An update to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons has been announced alongside the unveiling of a new monster book coming in January 2022.
On September 26, as part of the D&D Celebration event, a “Future of D&D” livestream was held where the main creative leads behind fifth edition – commonly referred to as 5e – were asked about upcoming content and secret plans.
Revealed during the livestream was the bombshell that earlier this year work began on the next evolution of Dungeons and Dragons, meaning new versions of the core rule books which will come out in 2024 to celebrate the game’s 50 year anniversary.
Ray Winniger, Executive Producer of Wizards of the Coast’s (WotC) D&D studio, said: “One thing I can assure is [that] these new versions of the books are going to be completely compatible with all those fifth edition products you already own and love.
“Next year we’ll have lots to say about some cool new things we’re doing in the digital arena to deliver exciting new Dungeons and Dragons experiences.”
This news comes after much speculation about a new edition or update to the rules like third edition received with 3.5e, following a batch of surveys released by WotC earlier in the year asking for player feedback on the 5e Player’s Handbook which released back in 2014.
Alongside this news came the announcement of a new product called the Rules Expansion Gift Set.
This gift set, primed for release on January 25, 2022, will include new printings of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything accompanied by a brand-new book called Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.
The gift set will also include a DM screen, and everything will be housed inside a sturdy slip case similar to the Core Rules Gift Set.
An alternative-art version of the gift set will be released exclusively in local game stores at the same time. Both versions will be priced at $169.95 (approx. £125.50).
Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse will be a treasure trove of creature related material that has appeared previously in other 5e products but now brought together and updated in one book.
The book will contain over 250 monsters and NPCs players could encounter, and it will also provide over 30 playable races previously published outside the PHB that are setting-agnostic.
Jeremy Crawford, Lead Rules Designer for Wizards of the Coast, said: “All of the creatures in the book have benefitted from playtest feedback we’ve gotten over the last seven years.
“We’ve made improvements in clarity, we’ve added new abilities, we’ve rebalanced things, [and] we’ve made some of the material easier to digest at the game table.”
To demonstrate some of the changes to older monsters, they showed off a stat block for a War Priest, which was originally released in Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
One major change is that they are doing away with the spell slots for DM-controlled creatures, making it easier to run at the table. Instead, creatures will now have ‘daily’ and ‘at-will’ spells that they can cast as an action, in order to streamline play and prep.
Finally, Chris Perkins, D&D’s senior story designer, said: “As we look forward we can expect more adventure anthologies, another classic setting to return fairly soon, next year, plus we’re exploring two all new settings for future publication.”
These brand new settings in development have never been presented to the D&D audience, and it marks the first time since Eberron was introduced in 2004 that the team have been able to come up with completely original settings.
The classic setting alluded to may have something to do with the alternative cover art sketch revealed at the very end of the livestream.
The piece is of the miniature giant space hamster ‘Boo’, one of D&D’s oldest and perhaps most famous characters, surrounded by 10 eyes. Could it be confirmation at last that Spelljammer will be returning in 5e?
Images: Wizards of the Coast, D&D, Hydro74