D&D 5E WotC: 5 D&D Settings In Development?

WotC's Ray Winninger spoke a little about some upcoming D&D settings -- two classic settings are coming in 2022 in formats we haven't seen before, and two brand new (not Magic: the Gathering) settings are also in development, as well as return to a setting they've already covered in 5E. He does note, however, that of the last three, there's a chance of one or more not making it to release, as they develop more than they use.

Two classic settings? What could they be?​

So that's:

• 2 classic settings in 2022 (in a brand new format)
• 2 brand new settings
• 1 returning setting

So the big questions -- what are the two classic settings, and what do they mean by a format we haven't seen before? Winninger has clarified on Twitter that "Each of these products is pursuing a different format you've never seen before. And neither is "digital only;" these are new print formats."

As I've mentioned on a couple of occasions, there are two more products that revive "classic" settings in production right now.

The manuscript for the first, overseen by [Chris Perkins], is nearly complete. Work on the second, led by [F. Wesley Schneider] with an assist from [Ari Levitch], is just ramping up in earnest. Both are targeting 2022 and formats you've never seen before.

In addition to these two titles, we have two brand new [D&D] settings in early development, as well as a return to a setting we've already covered. (No, these are not M:tG worlds.)

As I mentioned in the dev blog, we develop more material than we publish, so it's possible one or more of these last three won't reach production. But as of right now, they're all looking great.

Of course the phrase "two more products that revive 'classic' settings" could be interpreted in different ways. It might not be two individual setting books.

 

[Yaarel]

Spelljammer confirmed.
Why do we always try and combine SJ and PS? Why not other classic settings with Spelljammer? Dragonjammer, Spellhawk, Birthjammer...

In my eyes, Planescape and Forgotten Realms are the same setting. And a book like Mordenkeinens is both.

 

[overgeeked]

In my eyes, Planescape and Forgotten Realms are the same setting. And a book like Mordenkeinens is both.

In a similar vein, I can't help but think of Eberron and Spelljammer as the same setting. Spelljammer is mostly Eberron in space.

 

[Mercurius]

It really does feel like 5E was a greatest hits of editions and the success of it completely caught WotC off guard and they're just now catching up with that success and really capitalizing on it.

Yes. In a way it was designed to stop the bleeding and dial back the clock to when it was holding strong, with a loyal and mostly happy fan-base (aka 3.5 era). They also had the very smart idea of "less is more" and with a small staff, thus having other companies work on some products (Tyranny). It was a low-risk approach.

But then 5E became a mega-hit. And now they can gradually build up the line, and do so in a manner until they find the sweet spot. Before recently I thought they were upping the yearly product output by one every three years, like so:

2015-17: 3
2018-20: 4
2021-23: 5

Now I'm thinking it might be more like this:
2015-17: 3
2018-20: 4
2021: 5
2022: 6?
2023: 7?
2024: 8?

Somewhere in that 5-8 range, I could see them settling into what feels like a sustainable groove. I would be surprised if they went beyond that, though, and think 6+ is more likely (meaning, six regular products, but maybe one or two surprises, here and there).

 

[Mercurius]

Spelljammer is ripe for re-imagining as an updated steampunk-style setting with sci-fi aspects like the living mind flayer ships shown in the BG3 trailer. I can't believe they haven't already jumped on it, myself.

I would love to see updated versions of all the old spelljammer ship designs. Despite the fact that they were fantastical-looking, most of them seemed very mundane. The elven ships, for example, were supposed to be made of living plant-like crystal, but I never really got that sense from the art.

You know, I'm lukewarm at most on steampunk, but this is a really good idea. Or, at least, I think it would be interesting to offer a variety of ship-types. Maybe Eberron ships would be more steampunkish, while others would have different styles that suited the setting.

 

[Nellisir]

Forgotten Realms, but covering the Sea of Fallen Stars/Moonsea region. It's the classic heart of FR, and nowadays there are a lot of different cultures there for WotC to expand on.

