D&D (2024) WotC Reveals The Confirmed Release Dates of 2024's D&D Slate

We now have the actual release dates of the upcoming slate of Dungeons & Dragons books, as shared by WotC via a press release emailed out a few minutes ago.

• Vecna: Eve of Ruin (May 21)
• The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 (June 18)
• Quests from the Infinite Staircase (July 16)
• Player’s Handbook (Sept 17)
• Dungeons Master’s Guide (Nov 12)
• Monster Manual (Feb. 18, 2025)

Vecna: Eve of Ruin

• Adventure Campaign
• For characters of levels 10-20
• A high-stakes adventure in which the fate of the entire multiverse hangs in the balance. The heroes begin in the Forgotten Realms and travel to Planescape, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk as they race to save existence from obliteration by the notorious lich Vecna who is weaving a ritual to eliminate good, obliterate the gods, and subjugate all worlds.
• Release Date: May 21, 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977

• History of D&D
• The ultimate book showcasing D&D’s inception, including Gary Gygax’s never-before-seen first draft of D&D written in 1973, a curated collection of published fanzine and magazine articles contribute to D&D’s origin story. Each document is introduced, described, and woven into the story by one of the game’s foremost historians, Jon Peterson.
• Release Date: June 18, 2024

Quests from the Infinite Staircase

• Adventure Anthology
• For character levels 1 to 13.
• This anthology weaves together six classic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventures while updating them for the game’s fifth edition. The Infinite Staircase holds doors leading to fantastic realms. It’s home to the noble genie Nafas, who hears wishes made throughout the multiverse and recruits heroes to fulfill them.
• Release Date: July 16, 2024

Player’s Handbook (2024)

• Player resource
• Take your game to the next level with the revised 2024 Player's Handbook. More player options, enhanced organization, and engaging additions to the fifth edition rules, make this a must have for your next Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
• Release Date: September 17, 2024

Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024)

• DM resource
• It's never been easier to become the Dungeon Master than with the revised 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Learn the craft from the experts in a cleverly crafted and accessible approach to running your own game. With more tools than ever before, becoming the master of your own multiverse will be a snap.
• Release Date: November 12, 2024

Monster Manual (2025)

• DM Resource
• The revised 2025 Monster Manual brings you the greatest selection of foes to face off with your player's characters than ever assembled in the history of the game. More options at all levels of play means more ways to provide the challenges that will keep them coming back to the table again and again.
• Release Date: February 18, 2025

 

[Parmandur]

can't really go wrong with those, I thought they would take them from different worlds however, these are almost all Greyhawk

The different worlds thing is Vecna: I reckon each Adventure in this anthology will have a sidebar about using various Settings, same as prior anthologies.

 

[mamba]

The different worlds thing is Vecna: I reckon each Adventure in this anthology will have a sidebar about using various Settings, same as prior anthologies.

I was assuming this based on the reference to the Infinite Staircase and today's one-liner about the adventure

"The Infinite Staircase leads to fantastic realms and is home to the noble genie Nafas, who recruits heroes to help fulfill wishes made throughout the multiverse."

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I don't think you're far off the mark actually. Reset FR, Dragonlance and Greyhawk (maybe the Van Richten rendition of Ravenloft....) - hey, all of a sudden everything WotC/fanbase doesn't like or is problematic is suddenly gone!

They can't reset FR because of the OG novel deal, but I think the rest of the settngs have been reset, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, and Planescape have major cosmology changes, Eberron is no longer seperate from the default cosmology, but rather a cosmology within a cosmology plus a bunch of 4e changes like adding its own hell got dumped, who knows for Greyhawk and DL (DL products were not particularly insightful on this and neither was Ghosts of Saltmarsh).

Prediction AO or some hero or the greater Gods of FR shield Realmspace from Vecna's mischief, because FR novels can't be decanonized thanks to the contract with Ed Greenwood, no matter how much Jeremy Crawford hates this fact.

Both the other settings have no such protection, so Eberron gets absord much to the rage of Eberron traditionalists, Spelljammer and gets massive cosmological changes to the Spelljammer fan outrage, Ravenloft Core gets demolished much to the rage of Ravenloft fans, etc...

 

[Henadic Theologian]

The different worlds thing is Vecna: I reckon each Adventure in this anthology will have a sidebar about using various Settings, same as prior anthologies.

Then why is the infinate staircase the central conceit of it? The purpose of the Infinate Staircase is literallly to travel across the multiverse to different locations. Even if a couple of adventures are from the same world, say lost caverns and barrier peaks, they all won't be, some will be set outside Greyhawk.

 

[Parmandur]

I was assuming this based on the reference to the Infinite Staircase and today's one-liner about the adventure

"The Infinite Staircase leads to fantastic realms and is home to the noble genie Nafas, who recruits heroes to help fulfill wishes made throughout the multiverse."

The Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Candlekeep, Radiant Citadel, and Goldem Vault all make multiple suggestions for putting each Asventure on multiple worlds.

 

[Parmandur]

Then why is the infinate staircase the central conceit of it? The purpose of the Infinate Staircase is literallly to travel across the multiverse to different locations. Even if a couple of adventures are from the same world, say lost caverns and barrier peaks, they all won't be, some will be set outside Greyhawk.

Based on what it looks like, an explanation for the PCs jumping from tournament style fun house dungeon to fun house style dungeon without complex plot explanations, similar to Radiant Citadel or Golden Vault.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Based on what it looks like, an explanation for the PCs jumping from tournament style fun house dungeon to fun house style dungeon without complex plot explanations, similar to Radiant Citadel or Golden Vault.

Both of which have adventures in multipke different worlds/planes.

 

[Parmandur]

Both of which have adventures in multipke different worlds/planes.

And I'm sure every classic Adventure will have suggestions for multiple Settings.

 

[mamba]

The Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Candlekeep, Radiant Citadel, and Goldem Vault all make multiple suggestions for putting each Asventure on multiple worlds.

well, I am all for them picking adventures that are not only cohesive when you have a plane-hopping plot like Vecna. I much rather have a loose campaign in one world, like Saltmarsh

 

[Parmandur]

well, I am all for them picking adventures that are not only cohesive when you have a plane-hopping plot like Vecna. I much rather have a loose campaign in one world, like Saltmarsh

This looks to be pretty unambiguously Yawning Portal 2: Eldritch Genie Bugaloo.