The first image, of the heroes, On its own, it is very compositionally just ok, but when the image is viewed in full, like having the book open seeing the front and back, it is fully dynamic and really 'wow!' worthy..
It looks like it was designed to be a poster first, that is where it has its full impact.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
Interesting they're calling it an expansion rather than a setting book or whatever.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
They've said similar with the Eberron book, that it's designed to sit alongside Rising from the Last War rather than replace it so I wonder if these will also be thinner slightly cheaper books to go with previous releases and just update a few things
Saw this list on reddit so I thought I would share it here.
Heroes of Faerûn
8 new subclasses: Paladin Oath of the Noble Genie, Ranger Winterwalker, Rogue Scion of the Three (Affectionally named the Murder Rogue by the devs) but nothing new we dont already know.
no new species but every species gets more cultural details specific to Faerûn "Each species feels more grounded in the world, this is where we tell you the difference between Gold Dwarf and Shield Dwarf"
new feats and backgrounds
you can join up with factions like with the Zents and the Harpers and use the Renown optional rule from the DM Guide. Renown levels allow you to build faction facilities in your Bastion
New Spells: examples "Simbul's Synostodweomer" which can be cast on someone and it heals them everytime they use their own spell as an example.
Circle Magic: Large scale spells that can be dangerous rituals by NPCs (?) or used by multiple player casters working together to amplify a single spell. One of those spells is "Doomtide from a previous Edition" a large circle of Dark Fog that curses and syphons people and the Circle Magic variant is a permanent version ravaging the countryside "For as long as you need"
50 pages of all things forgotten realms, gods, equipment etc.
Adventures of Faerûn
Over 50 Adventures from one shots to lengthy stuff
5 "Minisettings" Dalelands, Icewind Dale, BG, Moonshae Islands and Calimshan. Calimshan was reworked with the help of Professor Shahreena Shahrani, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Culture at Ohio State Uni to make a thoughtful new Middle Eastern version of that place "tension between city constructed on high magic and technology surrounded by desert filled with Genies and their ilk"
Each "Minisetting" has its own Narrator, for example Karlach is the one for BG
10 Regions with one page adventures from Thay to Rashemen to the North.
New Monsters, doesn't specify how many, example is the new Spirit Dragon. (I'm gonna be real I mostly just wanna know who this polite looking gentleman they showed when they announced the book is and if he gets rules in the book. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GWAYmszWoAITyIG?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 )
New Items: Crown of Horns, cursed artifact of Myrkul named as an example. Makes an Aura of Fear and ways to do Necrotic Damage.
Other famous characters like Drizzt and Astarion feature in these books.
Sounds like they're trying to emulate the styles used by other games (Briefs from Star Trek Adventures or Landmarks from TOR), because no way are they doing 50 traditional D&D style adventures in one book. That's something that could be interesting.
For those unaware, Briefs/Landmarks, they're not handholdy adventures like D&D ones. Briefs are basically outlines for the story, perhaps a paragraph or two long. The idea is you use them as inspiration to build up your own adventure around it (they're free on DriveThruRPG or on the Modiphius website if you want to see one). Landmarks are more bulked out, but are locations, often with maps, and have suggested enemies there, as well as suggestions for narratives etc you could set up there. Kind of a barebones oneshot that is really easy to modify and insert into your campaign.
I'm really excited if that's what they're doing for D&D. At the moment, it's too all-or-nothing - there's either the adventures that are very prescriptive and handholdy, or you just homebrew. These bridge the gap for people like me that can't do pure homebrew yet, but want to start stretching their wings.
The big issue I see is D&D progression. TOR and STA have very flat progression, so a challenging encounter for a starter group will still be a viable threat to a veteran one. They can set up an encounter with orcs that is a meaningful encounter for any group (that is of a reasonable size, or they can just say X per Y players). You can't do that for D&D - an encounter that would without question slaughter a L1 party would be a complete waste of time running for a L20. It doesn't take many levels before it becomes obsolete either. So I'm curious how they're going to solve that...or if they'll just say "this is for level 1 players". Not quite as good, but it would make sense I guess.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What you're describing as "briefs" in other games sounds very similar to the mini-adventures they included in the Greyhawk section in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Each them is written for a specific level. I'd imagine a lot of the 50 are that kind of thing.
I’d liked the concept of splitting the player and DM books, and I think I may also like the execution. I play and DM in homebrew worlds and so had planned on only getting the player book for some new character options, while skipping the world-building stuff in the DM book. It looks like that will still be a good option, at least for me.
I just hope it’s successful for them and they keep going with this model.
The Briefs/Landmarks sound very similar to the "Campaign Frames" Daggerheart uses. Judging by the format for the new starter set and the Stranger Things box WotC seem to be stealing a lot of design pointers from Critical Role so maybe the frames format is being borrowed for this too.
More specifically if these summaries are true I'm liking the sound of whats being offered. I don't run games in the Forgotten Realms but I'm very fond of the setting (you never forget your first) and I'll be very interested to see some more of it than 5e has really offered so far. Also nice to see Bastions getting continued support and tying them into faction affiliation is a nice idea. Also going to be interested to see the circle magic
The Briefs/Landmarks sound very similar to the "Campaign Frames" Daggerheart uses. Judging by the format for the new starter set and the Stranger Things box WotC seem to be stealing a lot of design pointers from Critical Role so maybe the frames format is being borrowed for this too.
More specifically if these summaries are true I'm liking the sound of whats being offered. I don't run games in the Forgotten Realms but I'm very fond of the setting (you never forget your first) and I'll be very interested to see some more of it than 5e has really offered so far. Also nice to see Bastions getting continued support and tying them into faction affiliation is a nice idea. Also going to be interested to see the circle magic
I see a lot of comparisons to Daggerheart in the things we're putting out lately, and I just wanna remind folks that development for these products is often years in the making, and any similarities are more likely the result of coincidence than cribbing.
