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.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I imagine it would include less tinker gnome and giant space hamster stuff. Play up the fantastical that can be had in zero-g environs as opposed to traditional settings. The Astral Plane has always been the most space-like of the planes, right down to the silver air tubes for astronauts, I mean, astral projections. Moving the Spelljammer to a planar setting would change little but could file off the kludgey Ptolemaic Astronomy and gravity planes/ air bubbles. Gravity is what you think it is in the Astral. The Phlogiston could be like the hyperspace analog it was supposed to be, flows within the Astral speeding travel.

the silver cord thing predates dnd apparently.

 

[Mind of tempest]

::cries in Nentir Vale::

Are you okay?

 

[Parmandur]

I imagine it would include less tinker gnome and giant space hamster stuff. Play up the fantastical that can be had in zero-g environs as opposed to traditional settings. The Astral Plane has always been the most space-like of the planes, right down to the silver air tubes for astronauts, I mean, astral projections. Moving the Spelljammer to a planar setting would change little but could file off the kludgey Ptolemaic Astronomy and gravity planes/ air bubbles. Gravity is what you think it is in the Astral. The Phlogiston could be like the hyperspace analog it was supposed to be, flows within the Astral speeding travel.

You know that Giant Apace Hamatwrs are coming. Look into your heart.

 

[overgeeked]

::cries in Nentir Vale::

POLand wasn’t so much a setting as a scattering of ideas that vaguely suggested the rough outline of a few tiny locations within a setting. To me that was a major strength of it, granted, but it’s not really a setting in the same sense as...well, any other D&D setting.

 

[Aldarc]

POLand wasn’t so much a setting as a scattering of ideas that vaguely suggested the rough outline of a few tiny locations within a setting. To me that was a major strength of it, granted, but it’s not really a setting in the same sense as...well, any other D&D setting.

Just like early Greyhawk! This is what I want out of a setting. This is one thing I loved about Nentir Vale. Give me a sketched outline setting that I can color in as I want as a GM with whatever worn-out crayons I have, whether it's my cheap ol' six-color box or Susie's new, fancy box with 120 crayon colors. I'll drop a module wherever I want on there too.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

You might get Anthology adventures set in different settings, apparently the writers of Candlekeep Mysteries didn't actually have to set their adventure in FR, despite the core concept being Candlekeep. You also might get some Summer Adventures not set in Forgotten Realms, like Witchlight.

Isn't this the concept of Ghosts of Saltmarsh?

 

[overgeeked]

Just like early Greyhawk! This is what I want out of a setting. This is one thing I loved about Nentir Vale. Give me a sketched outline setting that I can color in as I want as a GM with whatever worn-out crayons I have, whether it's my cheap ol' six-color box or Susie's new, fancy box with 120 crayon colors. I'll drop a module wherever I want on there too.

Oh, I completely agree. That very nature (laughably incomplete) is what I loved about early Known World and the Nentir Vale. But that very nature certainly makes them not quite settings in the same sense as FR, Eberron, and Ravenloft are settings. This isn’t me putting the Nentir Vale down, rather pointing out it’s not really a “setting” in the same sense as all the rest.

 

[Staffan]

Forgotten Realms as a pseudo-Risk would be a lot of fun on it's own...

Conquest of Nerath was basically D&D Axis & Allies.

 

[lkj]

Oh, I completely agree. That very nature (laughably incomplete) is what I loved about early Known World and the Nentir Vale. But that very nature certainly makes them not quite settings in the same sense as FR, Eberron, and Ravenloft are settings. This isn’t me putting the Nentir Vale down, rather pointing out it’s not really a “setting” in the same sense as all the rest.

Didn't it get built out more than that into Nerath with that boardgame?

AD

 

[Staffan]

Didn't it get built out more than that into Nerath with that boardgame?

