D&D General Greyhawk to Faerun and Beyond: A Multiversal D&D Lore Book Is Coming This Fall

This coming October, a 360+ page hardcover which delves into Dungeons & Dragons' various worlds and settings will be released. The book isn't from WotC--it's from Ten Speed Press--but it's by Adam Lee, who wrote for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. The book comes full of 50-years of artwork, and is narrated by the famous wizard Mordenkainen. Additionally, the book contains some original fiction.

Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond is available for pre-order already.

The book covers Greyhawk, Mystara, Dragonlance, Faerun, Eberron, the Feywild and Shadowfell, Spelljammer, the Nine Hells, the Abyss, Sigil, and the Far Realm. It's a book of lore and story, not a rulebook, giving an overall of D&D's entire multiverse and its many worlds.

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Celebrate fifty years of the spellbinding settings and planes of Dungeons & Dragons with this beautifully illustrated exploration of the multiverse.

Worlds & Realms is an illustrated, story-driven retrospective celebrating the immersive worldbuilding of D&D since the iconic game’s inception in 1974. Legendary mage Mordenkainen takes adventurers on a fantastical journey through the multiverse, delving into memorable and fascinating lore and locations across all five editions of the game.

With Mordenkainen’s guidance, readers will revisit worlds that have come to define D&D over the decades, from the familiar realms of the Material Plane to lands beyond the Astral Sea. Mordenkainen’s philosophical musings provide a mage’s-eye view of the worlds’ unique features, creatures, and characters, captivating readers’ imaginations as they learn more about the history and mysteries of the multiverse. Additionally, readers will join adventuring parties with inhabitants of each realm through exclusive short stories by award-winning contributors Jaleigh Johnson, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, Jasmine Bhullar, and Geoffrey Golden.

Full of exciting and enchanting artwork showing fifty years of gameplay evolution from vintage D&D through the present, with original cover and chapter-opener illustrations, Worlds & Realms is a spellbinding tour of the strange and wonderful worlds of the multiverse, appealing to both new and long-standing fans alike.

Polygon has some previews of the book.

 

[bedir than]

The table of contents is in the Polygon article, looks like we have Greyhawk (32 pages), Mystara (24 pages), Dragonlance (30 pages), Faerun (34 pages), and Eberron (30 pages). In addition to Apelljammer, the Feywild, the Shadowfell, Sigil, The Nine Hells, the Abyss, and the Far Realm.

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I read the typo as Applejammer, and that seems like a Domain of Delight I would enjoy

 

[Parmandur]

I read the typo as Applejammer, and that seems like a Domain of Delight I would enjoy

Actually a pretty decent Halfling surname for a family that makes cider.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

This looks like something in the vain of the Young Adventurer's Guides Series.

 

[schneeland]

With the amount of pages they have, I don't expect much of a deep dive for any of the settings. But still, it sounds neat. I think I might buy it.

 

[Parmandur]

With the amount of pages they have, I don't expect much of a deep dive for any of the settings. But still, it sounds neat. I think I might buy it.

I mean, it's the highest page count covering Mystara since the 2E era, and Greyhawk since 3.5...that ain't nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Kurotowa]

Well, I suppose this is the logical conclusion of their new publishing model. They're trying to pitch the D&D multiverse as the default setting, and they want a more official take out there than fan wikis that are a mish-mash of multiple editions, but they don't want to flood the market with traditional setting books. So instead we get one grand tour with a quick overview of all the important points, and no mechanics to weigh it down or eat up page count.

I'm sure it's something that will be useful to all the players who haven't been around for multiple editions. I'm not sure it's something that will be useful to me, who has been. But it's okay that not every book is for me, and I'll give the reviews a fair look to see if I'm interested.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

A spellcaster using magic in front of a beholder with the open eye?

I am happy Mystara and Greyhawk to be mentioned because this could mean they will be unlocked in DM Guild.

 

[Bitbrain]

The table of contents is in the Polygon article, looks like we have Greyhawk (32 pages), Mystara (24 pages), Dragonlance (30 pages), Faerun (34 pages), and Eberron (30 pages). In addition to Spelljammer, the Feywild, the Shadowfell, Sigil, The Nine Hells, the Abyss, and the Far Realm.

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Leaving the lack of Dark Sun aside for the moment, I am genuinely curious about how they’ll approach Mystara with this product.

 

[el-remmen]

This seems like the kind of book I would have loved to browse endlessly as a kid and makes me wonder if it might be worth it as a “get my own kid excited about D&D worlds” kinda book.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Somewhat reminds me of the 2E Player's guide for FR & Dragonlance (and Ed Greenwood's Realms book), which were meant to introduce players to the campaign world and had no game mechanics in them.

I've learned to design my homebrew campaign world documents without mechanics in them, so I can use them with a variety of editions and systems (2E, 3E, 5E, Savage Worlds, 54 engine, etc.). But, considering how poorly the 2E player's guides did, most people seem to prefer to pick up the books for the mechanics, not the worldbuilding (and then make their OWN mechanics).

Personally, I'd like to see more of these, and with the sort of depth you'd expect to find in a coffee table book, with a little pamphlet with the "edition/system of your choice" crunchy rules in it.

Yeah, I was disappointed that everyone didn't grab Ed Greenwood's Guide to the Forgotten Realms and say "more of these, please!"

But I suspect there's a wide range of comfort/enjoyment with coming up with crunch and some DMs would prefer to have WotC handle that job, given the prices of the books involved.