D&D 5E WotC Announces An Impending Announcement: New Setting, Storyline

Early this week, WotC announced on Twitter that today there would be some kind of announcement on their Twitch channel. Those who heard that announcement and tuned in were treated to an announcement that the new storyline will be announced at a live event in June.

The press release announcing the impending announcement also mentions a new setting, as well as the storyline, so it sounds like it might not be set in the Forgotten Realms (or maybe is in a new region - to 5E - of the Realms, such as Icewind Dale). The adventure and the setting might be the same thing, or they might be completely different things. Recently, WotC has released a bunch of settings: Eberron, Ravnica, Wildemount, and the upcoming Theros.

Fans of D&D will learn all about the new setting and storyline

The new storyline specifically will be revealed at 12pm PST (8pm GMT) on Thursday, June 18th.

The June event will raise money for Comic Relief, and will feature celebrities including Brandon Routh (Superman), and will preview the brand new storyline. It takes place June 18th-20th. Other names involved include Felicia Day, Deborah Ann Woll, Amy Acker, David Harbour, Matthew Lillard, and more.

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 PRESS RELEASE

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RENTON, WA – May 21, 2020 – People all over the world continue to stay safe by staying home, but that doesn’t mean the adventuring has to stop. Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever because it allows people to weave compelling stories together even when they’re physically apart through online videoconferencing. Now, Wizards of the Coast brings the stars to this virtual table with D&D Live 2020: Roll w/ Advantage. An amazing cast of characters led by expert storytellers preview the latest D&D storyline with live gaming sessions, all while raising money for Red Nose Day to help the most vulnerable children across the US and around the world, who have been so affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.The adventure begins 10:00am PT on June 18, 2020 and will run through June 20, 2020 at dungeonsanddragons.com.

D&D Live 2020: Roll w/ Advantage features big personalities playing elves, wizards and fighters to accomplish quests using their imaginations. Funny people like Brian Posehn, Kevin Sussman and Thomas Middleditch will work together to solve problems or, more likely, cause some hilarious new ones. WWE ® Superstars Xavier Woods ®, Tyler Breeze ®, Ember Moon ®, Alexa Bliss ® and Dio Maddin ® will contend with beefcake destroyer Jeremy Crawford, a.k.a. Principal Rules Designer for D&D. Deborah Ann Woll will lead a group of actors in improvising a way to help people in a fantasy world not that different from ours. And principal D&D writer Chris Perkins takes players

Fans of D&D will learn all about the new setting and storyline as well as accompanying new products plus tons of unique gameplay available on June 18, 2020. D&D Adventurers League has four new short adventures everyone can enjoy. By donating a small amount to Red Nose Day, fans will have access to sign up for D&D sessions with players around the world! During #DnDLive2020, fans will also be able to choose the character best suited to help the region through Reality RP, a mashup of fantasy storytelling, community engagement, and reality television.

 

[TwoSix]

Time has told that they wouldn't waste 5 months of UA on a single setting book.

I don't think we have the sample size to make that determination. If I had said early in 2018 that I thought we'd see 4 setting books by mid-2020, I would have been laughed at; 4 years of 5e had shown us that WotC doesn't do setting books.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Basically every paladin is white mana. They used a white card for the art for the paladin, because they like to use M:tG art in these M:tG setting books. That's the cause of this correlation, not the colors being a thing in D&D, because they aren't.

Oath of Devotion is white-white, Ancients is white-green, Vengeance is white-black.

Because you can assign MtG colours to anything in D&D, and it doesn't mean anything. When everything is MtG nothing is MtG.

 

[Parmandur]

Basically every paladin is white mana. They used a white card for the art for the paladin, because they like to use M:tG art in these M:tG setting books. That's the cause of this correlation, not the colors being a thing in D&D, because they aren't.

Alright, see it or don't see it. I'm not expecting to see much of the Subclasses in question, anymore than I expect to see the Giant Soul Sorcerer.

 

[Parmandur]

Er, Giant Soul draws heavly on Forgotten Realms giant lore.

Sometimes things are just tested without being pre-attached to a particular book.

Giant Runes are a thing in Eberron, too: there was a whole Continent chock fill of them, and all Elves used to be their slaves. It would have fit in fine in Eberron, and there isn't any other product they made last year it would have fit.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I don't think we have the sample size to make that determination. If I had said early in 2018 that I thought we'd see 4 setting books by mid-2020, I would have been laughed at; 4 years of 5e had shown us that WotC doesn't do setting books.

The real campaign setting books all had very small amounts of new subclasses. Eberron had 3 subclasses, and they playtested 4 for the book. Ravnica had 2 subclasses, and they playtested 4 for the book. Wildemount had 3 subclasses, and there were no UA for this book. By this point, WotC would have figured out a pattern for Theros. Playtest 2-4 subclasses, and put 2-3 of them in the book.

 

[Parmandur]

Oath of Devotion is white-white, Ancients is white-green, Vengeance is white-black.

Because you can assign MtG colours to anything in D&D, and it doesn't mean anything. When everything is MtG nothing is MtG.

You color assignments sound right. The colors have a metaphysical, philosophical meaning, that James Wyatt interpreted into other words for the D&D products. The metaphysics is still informing the books.

 

[Parmandur]

The real campaign setting books all had very small amounts of new subclasses. Eberron had 3 subclasses, and they playtested 4 for the book. Ravnica had 2 subclasses, and they playtested 4 for the book. Wildemount had 3 subclasses, and there were no UA for this book. By this point, WotC would have figured out a pattern for Theros. Playtest 2-4 subclasses, and put 2-3 of them in the book.

SCAG had 11.5 actually.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Giant Runes are a thing in Eberron, too: there was a whole Continent chock fill of them, and all Elves used to be their slaves. It would have fit in fine in Eberron, and there isn't any other product they made last year it would have fit.

They would've fit in fine, but they also would fit in just as fine in basically any other setting.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

SCAG had 11.5 actually.

I said "The real campaign setting books". The SCAG isn't one. It technically has setting information, but when compared to the other setting books, it is incredibly lacking. 5e has now found their pattern for setting books.

 

[Parmandur]

I said "The real campaign setting books". The SCAG isn't one. It technically has setting information, but when compared to the other setting books, it is incredibly lacking. 5e has now found their pattern for setting books.

SCAG is a real Setting book, and certainly as valid a precedent as anything else. Testing 15 options to publish like 9-10 would be in line with their previous work. And publishing 2 options from 5 UA wouldn't be out of line proportionally.