Monster Manual punted to February 2025

As part of the official yearlong celebrations of Dungeons & Dragons’ 50th anniversary, the new edition of the Player’s Handbook will be released Sept. 17, 2024, with the Dungeon Master’s Guide following on Nov. 12, according to a news release distributed for Wizards of the Coast. The DM resource Monster Manual is not scheduled for release until Feb. 18, 2025.

The Vecna: Eve of Ruin adventure campaign is set for a May 21, 2024, release, with the adventure anthology Quests from the Infinite Staircase coming July 16, 2024.

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 will come out June 18, 2024.

It’s about more than just new adventures, retrospectives and Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks. Brand collaborations with Converse footwear and apparel, a LEGO building set with minifigures and Pop-Tarts treats are also in the 50th anniversary consumer licensing pipeline.

The year-long celebration kicks off in March 2024, when fans all over the world will be able to play the same adventure together inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons creators’ love of tournament-style play. Fans can experience an excerpt from an upcoming release, Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, in game stores, at community centers, libraries, conventions like Gary Con and PAX East, on kitchen tables and painted scenery, in video chat rooms, and on D&D Beyond. Dungeon Masters will be available wherever fans want to play.

“D&D has a rich history, an exciting present, and a great future,” said Kyle Brink, executive producer of the team making D&D at Wizards of the Coast. “This year we’ll be celebrating all three with the 50th Anniversary of the first publication of Dungeons & Dragons. We’ll take you through the making of the game, bring some of the classic adventures to today’s play, visit the most iconic settings in the D&D multiverse, and kick off the future of the game with the new 2024 core rulebooks that are the heart of the game. We’ve been building up to this for a while now. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

What’s coming before the new Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks?

New Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks (2024-25)

An earlier version of this update incorrectly listed the Dungeon Master’s Guide release date as Sept. 17, 2024.

Wizards of the Coast announces dates for major 2024 D&D releases – then backtracks with “Coming Soon”

Wizards of the Coast on Dec. 1, 2023, announced release dates for the updated 2024 versions of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game’s Core Rulebooks — Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. Then, it deleted those social media graphics and replaced all dates with “coming soon.” It also changed the graphic to replace Core Rulebooks with simply Player’s Handbook.

The company also said the same day as the release of the Core Rulebook(s) would bring the release of the scenario Vecna: Eve of Ruin, “a multiverse spanning adventure which goes up to level 20 and features cameos from famous D&D characters.” A Vecna module was announced earlier this year, but now we know the full title. This date, like the Core Rulebook(s?), was later replaced with “coming soon.”

A representative for the company said “the product release dates that were published in error and are actually not correct,” and that specific release dates will be announced “later” but in 2024.

WotC had also said a D&D “making of” book that includes the 50-year-old RPG’s original rules set, and a new adventure collection, Quests From the Infinite Staircase, would follow. Those announcement posts, also — you guessed it — now just say “coming soon.”

The Hasbro subsidiary has said the 2024 update would complement rather than replace the existing 5th Edition of the fantasy tabletop game, which itself turns 10 in 2024.

This post was updated to reflect the apparent retraction of 2024 release dates posted earlier in the day by the Dungeons & Dragons social media team. The dates were removed at the company’s request because they said they are not correct.

Update! D&D creative team addresses erroneous release dates …

A new video from the D&D creative team addresses last year’s “erroneous” release of a May timeframe for the release of the next edition of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game.

“We realize there was an erroneous release date published with regards to the 2024 players handbook. that was definitely incorrect. The Player’s Handbook is NOT releasing in May. (but it will be coming this year) Stay tuned for an official announcement soon…”

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New D&D core rulebooks coming – but when?

Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast collaborating on 1st licensed D&D video game made for virtual reality

D&D Deck of Many things released after production delay

Papercraft calendar: Roll up 1d12 months of 2024

Crafty gamers can deck dungeon halls with bargain wrapping paper

More third-party RPG titles join D&D Beyond platform

Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. has announced a new expansion to its popular Star Trek Adventures tabletop roleplaying game, The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign.

The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign book provides a six-mission campaign paralleling the Klingon War story arc depicted in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery. This tactical campaign enables you and your group to explore what was happening elsewhere in the Federation during this perilous time. With a plethora of additional rules variations to embrace the emotional toil of being thrust into a war, this campaign gives you the tools to build exciting narratives during the war.

This book also includes an all-new, procedurally generated campaign overlay that gives players the opportunity to take on the roles of admirals assigning assets to deal with Klingon threats across the galaxy.

It also includes six new playable species, including Aenar, Arcadian, Ariolo, Betelgeusian, Coridanite, and Megarite; optional rules, additional character talents, and more than 20 war-focused mission briefs including tactical, routine, exploration, and mission options.

Regarding the new release, Star Trek Adventures project manager Jim Johnson said: “With this release, we’re expanding the scope of Star Trek storytelling possibilities. It includes a long roleplaying campaign and a tactical campaign overlay that provides players the means to take on the role of admirals and manage resources and events at a larger scale. And, the tactical campaign component could be played by itself as sort of a mini-game, beyond the full roleplaying experience. I’m excited for gaming groups to get this to their table and create amazing Star Trek stories with it.”

