In December 2018, redditors on the DnDNext board looked ahead and gave their predictions about the state of Dungeons and Dragons in 2024. When DnD 5e hit its 10 year anniversary, which supplements would Wizards of the Coast still not have released? This Thursday, members of the same board unearthed the old thread to see which of the old prophecies had come to pass.
The old predictions make an interesting lens through which to examine ten years of DnD 5th edition. Has the edition shaped up the way people expected (or feared)? Have things come true, but not in the way that people hoped?
The 2018 thread is like a time capsule of hopes, dreams, and – this being gamers predicting things they thought wouldn’t get released – a good deal of cynicism.
Correct predictions – things that didn’t release for DnD 5e:
Dark Sun. The world of Athas is a post-apocalyptic fantasy desert cut off from the rest of the multiverse, where arcane magic drains life from the earth, slavery is commonplace, where the earliest histories include the genocide of many iconic DnD races, there is no connection to the rest of the multiverse, and there are no gods.
WotC last released a Dark Sun supplement during DnD 4th edition, and we think it will struggle to release one now. Athas is interesting because of its horrible spiky edges, particularly in the setting. In the recent cowboy-themed Thunder Junction Magic the Gathering set, Wizards didn’t even attempt to reckon with the problematic elements of colonial settlement that underpin the Western genre.
“An idiots guide to Faerȗn”. Despite most of the DnD 5e campaigns being set in the Forgotten Realms, there was never a 5th ed setting book. “Getting info on the cities and what it’s like there can be frustrating”, says original commenter Bishopkilljoy. Wizards is acting on this belatedly, as it’s just added two Forgotten Realms books to the DnD release schedule for the new edition.
“The boxed campaigns of my youth with poster maps”. While the three-book sets that Wizards has switched to for many recent releases do contain poster maps, we don’t think boxed campaigns will ever return. Quality cardboard is surprisingly expensive, and by the end of TSR’s existence the boxed sets that older players remember fondly were being sold at a loss.
Perhaps the biggest prediction: “D&D 6E isn’t out yet”. Which, despite the imminent release of the DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook, we’re inclined to say is true. Wizards hasn’t given the new version of the rules a suffix yet, but it’s fundamentally an extension of DnD 5e.
Things we got:
Not every prediction proved ill-founded, and fifth edition visited far more planes than many players expected.
“An epic level campaign that is built entirely for levels 15-20” – this prediction only just came true thanks to Vecna, Eve of Ruin, which pits the players against one of DnD’s most iconic undead overlords. Our Eve of Ruin review called it “a varied and interesting adventure”.
Dragonlance – the Shadow of the Dragon Queen took players back to Krynn and the iconic DnD Dragonlance setting in early 2022. Our Shadow of the Dragon Queen review called it “modern, approachable, and engaging”.
Spelljammer – DnD’s whacky space-faring setting arrived in 2022, though it crash landed pretty badly. Our Spelljammer review called it a “waste of space”.
The Artificer – a DnD class heavily connected to the Eberron setting, a playtest version was available from 2017, but the final version didn’t appear in print until Eberron: Rising from the Last War released in 2019.
“A Fey based campaign” – The Wild Beyond the Witchlight delivered on this promise in 2021. We said “it might be D&D’s silliest adventure” in our Wild Beyond the Witchlight review.
What are your predictions for the future of DnD? Our DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook review was very positive, and we think that some of the rules changes have created a better foundation for future releases. Check out this article by Matt Bassil, arguing that the new background system should make setting guides much more meaningful for players.
Source: Wargamer
