New products coming to 5e this year

[Amiel]

Nathan Stewart and Kate Welch of WotC teased the images below for what appears to be a nautical-themed hardcover (as you know WotC recently released the Of Ships and the Sea UA), though it doesn't seem to be an adventure. Perhaps it'll be more be in the vein of Volo's and Mordenkainen's.
Apparently there'll be 3-4 releases of their hardcovers this year, with spring, summer, and fall all to get releases.

Here're some mock-ups. "Everything you need to float your boat for the world's greatest roleplaying game."
http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=103952&d=1546640257
http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=103953&d=1546640272
http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=103954&d=1546640312
http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=103955&d=1546640377

[Unoriginal]

Interesting. Though making a "Sea Life Volo's" would definitively be an odd choice, so I'm guessing it's more likely a joke announcing a sea-faring module.

[Millstone85]

"Sea Life Volo's"I can imagine that.

Jarlaxle's Charts to Submarining

Merfolk and Tritons and Sea Elves... Oh, My!
Merrow and Sahuagin, Uh-Oh!
Aboleths, from the Depths of Time
Release the Kraken!
Aquatic Emporium
Planar Oceans
* The Plane of Water
* Fey and Shadow Tides
* The River Styx
* The Amoebic Sea
Ecology of the Eye of the Deep
Bestiary

[Trustypeaches]

Interesting. Though making a "Sea Life Volo's" would definitively be an odd choice, so I'm guessing it's more likely a joke announcing a sea-faring module.
And I would love that.

And also hate it.

The Deep Ocean is probably my greatest fear and a module that sunk me to the lightless depths of the elemental plane of water or fiendish realm of the Sahaguin would scare me more than Curse of Strahd tenfold.

[Unoriginal]

I can imagine that.

Jarlaxle's Charts to Submarining

Merfolk and Tritons and Sea Elves... Oh, My!
Merrow and Sahuagin, Uh-Oh!
Aboleths, from the Depths of Time
Release the Kraken!
Aquatic Emporium
Planar Oceans
* The Plane of Water
* Fey and Shadow Tides
* The River Styx
* The Amoebic Sea
Ecology of the Eye of the Deep
Bestiary


The Sahuagins deserves a JAWS pun for their chapter's titles. Could also have added "the Dead Man's Chest: Undead Underwater".

But for all we know this book would countain new Acid based spells (because Plane of Water) and then people will complain about power creep/book tax to keep X concept relevant.

I can already see the people complaining about how dare lazy, WotC release a book about water when they still haven't done [insert X thing the poster want].

[LtPowers]

I would be happy, because it would mean I might finally get a chance to play my sailor character in Adventurers League and have her actually on a boat.


Powers &8^]

[KorvinStarmast]

Seems like a humorous promotion, the "BOATS AND SHlTE" ought to be the big red flag on that one.

[Millstone85]

I am watching the video (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/358824828) and they keep saying there won't be a Spelljammer book this year. I hope this is what Tv Tropes calls a suspiciously specific denial.

Also, it seems that "the powers that be" really want to try the Ravnica experience in reverse: a MtG expansion set in a D&D "plane".

[Sception]

I remember the series of environment-based expansiond in 3.5 affectionately referred to as the "it's X out" books (ie, "it's cold out," "it's wet out," "it's hot out," etc). I thought they were great books conceptually, with lots of room for both player and gm content, applicable to a wide variety of settings, plus the environmental themes naturally lend themselves to expanded optional rules for survival and exploration. If the implied ocean themed expansion is the first of a similar line fir 5e, I'd be pretty hype for that.

[Kane0]

Well there was a naval UA not too long ago

[Foxhound438]

>boats and ****e

not sure if this is real...

However, I could see a series of books that are for nautical games: one that gives more detailed rules for ships and sea exploration (sea DMG), one that compiles and maybe adds some races and subclasses that work well for a sea campaign, with maybe some feats and spells on top (sea PHB), one that gives more monsters to play with than the generic fish we have (sea MM), and I guess they could have a book detailing some nautical points of interest that would look more like a sea Tales from the Yawning Portal than anything else.

Though I would prefer if they just packed it all into one book.

[Unoriginal]

Seems like a humorous promotion, the "BOATS AND SHlTE" ought to be the big red flag on that one.


