[UPDATED] RAGE OF DEMONS! New D&D Storyline Features Drizzt, Underdark, & Demon Lords!

Following Elemental Evil this fall, Rage of Demons will launch a new storyline featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, the Underdark, and various demon lords from the Abyss including old favourites like Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt. This will feature on tabletop, console, and PC. "The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface." It begins with the adventure Out of the Abyss, which releases on September 15th for $49.95, and is being designed for WotC by Green Ronin Publishing. (Thanks to Charles Akins for that last scoop!)

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Drizzt? WotC's Chris Perkins says: "Drizzt's role in the RoD story varies depending on the platform. In the TRPG adventure, the PCs are the stars."

Inspiration: "My inspirations for RAGE OF DEMONS were Lewis Carroll's Wonderland stories and EXILE, by R.A. Salvatore." [Perkins] So this is the Alice in Wonderland inspired story that's been previously alluded to.

Here's the full announcement.

"Today, Wizards of the Coast announced Rage of Demons, the new storyline for Dungeons & Dragons fans coming in Fall 2015. The demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface. Rage of Demons is the story all D&D gamers will be excited to play this fall, whether they prefer consoles, PCs or rolling dice with friends.

Following on the critically-acclaimed Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil stories, Rage of Demons will transport characters to the deadly and insane underworld. Rumors of powerful demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus and Graz’zt terrorizing the denizens of the Underdark have begun to filter up to the cities of the Sword Coast. The already dangerous caverns below the surface are thrown into ultimate chaos, madness and discord. The renegade drow Drizzt Do’Urden is sent to investigate but it will be up to you to aid in his fight against the demons before he succumbs to his darker temptations.

Dungeons & Dragons fans will have more options than ever to enjoy the Rage of Demons storyline. The themes of treachery and discord in the Underdark are in Sword Coast Legends, the new CRPG (computer role-playing game) coming this fall on PC from n-Space and Digital Extremes. The epic campaign that drives Sword Coast Legends' story forces players deep into the Underdark and continues well after launch with legendary adventurer Drizzt Do'Urden.

For fans of Neverwinter, the popular Dungeons & Dragons-based MMORPG will bring a new expansion – tentatively titled Neverwinter: Underdark – in 2015. The update will see adventurers travel with Drizzt to the drow city of Menzoberranzan during its demonic assault as well as experience a unique set of quests written by the creator of Drizzt, R.A. Salvatore. The expansion will initially be released on PC and will come out on the Xbox One at a later date.

Players of the tabletop roleplaying game can descend into the Underdark in Out of the Abyss, a new adventure which provides details on the demon lords rampaging through the Underdark. Partners such as WizKids, GaleForce 9 and Smiteworks will all support Rage of Demons with new products to help bring your tabletop game to life. To really get in the mind of Drizzt, fans will have to check out Archmage, the new novel by R.A. Salvatore, scheduled for release in early September.

“Rage of Demons is a huge storyline involving all expressions of Dungeons & Dragons, and we’re excited to bring players this story in concert with all of our partners,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director at Wizards of the Coast. “I can’t wait to see everyone interact with one of the world’s most recognizable fantasy characters: Drizzt Do’Urden. Descending into the depths won’t exactly be easy for him, and D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face-to-face with all the demon lords.”

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[Staffan]

This is the update for the FR campaign setting for 2e.
View attachment 68244
It was released in 1993, four years after the release of the 2e core rulebooks. Dragonlance was released the year before and Dark Sun premiered in 1991, a full two years after the core rulebooks.

While I appreciate the points made in your post, the 1e to 2e change is a bit different than most later edition changes, for two reasons:

1. The rules didn't really change all that much. 1e stuff was like 95% compatible with 2e - particularly something like the 1e FRCS which wasn't all that rules-heavy to begin with.

2. They did release an update book for FR very early in 2e's run, named Forgotten Realms Adventures. It had some pages on what had changed, some rules on wild and dead magic areas, a bunch of stuff about specialty priests for FR (nowhere near as broken as the ones that came later in Faiths & Avatars), and 2-page descriptions of many of the cities of the Heartlands.

Given that they have talked a lot about this "Sundering" that's supposed to revert a lot of the changes to the Realms, much of the most recent FR stuff has been invalidated, so some kind of setting book wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Shasarak]

The funny thing about all the Drizz't hate? In all my time playing, I have never once had an issue with someone wanting to play a drow TWF ranger - its never come up before. I've seen people accuse me of doing it once when I wanted to play a wood elf ranger before (which I thought was odd, since its kind of iconic for wood elves). I've seen accusations flying over playing drow in general, even though we're talking about assassins or warlocks.

Its like people want to fight over Drizz't, even when his clone doesn't come up in play.

I have a player with a "Drizzt" clone in my current game - even down to the character picture (except he is a normal Elf) - and it is great. The character kicks so much ass that we do not even need to take names now.

 

[Dire Bare]

The ignore function is there to tune out the constant, never ending, never changing, always repeating drone. If new arguments were being brought up, or even if new ideas were forthcoming, I'd not bother. I disagree with lots of people. It's only when I can 99% predict what someone is going to post, and that post will virtually always be negative, that I stick people in the ignore box. I'll engage with anyone. But, after a certain point, it's just not worth my time anymore.

Yup.

I don't "ignore" folks who's opinions differ from my own. I "ignore" folks who are incessantly negative and really don't bring anything useful or positive to the discussion. It does wonders for my blood pressure!

 

[Jester David]

While I appreciate the points made in your post, the 1e to 2e change is a bit different than most later edition changes, for two reasons:

1. The rules didn't really change all that much. 1e stuff was like 95% compatible with 2e - particularly something like the 1e FRCS which wasn't all that rules-heavy to begin with.

