Two New Settings For D&D This Year

if it comes out this year i would agree with you. Possibly published by a third party company that has a good reputation (Green Ronin etc)

However if it’s coming next year I would stake all the money in my pockets that it will be a Curse of Strahd style book. Campaign with background and new monsters etc. Curse of Strahd was too successful not to repeat!

 

[gyor]

Yeah, that is a primal and fundamental disagreement we're never going to get past, because I see little value in arbitrarily restricting options based on that designers interpretation of the theme, tone or mood.

Moreover, I (perhaps unfairly) hold WotC to a different standard than you, or me, or even other companies like Necromancer or Green Ronin, because they get to use the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (TM) name on their product. The fact they can put the D&D name on their cover and you can't holds them to a higher level of compatibility with the main game. They need to make a setting work for new players, players who might never own any other book than the PHB but want to play in AL, casual players who just watched Critical Role, and a slew of other non-hardcore players that don't match the tastes of you or I. The easiest way to do so it to only remove things when absolutely necessary.

Only dedicated hobbiests are going to hear about The Lost Citadel (I hadn't until you just mentioned it) so have hardcore dedicated players who love to tinker and decide if X fits in it or not is fine, but WotC isn't going to market Dark Sun to the same audience, they are going to market it to Tommy Newplayer and Gina Streamer, and those two aren't going to be happy finding out half their PHB is incompatible with their shiny new $50 campaign setting book. If you want a Dark Sun that matches the customized ruleset that Lost Citadel, then you have to expect it well sell to the same dedicated hobbiests and the same lower sales numbers. And considering WotC just topped several nonfiction best-seller charts with MToF, I'm guessing they are willing to cede the small pool of dedicated craft hobbiests for the larger market of casuals...

So the question is really, will WotC be willing to accept smaller sale numbers in order to cater to more niche markets, or will they opt to cast the widest net possible even if it means diluting the settings to fit elven paladins in it? I'm guessing the latter. Whether that's good or bad we'll agree to disagree.

I think they will be willing to dip their toe in niche markets, enough so that people will at least have the essentials of what they need, but unless they are more profitable then expected, they leave the rest to DMSGUILD.

 

[Remathilis]

I think they will be willing to dip their toe in niche markets, enough so that people will at least have the essentials of what they need, but unless they are more profitable then expected, they leave the rest to DMSGUILD.

What I generally expect is some combination:

* A brief overview of said world from a micro-cosmic scale; detailing a single region or adventure setting with enough detail to run in said area.
* A quick guide to using the main PHB options in said setting. ("In Krynn, monks are...)
* Any must have PC options to run the setting (kender, warforged, psionics, artificer) or at least what/where to find them ("you can use the goliath stats found in Volo's Guide...")
* A few important monsters (draconians) important to the setting.
* Possibly a mini adventure of 1-3 levels either as a taster or as part of some larger multiverse spanning adventure.
* DM's Guild support to cover regions, options, and monsters not touched by the main product.

The actual product could take many forms: a mega-adventure that touches multiple worlds, a series of PDFs akin to the MTG: Plane Shift articles, a SoinSo's Guide to the Multiverse supplement, or some combination thereover. What I don't see is a product with enough detail to go introducing complex mechanical changes beyond new player options or DM goodies nor any intricate re-writing the mechanics already in the game. Something easy enough an AL player can sit down with just the PHB and make a serviceable PC with after the concept of the world has been explained to them. They will make whatever product piggyback off the PHB and allow a group to start playing in that world needing nothing more than whatever supplement it is and the Core Three. The DM's Guild will have to pick up the slack to make the complex mechanics and detailed fluff needed to jive these simpler taste-of versions work with the established lore, as they did with Curse of Strahd and Ravenloft.

Of course, I could be all wrong about this: They could literally be putting out the Five Nations Adventurer's Guide (which goes into Eberron in depth), the Athasian Player's Guide (which has altered versions of many races and classes) and Tasselhoff's Guide to Dragons (which discusses the various monsters of Krynn, including 100 stat blocks of Krynnish monsters and foes). But I doubt it. We'll find out in July.

 

[Jester David]

I think they will be willing to dip their toe in niche markets, enough so that people will at least have the essentials of what they need, but unless they are more profitable then expected, they leave the rest to DMSGUILD.

I imagine most of it is going to be handled via the Guild.
I expect introductions and then a focus on getting past edition products released for Print on Demand.

 

[Mercurius]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

 

[Mercurius]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

 

[Parmandur]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

Stewart said there was a product, specifically, coming, and Mearls did retweet the story in this original post in a teasing manner. They have dropped hints several times if a fourth gaming product this year previously, as well. I think the next couple of UA articles, which are properly timed for testing before a late December release, might reveal a bit of their plans.

 

[kenmarable]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

I am 90+% sure it will be PDF products like the Planeshift stuff with possibly a print on demand option. Every comment by Stewart has specifically avoided calling the “surprises” anything like ‘books’ or ‘hardcovers’, plus he has been saying there will be some exciting new things with DMs Guild this year.

I would be extremely surprised if they are another hardcover(s).

 

[gyor]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

This is absolutely possible so I am waiting with no expectations, only curiousity.

 

[Jester David]

Is there any reason to believe this surprise is anything more than WotC saying “We’re unlocking X and Y settings - have at it” and maybe a couple PDF guides?

I mean, I love the idea of setting books but it seems people are jumping the gun and potentially dooming themselves to nerdrage disappointment.

Now I’m not saying we won’t see a setting book, just that it seems a lot of folks are reading a lot into some relatively innocuous comments.

There’s pretty much nothing solid. Case and point:

Stewart said there was a product, specifically, coming, and Mearls did retweet the story in this original post in a teasing manner. They have dropped hints several times if a fourth gaming product this year previously, as well. I think the next couple of UA articles, which are properly timed for testing before a late December release, might reveal a bit of their plans.

The thing is... PDF is still a product. They still need to write it, edit it, commission art, and put it through layout. From their end, it’d pretty much just the same amount of work.
They’ve never said “book”. Or if it will be available in stores.

It seems unlikely they’re doing three more books. Even small softcovers. Especially when the two coming out this summer—before Dragon Heist— aren’t available for preorder on Amazon.

 

[Parmandur]

There’s pretty much nothing solid. Case and point:


The thing is... PDF is still a product. They still need to write it, edit it, commission art, and put it through layout. From their end, it’d pretty much just the same amount of work.
They’ve never said “book”. Or if it will be available in stores.

It seems unlikely they’re doing three more books. Even small softcovers. Especially when the two coming out this summer—before Dragon Heist— aren’t available for preorder on Amazon.

My impression from the original article and the author's comments on Reddit was that the two "summer products" mentioned were Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage, as the reported conversation took place before the AP product reveals. If he meant something more, I would suppose it meant something UA related, in terms of final testing for whatever the final product is (book, boxed set, PDF, smoke signal: God alone knows).

There does seem to be something cooking, and the WotC seem extraordinarily pleased with it, even given their usual enthusiasm. I don't doubt neogod when he says it will be a surprise, whether he knows anything or not.