WotC State of the Game, Darklords of Ravenloft

darjr · May 25, 2026

The first State of the Game was hosted by Nerd Immersion with WotC guests going into detail about seasonality and updates to DNDBeyond. See here. I really like how they are working with third party streamers to do this show. Getting to hear from creators and the people responsible for decisions and managing production is pretty cool.

Friday, May 29, 9:00AM PT.
https://youtube.com/@dndwizards and https://youtube.com/@dicecreamsandwich

Join the Ravenloft preview and learn what horrors await in the Mists.

The Darklords are back! Our next State of the Game returns this Friday, May 29th at 9AM PST / 12PM EST / 4PM GMT at youtube.com/@dicecreamsandwich and youtube.com/@DNDWizards, just in time for the Mists of Ravenloft: The Horror Within to enshroud you in their darkness.

Join our friend and host Kevin Parr (Dicecream Sandwich) and Principal Game Designer Wesley Schneider, Senior Creative Lead AJ Hanneld, and Senior Game Designer Makenzie De Armas as they dive deep into the Darklords, their Domains of Dread, and shine a light on some of Ravenloft’s newest inhabitants.

State of the Game is our new flagship seasonal series to bring you a closer look at what’s coming next for D&D. Early access for Ravenloft: The Horrors Within begins on June 2, with the wide release starting on June 16.

Join us...if you dare!

Sulicius · May 26, 2026

Interesting. I am glad they keep doing these. I do hope they branch out in the diversity of the content creators they team up with.

I am slightly worried about the clear talking points that seem to just be marketing. If you call it “state of the game”, you should expect some direct questions. I fully expect nothing pointed being asked about how much of a retreat of Van Richten’s this.
I hope to see some of the following questions answered:

- Previously, Dark Lords have been represented with generic stat blocks. What made you decide to give them unique stat blocks?

- Which Dark Lord is your favorite and why?

- As someone who loves Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft; what do you think will surprise me?

- The art in this book is incredible, as it appear the team went for a very colorful and intense style. Could the rules and content also be described as colorful and intense?

- What is a part of the book you are most proud of and why?

- What has been your favorite “horror” moment in any of your campaigns?

Stormonu · May 26, 2026

My simple question would be

- How much overlap is there between Van Richten's and The Horror Within. If it's more than 50%, what made WotC desire to do this instead of having it cover the aspects/monsters/realms that were missed the first time around?

Sulicius · May 26, 2026

Stormonu said:
My simple question would be

- How much overlap is there between Van Richten's and The Horror Within. If it's more than 50%, what made WotC desire to do this instead of having it cover the aspects/monsters/realms that were missed the first time around?

That’s the obvious question yeah. The obvious answer is “this is the product we expect to sell to the most people”.

Hexmage-EN · May 26, 2026

Stormonu said:
My simple question would be

- How much overlap is there between Van Richten's and The Horror Within. If it's more than 50%, what made WotC desire to do this instead of having it cover the aspects/monsters/realms that were missed the first time around?

Yeah, of the 5.5E books released so far this is the first one to appear to me like a retread, and therefore am the most on the fence about buying.

Whizbang Dustyboots · May 26, 2026

Yeah, these are misnamed. A "state of the ____" is typically a big, high-level view of things, including laying out a roadmap for the next year or more.

These events are fine and probably fun, but they're just hyping up the about-to-be-released product. Call them something else.

Retreater · May 26, 2026

Hexmage-EN said:
Yeah, of the 5.5E books released so far this is the first one to appear to me like a retread, and therefore am the most on the fence about buying.

Wasn't the artificer book a retread? At least, that's what the reviews I've read suggested.

bergec · May 27, 2026

Retreater said:
Wasn't the artificer book a retread? At least, that's what the reviews I've read suggested.

Nope. It was a good sequel. It expanded on stuff in the first book and had a bunch of new stuff. The only republished things were the ones that had mechanical updates (like species and feats).

LaTia J · May 27, 2026

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
Yeah, these are misnamed. A "state of the ____" is typically a big, high-level view of things, including laying out a roadmap for the next year or more.

These events are fine and probably fun, but they're just hyping up the about-to-be-released product. Call them something else.

Can I bug you with a question about this? I feel like "State of the Game" made sense for the first one we did because it was about the year ahead. (I am not saying that you're saying this was an ill-fitting name for that video.)

What would you have named this one?

Whizbang Dustyboots · May 27, 2026

LaTia J said:
Can I bug you with a question about this? I feel like "State of the Game" made sense for the first one we did because it was about the year ahead. (I am not saying that you're saying this was an ill-fitting name for that video.)

What would you have named this one?

"Spotlight on Ravenloft: The Horrors Within" or something similar.

The actual event is fine, I just don't think it's going to match the expectations set up with a "State of the Game" presentation, unless the conversation also includes "this product is the first of several going forward marking a new direction we're taking" or "our philosophy about X and Y has changed, and you're seeing the first signs of that with this product."

That said, actual big annual state of the game addresses, mapping out the current vision and how it may have changed since the last annual address, would be great.