Almost no settings really need rules updates beyond a couple races. 98% of a setting is effectively edition neutral. You don't buy a campaign setting for new rules and character options, you buy it for the nations, characters, factions, culture, history, plotlines, etc.
There are some exceptions (Dark Sun with defiling and its wealth of unique monsters) but for the most part you can run Greyhawk or Mystara or Dragonlance with 1e or 2e products.

2. They did release an update book for FR very early in 2e's run, named Forgotten Realms Adventures. It had some pages on what had changed, some rules on wild and dead magic areas, a bunch of stuff about specialty priests for FR (nowhere near as broken as the ones that came later in Faiths & Avatars), and 2-page descriptions of many of the cities of the Heartlands.

I totally forgot about that book. Mostly because it followed Dragonlance Adventures and Greyhawk Adventures as a setting hardcover. It felt like it belonged to that same series but wasn't finished prior to the 1e -> 2e edition transition.
That said, that book was also released in 1990, a year after the 2e core rulebooks. So it continues to follow the pattern of setting books some time after the rulebooks.

Given that they have talked a lot about this "Sundering" that's supposed to revert a lot of the changes to the Realms, much of the most recent FR stuff has been invalidated, so some kind of setting book wouldn't go amiss.

And I'm am very, very confident we'll see some kind of setting book in the not too distant future. The world has changed and even fans with old material do need a sourcebook for the modern Realms. However, it's not like WotC could have gotten their staff to write it in the evenings and weekends and/or added an extra day to the week to have it ready for release right now.
So some patience is required for them to write the 250,000 words of a 320-page campaign setting product.

Comparison time. Ever hear of National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo)? Where you write a short novel in just 30 days? It's not easy and at that rate the product is seldom quality. That's only a 50,000 word novel. At that breakneck rate of writing, it would still take five months to write a campaign setting. Even with a couple people sharing the load it's two-and-a-half months. Plus it needs to be edited, the changes to the setting need to be considered and planned. And the book needs to be laid out, art needs to be added, and more.

Given how unpopular the changes for the 4th Edition Realms were, people should be happy they're taking their time and not rushing through the creation of the campaign guide to crank it out in six months. Even getting it out for GenCon (late August) would be a somewhat rush job. I'd rather a good book than a quick book.

 

[Kramodlog]

So, do you like it?

Heh. If you actually did care about my likes and dislikes, and not the spectacle you are desperately trying to create, you would have PMed me when the mods put a stop to your little number in that last thread. Your obsession with me has taken over your posting once again.

Look, it isn't that I'm not flattered. It is just that this, whatever you are trying to do, isn't my thing. No hard feelings. Really. Nothing is hard on my side of the web. Let it be, dude.

 

[Celtavian]

As one of the people, they don't, currently, have my monetary support. I didn't purchase a single 4e book and have not purchased a single 5e book. It does not mean that I don't like to talk about the game. I will discuss what I feel an edition does right, what it does wrong, and what they can do if they want my money. I will also help people like in my post above and look for ideas to steal for my 3e game.
Hell, for 3e, I owned the 3.0 core books from the beginning and participated in discussions, but only ran it for one session until Unearthed Arcana was released. The kernel of interest was always there, but WOTCs supporting material were turn-offs and not addressing my issues (e.g., the design of the cleric). It was UA along with Green Ronin's Shaman's Handbook, Psychic's Handbook, and Witch's Handbook that made me want to run 3e. 5e is in a similar position to that of 3e for me (except that i am not purchasing the core books).

Why do you post this as though it means something? If you're not supporting WotC monetarily, they have zero reason to listen to you. WotC knows there will always be a segment of the player base that doesn't like what they do and won't spend money on their game. You proclaiming you don't won't make them change at all. It seems like grandstanding by someone that thinks their tastes matter more than others. How could you have an opinion on an edition you don't play? I at least bought 4E and played it before I decided I didn't like it and what I didn't like about it. Just seems an unnecessary statement about your preferences. You don't support the game and it's hard to take the opinion of someone that doesn't at least try the game as valid. You posting on a thread about a book you'll never buy seems strange. Oh well, to each his own I guess. Everyone has different levels of self-importance.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Heh. If you actually did care about my likes and dislikes, and not the spectacle you are desperately trying to create, you would have PMed me when the mods put a stop to your little number in that last thread. Your obsession with me has taken over your posting once again.

Look, it isn't that I'm not flattered. It is just that this, whatever you are trying to do, isn't my thing. No hard feelings. Really. Nothing is hard on my side of the web. Let it be, dude.

Could you still answer the question? I myself would like to know your opinion.

 

[darjr]

Pramas says that the players can encounter Drizzt but the PCs are the hero's.

You can encounter Drizzt but he's not an integral part of the adventure. The PCs are the heroes of Out of the Abyss. 

https://plus.google.com/u/0/103429477748751205104/posts/NYd3o154Nnc


Oh and Green Ronin did it? Consider it bought.

 

[Hussar]

Pramas says that the players can encounter Drizzt but the PCs are the hero's.


https://plus.google.com/u/0/103429477748751205104/posts/NYd3o154Nnc


Oh and Green Ronin did it? Consider it bought.

So, what? A day after the official announcement, it's now known that Drizz't isn't an integral part of the module. I think i'll stand by my call for people to show just a smidgeon of patience.

I wonder how many will now stop threadcrapping every single thread about the module to repeat that they hate Drizz't. Or, if we'll now spend the next six months seeing endless threadcrapping with everyone else being forced to endlessly repeat that the threadcrapper is factually wrong. Oh, the joys.

 

[Kramodlog]

Could you still answer the question? I myself would like to know your opinion.

Life if full of disappointements.