D&D (2024) "The Future of D&D" (New Core Books in 2024!)

The online D&D Celebration event, which has been running all weekend, comes to a close with The Future of D&D, a panel featuring WotC's Ray Winninger, Liz Schuh, Chris Perkins, and Jeremy Crawford, hosted by Elle Osili-Wood.

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D&D is exploring the multiverse
Revisiting classic settings. 1st of 3 settings (Ravenloft) released this year. Next year, the other two major classic D&D settings come out. Both in formats they've never published products before.

Plus a "little peek" at a third classic D&D setting - a cameo.

In 2023, yet another classic setting is coming out.

Evolving D&D
Because of new players, they're always listening. Exploring new styles of play (like no combat needed in Wild Beyond the Witchlight). Also presentation of monsters and spells. New product formats. More adventure anthologies.

Making products easier to use. Ways to create the best experience. Experimenting and looking into technology.

Approaches to Design
Wild Beyond the Witchlight has interior design and tools to make running the adventure easier. Story tracker, guidance.

Beyond the books, they want to make different and varied products - packaging and form factor. Things different to hardcovers and boxed sets.

A blog post is coming soon detailing some of the changes, with more to come in future posts.

50th Anniversary in 2024
They've begun work on new versions of the core rulebooks. Recent surveys tie into that. They're still making plans, but expect more surveys. More will be said next year.

They will be completely compatible!

New experiences in the digital arena.

January Gift Set
Rules Expansion Gift Set -- Xanathar, Tasha, and a new book: Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse. All in a slipcase. Was intended for the Holidays, but global production issues mean January instead. There's also an alternate cover version.

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Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse
A treasure trove of creature related material from previous products compiled into one book and updated.

Opportunity to update material with a feel for how the 50th Anniversary books will be.

Improvements based on feedback, rebalancing, new and old art.

Over 250 monsters, and 30 playable races. All of the setting agnostic races that have been published outside the Player's Handbook.

Some content from Witchlight, Fizban's, and Strixhaven was influenced by Mordenkainen's.

Available first in the gift set, but separately later in the year.

Monsters alphabetized throughout rather than using subsections.

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Stat block changes --

Spellcasting trait is gone. Spellcasting action, slimmed down. Spellcasting monsters need less prep.

Spell slots are gone for NPCs. Regular actions that would have once been spells.

It was too easy for a DM to use spells which result in the monster having a too low effective CR.

Monsters can be friends or foes, and some magic will help rather than hinder PCs.

Where are we going?
More adventure anthologies. Another classic setting fairly soon.

Two all-new settings. Completely new. In development stage, an 'exploration' phase, testing the viability of them. They might not see the light of day.

Retooling nostalgia and blending it with new concepts. A blend of things that you know, and things that they have never done before.

In the short term -- more news next month about a new product for 2022 which goes into a new scary place we've never been before.

Boo the miniature giant space hamster
Below is an sketch from Hydro74's alt cover, which features Boo the miniature giant space hamster.

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There are a lot of statblocks scattered around in published adventures as well that I assume will also be collected into this book. Combined, I think they can get to 250.
Oh, they can easily get to 250, as they aren't terribly far from it with just Volo's and Mordenkainen's alone. That why I was musing on the exact number of stat blocks from the two as I assume the monsters from those two products will be ported over wholesale, and wondering how many monsters from adventures they will bring in. For example, I hate that a classic creature like the ixitxachitl has only appeared in an adventure (OotA) and not in an "official" monster book yet, and hope that it, and some other classics, get to make the leap...

A further thing on this is that perhaps they will consider this to be on par with the MM when it comes to adventures, so they won't have to reprint so many stat blocks. I know the rule has been either it's in the MM or it's reprinted, but if they stretch it to cover MMotM, that will free up pages of design space for future adventures...
 

.....

- My biggest wish, and also the one that’s least likely to come true: please, please PLEASE don’t replace everything that recovers on a short rest with PB uses per long rest.

- Since the previous item is definitely not going to come true, at least leave the Warlock alone. Please, if there is any justice in this world, let the Warlock remain it’s bizarre and cool self and not just become another boring daily caster.

Some of the things on your list are definitely happening. Because its now obvious...

They have been playtesting all along...

But the last is the big, big questions. Something will give. Maybe short rests will be easier, or somehow redifiend? Or they will just do what you fear.
 


- Maybe a big ask, but rework Wild Shape to modify your own stats instead of picking a stat block from the monster manual.
I think what is easier and (to me at least) just as good if not better, is to provide stat blocks like the Tasha's summon spells and beast master companion that you can use instead of normal beasts.
- Tasha’s summon spells replacing the ones that let you summon stat blocks from the monster manual.
I'd really, really, hate that. Having both is just better. I can't see any benefit to getting rid of the Conjure XYZ spells.
 

Nah they're plenty playable. Could use an update for the sake of optimized tables, but the vast majority of games aren't that, and in those Genasi are fine, and quite popular.
There are people that will play 4 Element Monks, Undying Warlocks, and Purple Dragon Knights. Just because people play it, doesn't mean that it's "playable". (I mean, I'm obviously wrong here, because if people play it, it's obviously playable. However, you get my point. Some things are just so egregiously bad mechanically that they're "unplayable", even if there is a strange minority of people that will play it.)

I want Genasi to be balanced in comparison to the other races in the game, I want them to become lineages like the Gothic Lineages from Ravenloft, and maybe have a bit of tweaking lore-wise (as Genasi used to be people who were just touched by the elemental planes, instead of having to be half-genie).
 

How much of this Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse, is a do-over of Volo's Guide of Monster? Is there some "new" stuff in it?
It sounds like reprints of existing stat blocks, but in the new format with “typically [alignment]” instead of just two letters, proficiency bonus listed in the stat block, and spellcasting monsters re-worked to have combat-related spells written out as actions.
 


I think what is easier and (to me at least) just as good if not better, is to provide stat blocks like the Tasha's summon spells and beast master companion that you can use instead of normal beasts.
Good point.
I'd really, really, hate that. Having both is just better. I can't see any benefit to getting rid of the Conjure XYZ spells.
Just cleaner. I doubt they will remove them, but I would prefer if PC abilities didn’t refer you to the monster manual.
 

It sounds like reprints of existing stat blocks, but in the new format with “typically [alignment]” instead of just two letters, proficiency bonus listed in the stat block, and spellcasting monsters re-worked to have combat-related spells written out as actions.

They are also redoing some of the actions of spellcasters to encourage optimal spell usage. As they found folks were using them un-optimally because there's too many spells listed.
 

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