Part 40: 2013 & Beyond

And so we arrive at the present year, 2013.  The D&D Next playtest continues, with new material added in every packet.  In January, dndclassics.com, powered by drivethrurpg, debuted, selling classic D&D PDFs.  New products continue to be added to the site every week.  Premium reprints of classic products continue as well, with the AD&D 2^nd Edition core rulebooks coming next month.

On the video game front, the Neverwinter MMO is currently in beta testing  and the classic Capcom arcade games Shadow Over Mystara and Tower of Doom are making a comeback, repackaged as Chronicles of Mystara and soon to be available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC.  Meanwhile, the recent board games like Castle Ravenloft are coming to iOS via a partnership with Playdek. 

What does the future hold for Dungeons & Dragons?  When will D&D Next hit store shelves?  What other video games, novels, and other merchandise will we see in the coming months and years? 

D&D is between editions as of this writing and the future holds many exciting developments.  2014 is the 40^th anniversary of the world’s first roleplaying game.  I can’t predict the future, but I do know that Dungeons & Dragons will continue to excite and amaze players and Dungeon Masters for many years to come.

2013 D&D Products

February – Brotherhood of the Griffon, Volume 5: Prophet of the Dead.  A Forgotten Realms novel that concludes the Brotherhood of the Griffon series as the heroes are scattered and facing overwhelming odds.

February – Blood of Gruumsh.  A Dungeon Command faction pack, containing miniatures depicting orcs and their allies.

February – Unearthed Arcana.  A premium reprint of the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1^st Ediiton supplement. 

March – The Last Threshold.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore and conclusion of the Neverwinter series.  Drizzt Do’Urden faces difficult choices as his conscience conflicts with the actions of his new companions.

March – Dungeons of Dread.  A hardcover premium compilation of the classic AD&D 1^st Edition “S” series of adventures – S1: The Tomb of Horrors, S2: White Plume Mountain, S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. 

April – Spell Compendium.  A premium reprint of the 3.5 edition hardcover. 

May – Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2^nd Edition Core Rulebooks: Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monstrous Manual.  Premium reprints of the core rulebooks for the 2^nd Edition of AD&D.

June – Against the Slave Lords.  A hardcover compilation of the AD&D 1^st Edition “A” series adventures – A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity, A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade, A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords, and A4: In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords.  Also includes a brand new adventure, A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry, that serves as an introduction to the series.

July – Magic Item Compendium.  A premium reprint of the 3.5 edition hardcover.

August – The Sundering, Volume 1: The Companions.  A Forgotten Realms novel and first in the Realms Shaking Event known as the Sundering.  Written by R.A. Salvatore, The Companions finds the iconic drow, Drizzt Do’Urden, reflecting on friends long gone as The Sundering begins.

August – Murder in Baldur’s Gate.  First in a series of Forgotten Realms adventures that give player characters a direct hand in the outcome of the Sundering. 

August – Scoundrels of Skullport.  An expansion for the Lords of Waterdeep board game, adding new elements to the game from the infamous criminal haven of Skullport and the massive dungeon known as Undermountain.

October – The Sundering, Volume 2: The Godborn.  A Forgotten Realms novel by Paul Kemp in which the shadowy legacy of Erevis Cale becomes intertwined with the Sundering.

October – Legacy of the Crystal Shard.  A Forgotten Realms adventure in which player characters become directly involved in the Sundering.

November – Original Dungeons & Dragons RPG.  A deluxe reprinting of the original D&D game first published in 1974.  Contained in a wooden box, the set includes Volume 1: Men & Magic; Volume 2: Monsters & Treasure; Volume 3: Underworld & Wilderness Adventures; Supplement I: Greyhawk; Supplement II: Blackmoor; Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry; Supplement IV: Gods, Demigods, & Heroes; and a special dice set.

December – The Sundering, Volume 3: The Adversary.  A Forgotten Realms novel by Erin M. Evans.  The tiefling Farideh is thrown into a Netherese prison and into the cataclysmic events of the Sundering.

Part 39: 2012

On January 9^th, 2012, the next iteration of Dungeons & Dragons, dubbed D&D Next, was officially announced in Legends & Lore as well as on more mainstream news websites such as the New York Times.  A massive public playtest began in May, with the first of several downloadable playtest packets.  As feedback poured in, each new iteration of the playtest saw updates, revisions, new classes, and new (and converted old) adventures. 

A full line-up of weekly articles joined Legends & Lore and the DM Experience (an ongoing column by Chris Perkins containing DM advice and anecdotes from his Iomandra campaign) on the D&D website including – Dragon’s Eye View: A look at the art and product design of D&D in general, with glimpses of concept art for D&D Next; Wandering Monsters: Examining monsters in D&D Next; and Forging the Realms: a new column by Ed Greenwood exploring Realms content with an eye toward both the setting’s origins and its future.

The Forgotten Realms would see a major announcement of its own, tying in to D&D Next.  As it had for every edition transition thus far, the Realms would be undergoing a “Realms Shaking Event.”  This time around, the event is called the Sundering, with novels and adventures scheduled to be released in 2013.

Just as surprising as the announcement that he had returned to D&D the previous year, early in 2012 it was announced that Monte Cook would be leaving the D&D Next team to pursue his own projects.

The final print 4^th Edition product, The Dungeon Survival Handbook, hit stores in May.  It was followed by edition neutral products set in the Forgotten Realms and the first in a series of classic edition reprints, the AD&D 1^st Edition core rulebooks.  Premium hardcovers with redesigned cover art, part of the proceeds of these reprints went to support the Gygax Memorial Fund. 

In addition to these premium reprints, it was announced at Gen Con that classic D&D products would be returning to the digital market in PDF form. 

Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness, a SyFy original movie, finally debuted after a nearly year long delay.  Trailers and sneak peeks of the also delayed MMO, Neverwinter, also began to hit the internet in 2012.

2012 D&D Products

January – Cold Steel and Secrets, Part 4.  The conclusion of a four part Forgotten Realms novella published exclusively in electronic format.

January – Haunted Temples Map Pack.  A collection of three double sided poster-sized battle maps.

February – Brotherhood of the Griffon, Volume 4: The Masked Witches.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the Brotherhood goes to Rashemen, seeking to replenish their depleted ranks of griffon mounts.

February – Player’s Option: Heroes of the Elemental Chaos.  A player focused hardcover providing character building options centered on the elements.  Includes new class variants – Elementalist, Shugenja, and Sha’ir. 

February – Spiral of Tharizdun Fortune Cards.  A new set of 8-card booster packs designed to add small bonuses and benefits to characters during game play.

March – Lords of Waterdeep.  A board game set in the Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep in which players vie for control of the city through intrigue and political maneuvering.

March – Venom in Her Veins.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which an orphaned yuan-ti girl seeks to rescue her true family from slavery in the Underdark.

April – The Abyssal Plague, Volume 3: The Eye of the Chained God.  A “Points of Light” novel that concludes the Abyssal Plague crossover series, in which the heroes confront the plague-infected dragon Vestapalk.

April – DN4: Cathedral of Chaos.  A Dungeon Tiles product that includes, in addition to tiles, tokens to represent various traps and magic effects.

April – Halls of Undermountain.  An adventure location product, providing a detailed look at the infamous Undermountain dungeon of the Forgotten Realms.  Tied in to the D&D Encounters season The Elder Elemental Eye.

May – Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook.  A hardcover supplement for both DMs and players focused on dungeon adventuring and the Underdark.

May – The Moonshae Isles, Volume 1: The Rose of Sarifal.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a vain Eladrin queen seeks to put an end to the perceived danger of her estranged niece.

June – DN5: The Urban Underdark.  A Dungeon Tiles product with tiles depicting underground city locations.

June – Sword of the Gods: Spinner of Lies.  A Forgotten Realms novel and sequel to Sword of the Gods.  Also ties in to the year’s Rise of the Underdark theme. 

July – Dungeon Command: Heart of Cormyr.  One of two sets of a new miniatures game with non-random warbands facing off with card-based mechanics instead of dice.  This set includes minis themed around the Forgotten Realms nation of Cormyr.

July – Dungeon Command: Sting of Lolth.  Second of two sets of the new Dungeon Command miniatures game, this set featuring drow and spiders. 

July – Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1^st Edition Premium Reprints (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual).  Collector’s edition reprints of the 1^st Edition core rulebooks, with part of the proceeds going toward the funding of a Gary Gygax memorial. 

July – Prince of Ravens.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a scoundrel from before the Spellplague is released from a magical stasis and returns to his former stomping grounds, Raven’s Bluff.

July – Skein of Shadows.  An Eberron novel tying in to the Dungeons & Dragons: Online MMO and sequel to The Shard Axe.

July – The Gilded Rune.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a mysterious petrification plague afflicts the dwarves.

July – Vaults of the Underdark Map Pack.  A collection of three double sided battle maps depicting Underdark locales.

August – Drow Treachery Fortune Cards.  A set of 9-card random booster packs of cards designed to provide small bonuses to player characters, often at the expense of their companions.  Tied in to the Rise of the Underdark year-long event.

August – Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue.  An edition neutral hardcover supplement detailing the Forgotten Relams drow city of Menzoberranzan.

August – Neverwinter, Volume 3: Charon’s Claw.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore in which Drizzt Do’Urden and his new lover, Dahlia, join forces with Drizzt’s old foe, Artemis Entreri in search of vengeance.

September – Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition Premium Reprints (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual).  A collector’s edition reprint of the 3.5 core rulebooks, updated with the last errata available for those books. 

September – Shadowbane: Eye of Justice.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the vigilante known as Shadowbane must confront an imposter using his name in the city of Westgate.

September – DN6: Castle Grimstead.  A Dungeon Tiles product depicting a castle and other fortifications.

September – Dungeon Command: Tyranny of Goblins.  A set of miniatures for use with the Dungeon Command miniatures game with a goblinoid theme.

September – If Ever They Happened Upon My Lair.  A Forgotten Realms e-book novella by R.A. Salvatore that unveils the backstory of the Witch-King, villain of the Sellswords trilogy.

September – Sage of Shadowdale, Volume 3: Elminster Enraged.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which Elminster inhabits the body of a drow and faces the vampire Manshoon.

October – Dungeon!  A repackaging and revision of the classic 1975 board game.

October – Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms.  An edition neutral, rules-free look at the Forgotten Realms through the eyes of its creator, Ed Greenwood, and his most iconic character, Elminster.

November – DN7: Ruins of War.  A Dungeon Tiles product depicting battlefields and warzones.

November – Dungeon Command: Curse of Undeath.  A miniatures set with various undead figures.

November – Spider and Stone.  A Forgotten Realms novel and the culmination of the Rise of the Underdark year-long product theme, as the drow attack various locations in the surface Realms.

December – Brimstone Angels: Lesser Angels.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a tiefling, striving to protect her sister, discovers a magical book that makes her question everything she thought she knew.

December – Shattered Keeps Map Pack.  A collection of three double-sided battle maps depicting ruined castles and keeps. 

Come back in two weeks for the final installment – A History of Dungeons & Dragons, Part 40: 2013 & Beyond!