>boats and ****e

not sure if this is real...

The titles are probably only jokes (referencing Disney movies and the works of Douglas Adams is hardly the most serious move), doesn't mean the theme is fake.




Though I would prefer if they just packed it all into one book.

... if this is really something they're working on, there is probably only one book. The covers just scream "they're for the joke".

5e is certainly not going to publish several supplements on the same theme like that.

[Zonugal]

Seems oddly coincidental they'd focus on an aquatic-themed supplement with the number one movie across the globe being Aquaman.

That said, sign me up.

[Beechgnome]

I could see it being a guide Iike Volo's, or a Tales of the Yawning Portal group of adventures with some navigation crunch holding it all together.

There are a few iconic sea monsters to (pardon the pun) delve into: the kraken, Aboleth, sahaugin, marid and sea fey (siren and nereid were in TotYP) some playable races that could be compiled in one place (merfolk, sea elves, tortle, triton, genasi, aarokocra, maybe those Krynn Minotaurs?), And a couple subclasses (Sea sorcerer, maybe a Deep warlock based on the Kraken Priest), fighting styles, feats, unique weapons and backgrounds to round it out.

Or maybe it is Spelljammer and it's all a ruse.

[Amiel]

Interesting. Though making a "Sea Life Volo's" would definitively be an odd choice, so I'm guessing it's more likely a joke announcing a sea-faring module.


>boats and ****e

not sure if this is real...

Honestly? I don't think this is a joke announcement, merely the announcement is being conveyed in a very humorous manner.
I would love to have a supplement detailing the different types of oceans, the denizens therein and any sea-faring rules. Also any classes with oceanic themes, give us some more storm sorcerers and their like.
I would also love to a portion of that book dedicated to the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean, that would be excellent.

[Smitty Wesson]

Crossing my fingers for Hadozees as a race here!

But a TftYP style adventure compilation would be good, too.

[Max_Killjoy]

OP -- has that been your avatar, or did you change it just for this?

[Mr_Fixler]

I'm 90% postive that the image from the "Under the Sea" image is from the little mermaid ride at Disney's California Adventure park. I'm mean it's an obvious reference but it's I'm pretty sure it's literally from the ride.

[Amiel]

OP -- has that been your avatar, or did you change it just for this?

lol, it's been my avatar for the longest time. It's perfect for this announcement :P

[Amiel]

We also need to dedicate bits of that book to social encounters on the high seas. A shout for Parley! should be the norm for every combat encounter, followed by a swift sword stab or slash or a buckshot to the face when things go south because social norms on the high seas are only a guideline.

[Edenbeast]

I am watching the video (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/358824828) and they keep saying there won't be a Spelljammer book this year. I hope this is what Tv Tropes calls a suspiciously specific denial.

Also, it seems that "the powers that be" really want to try the Ravnica experience in reverse: a MtG expansion set in a D&D "plane".

"So long and thanks for all the fish" is from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's the last massage from the dolphins when they leave Earth. Everything you need to float your boat in is Spelljammer... Maybe? Denial is not a river in Egypt.

[Millstone85]

"So long and thanks for all the fish" is from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's the last massage from the dolphins when they leave Earth. Everything you need to float your boat in is Spelljammer... Maybe? Denial is not a river in Egypt.A book on all sorts of ships, perchance?
* regular ships
* airships
* submarines
* drill tanks
* spelljammers
* astral ships

That would be pretty awesome too.

[SpanielBear]

Some of the cover art, even if it's just for a joke, is really nice though.

[LtPowers]

I'm 90% postive that the image from the "Under the Sea" image is from the little mermaid ride at Disney's California Adventure park. I'm mean it's an obvious reference but it's I'm pretty sure it's literally from the ride.

I'm 100% positive it's either that ride or the sister ride at the Magic Kingdom.


Powers &8^]

[JakOfAllTirades]

I'm just sitting here with the dregs of my tea, thinking What the ****???

[Vogie]

I think this is their April Fools announcement.

It may not be false though.

Mark Rosewater, lead designer of Magic: The Gathering, used the popularity of the Twilight series with the general public as a way to get the higher-ups to allow them to create the world that would be Innistrad.

