Welcome back to StartPlaying’s tabletop RPG news! There’s a LOT of Dungeons & Dragons news taking over our feeds this week, so let’s get right into it. Read on to see Kobold Press get some much-deserved love, local game stores get a win, and some shocking news about Baldur’s Gate 3.
Kobold Press Tome Of Beasts Makes Surprise Appearance On D&D Beyond
Third-party integrations with D&D Beyond continued this week with the sudden launch of Tomb of Beasts 1 on the digital platform. The Tome of Beasts series from Kobold Press adds hundreds of monsters to 5E gameplay. Many of them fill interesting roles not typically found in official monster manuals, such as bearing lesser-used elemental attributes or expanding the DM’s options for higher-level combat. Purchasing Tome of Beasts 1 on D&D Beyond ($39.99) adds the monsters to the Encounter builder and Maps tool.
Larian Studios Done With Baldur's Gate And D&D
There are no DLC plans for Baldur's Gate 3, at least not from developer Larian Studios. Larian founder Swen Vincke announced this during a Game Developers Conference panel, reported IGN. Vincke also confirmed that Larian has no intention of doing a Baldur's Gate 4. During a later interview, Vincke said that the team was initially planning out DLC in wake of BG3’s massive success, but their hearts weren’t in it. Instead, the team was “elated” when Vincke announced that Larian would leave D&D behind and work on its own ideas. Larian will still work on BG3 for some future patches and mod support before bidding farewell to Karlach and the gang.
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Local Game Stores Get Early Access Program For Future D&D Books
Wizards of the Coast is putting an Early Access Program in place for local game stores in the USA and Canada. Participating stores will be given product early enough to sell up to two weeks before global release day, beginning with Vecna: Eve of Ruin in May. This program applies to both the standard and store-exclusive alt cover of adventures and sourcebooks. This is definitely a win for local game store amidst concerns of an all-digital future for D&D. Now if only we could get D&D Beyond access included with a book purchase!
LEGO & Converse Reveal D&D Anniversary Swag
The anniversary celebration continues with more tie-in merch for D&D’s 50th. This week we learned of two big brand collaborations. First, LEGO revealed Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale. This $359.99 set will be available in April. The set’s foundation is a tavern with connected dungeon and tavern full of adventurer minifigures and brick versions of iconic monsters. There will also be a 5th-level adventure on D&D Beyond that features locations and characters from the LEGO set.
For the more fashion-minded, Converse is rolling out special editions of its Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes. These feature various art of classic monsters and characters as well as a d20 around the star on some variants. Customers will also be able to use some of these designs in custom order Chucks. There will also be shirts and a ball cap made for DMs. These will be sold online April 11, or at GaryCon this weekend.
Quests From The Infinite Staircase Adventures Announced
D&D Beyond spilled the beans on the six adventures featured in July’s Quests from the Infinite Staircase. Straight out of first edition, the included adventures will span from levels 1-13. They are The Lost City, When a Star Falls, Beyond the Crystal Cave, Pharaoh, The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, and Expeditions to the Barrier Peaks. Their themes span from star-crossed romance to deadly dungeon crawls to trippy sci-fi excursions. If Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth looks familiar, that’s because it’s part of StartPlaying X D&D’s special event!
Whew, that was a lot! Thanks for sticking around to read it all, and see you next week. If you have a game this weekend, may your dice be kind.
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