Part 38: 2011

A new weekly feature debuted in February on the D&D website, Legends & Lore.  Initially written by Mike Mearls, L&L took a look back at the history of the game as well as offering some peaks behind the design curtain.  L&L was also where a surprising announcement was made in September – Monte Cook had returned to D&D.  Cook took over the L&L column through the end of the year.  Cook’s return to the D&D family created a firestorm of rumors and speculation about a potential 5^th Edition of the game.

Adding fuel to the rumor mill, several products were delayed or cancelled, including a Class Compendium product that would have updated the Player’s Handbook classes to the new Essentials format.  These revisions would later see the light of day as Dragon magazine articles via D&D Insider.

The random mutation card element of Gamma World had proven popular enough that a new line of randomized boosters, Fortune Cards, were released in 2011, starting with a set called Shadow Over Nentir Vale.  The cards provided small boosts or power-ups in game. 

Fortune Cards saw use during in-store D&D Encounters sessions.  A new in-store play program was introduced in 2011, Lair Assault.  Lair Assault focused on higher level, tactical play, designed to challenge experienced players. 

On the video game front, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, debuted on the Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and the PC.  Based very loosely on the 4^th Edition rules, Daggerdale was a 3^rd person action RPG set in the Forgotten Realms.   A Facebook game also debuted, Heroes of Neverwinter, meant to tie in to the Neverwinter MMO, which ended up being delayed.

According to an ICv2 report in the summer of 2011, Pathfinder, the game created from the OGL of D&D’s 3.5 edition, by the company created from Wizards of the Coast’s magazine division, passed D&D in sales, something no other RPG had ever done.   

2011 D&D Products

January – DN1: Caverns of Icewind Dale.  Kicking off a third series of Dungeon Tiles products, this set featured ice and snow covered wilderness terrain and caverns.

February – Deluxe Dungeon Master’s Screen.  A revised and updated heavy cardstock DM screen.

February – Gamma World Expansion Kit: Legion of Gold.  A boxed set featuring an adventure and monster supplement for Gamma World, along with tokens and a battle map.  Borrows its name from the original GW1: Legion of Gold adventure from the 80s.

February – Shadow Over Nentir Vale Fortune Cards.  A set of random 8-card boosters of cards designed to provide a small boost to player characters during play.

February – Sooner Dead.  A Gamma World novel set in the wasteland wilderness of Oklahoma. 

February – The Legend of Drizzt Anthology: Collected Stories.  An anthology of R.A. Salvatore short stories featuring the iconic dark elf, Drizzt Do’Urden.  The anthology served as a capstone to the Legend of Drizzt reprints of every Drizzt novel from the Crystal Shard to the Sea of Storms over the past several years.

February – Wrath of Ashardalon.  A Dungeons & Dragons board game utilizing the same mechanics as (and therefore compatible with) Castle Ravenloft.  The game features Ashardalon, the red dragon antagonist of the 3^rd Edition adventure Bastion of Broken Souls. 

March – Abyssal Plague, Volume 1: The Temple of Yellow Skulls.  A novel set in the Nentir Vale and first in a crossover series with the Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun and Eberron, featuring Tharizdun, also known as the Elder Elemental Eye and the Chained God, a villain first introduced in AD&D 1^st Edition.

March – Sandstorm.  A Forgotten Realms novel set in post-Spellplague Calimshan, in which a genasi slave is set free and learns to harness his power.

April – Sword of the Gods.  A Forgotten Realms novel in the Abyssal Plague crossover series, in which a warrior wakes up in the middle of a corpse littered shrine with no memories. 

April – Player’s Option: Heroes of Shadow.  A hardcover player supplement featuring the Shadow power source and introducing options for Assassins, Blackguards, and Necromancers.  Also introduces a Vampire character class.

May – Dawnbringer.  A Forgotten Realms novel inspired by Romeo and Juliet, in which two angels attempt to protect lovers from rival houses.

May – Red Sails in the Fallout.  A Gamma World novel in which a pair of heroes cross the desert to find a new water supply for their home.

May – The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond.  A boxed set detailing the Shadowfell, with a focus on the city of Gloomwrought.  The set includes two booklets, a poster map of the city, monster counters, and a 30 card deck of Despair cards, similar to Fortune cards, but with negative effects.  The set details several “Domains of Dread” inspired by Ravenloft. 

June – Brotherhood of the Griffon, Volume 3: The Spectral Blaze.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the Brotherhood is caught in a war between a red dragon and a dracolich.

June – Conquest of Nerath.  A strategic battle boardgame set in the 4^th Edition default setting.  The game features four factions, utilizing a Risk type board that greatly expands the map of the “Points of Light” setting. 

June – DN2: The Witchlight Fens.  A Dungeon Tiles product featuring bog and swamp wilderness terrain.

June – Domain of Dread: Histaven.  A Free RPG Day product that expands on The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond, presenting a new “Domain of Dread.”

June – Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale.  A softcover collection of monsters, packaged in a slipcase with a battle map and monster tokens.  Threats to the Nentir Vale provides, in addition to monster stats, expanded lore and encounter advice for each monster.

June – Under the Crimson Sun.  A Dark Sun novel and part of the Abyssal Plague crossover series.  A con artist stumbles across a body in the desert and becomes infected by the Abyssal Plague, becoming a huge draw in the gladiatorial arena as he begins to change into something monstrous.

June – Untold Adventures.  An anthology of short stories by a collection of science fiction and fantasy authors, several of whom are  not normally associated with Dungeons & Dragons, invited to put their own spins on the D&D universe.

July – Neverwinter Fortune Cards.  A new set of Fortune Cards sold in 8-card randomized booster packs.  These were part of an overall Neverwinter themed suite of products that included the Neverwinter Campaign Setting and a novel by R.A. Salvatore.

