For the rest of its 50th Anniversary year, Dungeons & Dragons will be focused on releasing a new set of core books. Players Handbook is due out for everyone on September 17th, 2024 although there have been some early releases for fans who attended Gen Con or pre-order the book on D&D Beyond. Dungeon Master’s Guide arrives on November 12th, 2024.
The trilogy rounds out with Monster Manual on February 18th, 2025. Many fans are asking “What’s Next?” for the line. The D&D Direct presentation provided some answers for not just upcoming books but also a deeper look into Project Sigil.
Dragon Anthology (Working Title)
What better way to kick off a new campaign with the latest core books than a collection of adventures featuring the most iconic creatures in the game? Dragon focused books are often the most popular ones in the D&D line outside of the main rules. Even fantasy fans who don’t play the game often pick them up just to read.
This anthology contains a lot of lore about the metallic and chromatic dragons and their ongoing conflicts with each other. It will highlight these stories with ten short adventures scattered throughout the tiers of play. Dungeon Masters can tie together the stories into a campaign or use the adventures to pit their players against dragons of all kinds.
Updated Starter Set (Working Title)
Fifth Edition has been graced with several boxed set that have been vital to introducing players to the game. These sets teach the game while showing people the fun of slipping into a fantasy character to explore a dangerou space. Adventures like Lost Mine of Phandelver are an important part to millions of D&D origin stories.
The upcoming Starter Set featuring the 2024 rules will harken back to another foundational D&D experience. For many players, Keep on the Borderlands was their first chance to explore the rich storytelling and deadly combat of D&D. The new starter set will feature a reimagined version of this adventure split across the books; one for preparing expeditions in the keep, one for exploring the wilderness and one for facing off with the villainous creatures in the legendary Caves of Chaos.
Forgotten Realms Players Guide (Working Title)
Much has been made about Greyhawk’s return in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. It was the first Dungeons & Dragons setting fifty years ago and remains one of many great options for Dungeon Masters who don’t have time to build their own worlds. The most popular one remains the Forgotten Realms.
That’s why it’s getting two books due out in 2025. The first book will feature a setting overview for new players and returning fans to see what’s changed in the Realms and what’s stayed the same. This book will also contain new player options such as subclasses, feats, backgrounds and more.
Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide (Working Title)
The second book features information about Faerun aimed at the Dungeon Master. There will be five locations detailed in the book that offer multiple kinds of fantasy adventure. From the brooding city of Baldur’s Gate to the frozen wasteland of Icewind Dale, many famous locations will be detailed for the DM’s disposal.
The Forgotten Realms books also offer a glimpse of how Dungeons & Dragons might handle its deep catalog of beloved settings. Rather than a single book during the bulk of Fifth Edition, the company might detail these places with two books. One book might be player facing full of rules and mechanics, while the second details the setting and inspires the Dungeon Master.
Project Sigil
One of the biggest areas of expansion in games like Dungeons & Dragons is the virtual space. Players are embracing digital toolsets like D&D Beyond or Demiplane Nexus. They are also looking at virtual tabletops which makes gaming with faraway friends or players with busy schedules much easier.
The big names in this space include Roll20, Foundry Virtual Tabletop and Fantasy Grounds. Gaming groups turned to these spaces in 2020 to keep their campaigns going in an online space. Many players found they preferred the virtual worlds created by these companies to in person gaming.
Project Sigil offers tools that can be used online and at a physical table. The program made its public debut at Gen Con during the high profile game played at D&D Live. Now its closed beta is coming later this year in the hopes of showing players yet another way to play D&D.
