Dungeons & Dragonsfans love to craft their own worlds for campaigns, but some also like to put their own twist on establishedD&Dworlds. Wizards of the Coast has published adventures and setting books for a number of its most famous settings already, including Eberron and Ravenloft, and new books related toSpelljammer and Dragonlanceare on the way. Whether players explore these settings in campaigns or just borrow lore and statistics, all of these settings books expandD&Din valuable ways. Still,D&D5th edition has yet to get a major expansion in one important setting: the real world.
As a general rule,Dungeons & Dragonssticks to medieval fantasy, since that’s what it’s designed around. Certain settings like Eberron and Spelljammer bend the rules slightly by adding steampunk or other sci-fi elements, but the game’s medieval roots stay prevalent in each world. However, players like to try out a much broadier variety of settings, including modern magic campaigns. Wizards of the Coast could therefore stand to profit from releasing aD&Dbook that provides players with tools for playing in the real world. Whether it’s a small supplement or a large book complete with adventures, aD&Dbook set on Earth could be invaluable.
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An Unorthodox Dungeons & Dragons Adventure
Earth could be a fantastic new non-canonical setting for theD&Dfranchise. Whether it treats Earth as a later version of the Forgotten Realms or simply an entirely different Material Plane, it would be a great opportunity to weave entirely new lore for all ofD&D’s races and classes in an alternate history world. Wizards of the Coast could offer fans new looks at classic characters like Mordenkainen andVecnaby dropping them into a world with modern technology and recognizable landmarks. WotC could also offer different versions of a magical Earth within one book, giving fans tools for both a world where magic is secret or a fully magical Earth.
An Earth-based book would be a great excuse to expand onD&Dcontent that WotC has already experimented with. For instance,D&Dhints at firearms as a possible weapon category, but so far fans generally still have to turn to homebrew if they want to play gunslingers. An Earth campaign book with modern technology could provide players with more robust official statistics for different gun types. WotC has also experimented with magic based on urban settings and technomancy inD&DUnearthed Arcana. These modern magic spells and subclasses could make new appearances in a book about Earth.
Ideally, Wizards of the Coast would release the book with an adventure that give players an example of how to best run a modern magic campaign within theD&D5e rules. However,D&Dfans may get the most mileage out of the book if it’s more of a setting guide likeEberron: Rising from the Last War,rather than an adventure. Charts with downtime activities in the modern world, ideas for modernD&Dcharacter backstories, systems for handling money and the Internet, and magic items fit for Earth would all be invaluable resources to DMs that may not fit in an adventure-focused book.
D&Dfans running their own modern magic campaigns on Earth would greatly appreciate official resources that make adventures in the real world possible. As of now,D&Dcampaigns set on Earth or other modern magic worlds require a lot of hand-waiving orD&Dhomebrewto work, so it would be a relief for these DMs and players to have more official support for their playstyle. A new book taking place on Earth admittedly seems unlikely, and even if it does happen, it wouldn’t be until well after the Dragonlance expansion releases. Nevertheless, Wizards of the Coast could get some great mileage out of Earth as aD&Dsetting, and fans stand to benefit from it too.
Dungeons & Dragons 5eis available now.
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