July – Unbroken Chain: The Darker Road.  A Forgotten Realms novel and sequel to Unbroken Chain, in which a Shadar-Kai must put an end to a dangerous menacr threatening both her home in the Shadowfell and the nation of Rashemen.

August – Abyssal Plague, Volume 2: Oath of Vigilance.  A “Points of Light” novel in which a group of heroes faces the spreading plague and the powerful green dragon, Vestapalk, who has become “patient zero” and the herald of Tharizdun.

August – Neverwinter Campaign Setting.  A hardcover setting book that, unlike previous years, revisits the Forgotten Realms, focusing on a single city, Neverwinter, location of the popular series of computer games, Neverwinter Nights and the upcoming MMO, Neverwinter. 

August – Sage of Shadowdale, Volume 2: Bury Elminster Deep.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the Realms’ most iconic wizard is barely alive in the form of magical ash, yet must still find a way to defeat his nemesis, Manshoon.

September – Shadowbane.  A Forgotten Realms novel tie-in to the overarching Abyssal Plague storyline in which the vigilante known as Shadowbane must save the city of Luskan from the Plague.

September – Madness at Gardmore Abbey.  A deluxe boxed set Heroic tier adventure that includes adventure booklets, monster tokens, dungeon tiles, battle maps, and the infamous Deck of Many Things, around which the adventure is centered. 

September – Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium.  A hardcover collection of new magic items.  The book also provides background and history for many items, introduces story items, and includes a rarity system for magic items that became standard for the 4^th Edition game.

September – The Shard Axe.  An Eberron novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited MMO. 

October – Cold Steel and Secrets, Volume 1.  A Forgotten Realms novella published exclusively in electronic form, in which a spy attempts to infiltrate a band of rebels in Neverwinter.

October – Neverwinter Trilogy, Volume 2: Neverwinter.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore in which Drizzt Do’Urden has lost the last of his old companions and fallen in with a morally ambiguous new companion, Dahlia, as they both seek justice. 

October – Legend of Drizzt.  A D&D board game compatible with Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon and featuring the iconic drow, Drizzt Do’Urden.

November – Cold Steel and Secrets, Volume 2.  Second part of a four part Forgotten Realms novella set in Neverwinter.

November – Death Mark.  A Dark Sun novel in which a group of unlikely heroes attempts to preserve the newfound freedom of the city-state of Tyr as neighboring Urik prepares to invade.

November – Dragons Collector’s Set.  A boxed set of five dragon miniatures, one of each of the iconic chromatic dragons.

November – Fury of the Feywild Fortune Cards.  A set of 8-card randomized boosters, with a focus on the Feywild.

November – Brimstone Angels.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a tiefling makes a pact with a devil and ends up embroiled in the schemes of that devil’s enemies.

November – Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild.  A hardcover player focused supplement providing new character building options connected to the Feywild.  The book introduces hamadryads, satyrs, and pixies as races and new subclasses for Barbarians, Bards, Druids, and Wizards.

December – Book of Vile Darkness.  A 4^th Edition update to the 3^rd Edition Book of Vile Darkness, presented in a slipcase containing a softcover book for DMs, a smaller booklet with adventure hooks, and a poster map.  The book was intended to coincide with the release of the third Dungeons & Dragons movie, Book of Vile Darkness, but the movie ended up being delayed for several months. 

December – Chosen of Nendawen, Volume 3: Cry of the Ghost Wolf.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a warrior returns from the Feywild to seek vengeance for the death of her family.

December – Cold Steel and Secrets, Volume 3.  Third part of an e-book exclusive Forgotten Realms novella.

December – DN3: Shadowghast Manor.  A Dungeon Tiles product that depicts a specific adventure locale.

December – The Last Garrison.  A “Points of Light” novel in which a young apprentice must find a way to protect his town after his mentor begins to go mad.

Part 37: 2010

The setting of the year for 2010 was Dark Sun, though the format changed slightly, with a Campaign Setting book that included character building options and a Creature Catalog of Dark Sun specific monsters.

The Dungeons & Dragons Insider Character Builder switched to an online-only cloud-based format about a month after the release of the 4^th Edition Dark Sun books.  A beta test of the Virtual Table was launched for DDI as well.

As every edition before it had done, 4^th Edition received a revision and repacking of the core rules, presented as the Essentials line.  Essentials comprised ten products released in the last part of the year; two digest sized player books, a digest sized Rules Compendium, two DM focused boxed sets (Dungeon Master’s Kit and Monster Vault), three large boxed sets of Dungeon Tiles, a dice set, and, kicking off the line, an introductory starter set that modeled itself on the 1983 “Red Box” Basic set, even utilizing the same cover artwork.

2010 also saw the kickoff of D&D Encounters, an in-store play program designed to bring new players to the game.  D&D Encounters was designed to utilize the Essentials version of the rules, with each season also allowing the most recent release. 

 A D&D 4^th Edition based board game, Castle Ravenloft, also debuted in 2010.  The first of several board games utilizing similar rules, Castle Ravenloft was a dungeon exploration board game set in the infamous lair of Count Strahd Von Zarovich.  Topping off the interesting directions D&D was taken in, Gamma World re-emerged from the vaults in 2010, re-imagined as a light-hearted, post-apocalyptic RPG based on the 4^th Edition rules.

2010 D&D Products

January – Dwarf Home, Volume 3: The Fate of Thorbardin.  A Dragonlance novel in which the dwarven people attempt to depose an insane ruler from the throne of Thorbardin.  This would also end up being the last Dragonlance novel as of the posting of this article.

January – Gold Dragon Codex.  An illustrated young adult novella in which a young man from a village threatened by a blue dragon seeks out the lair of a gold dragon for assistance.