What you're describing as "briefs" in other games sounds very similar to the mini-adventures they included in the Greyhawk section in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Each them is written for a specific level. I'd imagine a lot of the 50 are that kind of thing.
I haven't seen them, but the description reminds me more of the adventure hooks in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount: little descriptions of a goings-on in an area of the Forgotten Realms that can be fleshed further out into a campaign or one-shot.
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Saw this list on reddit so I thought I would share it here.
Adventures of Faerûn
5 "Minisettings" Dalelands, Icewind Dale, BG, Moonshae Islands and Calimshan. Calimshan was reworked with the help of Professor Shahreena Shahrani, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Culture at Ohio State Uni to make a thoughtful new Middle Eastern version of that place "tension between city constructed on high magic and technology surrounded by desert filled with Genies and their ilk".
Sounds like they're trying to emulate the styles used by other games (Briefs from Star Trek Adventures or Landmarks from TOR), because no way are they doing 50 traditional D&D style adventures in one book. That's something that could be interesting.
5 "Minisettings" Dalelands, Icewind Dale, BG, Moonshae Islands and Calimshan. Calimshan was reworked with the help of Professor Shahreena Shahrani, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Culture at Ohio State Uni to make a thoughtful new Middle Eastern version of that place "tension between city constructed on high magic and technology surrounded by desert filled with Genies and their ilk"
What do you think?
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
https://gameinformer.com/tabletop/2025/07/22/the-art-of-the-new-dd-forgotten-realms
Here is the link to the article about it.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I like this one for the DM Book
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
The first image, of the heroes, On its own, it is very compositionally just ok, but when the image is viewed in full, like having the book open seeing the front and back, it is fully dynamic and really 'wow!' worthy..
It looks like it was designed to be a poster first, that is where it has its full impact.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Karlach, Minsc, the dark elf mercenary from the Drizzt novels, and is that the sorcerer from the last Dungeons & Dragons movie?
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I'm here for anything with more Karlach.
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ModeratorThe mercenary’s name is Jarlaxl. Vajra Safahr (the current Blackstaff) is the wizard.
Need help with D&D Beyond? Come ask in the official D&D server on Discord: https://discord.gg/qWzGhwBjYr
Couldn't remember the dark elf's name- been too long since I read any of the novels. Thanks.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I really like them, now just to see if the books are as good as the artwork
Interesting they're calling it an expansion rather than a setting book or whatever.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
They've said similar with the Eberron book, that it's designed to sit alongside Rising from the Last War rather than replace it so I wonder if these will also be thinner slightly cheaper books to go with previous releases and just update a few things
Saw this list on reddit so I thought I would share it here.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Sounds promising
50 adventures?
Sounds like they're trying to emulate the styles used by other games (Briefs from Star Trek Adventures or Landmarks from TOR), because no way are they doing 50 traditional D&D style adventures in one book. That's something that could be interesting.
_________________________________________________________
For those unaware, Briefs/Landmarks, they're not handholdy adventures like D&D ones. Briefs are basically outlines for the story, perhaps a paragraph or two long. The idea is you use them as inspiration to build up your own adventure around it (they're free on DriveThruRPG or on the Modiphius website if you want to see one). Landmarks are more bulked out, but are locations, often with maps, and have suggested enemies there, as well as suggestions for narratives etc you could set up there. Kind of a barebones oneshot that is really easy to modify and insert into your campaign.
I'm really excited if that's what they're doing for D&D. At the moment, it's too all-or-nothing - there's either the adventures that are very prescriptive and handholdy, or you just homebrew. These bridge the gap for people like me that can't do pure homebrew yet, but want to start stretching their wings.
The big issue I see is D&D progression. TOR and STA have very flat progression, so a challenging encounter for a starter group will still be a viable threat to a veteran one. They can set up an encounter with orcs that is a meaningful encounter for any group (that is of a reasonable size, or they can just say X per Y players). You can't do that for D&D - an encounter that would without question slaughter a L1 party would be a complete waste of time running for a L20. It doesn't take many levels before it becomes obsolete either. So I'm curious how they're going to solve that...or if they'll just say "this is for level 1 players". Not quite as good, but it would make sense I guess.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What you're describing as "briefs" in other games sounds very similar to the mini-adventures they included in the Greyhawk section in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Each them is written for a specific level. I'd imagine a lot of the 50 are that kind of thing.
pronouns: he/she/they
I’d liked the concept of splitting the player and DM books, and I think I may also like the execution. I play and DM in homebrew worlds and so had planned on only getting the player book for some new character options, while skipping the world-building stuff in the DM book. It looks like that will still be a good option, at least for me.
I just hope it’s successful for them and they keep going with this model.
The Briefs/Landmarks sound very similar to the "Campaign Frames" Daggerheart uses. Judging by the format for the new starter set and the Stranger Things box WotC seem to be stealing a lot of design pointers from Critical Role so maybe the frames format is being borrowed for this too.
More specifically if these summaries are true I'm liking the sound of whats being offered. I don't run games in the Forgotten Realms but I'm very fond of the setting (you never forget your first) and I'll be very interested to see some more of it than 5e has really offered so far. Also nice to see Bastions getting continued support and tying them into faction affiliation is a nice idea. Also going to be interested to see the circle magic
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D&D StaffI see a lot of comparisons to Daggerheart in the things we're putting out lately, and I just wanna remind folks that development for these products is often years in the making, and any similarities are more likely the result of coincidence than cribbing.
I haven't seen them, but the description reminds me more of the adventure hooks in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount: little descriptions of a goings-on in an area of the Forgotten Realms that can be fleshed further out into a campaign or one-shot.
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