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.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Y’know, if this gets any more meta, we’re going to have to stop posting about it, and start posting what we’re intending to post about it...

I'm announcing an announcement to announce when I will respond to to this post. The initial announcement to announce the later announcement to announce the response will be on the 4th of June 2020. Watch this space! I've got exciting content coming!*

* = content not guaranteed to be in any way exciting or even funny

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I'm announcing an announcement to announce when I will respond to to this post. The initial announcement to announce the later announcement to announce the response will be on the 4th of June 2020. Watch this space! I've got exciting content coming!*

* = content not guaranteed to be in any way exciting or even funny

Subscribed

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I am hereby announcing that I will post an announcement of a future post that will say what I think about them announcing the announcement of a future book in this thread about announcing announcements.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I'm starting to wonder if there really is a new storyline, at least in the form we normally get it (one big adventure book for the year). I find it awfully odd that unlike previous years the stream doesn't really have a theme (Stream of Annihilation, Stream of Many Eyes, The Descent). There also isn't a clear theme emerging out of the scheduled games, and the only consistency we've found is a shirt and image with snow (leading to the Icewind Dale speculation).

Part of me wonders if instead, the annual book is Kate Welch's "compilation of adventures" that she sort-of announced a year ago. The one with Deborah Ann Woll and Marisha Ray submitting their own adventures. If that isn't coming out this year, I'm wondering if that project was scrapped as I don't know why it wouldn't be released in 2020.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Part of me wonders if instead, the annual book is Kate Welch's "compilation of adventures" that she sort-of announced a year ago. The one with Deborah Ann Woll and Marisha Ray submitting their own adventures. If that isn't coming out this year, I'm wondering if that project was scrapped as I don't know why it wouldn't be released in 2020.

Who knows. Maybe it got delayed or shelved because of all the Mike Mearls stuff happening around the same time. Maybe some of the female writers for some of the adventures pulled out over it and the replacements have not finished their adventures yet for the book. Maybe that is why Satine Phoenix quit at around the same time. It could all be coincidence or it could be connected, but we will never know.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I noticed today that the latest Lore You Should Know returned to talk about Mind Flayers again (really mostly the Gith, but how they are enemies of the Ilithid).

Kind of interesting how the latest LYSK are still about Mind Flayers. They're excuse is BG3, but it is odd they haven't shifted to whatever this new storyline is. Unless of course, Mind Flayers are a part of this new storyline.

 

[Parmandur]

I noticed today that the latest Lore You Should Know returned to talk about Mind Flayers again (really mostly the Gith, but how they are enemies of the Ilithid).

Kind of interesting how the latest LYSK are still about Mind Flayers. They're excuse is BG3, but it is odd they haven't shifted to whatever this new storyline is. Unless of course, Mind Flayers are a part of this new storyline.

Though in all seriousness, while the LYSK is not all signal for upcoming products, the tealeaves about the Big Bad for the next story seem loud and clear.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm starting to wonder if there really is a new storyline, at least in the form we normally get it (one big adventure book for the year). I find it awfully odd that unlike previous years the stream doesn't really have a theme (Stream of Annihilation, Stream of Many Eyes, The Descent). There also isn't a clear theme emerging out of the scheduled games, and the only consistency we've found is a shirt and image with snow (leading to the Icewind Dale speculation).

Part of me wonders if instead, the annual book is Kate Welch's "compilation of adventures" that she sort-of announced a year ago. The one with Deborah Ann Woll and Marisha Ray submitting their own adventures. If that isn't coming out this year, I'm wondering if that project was scrapped as I don't know why it wouldn't be released in 2020.

That project maaay have been cancelled, or might not be a book per se: Welch isn't a game designer anymore, she dies UX design for the digital side of things as of December.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

She may well have finished her part in the project first. WotC isn't a solo act; staff members do hand off tasks as appropriate.

 

[Parmandur]

She may well have finished her part in the project first. WotC isn't a solo act; staff members do hand off tasks as appropriate.

Hard to say until we hear something. This is probably about Perkins storyline bookz though.

The lack of theming probably has tondo with the mini-convention needing to be scrapped, partly not wanting to spoil much....