This weekend, in the Geek Native Audio EXP podcast, I asked, “What year of the dragon?” and why we’ve had so little from Wizards of the Coast as D&D’s 50th birthday sailed by.
Today, Wizards of the Coast have announced the official timeline for D&D’s 50th and it includes;
- Official D&D Converse.
- Official D&D Lego
- Dates for the new rulebooks
- The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977
- Vecna: Eve of Ruin, an adventure for levels 10 to 20
- Quests from the Infinite Staircase, an adventure for levels 1 to 13
Geek Native shows the alternative black cover for Vecna: Eve of Ruin in this blog post.
D&D’s 50th birthday timeline
Keys from the Golden Vault (Europe)
A collection of 13 heist-themed adventures presented by a mysterious organization for player levels 1-11.
Vecna: Eve of Ruin
A high-stakes adventure where the heroes travel across the multiverse to stop the lich Vecna from obliterating existence.
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants (Europe)
Join the wizard Bigby on a journey through the world of giants and discover new colossal player options.
The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977
The ultimate book showcasing the inception of the first roleplaying games, including Gary Gygax’s 1973 draft.
Quests from the Infinite Staircase
An anthology weaving together six classic adventures updated for the fifth edition rules.
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
Return to Phandalin and discover an evil plot for players levels 1-12 in this expanded campaign.
Player’s Handbook (2024)
The revised 2024 Player’s Handbook features more options, enhanced organisation, and engaging additions to the rules.
Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024)
A revised guide with a clever, accessible approach to running games and more tools for world-building than ever before.
Monster Manual (2025)
The greatest selection of foes ever assembled in the history of the game, with options for all levels of play.
Definitely not D&D 6 or D&D 5.5
The official descriptions of the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual say, as expected, these are revised books. The word “edition” isn’t used. However, we can’t call these the 2024 editions or versions, as the Monster Manual isn’t out until 2025 when D&D will be 51.
Kyle Brink, Executive Producer of the team making D&D at Wizards of the Coast.
D&D has a rich history, an exciting present, and a great future. 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.”
Gary Con and PAX East get name-checks, Gen Con does not, and WotC even tuck Keys from the Golden Vault, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants and Phandelver and Blow: The Shattered Obelisk into the birthday year as releases in France, Italy, Germany and Spain.
Some are wondering about the health of D&D which, despite a cult but not popular hit movie, has been going through a rough patch. Wizards of the Coast have just so happened to call the next book Eve of Ruin.
