The Next Dungeons & Dragons Storyline Will Be...

And the new storyline for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is...

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Waterdeep: Dragon Heist! The plot will focus on an urban treasure hunt and a focus on urban and city-based adventures with special rules for running games in that environment. The adventure itself will have variable goals and antagonists similar to the original I6: Ravenloft module, where the DM chooses what "villain" will be the secret villain of the campaign, which will change outcomes of various events. The adventure itself will also have downtime built into the adventure along with the ability to own property in Waterdeep. The adventure for Level 1-5 will be released on September 18, 2018, with an MSRP of $49.95.

A second announcement is anticipated later this weekend, as the product codenamed "Catacombs" has a release date of November 20 and is also a 256-page hardcover book. This would make Waterdeep: Dragon Heist the codename "Broadway" (which also had a custom dice release announced for solicitation last year with the other products, including "Marathon" which turned out to be Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes).

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Wizards of the coast made the announcement as part of a weekend-long live streaming event on their Twitch channel, "Stream of Many Eyes". Other products announced during the live stream include updates to the Neverwinter MMO and its Barovia expansion, a new official history artbook about Dungeons & Dragons with images throughout the history of the game, and a new series of boxed sets with props and handouts for published adventures released so far as well as for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

This article will be updated with more information as the Wizards of the Coast live stream continues.

 

[EthanSental]

I hope GF9 and wizkids announce some cool new stuff today. Maybe the wizkids big ship has ties to Skullport or something.

 

[LordEntrails]

The first book will have a poster map of Waterdeep.

The second book is apparently going to have a separate poster map pack of the various levels of Undermountain for purchase:

http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/waterdeep-dungeon-mad-mage-map-pack

(I wonder if the map pack is our legendary "fourth product" for the year that has been previously hinted at. If we don't hear anything else announced today, I'm assuming that this is likely the case...)

Thanks for the link.
Fourth product was the art book they showed on Friday. Or at least that's my assumption...

 

[vecna00]

Just thinking - now that we have an official dungeon going to level 20, will we finally see some high-level creatures specific to the Forgotten Realms setting like sharn or phaerimm?

I hope so, especially phaerimm!

 

[Aldarc]

I find it interesting that it seems for every 1 that posts various 5e products aren't for them, apparently 10 people buy it anyway since the sales for the products are top sellers. Enough previous gamers and many new gamers are having fun with what they are creating. Perkins has been doing great as the story line creator in my book and watching him on Lore You Should Know shows he cares about the material. Props Chris!

I apologize that I had the audacity to voice either disinterest or displeasure at this product.

 

[EthanSental]

I apologize that I had the audacity to voice either disinterest or displeasure at this product.

None needed but thanks!

also, the musical interludes are not my cup of tea (horrible in my opinion - like a group of friends playing guitar hero on the weekend), made worse by them being used over and over.

 

[EthanSental]

Nothing posted on gf9 or wizkids sites yet.

Whoever posts their announcement (if there is one), many thanks as I have to get to work shortly.

 

[raviv]

gf9 posted a few photos on their Facebook page. An owlbear, a team of adventurers, and a boardgame called Vault of Dragons.

 

[Dyson Logos]

(I wonder if the map pack is our legendary "fourth product" for the year that has been previously hinted at. If we don't hear anything else announced today, I'm assuming that this is likely the case...)

Nah, I'm willing to bet there's still another book coming.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Nah, I'm willing to bet there's still another book coming.

I do hope so. There are rumors over on Reddit that Cubicle 7 may still have something up their sleeve...

 

[Monayuris]

I have zero interest in Dragon Heist, but Dungeon of the Mad Mage seems interesting. I'm a huge fan of mega dungeons.

I only viewed the D&D Beyond promo clip and it looks like they may actually pull off a proper mega dungeon. The key is how much meta-plot and story lines do they put into it. Its awesome if there is interesting factions and monsters that have their own agendas, quests and stories, but a mega dungeon only works if the players are in the drivers seat. Most of the previous WoTC modules I've had experience with seem to have the players be in the back seat of some plot or story line that they have to complete.

That doesn't work in a mega dungeon. In this kind of environment, the players should have the ability to descend to any level of the dungeon they want (assuming they find the way). They should be able to develop any kind of relationship with the factions in the dungeon that make sense to them. They should be able to make their own choices and interact with the dungeon on their own terms.

I also don't think the default XP system works well for mega dungeon play. XP for killing monsters tends to make these dungeons just feel like a grind: open door, fight monsters, open next door, fight monsters, repeat... There really needs to be an alternate reward system for these environments. XP systems that reward treasure acquisition are usually better suited. Also story based leveling doesn't work in mega dungeons. Some DM's may think they can just level their players when they are ready to go to the next level of the dungeon. That tends to be a bad idea because it takes the choice away from the players on whether to go down or not.

Mega dungeon play is about the freedom to make your own choices. If they can set up Dungeon of the Mad Mage to keep choice and decisions in the hands of the players (player agency), this could be an awesome product.

I'm actually optimistic about it... I especially liked that they seem to have added corridors to nowhere, so DM's can expand the dungeon with their own ideas. This is a good sign in my book.