AD

I think by the time Conquest of Nerath rolled around, they had basically abandoned it as an RPG setting and just threw all sorts of things into the board game. I remember lots of old-school adventures (Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, etc) featuring on the map at least, but I'm not sure if it also poached other geography.

 

[Rikka66]

I think if you were to grab every scrap of lore from the various books (and there is a lot of scraps in backgrounds, character options, ect. along with the bigger pieces) and the multiple monthly articles from Dragon/Dungeon, you'd end up with something very oddly both sparse and detailed with the Nentir Vale.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I think if you were to grab every scrap of lore from the various books (and there is a lot of scraps in backgrounds, character options, ect. along with the bigger pieces) and the multiple monthly articles from Dragon/Dungeon, you'd end up with something very oddly both sparse and detailed with the Nentir Vale.

I believe some guy on rpg.net did just that, I read his work.

 

[overgeeked]

I believe some guy on rpg.net did just that, I read his work.

Not only that, but there's another person who's creating a Nentir Vale sandbox that has some incredibly detailed notes. It's rather impressive and cool.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Isn't this the concept of Ghosts of Saltmarsh?

I don't have Saltmarsh you I don't know.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I don't have Saltmarsh you I don't know.

The beginning of the book provides an detailed section on the Kingdom of Keoland, which is located in Greyhawk. There's a map of the region, another map of the town of Saltmarsh, and segments of information on the surrounding settlements, forests, etc. Also included are key NPCs including the town council.

It is essentially a gazetteer to the Saltmarsh region (not the whole of Keoland). Then the remainder of the book is the adventures, some of which are explicitly centered around Saltmarsh (others are setting neutral).

Anyway, this setup where we get an introductory chapter that provides some setting material on Dragonlance, followed by some of the old adventures remade for 5E, seems like a very possible setup for a Dragonlance release. It would not really be a new format though, as this is similar to GoS.

 

[JEB]

I think if you were to grab every scrap of lore from the various books (and there is a lot of scraps in backgrounds, character options, ect. along with the bigger pieces) and the multiple monthly articles from Dragon/Dungeon, you'd end up with something very oddly both sparse and detailed with the Nentir Vale.

There were also plans at one point to release a product called Gazetteer: The Nentir Vale, which would have been followed by other gazetteers for the default 4E setting.

 

[Yaarel]

The beginning of the book provides an detailed section on the Kingdom of Keoland, which is located in Greyhawk. There's a map of the region, another map of the town of Saltmarsh, and segments of information on the surrounding settlements, forests, etc. Also included are key NPCs including the town council.

It is essentially a gazetteer to the Saltmarsh region (not the whole of Keoland). Then the remainder of the book is the adventures, some of which are explicitly centered around Saltmarsh (others are setting neutral).

Anyway, this setup where we get an introductory chapter that provides some setting material on Dragonlance, followed by some of the old adventures remade for 5E, seems like a very possible setup for a Dragonlance release. It would not really be a new format though, as this is similar to GoS.

Out of curiosity, does the setting recommend where to plug Saltmarsh in the FR setting?

 

[Yaarel]

There were also plans at one point to release a product called Gazetteer: The Nentir Vale, which would have been followed by other gazetteers for the default 4E setting.

Does Nentir count as a "classic setting"?

 

[Parmandur]

Out of curiosity, does the setting recommend where to plug Saltmarsh in the FR setting?

The Mere of Dead Men, IIRC, so that the major power shifts from being the Kingdom of Keoland to Neverwinter, and the Sea Princes become Luskan.

 

[Yaarel]

The Mere of Dead Men, IIRC, so that the major power shifts from being the Kingdom of Keoland to Neverwinter, and the Sea Princes become Luskan.

Great. I like this approach, especially for regional settings.

Each setting should stand true to itself. Then suggest ways to optionally link it to other settings.

For world settings too, like Eberron and Dark Sun, I wish they were their own unique settings, true to themselves, but with optional advice for any tables wanting a way to plug them into the FR multiverse.