January – Player’s Handbook Races: Dragonborn.  A 32 page paperback supplement expanding on the Dragonborn race, providing new character building options and background.

January – Realms of the Dead.  A Forgotten Realms anthology of short stories centered on undead.

January – Underdark.  A hardcover supplement providing DM advice, monsters, and encounters for the subterranean realm known as the Underdark.

February – Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, Volume 5: The God Catcher.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a would be wizard comes to the aid of a dragon trapped in human form, though a bounty hunter claims she is merely an insane human.

February – Martial Power 2.  A second player focused hardcover supplement providing character building options for fighters, rangers, rogues, and warlords.  Also introduces the concept of Martial Practices.

March – Blades of the Moonsea, Volume 3: Avenger.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which an exile returns home to rally the people against their oppressors.

March – DU6: Harrowing Halls.  A Dungeon Tiles product of mostly standard dungeon terrain, but featuring 3-dimensional tiles that can be put together to form staircases and platforms.

March – Hammerfast.  An adventure location product that provides full stats on a dwarven village, with encounters, adventure hooks, and maps. 

March – Player’s Handbook 3.  A third volume of player options, providing new races and classes and introducing the Psionic power source and rules for Hybrid multi-classed characters.  New races include Githzerai, Minotaur, Shardmind, and Wilden.  New classes include Ardent (Psionic Leader), Battlemind (Psionic Defender), Monk (Psionic Striker), Psion (Psionic Controller), Runepriest (Divine Leader), and Seeker (Primal Controller). 

April – The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea.  A hardcover supplement expanding on the material in Manual of the Planes, providing details on the Astral Sea and the various outer planes.

May – Brotherhood of the Griffon, Volume 1: The Captive Flame.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the famed Brotherhood of the Griffon takes on cultists.

May – Dungeon Magazine Annual.  A hardcover compilation of adventures originally published in the DDI subscriber only version of Dungeon Magazine.

May – Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, Volume 6: Circle of Skulls.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which an angel trapped in mortal form seeks final justice or revenge against a dark angel of Asmodeus.

May – HS1: The Slaying Stone.  A Heroic Tier adventure in which player characters must find an ancient relic in the ruins of Bael Turath.

May – Player’s Strategy Guide.  A hardcover player supplement focused on playing advice and character optimization tips and tricks.

June – DU7: Desert of Athas.  A Dungeon Tiles product featuring desert terrain typical of the Dark Sun setting, as well as 3D buildable elements.

June – Bloodsand Arena.  The Free RPG Day offering from Wizards of the Coast, Bloodsand Arena was a brief Dark Sun adventure with pregenerated characters.

June – Monster Manual 3.  A third hardcover collection of creatures, featuring Lolth, both on the cover and with full stats within. 

June – Orcus, Prince of Undeath.  A limited edition Gargantuan miniature of the demon lord, Orcus.

June – Player’s Handbook Races: Tieflings.  A 32 page softcover supplement providing further details and character building options for tieflings. 

June – The Legacy of Dhakaan, Volume 3: The Tyranny of Ghosts.  An Eberron novel focused on the struggles of a goblin nation.

July – Demonomicon.  A hardcover supplement providing extensive details on demons, demon lords, and the Abyss.

July – HS2: Orcs of Stonefang Pass.  A Heroic Tier adventure in which player characters are asked to clear an orc tribe out of a mountain pass so the route can be used for trade.

July – Tomb of Horrors.  A hardcover version of the classic Tomb of Horrors adventure, updating it to 4^th Edition and greatly expanding it as well. 

July – Unbroken Chain.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a shadar-kai spy is sent by his family to learn the weaknesses of an enemy city.

July – Vor Rukoth.  An adventure location product providing a fully fleshed out ruined fortress with maps, adventure hooks, and encounters.

August – Castle Ravenloft.  A cooperative adventure board game based on the D&D 4^th Edition rules.  The “board” consists of interlocking dungeon tiles so game play is never the same twice.  40 unpainted plastic miniatures represent monsters, heroes, and Strahd Von Zarovich.  The same game engine would be used for two more board games: Wrath of Ashardalon and Legend of Drizzt.

August – Chronicles of Abraxis Wren, Volume 1: Taint of the Black Brigade.  Sometimes listed as Volume 2 as this is a sequel to a novel in the Inquisitives series.  An elite squad of mercenaries from the Last War is being killed one by one and Abraxis Wren must clear his ex-wife of the crimes.

August – Dark Sun Campaign Setting.  A 4^th Edition reimagining of the classic 2^nd Edition era Dark Sun setting, a ravaged world of psionics and tyrants.  This version takes the timeline back to just after the liberation of Tyr.  Dark Sun Campaign Setting also introduced the concept of Themes to the 4^th Edition rules, which became a popular character building tool for the entire edition.

August – Dark Sun Creature Catalog.  A Monster Manual style product specifically designed for Dark Sun, presenting that setting’s exotic and bizarre creatures.  It also provides stats for several Sorcerer Kings and other powerful personages.

August – Marauders of the Dune Sea.  A Dark Sun Heroic Tier adventure in which player characters must help defend Tyr from those who would take advantage of the lawlessness created in the aftermath of the fall of the city’s Sorcerer-King.

August – Psionic Power.  A player focused hardcover supplement providing character building options for psionic characters, including Ardents, Battleminds, Monks, and Psions. 

August – Sage of Shadowdale, Volume 1: Elminster Must Die.  A Forgotten Realms novel by Ed Greenwood, bringing his most iconic character into the 4^th Edition era of the Realms, in which Elminster has lost much due to the death of the Goddess of Magic, Mystra, and the many enemies he has made seek to take advantage of his vulnerability.

