In the Rage of Demons storyline, D&D’s most infamous "demon lords have been summoned from the Abyss and players must descend into the Underdark … to stop the chaos before it threatens the surface." While that’s a lot of lore for the uninitiated to digest in one sentence, Perkins likened the strategy to that of another popular medium that constantly refreshes itself with rich new storylines - comics. Then we develop a story bible for that story and propagate it through a number of different expressions." "We’ve gone from being product-focused to being story-focused," Perkins told Polygon, "which means we think of a story that we want to tell, that captures the essence of D&D, and also that we think is going to energize our players and DMs. Now comes Rage of Demons, for which Out of the Abyss will be the first tabletop campaign. First there was the Tyranny of Dragons storyline, then the Elemental Evil storyline. In just the first year since the new ruleset has gone live, WoTC has released two full story arcs, each one taking players from first level all the way to level 15. Most importantly, the players at the table will have been forged into a tight-knit team with a history - and a reason to move forward to the next big challenge. By the end of the 15-level campaign characters will have experienced an epic story together. In the case of Out of the Abyss, this campaign will also contain a collection of character flaws, types of madness players will be permanently affected by. Some take the form of magical items, others are companions and still others might be magical powers. Traditionally, it includes hooks in the beginning - multiple ways to get your party of players into the story - as well as multiple rewards by the end. This upcoming campaign book, Out of the Abyss, contains all the secret information that a Dungeon Master needs to run a months-long game with three, four or even five player-characters at the table. Free to have fun along with their players." "After one evening playing," I wrote in August of last year, "what I can tell you is that fifth edition sets the Dungeon Master free. ![]() That’s not to say that battles aren’t common and dangerous, but they do tend to happen faster. It’s far less complex than its forbears, and pushes the storytelling aspect of the game forward in place of combat. What’s so different about this iteration? Lots of things, but in a nutshell the ruleset itself has a lighter touch. That following month, we got our hands on the Starter Set - a boxed version of the game that harkens back to the original versions sold in the 1980s. Polygon has been covering fifth edition D&D since back in July 2014, when we previewed the system for our readers. Image: Wizards of the Coast What is fifth edition D&D? This time around the publishing focus is all about story. Gone are the endless "splatbooks" devoted to a particular branch of character classes, or alternate settings with alternate rules. Level upįor this, the fifth edition of D&D, Wizards of The Coast has taken a very different approach to producing content for its venerable tabletop game. ![]() The native habitat of iconic races like the drow and duergar, it’s also home to some of the franchise’s most nefarious monsters - giant spiders, maniacal beholders and deadly mind flayers.īut how do you build a campaign that spans from a first level all the way to the level 15, while making it both welcoming to new players and challenging enough for experienced adventuring parties? Polygon sat down with Chris Perkins, principal designer for D&D at Wizards of the Coast, to find out. Out of the Abyss is set in one of D&D’s most well-known realms, the shadowy netherworld known as the Underdark. We’ve got exclusive details, including more than few spoilers, about what could be the most challenging fifth edition campaign yet. Dungeons & Dragons' latest campaign book is due at retail in less than two weeks.
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