D&D: Five New Settings In The Works
According to an update from WotC’s head of D&D, Ray Winninger, five new settings are in the works including two brand new settings.
D&D settings are one of the big draws of the game right now. After people have spent seven years traipsing around the Forgotten Realms, they’re hungry for new worlds of adventure. Which is why you see books like the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica and the Mythic Odysseys of Theros, two of the most underrated books out there right now. Seriously if you want to level up your game, check out these books, you’ll find inspiration for days.
But. Fans being who they are, the Magic: the Gathering settings catch a lot of flak, and are often assumed to be replacing the slot that would go for something like a Dark Sun or a Planescape which has more of a niche appeal, but also has the unmistakable pang of nostalgia for the 90s. As an aside, I don’t know if we will ever look back fondly on the 00s the same way, but I fear that day is coming soon enough–another ten or so years and people will be clamoring for frosted tips and puka shell necklaces and everything will be terrible again.
However, the point is D&D settings are fertile ground for adventures, and WotC seems to be leaning into this, with a total of five new settings in the works right now, according to head of D&D Ray Winninger.
@Wizards_DnD Settings Update: As I've mentioned on a couple of occasions, there are two more products that revive "classic" settings in production right now. (1/4)
— WinningerR (@WinningerR) June 14, 2021
According to Winninger, these books are well on their way:
The Manuscript for the first, overseen by [Chris Perkins], is nearly complete. Work on the second, led by [Wes Schneider] with an assist from [Ari Levitch], is just ramping up in earnest. Both are targeting 2022 and formats you’ve never seen before.
This last little bit, “formats you’ve never seen before” is particularly revealing. Since that might mean these aren’t the typical “setting books” we’ve come to expect from D&D by now. Winninger clarified things a little:
Each of these products is pursuing a *different* format you've never seen before. And neither is "digital only;" these are new *print* formats. https://t.co/2otSszdcrl
Advertisement— WinningerR (@WinningerR) June 14, 2021
So that’s two new print formats, which could be a different format for a book, or maybe a board game, or boxed set, or some other tool in WotC’s toolbox we haven’t seen yet. That alone is enough to send folks scouring the past archives of D&D board games to see if there ever was a Spelljammer board game so they could see if this is an oblique way of saying Spelljammer Confirmed:
But that’s only part of it. In addition to those two titles, Winninger affirmed that there are two brand new D&D settings in early development, as well as a return to a setting we’ve already covered.
He gave the caveat that not everything they develop is published:
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. (4/4)
— WinningerR (@WinningerR) June 14, 2021
Note that Winninger takes pains to point out these aren’t MtG settings, which tells you where the community has landed so far–though again, if you’re reading this and you’re mad about Magic settings in D&D, just give the books a read through at your FLGS, there are some absolute gems hidden in those.
But, that’s a total of five new “setting product” in the works:
- 2 classic settings
- 2 new settings
- 1 setting that’s “already been covered” (my guess is Eberron)
D&D Live is gonna be big this year.
Happy Adventuring!
