Dungeons Dragons Unveils Full Product Line Release Dates And Details Update

Update: Details continue to emerge, with an organized play program and information about some of the rulebook being free. Update 1:55 PM EST: Wizards of the Coast has released a set of images to accompany the game, including the new logo: Release dates for the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and various adventures unveiled. Update 12:25 AM EST: Kobold Press has confirmed that they are the design studio behind the new adventures, and Wizards of the Coast will simply publish that material. In a joint statement, Dungeons & Dragons R&D member Mike Mearls said that Kobold Press writers Wolfgang Baur and Steve Winter were “at the top of his list” for writing the new D&D adventures. “What I love about Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat is how Wolfgang and Steve Winter have approached the traditional adventure format. While the episodic structure makes it easy for DMs to trace the campaign’s humble beginnings to its epic conclusion, within those episodes is a level of flexibility and freedom for DMs and players that places this among the great D&D campaigns.” From that information, it appears that the new adventures will have an episodic format within individual books, meaning that both adventures may include multiple mini-adventures within them. The products announced are: Dungeons & Dragons, to be released later this year, will be the fifth official edition of the fantasy roleplaying game. It went through an extensive public playtest in late 2012 and early 2013, and has been in private development ever since. Posted alongside the releases were two new miniatures products which by the familiar look of the sculpts are part of the line of miniatures produced by WizKids that were previously announced:

Icons of the Realms: Starter Set (July 14, 2014); Miniatures; $19.99; Described as a starter pack and clearly including figures intended as adventurers. Described as including “the dwarf cleric, human ranger, halfling rouge[sic], northlands fighter, elf wizard, and the famous drow ranger, Drizzt Do’Urden.” Icons of the Realms: Booster (July, 2014); Miniatures; $15.99; A box of four blind miniatures “inspired by the Tyranny of Dragons storyline” and almost definitely catered to go alongside the starter set and first adventures including “dragons, kobold fighters, bugbears, wraiths, mind flayers, and many more iconic D&D characters.”

Trevor Kidd, Wizards of the Coast’s community manager, also posted a mockup of the book’s spines. The products are listed on the Wizards of the Coast website. What does all of this mean? Check out our article on whether or not D&D‘s release plan is botched or brilliant.