D&D 5E What previous-edition D&D settings, races, classes, items, weapons and so on do you think we'll never see in 5E?

[Paul Farquhar]

WotC actually got in crap by a few folks over how they handled Chult, although it was more that the Chultans lacked cultural depth,

And very justified it was too, since it failed to suggest the Chultans where anything other than 100% welcoming of colonists from pseudo-Europe.

 

[gyor]

Fairly ridiculous though. Al Qadim is not meant to be an accurate reflection of the real Middle East. It is the Middle East as filtered through 1001 Arabian Nights* and Western entertainment. (It even states this in the Arabian Adventures book). No one's hiring proper Medievalists to write about the Sword Coast, I don't see why you need to do so to write about the other regions).

* Let's not forget the original Aladdin story was a semi-autobiographical piece written by a Christian Arab about his journey to Paris.

Also I wouldn't say the Swordcoast is mideval, more renassiance.

 

[Ancalagon]

i don’t think it is needed to write about a fictional place. But if you are writing a setting similar you may just want their knowledge to make it feel more similar if that is your goal.

i would often read how there are no surviving knowledge of certain aspects of Celtic history and culture. And then it turned out there were libraries and scholar in Wales with whole histories and epic powers not really known outside wales. So yeah consulting a local scholar could be helpful.

Scholars with epic powers? Tell us more!

 

[gyor]

And very justified it was too, since it failed to suggest the Chultans where anything other than 100% welcoming of colonists from pseudo-Europe.

If you understand Chultan History, they ARE the Colonists, Faerun is Fantasy Europe, but bigger with more diverse ecosystems and massive immigration because of magic.

The Chultans come from Katashaka which is to the south of Maztica, which is the Forgotten Realms fantasy Africa. They immigrated after getting an invition from Ubtao, which they converted too (originally they worshipped Katashaka Gods).

The Mulan, Shou, and Calashites also aren't originally from Faerun either. Of all the none white populations only the Dupari and Turmish are native to Faerun.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Just because one group of people are originally colonists it doesn't mean they are going to welcome other waves of colonization. You only have to look at the real world to see that!

 

[Coroc]

I would kill to see a 5E conversion of the Hyskosa Hexad.

It is pretty easy to do, but a lot of work. The 2e Ravenloft adventures have so much background that it sometimes felt to me like I was reading an hour just for a description of some scenery for the players (e.g. all the statues on the temple roof in Har'Akir)

 

[gyor]

Just because one group of people are originally colonists it doesn't mean they are going to welcome other waves of colonization. You only have to look at the real world to see that!

The Chultans seem welcoming to economic immigrants that don't try and take over. Economic immigrants tend to be far more popular then say refugees sadly in RL too.

 

[dave2008]

These races might come back in a similar way to the tortle as one of those small charity PDFs. I find that the most likely way for them to return.

I must admit I wasn't expecting to see a tortle race, so I guess I think anything is possible at this point.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm curious as to you saying that they didn't really "make use of it over the years". Dragonlance has had material produced almost continuously from the 80s to the early 2000s. The Known World/Mystara stretches 1981-1995. Outside of Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms they are probably the two longest-lasting settings. Dragonlance from 1st edition, to 2nd and to the end of 3rd; Mystara from Basic D&D to 2nd edition AD&D. It outlasted Spelljammer and (almost) Planescape.

Almost everything you mention here is from the TSR era. WotC haven't made much if any use of either the Mystara IP or the DL IP, which leads me to speculate that there's some barrier - however small - to their doing so; because it just doesn't make sense to let IP go to waste.

 

[Beleriphon]

Races:

Bariaur - RIP extremely-sexually-dimorphic goat people. You were too beautiful for this world. Or possibly too hairy.

Daeva - I'm kind of still surprised they didn't just convert Aasimar into these and go with it, but, they didn't, and this wacky, awesome race is probably gone forever or until I bother to put one together on D&D Beyond.

For bariaur I can see them being a new player facing race in a potential Planar Handbook type of book.