D&D 5E Two New D&D Books Revealed: Feywild & Strixhaven Mage School

Amazon has revealed the next two D&D hardcovers! The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is a feywild adventure due in September, and Curriculum of Chaos is a Magic: the Gathering setting of Strixhaven, which looks like a Harry Potter-esque mage school, set for November.

Amazon.com: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons Book) (9780786967278): Wizards RPG Team: Books

Amazon.com: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons Book) (9780786967278): Wizards RPG Team: Books

www.amazon.com

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is D&D's next big adventure storyline that brings the wicked whimsy of the Feywild to fifth edition for the first time.

The recent Unearthed Arcana, Folk of the Feywild, contained the fairy, hobgoblin of the Feywild, owlfolk, and rabbitfolk. UA is usually a good preview of what's in upcoming D&D books.

Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons): Wizards RPG Team: 9780786967445: Books

Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons) [Wizards RPG Team] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons)

www.amazon.com

Curriculum of Chaos is an upcoming D&D release set in the Magic: The Gathering world of Strixhaven -- a brand new MtG set only just launched.

Strixhaven is a school of mages on the plane of Arcavios, an elite university with five rival colleges founded by dragons: Silverquill (eloquence), Prismari (elemental arts), Witherbloom (life and death), Lorehold (archaeomancy), and Quandrix (numeromancy). You can read more about the M:tG set here.

You will be able to tune into WotC's streamed event D&D Live on July 16 and 17 for details on both, including new character options, monsters, mechanics, story hooks, and more!

D&D 5E - Here Is The Full & Alternate Cover Art Of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Here is the cover art for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, the hardcover D&D product revealed this weekend. Cover art by Tyler Jacobson Alternate cover by Hydro74 https://www.enworld.org/threads/two-new-d-d-books-revealed-feywild-strixhaven-mage-school.680500/

www.enworld.org

D&D 5E - And Here Is Strixhaven's Cover Art!

It's not just The Wild Beyond The Witchlight's cover art being revealed today! We also have Magali Villeneuve's cover art for Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos! Strixhaven is an upcoming D&D setting based on the recently released Magic: the Gathering world, and features a mage school -- as Theros...

www.enworld.org

 

[FireLance]

The Hourglass Coven firsts makes me think of hags (because coven) but the hourglass is an interesting choice in name.

A coven that reveres Raistlin Majere! Dragonlance confirmed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Furthermore, the text saying “touches down on your world” might suggest that the adventure is not expressly/by default linked to or beginning in the Forgotten Realms

It says "A Feywild Adventure" on the cover. Not "A Forgotten Realms adventure that goes to the Feywild".

 

[Mind of tempest]

Remember, these are elemental motions. They are supposed to be simple.

• Fire: goes up
• Water: goes down
• Tree: expands outward, encompassing
• Metal: contracts inward, separating
• Soil: motionless

Complex motions combine various elements.

you are correct but I would use forest instead of tree as the connotations are a better translation and sound less nuts to westerners.

but earth/soil which is yellow never used in the same system as void/space/heaven and this needs to be noted also what type of stuff you would get from void would be difficult to do as I have heard of very little associated with it.
soil has a dragon at least.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not until recently (and even then, we don't have anything over CR 16), and Nintra Siotta is a pretty weak archfey. Up until Candlekeep Mysteries, the highest CR fey creature we had were the CR 10 Eladrin from Mordenkainen's.

There is a CR 12 fey in the Wildemount book.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The Hindu-Buddhist system uses both, a 6-element system.

you got decent descriptions for them as I am less familiar with the elemental systems of the sub-continent?

 

[Marandahir]

Remember, these are elemental motions. They are supposed to be simple.

• Fire: goes up
• Water: goes down
• Tree: expands outward, encompassing
• Metal: contracts inward, separating
• Soil: motionless

Complex motions combine various elements.

As I said, this is either an oversimplification of the motions trees go through on your part, or on the I-Ching's part. Which is fine - people look at things and only see the most surface level function (like a tree growing out). But a tree is by definition a complex system of motions and activities. It's hardly "elemental" once you understand how it works.

