Join the Public Playtest for One D&D as Wizards Presents Reveals Big News Including 2023 Release Schedule

August 18, 2022

Wizards Presents announced new products and updates from both the Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering teams like the upcoming Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen and Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn, an exciting development for D&D Beyond, celebrating the 35th anniversary of Drizzt Do’Urden and the D&D release schedule for 2023. But one announcement stood out among all others. One D&D is the codename for the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons, with updated rules fully compatible with 5th Edition along with impressive 3D creation tools. Let’s get into it.

The D&D you know reflecting the times

Ever since Wizards of the Coast revealed plans for the next evolution of D&D aiming for a 2024 release players have been abuzz with speculation. Is this refresh doing away with short rests? Will the character creation guidelines from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything become the new norm in the revised Player’s Handbook? How will classic creatures from the Monster Manual appear in the update following the design direction established in Monsters of the Multiverse?

The answer these and countless more questions rests and least partially in our hands. Starting today, Aug. 18, 2022 players can sign up to participate in the public playtest for One D&D. In the Wizards Presents video announcement folks from the D&D design team shared their perspectives on the reasoning behind this evolution of D&D and the broad strokes of the kinds of changes players can expect to see.

“We did a smart thing with 5th Edition by listening to the fans and what came out of that process was a system that is stable, that is well loved, that incorporates the best elements of earlier editions. Now that we have that we are no longer in the position where we think of D&D as an edition. It’s just D&D.” — Chris Perkins, Game Design Architect for D&D

Perkins talked about his personal goal of revamping the Dungeon Master’s Guide. He described making structural changes to make it more friendly to new Dungeon Masters. He explains how in 2024 we’ll get new versions of the game we know but reflective of where the game is presently.

This makes perfect sense to me. I’ve said for a while now how 5E D&D changed a lot since release simply because of how people play, due in no small part to streaming. Reaching new audiences and welcoming new players to the hobby combined with modern minded play styles altered the scope of D&D. The way I see it, and I’m not alone, is D&D as a superhero fantasy game. This is a development I’m happy to acknowledge because it’s given D&D a distinct identity in the RPG space.

If I’m honest I’m more excited about One D&D than I was for D&D Next, which was quite a lot. My first Gen Con experience was 2014 when 5E D&D was on the horizon and I returned home to run Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle that I won at the convention with the playtest rules of the time. Since then I’ve become astronomically more invested in the game (it’s my job now after all!) and with a deeper understanding of not only design but the culture surrounding the hobby. Giving the entire player community a chance to participate in playtesting is phenomenal opportunity.

Following the Wizards Presents events you can head over to D&D Beyond to sign up and join the public playtest for One D&D and be among the first to receive the initial playtest packet. Check it out here.

Dragonlance

I’ve grown more and more thrilled for this upcoming adventure since the announcement at the previous reveal event. War is a terrific backdrop for any sort of RPG story and Dragonlance is the premiere setting for all out fantasy war as far as I’m concerned.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen releases on Dec. 6, 2022 and boasts one of the most awesome fantasy villains of all time on the alternate art cover, plunges adventurers into the world of Krynn during the War of the Lance. Like the original DL module series this 5E iteration includes a bonafide simulation war game reminiscent of DL11 Dragons of Glory in the form of Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn, a mass battle board game directly where players make decisions on memorable events during the war that interact with the tabletop campaign.

How cool is that?!

Oh, and courtesy of WotC’s acquisition of D&D Beyond earlier this year hopefully we’ll hear less grumbling since they’re offering bundles of physical and digital content starting with Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen. Preorders through WotC’s own store provide early access to the content starting Nov. 22. The D&D Store itself is a bit of news as well, since it is a brand new platform not yet live. You can check it out and bookmark the page for later right here.

2023 D&D products

The final bit of announcements we’re most excited about from Wizards Presents are the releases coming our way in 2023. Here they are:

Q1 2023
- Keys from the Golden Vault — Ocean’s Eleven meets D&D in this book of short adventures revolving around heists. Yes, please!
Q2 2023
- Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. Wonder no more about where all the giant themed Unearthed Arcana material led — to this book in the style of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons
Q3 2023
- The Book of Many Things — A collection of creatures, locations, and other goodies connected to the mysterious Deck of Many Things. When you’re ready to run a campaign featuring this classic magic item we’ve got you covered!
Q3 2023
- “Phandelver Campaign” — Expands the classic Lost Mine of Phandelver into a full campaign tinged with cosmic horror.
Q4 2023
- “Planescape” — The legendary setting returns! Like Spelljammer: Adventure in Space, fans can explore Sigil, City of Doors, with a setting guide, a bestiary and an adventure in one package.

What Wizards Presents announcement are you most excited about? Here’s a gallery of some images shared during the event from the upcoming Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen and Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn war game.