is not "wonderful", it is like those cities "I would like to visit but not live there".

Other subgenre is the monster survival, something like Jurasic Park, and the alien saga (the xenomorphs). Other subgenre is the urban fantasy but I guess more focused in a grimm version of the faerie courts, something like "Games of Thrones" but with more superpowers, or the fae version of "Games of Thrones" mixed with Gann Ennis' "the Boys".

They have said it will be a new line. I wonder they could add as an "easter egg" the criatures of "Inhumanoids" a forgotten franchise by Hasbrom from the 80's decade.

 

[tetrasodium]

players are going to be absolutely terrified when they go into it, setting

Ravenloft should have met that bar & it did in past editions. Clearing that bar requires mechanics not in the current 5e ruleset rather than rollable tables though...

 

[TwiceBorn2]

EDIT: deleted

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

It’s Florida.

Reminds me of a Puffin Forest joke. Except that one was for Caaalifooorniaaaaah!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Ravenloft should have met that bar & it did in past editions. Clearing that bar requires mechanics not in the current 5e ruleset rather than rollable tables though...

I find 5e's Ravenloft to be pretty freaking scary. Sometimes I feel like I bought a different book from everyone else, because people always talk smack about Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and saying it's not actually a scary/horror book, but my experience with it has been the complete opposite.

Though I do think that there are some places in D&D that are just plain scarier than Ravenloft. The Far Realm is probably the most prominent of those places, because it's on an entirely different than Ravenloft. It's got the Lovecraftian cosmic horror bit, like Bluetspur from Ravenloft does, but it dives completely into it, because the Far Realm is the home of the Eldritch Abominations. Some of the most notorious, iconic, and horrific monsters in D&D come from the Far Realm, like Beholders, Aboleths, and Illithids.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I find 5e's Ravenloft to be pretty freaking scary. Sometimes I feel like I bought a different book from everyone else, because people always talk smack about Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and saying it's not actually a scary/horror book, but my experience with it has been the complete opposite.

Though I do think that there are some places in D&D that are just plain scarier than Ravenloft. The Far Realm is probably the most prominent of those places, because it's on an entirely different than Ravenloft. It's got the Lovecraftian cosmic horror bit, like Bluetspur from Ravenloft does, but it dives completely into it, because the Far Realm is the home of the Eldritch Abominations. Some of the most notorious, iconic, and horrific monsters in D&D come from the Far Realm, like Beholders, Aboleths, and Illithids.

It depends on what you find scary. I've never found cosmic horror scary. Ants aren't afraid of humans.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

So I wanted to give this it's own thread, as this book should be announced sometime this October. Now, that probably means after Fizban's release (October 19th) as not to distract from it's promotion. But I wanted to get a jump on the speculation, and a place for folks to drop that leaked Amazon placeholder for when it inevitably appears!

The timestamp is 33:50 for folks who want to watch where Perkins specifically mentions the book, but I will transcribe it;

"Now in the short-term, in the very short-term, keep your ears open for more news next month, for a new product we are releasing in 2022, that goes into a new place that we've never been before. It's a wonderful, scary... players are going to be absolutely terrified when they go into it, setting."

So, what do you think? Is it going to be truly a place we've never been before, completely original? Or is it something we just haven't explored much in 5E, like the Far Realm?

Speculate away!

So from this we know it's a setting and we've never been there before which, frankly, rules out all existing settings and all planes which have been really dealt with in detail, in 5E or really any edition. Also that it is at least conceptually scary. And from the language it seems unlikely its an entirely novel concept, but rather a known but unexplored one.

As such I would think we're more or less limited to the Far Realm, the First World (assuming that's pretty scary) or an alternate time period/location for a existing setting - probably an apocalyptic age when Evil ruled or something. Hard to see how you'd make a compelling setting out of just the Far Realm so I suspect it actually isn't that, or isn't just that.