It should be noted that other systems (such as the PIE religious descendants) have conflated tree with lightning & thunder, while the I-Ching, to my knowledge, links lightning with Metal. All of these systems are observing just a piece of the puzzle of the mystery of life and the universe and everything. And that's fine; they're archaic systems. Science marches on.

you are correct but I would use forest instead of tree as the connotations are a better translation and sound less nuts to westerners.

but earth/soil which is yellow never used in the same system as void/space/heaven and this needs to be noted also what type of stuff you would get from void would be difficult to do as I have heard of very little associated with it.
soil has a dragon at least.

It's not that it sounds nuts so much as it's a bit lacking. Forests are also complex systems that grow and shrink to the needs of the environment, but I can't argue with the natural inclination of the life in a forest to expand outwards and colonize to the furthest extent that it can. When it colonises so fast that it consumes other lifeforms and environs to our or their detriments, we call that invasive species or a mismanaged or highly degraded forest environment.

SOMETIME soil has a Yellow Dragon. But equally as often I've seen the Qilin association with the Yellow Middle. Note that the Qilin (or Kirin) then also forms a triad with the Sea Dragon Kings (Sìhǎi Lóngwáng or Ryujin) and the Heavenly Birds (Fènghuáng or Ho-oh). Japan DOES have Koryu (and adaptation of the Yellow Dragon), but it's rarely referenced because they didn't generally use the I-Ching outside of the syncretic mysticism of the Onmyouji. Or so I understand, I'm probably oversimplifying things.

My points really are that we should not oversimplify things. Past editions' Wu Jen and Shugenja oversimplified and appropriated and caricatured to horrific effect. I didn't mind Wu Jen concepts in the Mystic, even if better suited for Druid, but I think trying to have Wu Jen for D&D nostalgia's sake was wrong then and is wrong now.

 

[AliasBot]

With the UA dropping soon enough, might as well take a shot at predicting what'll be in it:

• Circle of Patterns Druid. Could also see a Numeromancer Wizard, but Wizards in general already line up well with esoteric magical research (best Wizard subclass fits are Conjuration, Transmutation, and Graviturgy), and the archetypal "Green Mage" class doesn't really have any strong flavor fits for Quandrix, so a more quirky, analytical Druid subclass is my pick.
• College of Expression Bard. Flavorfully, Glamour Bards are a great fit for Prismari (and Creation Bards aren't too shabby either), but visually, the college leans on a very elemental flair that the baseline Bard doesn't pull off very well.
• Similarly, even though it's literally called the college of eloquence, the visual identity of Silverquill leans toward the sorts of effects that the Bard spell list isn't heavy on: shadow, light, and ink. So a College of Literature Bard with an Inkling familiar and inky magic wouldn't surprise me, though it's not as glaring a hole as the Prismari Bard.
• A Hedge Wizard, maybe? I remember seeing a discussion a little while back about the lack of a really flavorful "Witch" character option, and Witherbloom is very witchy, so taking a swing at another subclass to play in that space would make sense.
• Probably no Lorehold-themed subclass: I could see another "spirit-friendly" mage subclass (an Ancient Hero Warlock patron, perhaps?) or another attempt at a scroll-focused Artificer, but really, Lorehold's about as well-set on existing flavorful subclasses as you'd expect given that its main shtick (delving into ancient ruins and discovering their secrets) happens to be exactly what D&D is about. (I'd already started working on a "what subclasses fit well with each college?" list before the UA announcement, and Lorehold is not struggling for options.)
• I could also see a Dragon Warlock patron to represent the favor of one of the founders (Strixhaven Warlocks will likely have patrons more in the traditional sense than in the magical sense, barring the rare desperate Witherbloom making a deal with a Daemogoth, or a student having a strange encounter with an Archaic), or another magical martial subclass, but Ravnica's subclasses (both the 2 that made it in, and the 1-2 that didn't) were focused on ensuring each faction had a solid suite of flavorful options, and that seems like the most likely approach for Strixhaven as well.
• Maybe some non-subclass stuff? iirc, they usually split up class/subclass stuff from other material in UAs, but there's not a ton of time before Strixhaven needs to be locked in, so it's possible we also get some spells, feats/gifts, and/or lineages in the same batch (the UA's called "Mages of Strixhaven," so caster subclasses feel like a given). Lineages are pretty straightforward (the most common and/or prominent peoples of Arcavios that aren't already playable), but I don't have much idea about the rest beyond what already got mentioned above.

