[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!)

​

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.”

​

 

[justinj3x3]

The best post-1e Greyhawk support was in 3e... in Dungeon Magazine.

Which is pretty sad, especially since it wasn't even WotC producing it at the time. (Sad that there wasn't more actual GH stuff published, not that the Dungeon stuff was sad- it was, almost entirely, excellent!)

Seriously. If it wasn't for Mona and Dungeon Magazine Greyhawk would have been a pitiful default setting. Well it was still a pitiful default setting because of the lack of support, but Mona did his part for the Greyhawk fans.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

Well, it's different in that Pathfinder has built Golarion as its only setting since day one- since BEFORE day one, actually! Of course nobody is clamoring at Paizo to release stuff set in its other settings; to the best of my knowledge, they don't have any. (And if they do, well, then obviously they've set something there, since otherwise it wouldn't exist.)

Why then is it a problem that WotC keeps to one setting? Does the existence of Birthright, Mystara, Dark Sun, etc. mean, that we shouldn't be satisfied before at least one AP has been set in each of them?

 

[Agamon]

I realize that there are practical reasons that WotC is mostly sticking to the FR, but it doesn't make me happy.

The thing is, it doesn't really get much more generic than FR. FR is pretty much default D&D. Unfortunately, they can't make everyone 100% happy, but it doesn't get much easier or user-friendly than this. And it still lets them make money off the IP.

 

[Mercule]

Almost assuredly not going to happen, at least for the big transmedia storylines. No other setting has anywhere close to the presence of the Realms in the video game D&D universe.

That doesn't mean we can't have adventures that aren't FR, just that the big adventures that are tied to other products probably will be FR for a while. Maybe in a few years, if this relaunch of the brand works out and they want to expand the IP.

Agreed. I really don't care about the video games, though, except as they lock in the TTRPG stories. I've generally been unimpressed by the D&D branded video games. They don't suck, but they don't really grab me, either. It's entirely possible, though, that's just because they're all set in FR and I'm hopelessly biased, regardless of how much I try to not be.

The hope I was addressing is that the TTRPG consumers might be getting fatigued by the Realms as the focus of the TTRPG.

Who cares if it's set in FR? Port it to wherever you want. Easy peezy.

That worked for Phandelver and PotA. Not so much for ToD. If the Realms was really transparent and easy to exorcise, it's just like the implied Greyhawk in 1E, and I agree with you in principle. So far, it seems like Richard Baker is the only author who can do that well and most of the talk from WotC implies that to be the exception to the rule.

I care. They say vote with your dollars. So I'm voting by not buying.

I'm not quite there, yet. Given the choice between the D&D brand becoming synonymous with the Forgotten Realms or it dying entirely, I'll choose the latter. I've said before that I don't mind the Realms in that they help pay for the rest of D&D, whether that's home brew or another published setting. If non-Realms table-top D&D becomes the exception, that's the tail wagging the dog. Likewise, my only interest in D&D branded video games, books, movies, etc. is if they drive more people towards the TTRPG. Sure, it'd be nice if those were fun for me, too. Really, though, there are enough "brands" in those spaces that my needs are already met.

Almost everything the current "Brand Manager" has been saying is a big turn-off. Unless he can tell me how it helps me with my decidedly non-Realms table-top game, he isn't discussing a product I give a rat's hind-end about. He may as well be discussing applying the D&D "brand" to feminine hygiene products for all the relevance it has.

Note that even having a Realms-heavy catalog wouldn't be that big of an issue if I had any clue when I could expect to see support for something else. It's the exclusivity that chafes. Even an announcement of "We're doing a one-and-done release for Spelljammer in 2017," (to pick something I wouldn't buy) would be less annoying than the "What is this 'D&D' of which you speak? We're only doing Forgotten Realms, right now."

 

[Dire Bare]

I would like it if each adventure was set in a generic fantasy environment easily inserted into any given milieu . . . <snip>

Like, the, ah, Forgotten Realms?!?!

If you can't see the Realms for what it is, a generic fantasy setting that is easily ported to similar generic fantasy settings . . . I can't help you!

Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Mystara . . . all have their own slight variances and flavors, but are all very generic high fantasy settings. Dragonlance could probably be included in that list as well, although it does stand out from the pack a bit. WotC could wisely choose ANY of those to use for their RPG releases, but choose the Realms because it has proven to be the most popular setting with the fans . . . they'd be crazy NOT to use the Realms, IMO!

Dark Sun, Birthright, Eberron are all a bit more varied and stray from the "core" D&D idea to various degrees and don't make sense for core releases. They are all awesome settings, but it doesn't really make sense to use them in place of the Realms when you are rebooting the RPG. Perhaps down the road a Dark Sun AP would be a good idea, but not now.

 

[justinj3x3]

It's like you are ignoring the facts in your own post in order to make a point.

WotC did try to put Greyhawk forward as THE core D&D setting at the beginning of 3rd edition, as a part of the first nostalgia wave of design and marketing. It didn't work out. By the end of the 3rd edition line, Greyhawk really wasn't the default setting anymore, as many of the RPG products and novels were set in Generistan rather than Oerth. Greyhawk doesn't sell. Sorry.

WotC pushes the Forgotten Realms for one simple reason . . . IT SELLS! It is the most popular and beloved D&D setting despite the constant negativity and whining of the "FR-haters" who just can't accept that their own favorite setting isn't also the most popular. Get over it.

If you don't care for the Realms, fine. If you have another setting you prefer, fine. Just stop the constant whining that WotC has ONCE AGAIN (oh noes) used the Realms as the setting for a new product. Jeesh!

Dude why are you always so aggresive towards people who voice complaints? They have a right to. And your point about Greyhawk not working out isn't the best point since they didn't support Greyhawk for it TO work out. Just saying Greyhawk is core and anything in the core books is Greyhawk is not supporting the campaign setting. They simply made the core generic rather than Greyhawk specific (besides a few nods here and there).

If you don't like the whining then don't read forums... or the internet for that matter. Otherwise stop whining about the whining.

 

[Wicht]

Would I be showing my age if I said that I always think of Mystara as the default Dungeons and Dragons setting.

 

[Goemoe]

How much hate could a hater hate if hater hated hate?

A hate hater could hate any amount of hate, since a hate hater hates haters who hate.

Not much interested in another realms book, even though it might even fit to Eberron as the last book offered much useful help to integrate princes into your Eberron campaign. But as this could well be the last book this year perhaps it is the last for the realms for some time as well.

We'll see. Drizzt should stay in his novels, I don't like the idea of getting him out and around. But after all, my players don't even know him, so no damage done. Breath! Yes, they don't know him. No hate intended and I don't hate haters who hate haters just to hate. Promised!

 

[HonorBoundSamurai632]

Both true and depressing. I've been wanting more Greyhawk material since first buying the old yellow and red campaign setting box way back when, and its been a long, dry wait... When 3e was first published, and they had the little Greyhawk folio they released, I thought - "this is it, they're going to rerelease Greyhawk!" and then... well... nothing...

I'm a huge Greyhawk fan. The first time I rolled dice, I was 11 and my future brother-in-law and his friends let me join their table that was going through the original Temple of Elemental Evil. I was hooked, is an understatement!! But my complaint isn't just no Greyhawk. The core books say that the "default" setting for this edition is the D&D Multi-verse. Yet we do not have any support for that, and haven't for almost 15 years. It would be nice if they would just give us something along those lines or at least not be so secretive and say .... "be patient, it's all coming ...... or nope, because of past failures (from us and TSR) we will only work with The Realms because it's the only one that makes money, since it's the only one we ever put out on the market and advertise. We just don't want to take a chance on anything else. So we are just going to sit on the other settings and not let you have updates to them, unless you do it yourself. If not ... well, too bad for you."

At least then I'd know to stop wasting my time, or have some patience because the multi-verse is indeed coming back.

 

[Agamon]

Would I be showing my age if I said that I always think of Mystara as the default Dungeons and Dragons setting.

It wasn't called Mystara until the 90's, so no, you're just a young pup.