Dungeons & Dragons may be in a transitional period, with the advent of One D&D on the horizon for 2024, but 2023 promises to bring plenty of new material for the game’s popular fifth edition. Wizards of the Coast has already revealed a number of books that will release within the year, and the property will also be making significant showings in a couple of other media spheres. Although every fan of the game brings different interests and expectations to the table, the expected lineup of 2022 DnD releases should have something for everyone.
2023 already has some expectations to meet, following up on a successful year of 2022 DnD products. Spelljammer space adventures returned in a DnD boxset with three core books for the setting, providing rules, options, monsters, and a campaign for players to delve into. The revival of Dragonlance arrived in one book packed with a setting overview, character options, and the story and villains of a world at war. The Rules Expansion Gift Set collected Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and the newly released Mordenkainen Presents: Multiverse of Monsters in one package. Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep and Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel also gave tables new adventures to embark upon.
Keys From The Golden Vault Brings New Heists To D&D
Although the first DnD book of 2023 will be a rebalanced re-release of 2019’s Tyranny of Dragons, the first entirely new release will arrive in February with Keys From the Golden Vault. This heist-themed DnD anthology promises a selection of adventures centered around capers, giving players who like planning and DMs who like watching plans fail plenty to be excited about. Like in 2022’s Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel and a smattering of prior 5e books, the separate stories contained within Keys From the Golden Vault should allow tables to craft a story through multiple adventures or pick and choose what to insert into homebrew campaigns.
Live Large With D&D’s Glory Of The Giants
Keys From the Golden Vault will be followed up by Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, a sourcebook that promises to unfurl lore and options for some of the larger humanoids of the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Like Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, the title indicates that an established character, in this case the spell-inventing wizard Bigby, will lay out new material for a powerful race. 2022 saw an Unearthed Arcana release of DnD 5e giant subclasses and feats, and players can expect Glory of the Giants to canonize, tweak, and expand upon these ideas in a way that will herald their arrival at a host of game tables.
D&D Finds The Lost Mine Of Phandelver Again In 2023
There are a million different ways to jump into DnD for the first time, whether diving into an established homebrew campaign or sticking with the classics like Curse of Strahd, but many 5e players had their first adventure with Lost Mine of Phandelver. As the introductory adventure included in the original DnD 5e Starter Set, Lost Mine of Phandelver eased players into a simple story with enough variety to hook them on the game. An announced Phandelver campaign that will release in summer 2023 will allow players to return to this setting for a full cosmic horror Phandelver DnD campaign, hopefully satisfying fans who were initially left wanting more.
The Book Of Many Things Causes D&D Chaos
Fall will see the release of a DnD rules expansion book in the form of The Book of Many Things. With a title that recalls the infamously chaotic Deck of Many Things that has changed the fate of many players and derailed numerous campaigns, The Book of Many Things promises to shake up the system. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything already added subclasses, feats, and spells aplenty, and the new book is likely to follow their lead with new options for every player. If The Book of Many Things is anything like its predecessors, DMs can also expect handy new resources to have at their fingertips.
The D&D Multiverse Returns With Planescape
The last major book release that Wizards of the Coast has revealed for 2023 is the fall arrival of a new 2023 Planescape campaign setting resource. Like Spelljammer and Dragonlance, Planescape has its fair share of longtime fans, a reputation bolstered by the acclaimed PC game Planescape: Torment. Planescape brings a DnD multiverse to life, leaving the more familiar Material Plane behind for the variety of weird realities that lie beyond. The new Planescape experience will follow Spelljammer’s model of a three-book set, and this expansive approach may well be necessary to cover the breadth of the setting.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Brings Back A D&D Classic
Although most major DnD releases come in the form of books, there can always be exceptions. In the video gaming sphere, this year should finally see the 2023 release of Baldur’s Gate 3, a title that has been in early access since 2020. Baldur’s Gate 3 acts as the resurrection of a long-dormant series, with the first title releasing in 1998 and the second in 2000. The first two games were developed by industry legend BioWare, but the team behind Baldur’s Gate 3 at Larian Studios is no slouch, having been responsible for the acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin RPGs.
Honor Among Thieves Puts D&D On The Big Screen
The biggest 2023 gambit for DnD comes in box office form, with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves representing the first attempt at a DnD film in over a decade. With an apparent blockbuster scope and stars like Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez bringing its adventuring party to life, Honor Among Thieves has the potential to bring more new players to DnD than ever. Even if the movie doesn’t reach the masses to the full extent of its possible appeal, fans of the game will hopefully find enough to enjoy in watching party antics play out on the big screen.
As the final year of DnD 5e before One D&D arrives in 2024, 2023 represents a last hurrah packed with new arrivals. Whether a return to Phandelver beckons or the vast strangeness of Planescape calls, any group of players should be able to have a worthy experience with this new set of releases. No matter what the future of One D&D brings, the stories told and adventures lived through the vast possibilities of Dungeons & Dragons 5e in 2023 will be long remembered by the players who brought them to life.
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