Trekkies can now pre-order The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign at modiphius.net.

Space, the final frontier …

Star Trek Adventures RPG plans Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign expansion

Netflix re-launching Star Trek: Prodigy’s first season Dec. 25

In Lower Decks, Star Trek’s Next Generation is finally dealing with the darkness of DS9’s Dominion War

Netflix lands Star Trek Prodigy Seasons 1 and 2

Very Short Treks get lost in gross galactic territory

Star Trek Adventures RPG gets Animated Series Supplemental Guide PDF

Resolution Games, creators of the award-winning digital fantasy tabletop adventure Demeo, jointly announced a collaboration today with Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast.
 
“As anyone who’s played Demeo can guess, we’re incredibly huge fans of tabletop roleplaying games,” said Tommy Palm, founder and CEO of Resolution Games. “They have an unparalleled power to bring people together to create shared experiences, and that’s something we’ve tried to capture, too, with nearly every release in our library. Dungeons & Dragons offers one of the richest fantasy worlds that has ever been created, and it only gets bigger with every new sourcebook and adventure. We’re beyond humbled to have the opportunity to work with such an incredible IP and look forward to sharing the first details of this new project in the future.”
 
Following its 2021 release, Resolution Games’ Demeo garnered attention throughout the TTRPG world with its approachable blend of dungeon exploration and turn-based tactics with friends – which Palm reveals was firmly inspired by the team’s love for Dungeons & Dragons. Both Demeo and the second game in the franchise, Demeo Battles, are playable on PC and in VR. Demeo is also available on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2.
 
“Resolution Games has a clear understanding of how to bring players together and capture the fun of tabletop gaming on digital platforms in an accessible way,” said Eugene Evans, senior vice president of digital strategy and licensing at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. “They are an ideal partner to bring a new Dungeons & Dragons video game to life in VR and beyond. Dungeons & Dragons and our other world class gaming brands continue to attract amazing partners as we execute our strategy to grow our digital games portfolio through licensing and internal development.”
 
The game that will result from this collaboration is slated for a future release. No further details are available at this time. To learn more about Demeo, visit demeogame.com.

Photo by Sara Kurig on Unsplash

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New D&D core rulebooks coming – but when?

Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast collaborating on 1st licensed D&D video game made for virtual reality

D&D Deck of Many things released after production delay

Papercraft calendar: Roll up 1d12 months of 2024

Crafty gamers can deck dungeon halls with bargain wrapping paper

More third-party RPG titles join D&D Beyond platform

The gang is back and on a mission in Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins IV! Created in consultation with Matthew Mercer and the rest of the cast of Critical Role, series IV will be written by Jody Houser (Stranger Things, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins) with art by Noah Hayes (Goldie Vance, The Avant-Guards), colors by Diana Sousa, letters by Ariana Maher, and cover art by Alicia Sánchez.

Vox Machina is tasked to investigate the whereabouts of Sir Fince after his disappearance, and after some poking and prodding, clues lead the team to a mysterious basement. What dark surprises await our heroes in the bowels of his homestead?

“I’m excited to head back to Exandria and continue the adventure alongside Vox Machina,” said Houser. “The stakes have never been higher, so we’ll see if splitting the party was a good idea…”

Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins lV #1 (of 6) drops into comic shops on May 29, 2024. It is now available to pre-order for $3.99 at local comic shops.

If you’re still looking for the perfect desk calendar to see you through the year 2024, try this: a printable dodecahedron papercraft calendar (a couple, actually) that’s the same shape as the 12-sided dice (also known as 1d12s) often found at the table during Dungeons & Dragons sessions.

The finished product, offered as a free download, can be printed on cardstock.

However you choose to celebrate the New Year, know this: Nerdvana thanks you for reading, sharing and supporting our content!

Note: This post is an update of a similar entry from years past. The link to the printable papercraft calendar has been updated.

More Dungeons & Dragons:

New D&D core rulebooks coming – but when?

Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast collaborating on 1st licensed D&D video game made for virtual reality

D&D Deck of Many things released after production delay

Papercraft calendar: Roll up 1d12 months of 2024

Crafty gamers can deck dungeon halls with bargain wrapping paper

More third-party RPG titles join D&D Beyond platform

(There’s also Gaming Paper, if you want more options for shapes, like hexagons, and other things like color and scale — but if that doesn’t fit your budget, hit the holiday clearance aisles before it’s all gone!)

“It’s incredibly important to us to showcase the ingenuity of the D&D community, and we’re excited to share the love of fantasy roleplaying with more fans by bringing the Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming to D&D Beyond,” said Marjory Laymon, Vice President of D&D Beyond Product and Tech at Wizards of the Coast. “This is just the first step as we’ve got even more surprises planned for next year as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of D&D.”