 

[fba827]

Both are targeting 2022 and formats you've never seen before.

what if they are releasing the setting on small cards, with different plots on some, and setting points along with game mechanical effects on others

that makes them totally easy to reference and organize (and omit) as needed for your tastes!

and these cards can also be randomized and sold in booster packs in case you get some really rare event like a meteor striking the major city of the land and aftereffects thereof

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

Planescape with Spelljammer ships on the Astral Sea is a lock for one
Flip between a sanitized Dark Sun or a rebooted Dragonlance for the other

Revisted setting is almost certainly Exandria. Tal'dorei a generation after Vox Machina

More interested in the teased new format
Uncertain if he means the presentation in the book will be different or if the actual media is different
If we've never seen it before that rules out $75 boxed sets with softcover books

 

[Parmandur]

I could have sworn early on in 5e, we were told not to expect many setting books, as that fractured the fanbase and made it hard to support.....now, maybe we don't get much setting support?

They swore up and down for years that they had a concept for a new sort of Setting product, and were trying to pin down exactly how to pull it off. There was much skepticism in the community that there were any plans, but WotC maintained they were trying to get it right. Then they came out with Ravnica, and proved the new format of one and done genre Booster books.

 

[Parmandur]

I really now have 2 questions.

1. Would the Domains of Delight be a separate setting or part of Ravenloft?

2. Does the SCAG count as a Campaign Book as far as WotC sees it?

I didn't consider the SCAG such a book, but it appears WotC did.

I'm leaning towards the Domains of Delight (which I'm calling DoD for now) a new setting inspired by Ravenloft as they don't seem to share the horror genre I think.

Which makes it to be fairly certain that the return visit setting book is for the Forgotten Realms because they rest of the settings are easily eliminated because they don't need updating right now, FR does.

1. Ravnica, Theros, and Strixhaven won't be visited again for 3-4 years at minimum MtG side, so not alot of new lore coming. Plus all a pretty new.

2. That leaves Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron. Ravenloft JUST got a book so it's out. Eberron is a slim possiblity, but Eberron is static, the most important parts, the mechanics have been updated, the lore only changes slightly between editions, and the core continent of the setting is well detailed, so Eberron fans are satisfied.

FR fans found the SCAG disappointing, it was too small, didn't even have a proper map of Faerun, the mechanics were broken, and the lore is out of date were we even got lore, FR is a living setting, not static, so yeah I feel 95% certain it's an FR setting book. The other 5% is Domains of Delight if they weirdly tie it into Ravenloft, but I doubt it.

They might be working on a Feywild Setting similar to Raveloft, with Witchlight as a testbed.

SCAG is obviously a Setting book, and a successful one by itself. I could see a Faerûn book similar to the current genre boosters.

 

[Demetrios1453]

They aren't going to update a small part of FR again, the was a big part of the original mistake that angered fans, no They will do Faerun wide at minimum.

It would be fine if they did concentrate in giving some detail in one region (which would almost certainly be Cormyr/Sembia/Dalelands/Moonsea), just as long as they don't fob off the remaining areas of the setting with a paragraph or two, as SCAG did (although they could say "For more detail on the Sword Coast region, see the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide", to save some room). Do like Eberron and Ravenloft did, and give like 2 - 4 pages to each country/region outside the core zone, and that will be fine (and 2 - 4 pages to cover each of the main areas outside Faerun, if they care to enter that potential minefield). Honestly, that wouldn't be too much different from what the 3e FRCS did when it came do detailing nations/areas....

I'm curious what the "city of adventure" that would get its own chapter (as Sharn did for Eberron) would be in this case though? None of the cities in the region quite have the cachet that Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, or Neverwinter have. Suzail? Westgate? Raven's Bluff? Maybe they would go the opposite way and give us a "village of adventure" with Shadowdale...