D&D (2024) What Should A New Core Setting Look Like?

[Reynard]

This is a thread about what you think would be good for the game and popular with the player base. this is not a thread about what you, specifically, would like. I mean, answer how you want, I'm not the cops, but keep the subject in mind.

That Said: Let's assume WotC is going to create an entirely new setting for D&D with the 2024 edition. Maybe it will be the setting in the DMG, or maybe it will come out a year later. in either case, what should that setting look like in order to lift up the game and appeal to the majority of fans -- who, while certainly are going to have a lot of different tastes, we do know that fanbase is mostly GenZ and Millenial, half women, and significantly more diverse than previous cohorts.

I think they could do a lot worse than leaning into anime and JRPG aesthetics and setting tropes, giving this hypothetical new world a more Zelda feel than traditional D&D has had.

What do you think?

 

[payn]

It would be a huge mistake. Just add to the ever rising pile of settings splitting the D&D fan base.Time would be better spent on adventures to appeal to the players.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think they could do a lot worse than leaning into anime and JRPG aesthetics and setting tropes, giving this hypothetical new world a more Zelda feel than traditional D&D has had.

Yeah to some extent.

I think the idea positioning for a novel D&D setting is between Delicious in Dungeon and Elden Rings. Like right smack in-between them, so you can lean either way.

I think the lessons of 4E's Nentir Vale generally still apply. It's basic "points of light" concept was 100% the right way to baseline design a D&D setting. You do want points of light as the thematic basis. Rather than the more built-up worlds D&D tends to be set in.

So like bullet points for what I'd suggest:

1) Aesthetic and themes between Delicious in Dungeon and Elden Rings - and for people who don't know it, this also positions not a million miles from "trad D&D", but also quite close to very modern conceptions. It's a remarkably good position imho.

2) Points of light as the basic concept.

3) Make sure there are some organised "evil forces" to fight, probably, none of which are based on a single humanoid race being evil.

4) Focus on a smaller number of PC species than the max, but allow the others to exist. I wouldn't say prioritize the old-school D&D races either - if elves were rare and from an off-map location that might be fine.

5) The map should not be absolutely huge continent-sized, but smaller, as per the Nentir Vale, and contain a ton of good features.

6) Go for an Eberron-style approach to religion - i.e. multiple competing conceptions of religion, no-one knows if any or all of them are "true"

7) Work in multiple layers of previous civilization, and provide these to the DMs as ways they could theme dungeons/ruins etc.

Uhhh I guess I did numbers not bullet points because I haven't had enough coffee today. Sigh human brains, can't live with 'em...

 

[Reynard]

It would be a huge mistake. Just add to the ever rising pile of settings splitting the D&D fan base.Time would be better spent on adventures to appeal to the players.

Interesting. I don't agree. i think there is ample evidence from successful 5E setting kickstarters to suggest that a new setting aimed specifically at the current cohort would be a good idea.

You do raise an interesting point about adventures. I wonder how common it is for the players or group as a whole to decide what adventure to run, as opposed to the GM deciding. In my experience it is the latter, but I am also old and don't really play with younger folks except when they sign up for my games at cons.

 

[Umbran]

Interesting. I don't agree. i think there is ample evidence from successful 5E setting kickstarters to suggest that a new setting aimed specifically at the current cohort would be a good idea.

Do we, though? Do we know that the "current cohort" (however that is defined) actually cares about official settings?

To answer the question in the OP - Whatever "core setting" they offer for the game should, perforce, include all the character options present in the PHB. It should also not lean too terribly strongly to a single genre, again, to allow for options of play. So, whatever the details, it ought to be pretty kitchen sink generic fantasy.

And that then brings us to asking why they'd build a new one.

 

[Shardstone]

My setting, duh.

If that's not a valid option, Nentir Vale is a good model. A half-new pantheon, a lot of open space, and some interesting races to go alongside it. The OSR is a great model for how much detail a setting needs to have to be successful.

 

[Reynard]

And that then brings us to asking why they'd build a new one.

Well, they said they are, first of all. Also, I don't see the downside. They have a whole "multiverse" to play with. Why should they continue to rehash the same 5 settings that were created no less than 20 years ago, and most of which are closer to 30 years old (and according to Ben Riggs' data, didn't generally sell especially well in the first place).

 

[Stormonu]

WotC has made several probing attempts (Theros, the demiplanes of Radiant Citadel, Witchlight, Strixhaven at the least), but doesn't appear anything has really stuck.

I think if they make something, it will have to be somewhat "generic fantasy", incorporating the majority of current 5E books and adventure paths, but it will have to have some twist - incorporate firearms, magical martials, airships, significant monster PCs or some other shtick. HOWEVER, the biggest thing is it will need continuing support to keep it in the forefront. If its a one-and-done, everyone will just slip back to the Realms or their homebrew and it won't take off.

I've been fiddling around with a couple campaigns I think could be fun if they were published under WotC, but I'm just happy to keep developing them myself and not tying to a specific edition or game system.

 

[Yaarel]

The core rules of 5e 2024 must be useful for many different kinds of settings. Even modern and scifi, even historical medieval realism.

It is a dilemma. The rules need a setting flavor to make sense of the mechanics. But this setting flavor needs to be suggestive and flexible, rather than baked-in and imagination-killing.

Where possible, descriptions of core classes and core spells must avoid setting assumptions. As a rule of thumb, if the description of the core class, or any other mechanic, can make sense for a game in any of Forgotten Realms, Eberron, or Dark Sun, then it is probably suitable for core rules generally. Bonus points if it can also make sense for a modern setting in a quasi-realworld today.

It is each setting guide that goes into detail about a specific setting.

The core rules need to be setting-neutral. But, there can be places that privilege the FR (Forgotten Realms) setting as the default setting. I prefer homebrew settings. I have mixed feelings about using FR as a default. The use of FR needs to be a light touch. Especially the Cleric class needs to be openended so reallife players from various religious cultures can feel comfortable.

Because the rules intend for the players to invent their own backgrounds − their narrative, selection of skills, tool, and language, and choice of feat − it is ok to make the default examples of backgrounds be highly specific to Forgotten Realms. The "Miner" background is more specifically the a Miner of Rift of the Gold Dwarves in South Faerun. The "Alchemist" is an Avariel Elf glassteel producer. And so on. These examples bring the Forgotten Realms to life, but the players are still free to do whatever one wants for ones own character concept.

 

[Reynard]

Where possible, descriptions of core classes and core spells must avoid setting assumptions. As a rule of thumb, if the description of the core class, or any other mechanic, can make sense for a game in Forgotten Realms, Eberron, or Dark Sun, then it is probably suitable for core rules generally. Bonus points if it can also make sense for a modern setting in a quasi-realworld today.

Why is Dark Sun on that list? It is the opposite of a generic setting.