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.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

It occurs to me they might want to hold off on Spelljammer and Planescape until they make a final decision on if they want to merge the D&D and MtG settings together. If so I think Darksun becomes much more likely as does, but the second classic setting is hard to guess. I'd lean towards DL, but WotC tried to kill it not that long ago. I'd go on a limb and say Birthright, a more PG-13 Game of Thrones/strategy setting is an easy pitch and could explain why they would want to use a unique print format for it.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

When was the last time we knew about this many books they are working on in advance?

Witchlight, Wyatt's book, Strixhaven, 2 Classic Settings, 2 New Settings, and 1 Return Setting. I don't remember getting so many reveals and partial reveals in so short a time. D&D Live and D&D Celebration should be interesting.

 

[Steampunkette]

Or it could be strange in a very different way. Ravenloft showed that they could make updates and changes but still kept the horror flavor. An updated spelljammer could keep the more humorous aspects while removing the 90s Lolrandomness. Heck, look at the giff from Mordenkainen's. A good balance between a more modern and serious take on them and keeping their original "Oh, I say, let's jolly well go blow something to smithereens, what?" parody nature.

If the random strangeness isn't exactly what those who love Spelljammer for it's weirdness are expecting (A Time Capsule, essentially) they'll lash out with at least equal fury to the people who complain about Ravenloft's changes, now.

And if it isn't updated to modern sensibilities, it's gonna fall fairly flat for the younger generation.

1. Skip ahead to the good bits, like r/surrealmemes.

2. Spelljammer isn't a meme. You're comparing apples and oranges.

Spelljammer isn't a Meme. It's just got lots of random silly goofy funny playful stuff in it that worked in the 90s but wouldn't play as well, today.

Humor changes with time. Memes were referenced as a method of demonstrating that fact.

I mean, if Chris Pwrkinsnis involves, I fully believe that WotC can achieve the right wacky tone for Spelljammer, as has much of the Spelljammer bits and bobs that have made it into 5E so far.

But realistically, you talking about taking two radically differ genres and squishing them together into one 256 page book. That doesn't serve either 70's prog rock/Jack Kirby fantasy in space OR 90's weird fantasy any justice. Neither Planescape nor Spelljammer are best as metasetting connections, but as distinct places.to tryntwo very different genres. It doesn't make sense as a single book combo.

Different Art Styles? Yes.

Different Genres... maybe-ish.

Both of them are fantasy settings whose primary focuses are on travel between incredible locations. How they do that travel is different, and the individual locations they travel to are often, but not always, different.

But it's the difference between Stargate and Star Trek, Parmandur. Only Trek wound up the goofy one and Gate got the philosophy.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

If the random strangeness isn't exactly what those who love Spelljammer for it's weirdness are expecting (A Time Capsule, essentially) they'll lash out with at least equal fury to the people who complain about Ravenloft's changes, now.

And if it isn't updated to modern sensibilities, it's gonna fall fairly flat for the younger generation.

Spelljammer isn't a Meme. It's just got lots of random silly goofy funny playful stuff in it that worked in the 90s but wouldn't play as well, today.

Humor changes with time. Memes were referenced as a method of demonstrating that fact.

Different Art Styles? Yes.

Different Genres... maybe-ish.

Both of them are fantasy settings whose primary focuses are on travel between incredible locations. How they do that travel is different, and the individual locations they travel to are often, but not always, different.

But it's the difference between Stargate and Star Trek, Parmandur. Only Trek wound up the goofy one and Gate got the philosophy.

Younger folks are not a monolith.

 

[teitan]

but not in the way people want them not just a couple here and there that we nearly never get to use but common as rice and beyond flintlock.

Yes but that wasn’t what was implied in the comment. Guns are there. They’re even in the 5e DMG. So it’s up to the DM to make that happen. The assumed tech level in both case is very early Renaissance so firearms aren’t commonly available but present.

 

[teitan]

Because uniting the two would fit into the current cosmology in an interesting way, turn interplanetary travel and interplanar travel into a journey rather than a jaunt, and create a massive opportunity to expand both settings... Which otherwise tend to be really -really- narrow in their actual scope because they both rely on other settings and world design to provide the bulk of the places to "Go".

You know, compared to, say, Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft or Eberron.

The "LoLRandom" humor that made Spelljammer funny back in the 90s doesn't quite fly today, where the lolrandom has a wholly different logic that not a single corporation can entirely grasp. Which is why you can spot a Corporate Meme from a mile away. Asking modern WotC to update that humor for the modern community? Not really an option. Especially since it'll be just as inscrutably random in 15 years.

But the thing that -really- made Spelljammer stand out? The Visuals. The Art. The style. The grandiose imagery of fantasy starships traversing Wildspace... THAT is something WotC -could- reasonably do.

Combine that with Planescape and you'll have a fulsome way to do a whole lot more than either one really has on it's own.

So you know it actually wasn’t funny back then. It was an idea with potential that TSR totally dropped the ball on with the humorous approach. But it still doesn’t fit the Planejammer idea. How Spelljammer works is still canon in 5e. All it needs is taken more seriously. Integrating with Planescape is a fair idea but it would be a sidebar note more than a default play.

 

[Fenris-77]

That's an awfully entitled take, I must say.

 

[Steampunkette]

So you know it actually wasn’t funny back then. It was an idea with potential that TSR totally dropped the ball on with the humorous approach. But it still doesn’t fit the Planejammer idea. How Spelljammer works is still canon in 5e. All it needs is taken more seriously. Integrating with Planescape is a fair idea but it would be a sidebar note more than a default play.

So you know I played Spelljammer back then. It was funny.

It was funny in that kitschy Saturday Morning Cartoon kind of way.

And how Spelljammer Works isn't canon in 5e. There's elements that point in that direction, but until Phlogiston and Crystal Spheres are in a sourcebook, it's still just pieces of a whole floating around, waiting to be put together.

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm fascinated some people know those two settings could never be combined. Truly.

 

[Faolyn]

If the random strangeness isn't exactly what those who love Spelljammer for it's weirdness are expecting (A Time Capsule, essentially) they'll lash out with at least equal fury to the people who complain about Ravenloft's changes, now.

As has been pointed out in the Ravenloft threads, most of the player base are young enough now that they didn't play the 2e settings. They know it's a weird setting, but they would be looking at it from a different and modern viewpoint. And anyway, it's very possible to embrace the weirdness without being silly in a dated or stupid way, plus there's a lot more SF to rip from nowadays, anyway.

And you'd still get that fury if you remove the space elements from Spelljammer in order to make a Planejammer verse (just like you'd get the fury if you removed the planar elements from Planescape to throw stuff from there into Spelljammer, like in my other post).

Different Genres... maybe-ish.

Both of them are fantasy settings whose primary focuses are on travel between incredible locations. How they do that travel is different, and the individual locations they travel to are often, but not always, different.

But it's the difference between Stargate and Star Trek, Parmandur. Only Trek wound up the goofy one and Gate got the philosophy.

Not even close. It'd be more like the difference between Sandman and related comics (since there's some philosophy and dimension hopping in them), and Doctor Who* (generally serious, but with heavy doses of goofiness and "what were they smoking?" weirdness that you don't find in most other SF). They're only similar in that they both count as fantasy-ish.

(*Based on what I've seen, which is NuWho through the 12th Doctor, and a small handful of Classic Who episodes.)