Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Next D&D Storyline Leaked?

Semi-spoilers? Over at ENWorld, there is already talk, in advance of a June 1st announcement from Wizards, about a giant-themed story line rumored to be called Storm King's Thunder. There really is no reason to doubt the rumor as head-honcho Chris Perkins hinted at it long ago and the foundation of this story (set in Forgotten Realms of course) was likely laid out in Tyranny of Dragons.

Here is the unofficial blurb:

"Giants have emerged from their strongholds to threaten civilization as never before. Hill giants are stealing all the grain and livestock they can while stone giants have been scouring settlements that have been around forever. Fire giants are press-ganging the smallfolk into the desert, while frost giant longships have been pillaging along the Sword Coast. Even the elusive cloud giants have been witnessed, their wondrous floating cities appearing above Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. Where is the storm giant King Hekaton, who is tasked with keeping order among the giants?

The humans, dwarves, elves, and other small folk of the Sword Coast will be crushed underfoot from the onslaught of these giant foes. The only chance at survival is for the small folk to work together to investigate this invasion and harness the power of rune magic, the giants’ weapon against their ancient enemy the dragons. The only way the people of Faerun can restore order is to use the giants’ own power against them."

Forum discussion has been about the inspiration of Against the Giants the Greyhawk series by which all giant adventures are measured. Incidentally Chris Perkins did update AtG back in 4E with a fourth entry to boot, so there's that. What Perkins also hinted at was the hypothetical giant story being tied to Shakespeare. Let the speculation commence on that, I know little of his works so any homage will be a surprise to me.

Last thing until we get more concrete info, Since giants seem to be checked off my list here is a revised list of my next story line odds. Since the time I wrote it Ravenloft was also checked off the list (I had it at a measly 10:1)

The Ruins of Undermountain/ Odds 3:1 (up from 6:1)
A straight up dungeon crawl. It's well known. It is on the Sword Coast. It has plenty of monsters and subplots ready for an update. This is my favorite pick.

Gates of Firestorm Peak/ Odds 6:1 (up from 7:1)
This 2E module is by Wizards' own Bruce Cordell and involves the Far Realms which is very Cthulhuian, a niche that has many many fans. Firestorm Peak has some quirky villains which seems in line with Wizard's antagonists lately. It was also generic enough that it can fit in the Realms with little effort.

S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks/ Odds 8:1 (down from 5:1)
A downed spaceship scenario isn't impossible given a Twitter teaser by Perkins once posted, involving a picture of a Froghemoth and other aberrant monsters. Would Wizards really mashup scifi and fantasy in Faerun though?

The Rod of Seven Parts/ Odds 9:1 (down from 8:1)
The epic adventure boxed set has just the right components for a contemporary D&D mega event. It has demons, elementals and it has a multipart artifact quest. They'd be stupid not to consider the Ro7P.

WGA4: Vecna Lives!/ Odds 12:1 (down from 8:1)
Still my favorite option. Liches are very popular and who hasn't heard of Vecna? Vecna has appeared in Ravenloft before so he has planar appeal. Also, when he is involved there is always a load of artifacts in play. This story would work even in FR since Vecna wants to supplant existing gods? FR deities are easy to push over!

I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City or N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God/ Odds 15:1
Scaly evil and jungle ruins is an untapped resource for D&D writers in the last couple editions. Given WotC's tendency to set their adventures in temperate or cold climates though, this type of story is still far off in my opinion.

A1-4: Scourge of the Slave Lords/ 15:1
Human traffickers is an evil organization that can keep adventurers busy across a wide area. This classic series has been revised recently so it may be fresh on Wizard's mind. It can also translate to other settings easily.

1 comment:

Mystic Scholar said...

Somethings never change.