The Return of Volo; Plus An Official D&D Coloring Book

A couple of new non-rules Dungeons & Dragons books are being released later this year. A Monsters & Heroes of the Realms Colouring Book, and a book from Forgotten Realms travel guide Volo in a book called Dungeonology. The former is expected in September, and the latter in November. They've being produced by Kings Road Publishing, who have signed a global deal with Hasbro UK and WotC (this the GBP prices below). (thanks to Mike for the scoop).


Monsters & Heroes of the Realms: A Dungeons & Dragons Colouring Book. Paperback; £9.99; September 2016. "A treasure trove of illustrations summoned from the pages of the official rulebooks – including the many classes, races and monsters from the Forgotten Realms. Studio Game will also be offering D&D fans a "unique" digital experience, in a free-to-download colouring app with in-app purchasing."

Dungeonology. Hardback; £19.99; November 2016. "Introducing the fantasy brand, Dungeons & Dragons to Kings Road Publishing’s Ology series, as the Forgotten Realms guide, Volo, takes fans on an "unforgettable" journey".

The colouring book also comes with a mobile app which will be available when the book itself is released.

The character Volothamp Geddarm (Volo) is a traveller of the Realms, who publishes a range of "guidebooks".

 

[dracomilan]

Seems a nice kid's book. They could use a lot of the official illustrations and help make the FR brand stronger. Could be a nice addition to the multi-channel strategy.
(If only the movie could be... good).

 

[Varanos]

Very Interesting!!! i was a fan of the Volo guides back in the 90's. I havent been blown away by the recent Forgotten Realms stuff so i hope this changes my opinion.

 

[Queer Venger]

Great news for Realms lovers, Long Live the Realms!

Will definitely be buying the Dungeonology book for my 12 y/o nephew for xmas.

 

[was]

I always liked the Volo's guides. I hope the new one lives up to the quality of the older ones.

 

[jamesjhaeck]

I don't think it'll be a Volo's Guide in the same way as the old series. The "Ology" series of books are, I guess, aimed at pre-teens with an interest in monstrous/fantasy stories. Here's Amazon's page for the first Dragonology book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragonology-The-Complete-Book-Dragons-Ology-Series/dp/1840115033

Though let it be said that I loved the Dragonology and Wizardology books when I was a pre-teen. I may not have been a D&D player without them, let alone becoming my group's DM, let alone writing RPG material.

So Dungeonology seems like a great move, in my opinion.

 

[Dire Bare]

Hmm. Interesting, but it makes me think the Dungeonology book will be something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Dragonology-Complete-Book-Dragons-Ologies/dp/0763623296 and if so I am not very excited, to be honest. I would like some actual Realms material please, WotC.

It will have "actual Realms material", it will be written by "Volo" and be about dungeons of the Forgotten Realms. And the "ology" books are beautiful books aimed at children (and adults that are young-at-heart), this book isn't intended to be an RPG supplement that expands Realmslore.

And that's okay.

WotC isn't writing this book, the publishing company behind the "ology" books is . . . it's a licensed product, a smart one at that. The existence of this book will not impact WotC's D&D release schedule, positively or negatively. We are not "losing" out on a meaty Realms RPG supplement in favor of a light, airy, children's book. We are "winning", because kids given this book might just become new D&D fans who go on to expand the ranks of our hobby, making it profitable to WotC to continue publishing the actual game, and maybe even expanding their release schedule at some point.

WIN-WIN!

 

[EthanSental]

Here here Jumblejacks! Hopefully it will introduce more kids to the game!

 

[pedr]

Yep, it sounds like a really good product, which should be appealing to children (particularly those who are fans of the other Ology books) and encourage them to think about D&D style games.

And the books seem to be well illustrated and amusingly written so I'll probably get it for the Realmslore!

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

There is no word yet if Ed Greenwood has anything to do with it, so it may just be a rehash of older material. Or, since it is a UK exclusive deal, someone else may be writing as Volo, depending on what international rights Ed even holds on his characters.

 

[Dire Bare]

There is no word yet if Ed Greenwood has anything to do with it, so it may just be a rehash of older material. Or, since it is a UK exclusive deal, someone else may be writing as Volo, depending on what international rights Ed even holds on his characters.

Pretty sure Greenwood doesn't have ANY rights to the Realms or any characters from the Realms, including Elminster! The Forgotten Realms is owned lock, stock, and barrel by WotC, and they can do whatever they want with the setting without worrying about Greenwood.

Having said that, the folks over at WotC are pals with Greenwood, enjoy what he brings to the Realms, and understand he has tremendous fan appeal. So, Greenwood continues to write official D&D realmslore material.

Whether he'll have any involvement with "Volo's Guide to Dungeonology" is certainly up in the air, but very possible.