August – The Mark of Nerath.  A novel set in the 4^th Edition default “Points of Light” setting.  An imprisoned emperor from the time of the last empire, seeking to free himself from the Shadowfell, makes a bargain with Orcus.

September – A Practical Guide to Dragon Magic.  An illustrated guidebook aimed at young adult novel readers, narrated by Sindri Suncatcher, kender apprentice wizard from the Dragonlance New Adventures series.

September – Abolethic Sovereignty, Volume 3: Key of Stars.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a group of heroes must find the Key of Stars before the aboleths use it to open a portal to the Far Realm.

September – Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set.  A new introductory boxed set for the 4^th Edition rules, this set modeled itself on the 1983 “Red Box” basic set, including utilizing the original cover art by Larry Elmore.  The set also served to kick off the Essentials line of products.

September – Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The Dungeon.  An Essentials boxed set providing a variety of dungeon tiles centered around a dungeon theme. 

September – Heroes of the Fallen Lands.  An Essentials digest-sized paperback volume that served as a revamped Player’s Handbook, providing revised versions of various races and classes.  Fallen Lands included dwarf, elf, eladrin, halfling and human races.  Five subclasses of the overarching Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, and Wizard archetypes were presented: Warpriest (Cleric), Knight (Fighter), Slayer (Fighter), Thief (Rogue), and Mage (Wizard). 

September – Rules Compendium.  An Essentials digest-sized paperback that presents all of the 4^th Edition rules in a concise, easy to use format.

  

September – Monster Manual: Lords of Madness.  The last set of randomized monster miniatures, including Huge figures. 

October – City Under the Sand.  A Dark Sun novel in which a psionic half-elf with the rare ability to detect metal is recruited by the sorcerer-king of Nibenay to find an ancient cache of weapons.

October – Dungeon Master’s Kit.  An Essentials boxed set that includes a digest-sized Dungeon Master’s book, two adventures, monster counters, battlemaps, and a DM screen.

October – Gamma World Roleplaying Game.  A somewhat tongue-in-cheek reimagining of the Gamma World setting, utilizing D&D 4^th Edition rules.  Technically the 7^th edition of the Gamma World RPG itself, the boxed set included a rules booklet, battlemaps, character and monster tokens, and a deck of mutation cards.  Random boosters of additional cards were available as well.

October – Neverwinter Trilogy, Volume 1: Gauntlgrym.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore that introduces the iconic drow, Drizzt, to the 4^th Edition era of the Realms.  Drizzt and his old friend Bruenor seek out a legendary dwarven kingdom but run into the drow mercenary, Jarlaxle, and a plot to destroy the city of Neverwinter.

October – Thorn of Breland, Volume 3: The Fading Dream.  An Eberron novel in which Eladrin seek to return their cities to the Feywild and simultaneously heal the Mourning.

November – Beholders Collector’s Set.  A set of four beholder miniatures, depicting four different variations of the iconic D&D monster.

November – Brotherhood of the Griffon, Volume 2: Whisper of Venom.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the Brotherhood become embroiled in a war between a mad draconic king and a dracolich. 

November – Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The City.  An Essentials boxed set containing dungeon tiles depicting city streets and buildings.

November – Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms.  An Essentials digest-sized paperback that serves as an alternative to the Player’s Handbook.  The book contains some duplicated rules material from Heroes of the Fallen Lands as the two books are meant to complement each other with only one of the two being necessary for play.  Forgotten Kingdoms includes the dragonborn, drow, half-elf, half-orc, human, and tiefling races.  Similar to Fallen Lands, this book contains sub-classes as alternatives to the original classes presented in the various Player’s Handbook volumes: Sentinel (Druid), Cavalier (Paladin), Hunter (Ranger), Scout (Ranger), and Hexblade (Warlock). 

November – Monster Vault.  An Essentials boxed set that includes a digest-sized book of creatures, an adventure, and tokens for every creature in the book.  The rules and math for most monsters were revised and updated from those originally presented in the first 4^th Edition Monster Manual. 

November – Stone of Tymora, Volume 3: The Sentinels.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore and his son, Geno, in which a young hero attempts to destroy a magical stone while enemies on all sides try to take it from him.

December – Chosen of Nendawen, Volume 2: The Hand of the Hunter.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a young woman learns to become a ruthless hunter to avenge her family.

December – Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The Wilderness.  An Essentials boxed set full of wilderness oriented dungeon tiles.

December – Gamma World Expansion Kit: Famine in Far-Go.  A boxed set that expands the rules and world of the Gamma World setting, including an adventure modeled on the original Famine in Far-Go adventure from 1982.

December – Lady Ruin.  An Eberron novel in which a young woman must face her own uncle after his experiments unleash the horrors of Xoriat. 

December – The Seal of Karga Kul.  A novel set in 4^th Edition’s default “Points of Light” setting in which a courier is set upon by fearsome creatures only to find himself and his magical cargo rescued by a dragonborn paladin.

Part 36: 2009

The previous year, the Forgotten Realms debuted with just three products.  This was part of a new plan for campaign settings – A Campaign Guide, a Player’s Guide, and an adventure.  2009 would be Eberron’s turn, though it would also benefit from a Free RPG Day adventure.  Miniatures would also get a revamp, with the miniatures game itself being dropped in favor of minis tailored to the RPG line, with player character minis sold separately from monster minis.

2009 also saw the winding down of the venerable Dragonlance line as trilogies were concluded and no new series started.  One final novel would see release in January of 2010, but 2009 was, for the most part, the final Year of the Lance.

On the video gaming front in 2009, Neverwinter Nights 2 received another expansion, Mysteries of Westgate.  Dungeons & Dragons Online, DDO, adopted a “free-to-play” model in June, 2009.