It wouldn't surprise me that between Black Sails hitting 4 seasons, Vikings hitting 5 seasons, Assassins Creed: Black Flag, and the still-coming Pirates of the Caribbean movies, that WotC is jumping on the seafaring train. Doubly so if they blend in airships and aetherships in the ruleset for sky and planar pirates.

[Beechgnome]

The thing is, a seafaring book isn't totally out of nowhere.

They had a seafaring UA super early in the UA cycle that gave us the swashbuckler and storm sorcerer, we've had the sea-themed monsters in Volo's that built on the the kraken( Kraken Priest, sea spawn, deep scion) plus the Triton, a bunch of underwater monsters in TotYP (giant lightning eel, giant crayfish, siren, nereid, sea lion), Sea Elves in MTF and the ship-faring rules introduced a couple months ago.

It's not what I was expecting, but if it's real and whether it's a guide or a spring campaign, it's not out of left field.

[Damon_Tor]

Maybe there's a totally new campaign setting that takes place on a world with a ton of little archipelagos floating in an endless sea. It's hard for me to picture an entire hardcover covering nothing but ship rules and some nautical races/subclasses/spells. But covering a world that takes place in a world where aquatic races are the norm, that could be pretty cool.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

My guess is that one of the four books released will be a pirate/seafaring campaign set in the Sea of Swords. If that's the case though, it's a quick turnaround for the UA they just released for playtest about ships. I know they could technically wait until the end of the year to release it, but considering publishing and such, it would have to be a rapid production/edit based on how the UA continues to go. Perhaps a campaign would come out first that's complete in and of itself, but which encourages us to experiment with the recent UA.

Edit: Perhaps a branch off of the Waterdeep modules?

[Beechgnome]

My guess is that one of the four books released will be a pirate/seafaring campaign set in the Sea of Swords. If that's the case though, it's a quick turnaround for the UA they just released for playtest about ships. I know they could technically wait until the end of the year to release it, but considering publishing and such, it would have to be a rapid production/edit based on how the UA continues to go. Perhaps a campaign would come out first that's complete in and of itself, but which encourages us to experiment with the recent UA.

Edit: Perhaps a branch off of the Waterdeep modules?

It's not that quick a turnaround these days. The races of Ravnica UA came out in August and the book was out in November (3+ months). The seafaring UA came out in November and the theoretical book would be out in April (4+).

Now you could argue they Should take longer to get it right...

[DrowPiratRobrts]

It's not that quick a turnaround these days. The races of Ravnica UA came out in August and the book was out in November (3+ months). The seafaring UA came out in November and the theoretical book would be out in April (4+).

Now you could argue they Should take longer to get it right...

Yeah, that's really my point. I know they can do it. I'm just not super confident it'll be well thought out if they rush through. I didn't look at the UA for ships 'n' such extensively, but from what I saw it looked okay. Maybe a little complicated, but okay. I was just glad to have something to try out, but I'm hoping we get more time with it before it makes its way into a book.

All in all, ships and the way their combat works is benign enough to not make a huge impact if its a little screwy. You can always just adjust the ships to your balance and say they've been "customized" from the standard build for whatever reason.

[XmonkTad]

A book on all sorts of ships, perchance?
* spelljammers

This.

I remember hearing either Crawford or Mearls saying that they love slipping in spelljammer stuff into non-spelljammer books a la Giff being in MToF. I would be surprised if spelljammer stuff DIDN'T show up.

That being said, I'm not holding my breath for a dedicated spelljammer book. Certainly not before an Ebberon or Greyhawk book.

[NorthernPhoenix]

My guess is that one of the four books released will be a pirate/seafaring campaign set in the Sea of Swords. If that's the case though, it's a quick turnaround for the UA they just released for playtest about ships. I know they could technically wait until the end of the year to release it, but considering publishing and such, it would have to be a rapid production/edit based on how the UA continues to go. Perhaps a campaign would come out first that's complete in and of itself, but which encourages us to experiment with the recent UA.

Edit: Perhaps a branch off of the Waterdeep modules?

I'm someone who wouldn't mind more FR, but surely they should do Inner Sea/Sea of Fallen Stars if they're going for FR and ships. It's got old school pedigree and everything!