Predictions tl;dr: Quandrix Druid (math/patterns), Prismari Bard (elementalist), Witherbloom Wizard (witch), possibly some lineages (Kor, Dryad, Bearfolk, Owlfolk if WotC thinks they need another pass) and/or spells (more visually-focused Bard spells for Prismari and Silverquill, and probably some "math-flavored" spells for Quandrix).

 

[Marandahir]

With the UA dropping soon enough, might as well take a shot at predicting what'll be in it:

• Circle of Patterns Druid. Could also see a Numeromancer Wizard, but Wizards in general already line up well with esoteric magical research (best Wizard subclass fits are Conjuration, Transmutation, and Graviturgy), and the archetypal "Green Mage" class doesn't really have any strong flavor fits for Quandrix, so a more quirky, analytical Druid subclass is my pick.
• College of Expression Bard. Flavorfully, Glamour Bards are a great fit for Prismari (and Creation Bards aren't too shabby either), but visually, the college leans on a very elemental flair that the baseline Bard doesn't pull off very well.
• Similarly, even though it's literally called the college of eloquence, the visual identity of Silverquill leans toward the sorts of effects that the Bard spell list isn't heavy on: shadow, light, and ink. So a College of Literature Bard with an Inkling familiar and inky magic wouldn't surprise me, though it's not as glaring a hole as the Prismari Bard.
• A Hedge Wizard, maybe? I remember seeing a discussion a little while back about the lack of a really flavorful "Witch" character option, and Witherbloom is very witchy, so taking a swing at another subclass to play in that space would make sense.
• Probably no Lorehold-themed subclass: I could see another "spirit-friendly" mage subclass (an Ancient Hero Warlock patron, perhaps?) or another attempt at a scroll-focused Artificer, but really, Lorehold's about as well-set on existing flavorful subclasses as you'd expect given that its main shtick (delving into ancient ruins and discovering their secrets) happens to be exactly what D&D is about. (I'd already started working on a "what subclasses fit well with each college?" list before the UA announcement, and Lorehold is not struggling for options.)
• I could also see a Dragon Warlock patron to represent the favor of one of the founders (Strixhaven Warlocks will likely have patrons more in the traditional sense than in the magical sense, barring the rare desperate Witherbloom making a deal with a Daemogoth, or a student having a strange encounter with an Archaic), or another magical martial subclass, but Ravnica's subclasses (both the 2 that made it in, and the 1-2 that didn't) were focused on ensuring each faction had a solid suite of flavorful options, and that seems like the most likely approach for Strixhaven as well.
• Maybe some non-subclass stuff? iirc, they usually split up class/subclass stuff from other material in UAs, but there's not a ton of time before Strixhaven needs to be locked in, so it's possible we also get some spells, feats/gifts, and/or lineages in the same batch (the UA's called "Mages of Strixhaven," so caster subclasses feel like a given). Lineages are pretty straightforward (the most common and/or prominent peoples of Arcavios that aren't already playable), but I don't have much idea about the rest beyond what already got mentioned above.

Predictions tl;dr: Quandrix Druid (math/patterns), Prismari Bard (elementalist), Witherbloom Wizard (witch), possibly some lineages (Kor, Dryad, Bearfolk, Owlfolk if WotC thinks they need another pass) and/or spells (more visually-focused Bard spells for Prismari and Silverquill, and probably some "math-flavored" spells for Quandrix).

I definitely think we need a fine arts Bard in Strixhaven. Bards should encompass all of the arts that can inspire, and can you imagine a Bard that summons creatures by painting or calligraphing them into existence? What about a Bard that paints your wounds shut with their magic paintbrush (I mean wand)? College of Creation is okay for sculpting arts Bard (and Artificers lean even more into that Crafting space) but a painter/inker/drawer still has room and I think it's a Bard idea.

