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.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Dragonlance shouldn't suffer the cancel culture. A videogame is possible, where all the PCs would be totally customizable, or with optional list of PCs with different classes. For example Theros Ironfeld as an artificer, Sturm as a crusader (martial adept class with "divine+ki" maneuvers) or Goldmoon as a mysthic.

And new novels allow characters from most of races, even visitors from Sigil/Planescape, or within the "Krynnsphere".

Other option could be new novels about somebody from the future traveling to the past, creating, or altering, the original Krynnean timeline. Teorically the space-time continium is fixed a secondary effect is special demiplanes, the time spheres, are created. Some "spheres" are true utopians, and others are the opposite.

And of course I notice the "age of the NFC figures" ended, but maybe somebody had got a different idea.

 

[imagineGod]

This is really only the art though. If you removed Ellmore's art you could completely redesign the main characters to be diverse and representative without altering a word of text.

It is not just the art. Modern readers are unable to engage in any content that obviously showcases the old human social dynamics of them and us and cultural appropriation. Those readers prefer it is done in the corporate background rather than marketed content. That is the irony, since most American games businesses, profit shareholders who are mostly white men, not those minorities whose stories are integrated to sell for profit, so cultural exploitation still happens, even if the stories sold are diverse.

 

[imagineGod]

I mentioned it before, a mythic India would be nice for 5e.If Wizards continues their age old pattern profiting off other people's cultures, might as well offer us something not commonly used.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Dragonlance shouldn't suffer the cancel culture.

The trouble is that to avoid it, they'd need to fundamentally and significantly re-work Dragonlance.

This is really only the art though. If you removed Ellmore's art you could completely redesign the main characters to be diverse and representative without altering a word of text.

I mean... I'm pretty sure we hear about Goldmoon's appearance is described in some detail in the books - the wiki has it as "She was slim and tall in her younger years, with silver-gold hair, a pure face, sky-blue eyes, and buttery tan skin.", and I doubt they came up with that independently (it also doesn't match the art, where she generally isn't "tall").

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

An updated Kara Tur might be big
Asian culture is big with nerds and wuxia has been popular off and on since the 1970s
And WizCo might try to break DnD into China and the rest of Asia. Lot of money to be made there

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I mentioned it before, a mythic India would be nice for 5e.If Wizards continues their age old pattern profiting off other people's cultures, might as well offer us something not commonly used.

I'm just not sure it's a setting that would gain much traction worldwide, though if they are intending to expand into South Asia more it might make sense.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

The trouble is that to avoid it, they'd need to fundamentally and significantly re-work Dragonlance.

I mean... I'm pretty sure we hear about Goldmoon's appearance is described in some detail in the books - the wiki has it as "She was slim and tall in her younger years, with silver-gold hair, a pure face, sky-blue eyes, and buttery tan skin.", and I doubt they came up with that independently (it also doesn't match the art, where she generally isn't "tall").

Given what they did to Ravenloft, a fundamental and significant re-work of Dragonlance is absolutely something they'd do

They wouldn't touch the Heroes of the Lance but instead those characters would just be Easter Eggs in the adventure hooks, and the PCs would be the new heroes that end the war
And all kinds of other changes, like more diversity in the knights and humanity. Elves being the new bright colors. Drow being included. Halflings instead of kender. Half-orcs and tieflings being present. And draconians not being all male, cartoonishly evil, and drunkards.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

As for new settings, they could try touching the Flintlock Fantasy sub-genre. Some existing campaign settings (like Mystara, FR and SJ) do have parts of their worlds that touch that sub-genre, but a new campaign setting could go all the way with that.

 

[Staffan]

A setting/adventure book has a lot of arguments in favor of it, IMO.

I know I'm a minority among old farts, but I don't find boxed sets terribly compelling, especially if the booklets are as cheaply put together as the Starter Set (the one boxed set I own).

Box sets in and of themselves aren't necessarily exciting. The useful thing about them is that they open up the possibility of including assorted maps, handouts, and other cool stuff. For example, I could imagine a deluxe adventure coming with a deck of cards with pictures of all the important NPCs – that's the type of thing that would justify a boxed set. Or several maps, or things like that.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I mean... I'm pretty sure we hear about Goldmoon's appearance is described in some detail in the books - the wiki has it as "She was slim and tall in her younger years, with silver-gold hair, a pure face, sky-blue eyes, and buttery tan skin.",

She can still be a blond white woman, I'm pretty sure it doesn't say "dresses as a Native American themed stripper". Make Tanis black and Tika Asian.