There are plenty of different directions to take when following up the core trio of the revisedDungeons & Dragons2024 rulebooks, but what this edition truly needs most is a wholly original setting, designed from the ground up around the new rules.D&Dhasn’t seen a dedicated original setting book released since 2004, more than 20 years ago, whenEberronlaunched during 3.5’s era.Eberronwas an ideal venue for the 3.5 system, and it was a world where every bit of the edition’s content felt perfectly at home.D&Ddesperately needs a world that showcases its revised rules.
Job listings from Wizards of the Coast suggest it is possible thatnewDnDsettings are coming soon. The company has published setting books which may seem new for 5eDnD, butnone of these were designed explicitly for the current rules in the wayEberronwas for 3.5. Settings likeTherosandRavnicawere ported from WOTC’sMagic: The GatheringIP. TheWildemountsetting WOTC published originated withCritical Role, and while the Actual Play is popularly associated withD&D, its campaign originally began using thePathfinderrule system. None of these settings come close to whatEberronoffered.
Eberron Was Designed For 3e D&D From The Ground Up
3.5 Game Mechanics Shaped The World Of Eberron, 5e Needs This Approach
EveryDungeons & Dragonsedition differsin its approach to the rules, which impacts world-building and in-fiction reality in its campaign worlds. The 3e system had a magic item creation system built into its core rules. This involved expending both material components and experience to create items, and each item required access to different spells.Eberronmade magic item production a part of its world’s economy, rather than an ancient secret lost to the sands of time. The NPC Magewright class and the playable Artificer class both leaned into this theme.D&Dmechanics shapedEberron’s world.
I’m Glad The D&D 2024 Updated Ruleset Didn’t Change The Best New Rule From 5e
The 2024 Dungeons & Dragons rules kept the most important rules of 5e intact, including Concentration, a truly vital tool for spellcaster balancing.
Aplaytest forDnD2024Eberroncontentis currently underway, but both 4e and 5e’s manuals forEberronwere ports of a setting designed from the ground up for 3.5DnD. Every edition presents its own take on heroic fantasy, andthose differences warrantEberron-style worlds that illustrate exactly what makes the new edition unique and special. Fourth edition did not have any original settings from WOTC, as it instead pursued a loosely defined “implied setting” in the Nentir Vale region. UnlikeEberron, Nentir Vale was never published as a proper setting book, leaving DMs to fill in the blanks.
While the 4eDnD“Points of Light” theme paired well with its mechanics, and DMs could infer a good deal from the game’s revised cosmology and deities, Nentir Vale was not a true setting in the wayEberronwas.Eberronremains one ofDnD’s most popular campaign worlds two full editions after its original release, but it is a 3.5 setting converted to work with other rules.Fourth edition certainly deserved a full bespoke setting book, but 5e has been around for longer than 4e, and it’s also yet to receive such a campaign world, making it far overdue.
Third Parties Have Done The Heaving Lifting On Original 5e Worlds
The5eDnDCritical Rolecollaboration bookexcited many players, and as of now, there have been three separate 5e setting books published based on the world of Exandria. The fact remains thatExandria began as a campaign world for a Pathfinder game, even if it has existed longer as a 5eDnDsetting. It was not designed around the tone suggested by 5e’s rules, with mechanics feeding into fiction, asEberrondid for 3.5. Other fifth edition campaign worlds from WOTC have followed suit, as ports from olderDnDeditions or other IPs in the company’s portfolio, likeMagic.
Dungeons & Dragons Campaigns Can Enhance Roleplaying With The Help Of Carl Jung
Dungeons & Dragons includes Backgrounds and Alignments which help with roleplaying. Adding Carl Jung’s Persona and Shadow takes RP to the next level.
Where Wizards has dropped the ball on original settings, third parties have certainly stepped up on campaign worlds bespoke for the edition. There are many greatsci-fi alternatives toDungeons & Dragonsthat use the 5e system, likeEsper GenesisandSomnus Domina. Fresh new spins on fantasy, likeCloudseaandCrystalpunkpush the limits of the genre, and dark settings likeSoulmistandNightfellprovide exciting alternatives to another rip toRavenloft. Some third-party settings even use 5e mechanics in worlds without magic, likeEveryday HeroesandDr. Grordbort’s Scientific Adventure Violence.Third-party setting variety and creativity is staggering.
If the 2024 revisedDungeons & Dragonshopes to get players excited again, its conservative rule changes are not enough, but an entirely new world to showcase those rules, likeEberrononce did, could invigorate the game
The popularity of the 5e system, along with its initially welcoming license, attracted numerous third-party products prior toDnD’s disastrous OGL 1.1 revision plansthat were thankfully walked back. These also included a good number of ports to the new system, like the 5e versions of campaign worlds likeNumenera,Rokugan, andIron Kingdoms. Importantly,third parties picked up the slack, giving 5eDnDthe fresh campaign worlds that it deserved.Planegeaexplores a stone ageDnDworld,Planebreakerinvolves a cursed moon crashing through the multiverse, andThe Wagadu Chroncilesdelves into African mythology. WOTC, meanwhile, offers nothing new.
An Original Official Setting Could Revitalize 2024 D&D
Regurgitating Greyhawk & Faerun Does Not Make The New D&D Rules Exciting
It’s a problem that the most excitingD&D5e settings are third-party, when WOTC has the resources to produce a fresh setting every year. Many dedicatedDnDfans have been playing the game for years, so there is certainly an audience eager to revisit beloved settings likeSpelljammerandPlanescape. That isno excuse for going more than two decades without a fully realized original world for the tabletop RPG hobby’s flagship game from its own publisher. The bulk of 2014 5eD&D’s content centered on theForgotten Realmssetting, which has been in print since the late 1980s.
D&D 2024 Made My Party’s Favorite Druid Subclass So Much Worse
The 2014 Circle of the Moon druid was among the game’s most unconventional tanking builds, but the 2024 changes to Wild Shape fully ruin Moon druids.
With its 2024 revision,D&Dhas broughtGreyhawkback into the spotlight in the newDungeon Master’s Guideas a possible campaign venue, andGreyhawkdates back to originalD&D, prior to theAdvancedline. Trotting outGreyhawkis underwhelming, andForgotten Realmshas similarly become overly familiar, with a timeline forced to jump through hoops to accommodate edition changes. For the 2024 revisedDungeons & Dragonsto be exciting again, its conservative rule changes are not enough. Adding an entirely new world to showcase those rules, likeEberrononce did, could invigorate the game.