The old 3e Prestige Class Geometer on the other hand could be either an Arcane Tradition or a Druid Circle.

 

[Mind of tempest]

As I said, this is either an oversimplification of the motions trees go through on your part, or on the I-Ching's part. Which is fine - people look at things and only see the most surface level function (like a tree growing out). But a tree is by definition a complex system of motions and activities. It's hardly "elemental" once you understand how it works.

It should be noted that other systems (such as the PIE religious descendants) have conflated tree with lightning & thunder, while the I-Ching, to my knowledge, links lightning with Metal. All of these systems are observing just a piece of the puzzle of the mystery of life and the universe and everything. And that's fine; they're archaic systems. Science marches on.



It's not that it sounds nuts so much as it's a bit lacking. Forests are also complex systems that grow and shrink to the needs of the environment, but I can't argue with the natural inclination of the life in a forest to expand outwards and colonize to the furthest extent that it can. When it colonises so fast that it consumes other lifeforms and environs to our or their detriments, we call that invasive species or a mismanaged or highly degraded forest environment.

SOMETIME soil has a Yellow Dragon. But equally as often I've seen the Qilin association with the Yellow Middle. Note that the Qilin (or Kirin) then also forms a triad with the Sea Dragon Kings (Sìhǎi Lóngwáng or Ryujin) and the Heavenly Birds (Fènghuáng or Ho-oh). Japan DOES have Koryu (and adaptation of the Yellow Dragon), but it's rarely referenced because they didn't generally use the I-Ching outside of the syncretic mysticism of the Onmyouji. Or so I understand, I'm probably oversimplifying things.

My points really are that we should not oversimplify things. Past editions' Wu Jen and Shugenja oversimplified and appropriated and caricatured to horrific effect. I didn't mind Wu Jen concepts in the Mystic, even if better suited for Druid, but I think trying to have Wu Jen for D&D nostalgia's sake was wrong then and is wrong now.

it is an oversimplification as the book is from what the bronze age or something, look life and air both do one thing super well which is spread to fill the available area super fast and both are far more compressible than water or stone.
also, life and air will spread in the largest amount of directions being six of the 8 know possible directions.

lightning light and metal, which would be more or less the powers of electromagnetism today.

beast embodiment might have to do with dynasty or nation china had the yellow dragon as the symbol of the emperor as well.
the quilin has also been the beast of metal along with the tiger, we can remove all nuance but we would have to pick definitions out of blunt necessity, void, heaven, nirvana could do well with cold as Buddhists speak of it as the absence of passion or the blowing out of the fire so that could work.

honestly, the druid is more or less invented these days out of whole cloth as old European animism is mostly forgotten, plus Wu Jen and Shugenja using internal energy fits in with both our ideas of psionics and monks so liking them seem natural to me.

also, wu jen is apparently not even the right word if memory serves its function.

 

[Marandahir]

it is an oversimplification as the book is from what the bronze age or something, look life and air both do one thing super well which is spread to fill the available area super fast and both are far more compressible than water or stone.
also, life and air will spread in the largest amount of directions being six of the 8 know possible directions.

lightning light and metal, which would be more or less the powers of electromagnetism today.

beast embodiment might have to do with dynasty or nation china had the yellow dragon as the symbol of the emperor as well.
the quilin has also been the beast of metal along with the tiger, we can remove all nuance but we would have to pick definitions out of blunt necessity, void, heaven, nirvana could do well with cold as Buddhists speak of it as the absence of passion or the blowing out of the fire so that could work.

honestly, the druid is more or less invented these days out of whole cloth as old European animism is mostly forgotten, plus Wu Jen and Shugenja using internal energy fits in with both our ideas of psionics and monks so liking them seem natural to me.

also, wu jen is apparently not even the right word if memory serves its function.

Oh I mostly agree with the above. The eight directions of course is one way to cut that pie (and we see elements emerge then like Lake and Mountain as opposed to Flat soil and Salt Water); and of course other systems that were in continuity of thought had as many as 11 elements/directions - 8 on the compass rose, plus up (zenith), down (nadir), and center (balance/void/breath/Shiva).

There's a lot of different yet similar schools of thought, even within the same cultural community.