Two classic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS settings to return this year

Wizards of the Coast have confirmed they are resurrecting two classic Dungeons and Dragons settings from the 1980s and revamping them for the current 5th Edition of the tabletop roleplaying game.

The older and better-known of the two is Dragonlance. Originally appearing in print in 1984, Dragonlance melds the traditional fantasy adventuring of D&D with a Lord of the Rings-style epic over-plot. Set on the continent of Ansalon on the world of Krynn, the original Dragonlance campaign pitted the players against Takhisis, the multi-headed draconic goddess of evil, as she tried to conquer the world with her army of dragon-riding warriors. The campaign was adapted into the mega-bestselling Dragonlance Chronicles novel trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which has now (along with several sequel series) sold over 30 million copies.

Despite the immense success of the original Dragonlance campaign and the ongoing success of the novel line, later editions of the campaign setting sold poorly. In 2003 it was outsourced to Margaret Weis's own company, Sovereign Press, where it enjoyed considerable renewed success as a setting for Dungeon & Dragons' 3rd Edition. In 2009 Wizards of the Coast revoked the licence, with the last tabletop material and the last novel for the setting appearing in that year. Despite various discussions, the setting languished unloved until last year, when it was confirmed that Weis and Hickman would be returning with a new Dragonlance novel, Dragons of Deceit, for publication later this year.

The new D&D material will comprise two products. The first, Shadow of the Dark Queen, is an adventure and setting book. The second, Warriors of Krynn, is a board game which will interface with the tabletop RPG experience and allow the player characters to recruit armies and fight in large battles, similar to the old Battlesystem expansion for D&D 2nd Edition. Warriors of Krynn is designed by Stephen Baker (the creator of the old Battle Masters miniatures wargame) and Rob Daviau, best-known for his work on the "Legacy" school of board games (like Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy). Both games will be set during the original War of the Lance time period.

More obscure, but potentially more interesting, is Spelljammer. Created by Jeff Grubb and originally appearing in 1989, Spelljammer introduced space travel to the D&D game. However, rather than mechanical spacecraft moving via physics, Spelljammer features elaborate craft resembling ocean-going galleons, huge pieces of coral or animals. Rather than flying through space as we know it, they traverse "wildspace," the space between planets, and the "phlogiston," the sea-like space between star systems. Spelljammer features a strong "Age of Sail" flavour, although the rules also allow for concepts like worlds with different atmospheres and different levels of gravity. A number of expansions, adventures and a series of novels were released for the setting.

Despite praise for the offbeat setting, it was discontinued at the end of 1992. Fan efforts were made to keep the setting going, and material in both the 3rd and 4th Editions of D&D referenced Spelljamming. The 5th Edition adventure Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage and the Early Access video game Baldur's Gate III both feature Spelljammers prominently, leading to speculation about the setting's return.

The setting is returning in force as well, with three books to be released simultaneously in August 2022 (available separately or in a boxed set). The Astral Adventurer's Guide is the new setting core rulebook, featuring rules on creating new characters and adventuring in the setting. Boo's Astral Menagerie is a guide to monsters and new races, featuring vampirates, sentient comets and space dragons, among many others. Wrapping things up is Light of Xaryxis, a 12-part epic adventure. The boxed set also contains a DM's screen and a fold-out map of the Rock of Bral, an asteroid located in orbit above Toril (the Forgotten Realms planet), the traditional starting place for Spelljammer adventures (though, as with the original game, you will likely be able to place the Rock of Bral wherever you like).