On April 7^th, 2009, Dungeons & Dragons lost its other co-creator, Dave Arneson. 

Also in April, Wizards of the Coast pulled PDF sales of D&D products from sites like drivethrurpg and Paizo’s web store.  This coincided with a piracy case surrounding Player’s Handbook 2.

Paizo, meanwhile, had been busily playtesting its updated and revised version of the 3.5 rules and officially released the Pathfinder RPG at Gen Con.  In short order, it became a stiff competitor with D&D, one of the first games to do so since White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade nearly 20 years prior. 

2009 D&D Products

January – A Practical Guide to Faeries.  An illustrated guide to fey creatures targeted at young adult readers. 

January – Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead.  A 4^th edition look at the undead.  Includes stat blocks for the infamous and powerful liches Acererak and Vecna. 

January – The Wilds, Volume 1: The Fanged Crown.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which an expedition to the jungles of Chult by Tethyr is lost, with only the leader returning.

February – Brass Dragon Codex.  An illustrated young adult novella in which an orphaned baby brass dragon befriends a gnome on the run from thieves, Solamnic Knights, and dwarves.

February – DU3: Caves of Carnage.  A Dungeon Tiles product featuring underground cave formations and the aftermath of bloody battles.

February – Haunted Lands, Volume 3: Unholy.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which Szass Tam, a lich and conqueror of Thay, seeks to complete a powerful ritual, while Thay’s former Red Wizard masters attempt to stop him.

March – Anvil of Time, Volume 3: Renegade Wizards.  A Dragonlance novel set prior to the War of the Lance in which the Order of High Sorcery seeks the leader of a group of renegades.

March – Blades of the Moonsea, Volume 2: Corsair.  A Forgotten Realms novel that finds a corsair attempting to infiltrate and bring down a band of bloodthirsty pirates.

March – Dungeon Delve.  A hardcover collection of 30 (one for each character level) short adventures, with three encounters each. 

March – Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress.  A folio style Paragon tier adventure with two booklets and a poster map.  Player characters must enter the Shadowfell to discover why souls of the dead aren’t reaching their final resting places.

March – Player’s Handbook 2.  A second resource for players, providing eight new classes, five new races, and introducing the Primal power source.  The new races included Deva (a reimagining of the aasimar from prior editions), Gnome, Goliath (originally introduced in 3.5), Half-Orc, and Shifter (an Eberron race).  The new classes were Avenger (Divine Striker), Barbarian (Primal Striker), Bard (Arcane Leader), Druid (Primal Controller), Invoker (Divine Controller), Shaman (Primal Leader), Sorcerer (Arcane Striker), and Warden (Primal Defender).

April – Arcane Power.  A player focused hardcover supplement providing new character building options for classes with the arcane power source, including wizards, warlocks, sorcerers, bards, and swordmages.

April – E1: Death’s Reach.  An Epic Tier adventure in which player characters learn of a plot to usurp the Goddess of Death, the Raven Queen, and must journey to the heart of the Shadowfell to stop it.

April – Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, Volume 3: Downshadow.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a vigilante faces a choice between vengeance and justice.

April – Player’s Handbook Heroes Series 1.  Six non-randomized sets of three miniatures suitable for use as player characters.  The sets and figures included were – Martial Heroes 1: male elf ranger, female dragonborn rogue, and male human fighter; Martial Heroes 2: male dwarf rogue, female eladrin fighter, male tiefling warlord; Arcane Heroes 1: male half-elf bard, female eladrin wizard, male tiefling warlock; Arcane Heroes 2: male human wizard, female eladrin sorcerer, male half-elf fighter/warlock; Divine Heroes 1: male human cleric, female halfling cleric, male dwarf paladin; Primal Heroes 1: male human barbarian, female elf druid, male goliath barbarian.

May – Monster Manual 2.  A new collection of monsters, featuring Demogorgon on the cover and fully statted within.

May – Monster Manual: Dangerous Delves.  Semi-random boosters of monster miniatures, with one non-randomized mini visible in the package and four random minis inside.  Figures included an Aspect of Vecna, Beholder Eye Tyrant, Frost Giant, and Skalamd the Troll King (from P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens).

May – The Wilds, Volume 2: The Restless Shore.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a genasi must brave a strange dry lake to rescue her kidnapped sister.

June – Anvil of Time, Volume 4: The Forest King.  A Dragonlance novel that tells the story of the legendary elf general, Balif.

June – Black Crusade.  A Ravenloft novel, the last of the Ravenloft Dominion line, that was released as a free PDF on the Wizards of the Coast website. 

June – DU4: Arcane Towers.  A Dungeon Tiles product that included arcane libraries and laboratories, as well as rounded pieces which would be used to construct towers.

June – E2: Kingdom of Ghouls.  An epic tier adventure and sequel to E1: Death’s Reach.  Player characters delve into the underground realms of the Shadowfell, seeking the Kingdom of Ghouls.

June – Eberron Player’s Guide.  A hardcover player’s overview of the Eberron setting, including a plethora of character building options, including a new class, the Artificer (an Arcane Leader).

June – Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep, Volume 4: City of the Dead.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which the city’s graveyard, known as the City of the Dead, is the source of restless dead.

June – Khyber’s Harvest.  A Free RPG Day adventure set in Eberron.  Player characters must investigate a subterranean menace threatening a village of humans and orcs.

June – Green Dragon Codex.  An illustrated young adult novella in which a pair of children happen upon a green dragon egg and find themselves evading dragon hunters when the egg hatches.

July – Divine Power.  A player focused hardcover providing new character building options for characters with the divine power source, including paladins, clerics, invokers, and avengers.