“Grim Hollow and Drakkenheim really are passion projects for Ghostfire and the Dungeon Dudes, respectively, with rich worlds meant to be explored and have stories woven within,” said Ben Byrne, Creative Content Director at Ghostfire Gaming. “That so many new D&D fans will be introduced to them through D&D Beyond is incredibly humbling.”

The locations, maps, and monsters within these offerings will be available to all fans who purchase them to use in their campaigns on D&D Beyond. Players can add feats, spells, and magic items to their character sheets, choose a new background for their character, or indulge in crafting items from parts harvested from adventuring. Dungeon Masters can quickly reference more than a hundred new monsters, faction NPCs, and more in the D&D Beyond compendium.

“Dungeons of Drakkenheim began like every other D&D campaign; as a labor of love shared amongst a few friends at the game table (and a small audience of passionate viewers!) We started this project as a way to express our love of the game and showcase a world filled with all the aspects of fantasy role-playing games that we enjoy most: a blend of gripping action and cosmic horror where the player’s choices matter,” said Montgomery Martin and Kelly Mclaughlin, the Dungeon Dudes. “The original Drakkenheim characters were built and played on D&D Beyond, and so sharing the adventure we created on the platform is a dream come true. We can’t wait to hear the stories of other players’ adventures through the ruined city.”

More Dungeons & Dragons:

New D&D core rulebooks coming – but when?

Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast collaborating on 1st licensed D&D video game made for virtual reality

D&D Deck of Many things released after production delay

Papercraft calendar: Roll up 1d12 months of 2024

Crafty gamers can deck dungeon halls with bargain wrapping paper

More third-party RPG titles join D&D Beyond platform

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition’s original and acclaimed introductory adventure module, Lost Mine of Phandelver, has been available for free separate from the boxed Starter Set on Wizards of the Coast’s D&D Beyond digital platform — but the chance to claim the free title is about to expire.

On Oct. 10 Oct. 6, D&D Beyond says, Lost Mine of Phandelver will be replaced by Intro to Stormwreck Isle, content that is culled from the newer D&D boxed Starter Set that comes with the adventure Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, originally released as a Target store exclusive but now available more widely.

“We’ll release Intro to Stormwreck Isle on Oct. 6 as another no-cost introductory experience,” the D&D Beyond team’s statement reads. “It includes the encounters ‘Voyage to Stormwreck Isle’ and ‘Drowned Sailors.’

“In Voyage to Stormwreck Isle, players embark on a journey from a bustling Neverwinter port and face off against an ominous foe in the middle of a raging storm onboard a ship. Drowned Sailors is the first encounter from the D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle and offers the party an exciting, albeit unhospitable, welcome ashore Stormwreck Isle.

“We have created a video series designed to help players and Dungeon Masters get started with Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, making both encounters a great introduction to D&D for new players and DMs.”

Lost Mine of Phandelver was re-introduced and greatly expanded upon in the recent D&D hardcover adventure book Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk.

D&D Beyond’s Michael Galvis said in a blog post that if you have unlocked Lost Mine of Phandelver before Oct. 6, you will still have access to the adventure even after that date when Intro to Stormwreck Isle supplants it as the free digital offering.

Our recommendation: Don’t miss you chance to claim this well-loved RPG classic adventure scenario for free.

More Dungeons & Dragons:

New D&D core rulebooks coming – but when?

Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast collaborating on 1st licensed D&D video game made for virtual reality

D&D Deck of Many things released after production delay

Papercraft calendar: Roll up 1d12 months of 2024

Crafty gamers can deck dungeon halls with bargain wrapping paper

More third-party RPG titles join D&D Beyond platform

Originally backed with over $400K raised on Kickstarter, the LANCER Tabletop Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook will be presented by Dark Horse Books and Massif Press, and is poised to provide tabletop gaming with an entirely new far-flung science fiction future to explore on game night.

LANCER is a mud-and-Lasers tabletop roleplaying game of modular mechs and the pilots that crew them. 15,000 years into the future, humanity has survived near-collapse and has since expanded ever wider into the frontiers of space. Organized by UNION, the central hegemon of the populated galaxy, there exists a rich and vast society rooted in extravagant tech and artificial intelligence. At Union’s heart, the dream of human utopia has been realized–but LANCER is set at the trembling edges of space and time, where Union’s utopian project has not yet arrived.

As a lancer, you pilot a mech as unique as yourself. You are, by training, luck, circumstance, or sheer grit, one of the best. In this era near the golden age, the best are needed: history’s ghosts gather at the edges of Union space. The great work of reconstruction is threatened by the power-hungry, the greedy, the remnants of old orders, and the new heirs to alternate futures.

Who will you fight for? What path forward will you follow? Answer, and see the galaxy shape around you.

The LANCER Tabletop Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is an expertly illustrated hardcover (8.5” x 11”) tome, featuring a deep, story-rich setting for players to engage with. Every choice they make, every ordnance they mount, every weapon they wield — all of it has lore attached, just waiting for a story to develop. Players and Game Masters alike can get their hands on the full rule book when it hits bookstores on June 11, 2024 and comic shops on June 12, 2024. Preorder from your local bookstore, comic shop, Amazon or Barnes & Noble today for $59.99.

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