July – Eberron Campaign Guide.  A hardcover overview of the Eberron setting for 4^th Edition.  The book includes an introductory adventure and some new monsters.

July – The Empyrean Odyssey, Volume 3: The Crystal Mountain.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a half-fiend, having betrayed her allies in a failed attempt to prevent the death of the Goddess of Magic, must mend burned bridges to escape captivity.

July – Player’s Handbook Heroes Series 2.  Six sets of non-random minis representing player character races and classes.  Sets included Arcane Heroes 3 (male human wizard, female human warlock, warforged artificer), Divine Heroes 2 (warforged cleric, female human avenger, male human paladin), Divine Heroes 3 (male genasi paladin, female human cleric, male human invoker), Martial Heroes 3 (male dragonborn warlord, male elf fighter, male gnome ranger), Martial Heroes 4 (female human warlord, male tiefling fighter, male shifter ranger), and Primal Heroes 2 (male halfling barbarian, female human barbarian, male half-elf druid).

July – Seekers of the Ashen Crown.  An Eberron Heroic Tier adventure in which player characters are hired to find the pieces of a broken crown.

August – A Practical Guide to Vampires.  An illustrated guidebook aimed at young adult novel readers, providing hunter’s tips for D&D style vampires.

August – Adventurer’s Vault 2.  A second hardcover sourcebook full of equipment and magic items, including legendary weapons and artifacts.

August – Dragon Magazine Annual.  A hardcover compilation of articles from the previous year, originally published online as part of the Dungeon & Dragons Insider subscription version of Dragon magazine.  Originally labeled “Volume 1” this would prove to be the only volume in the series.

August – Lost Chronicles, Volume 3: Dragons of the Hourglass Mage.  Final volume in a trilogy filling in the spaces in between the original Dragonlance Chronicles novels.  This novel follows Raistlin Majere, after his betrayal of the companions and turning to the black robes.

August – Monster Manual: Legendary Evils.  Another monsters only semi-random set of miniatures boosters, with each booster including one non-random huge size mini and four randomized minis.  Notable figures included a Balor, an Aurak Draconian, a Beholder Ultimate Tyrant, an Elder Green Dragon, an Elder Iron Dragon, a Frost Titan, and a Storm Titan.

August – The Draconic Prophecies, Volume 3: Dragon War.  An Eberron novel in which the Five Nations’ only hope of averting another war rests with a half-mad outcast. 

August – The Wilds, Volume 3: The Edge of Chaos.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a cult seeks to harness and control the wild magic at the edge of the Plaguewrought Lands.

September – Abolethic Sovereignty, Volume 2: City of Torment.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a group of odd companions venture in to the Underdark to slay an elder aboleth.

September – Dungeon Master’s Guide 2.  A second volume of advice for building encounters and campaigns, with a focus on the Paragon tier.  Also provides an overview of the extraplanar city of Sigil.

September – Revenge of the Giants.  A hardcover “super adventure” presenting a Paragon tier sequel to the original Against the Giants modules. 

September – Silver Dragon Codex.  An illustrated young adult novella in which a young dragon silver dragon shapechanged into human form and with no memory of her true self, joins a circus, befriending another performer.

September – Legacy of Dhakaan, Volume 2: Word of Traitors.  An Eberron novel in which a band of heroes attempt to find the assassin of the emperor while evading capture by his villainous successor.

October – DU5: Sinister Woods.  A Dungeon Tiles set featuring tiles with forest terrain.

October – E3: Prince of Undeath.  An Epic tier adventure and conclusion to the loosely connected series that began with H1: Keep on the Shadowfell.  Player characters discover that the demon lord Orcus is the entity attempting to usurp the Raven Queen’s power over death.

October – Primal Power.  A hardcover player supplement providing new character building options for barbarians, druids, shamans, and wardens.

October – Stonetellers, Volume 3: Goblin Nation.  A Dragonlance novel in which a group of goblinoid outcasts attempt to found their own nation.

October – Transitions, Volume 3: The Ghost King.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore in which Drizzt and his companions face the Spellplague and the return of an enemy thought destroyed.

November – Chosen of Nendawen, Volume 1: The Fall of Highwatch.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which one of the last members of a bloodline of lycanthropes faces the machinations of her evil uncle.

November – Draconomicon 2: Metallic Dragons.  A hardcover sourcebook detailing metallic dragons of various sorts, including new varieties introduced in 4^th Edition, Iron and Adamantine. 

November – Monster Manual: Savage Encounters.  A set of semi-randomized pre-painted miniatures with one visible non-random figure and four random figures.  Figures included a Dragonborn Death Knight, a Marililth, a Nightwalker, and a Death Giant.

November – Stone of Tymora, Volume 2: The Shadowmask.  A Forgotten Realms novel by R.A. Salvatore and his son, Geno Salvatore, in which a young boy discovers a powerful magic within himself that may destroy him.

November – Thorn of Breland, Volume 2: Son of Khyber.  An Eberron novel in which a spy infiltrates a band of criminals utilizing a forbidden dragonmark, but begins to sympathize with their cause.

December – Ogre Titans, Volume 3: The Gargoyle King.  A Dragonlance novel in which an ancient city is recreated with a powerful artifact as various factions vie for power in the ogre nation.

December – The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos.  A hardcover followup to the Manual of the Planes, focusing on the Elemental Chaos, with details on the City of Brass.

December – The Wilds, Volume 4: Wrath of the Blue Lady.  A Forgotten Realms novel in which a treasure hunter discovers a sunken ship in the Sea of Fallen Stars but inadvertently awakens an ancient evil.

Throughout the year, sets of Power Cards were released, providing details of class powers on convenient index-sized cards.