2023 is a huge year for Dungeons & Dragons, as it saw the release of a major Hollywood movie based on the franchise and numerous playtest documents set up the content that will appear in the new 2024 Core Rulebooks. There were still plenty of other planned releases for D&D 5E in 2023, including the return of a beloved campaign setting and a trip to the famous city that introduced millions of people worldwide to the game.
D&D 5E launched in 2014, heralding a surge of popularity for the game, aided by an easier-to-understand ruleset and a growing online presence for tabletop RPGs that made it easier for newcomers to start playing. Wizards of the Coast isn’t in a rush to abandon D&D 5E and jump to 6E, but we are gearing up for a new incarnation of the rules in 2024, but all of the existing books, including the new ones in 2023, will still be compatible with the current content.
Related: How to play D&D Online – Resources, VTTs, & Setup
Tyranny of Dragons – January 17
While not a completely new product, Tyranny of the Dragons combines existing adventures into one campaign. Tyranny of Dragons merges Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat into a single story with new artwork and rebalanced combat encounters. This turns it into a complete campaign that runs from levels 1-15, resulting in a storyline that could provide your group with months’ worth of sessions.
Keys From The Golden Vault – February 21
Keys from the Golden Vault is the latest D&D 5E adventure anthology, combining thirteen standalone quests into one book. The main gimmick of Keys from the Golden Vault is that all of the adventures in this book are based around heists, with the players needing to steal things using their skills and wits rather than going in guns blazing. What’s fun about this book is that players are given maps with mistakes, which they’ll have fun discovering in the middle of the adventure, making it ideal for use when running one-shots during conventions or at game stores.
Baldur’s Gate 3 – August 4 (PC), September 6 (PS5)
It’s almost time to gather your party and venture forth, as Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming in 2023, though PC fans will get it a month earlier than PS5 owners. Set more than a century after the Bhaalspawn saga, Baldur’s Gate 3 will use the D&D 5E ruleset to tell a brand new story in the Forgotten Realms, where the player must remove a Mind Flayer parasite from their brain before it takes them over. The hype for this game is through the roof, as a new entry in the Baldur’s Gate series is long overdue.
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants – August 15
One of the most powerful wizards in the Greyhawk campaign setting will share their knowledge of the primal beings that inhabit most D&D campaign settings. Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants will be fleshing out the giantkin of D&D, which will include a new Barbarian subclass, two new Backgrounds, eight new Feats that add Runic Magic to the game, thirty new magic items (including 3 artifacts), lair maps, and more than seventy new monsters to use in campaigns. This will be Bigby’s first time hosting a D&D book, so we’ll probably get many references to his giant hands.
The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons – August 15
Not all of the D&D books coming out in 2023 are brand-new campaigns or dense rulebooks, as some tomes are intended for younger players. The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons is an illustrated guidebook that discusses the dragons of the D&D multiverse, as told by adventurer Sindri Suncatcher. This book is filled with lore and ideas about dragonkind, which aims to inspire young players’ minds and give older DMs new ways to approach D&D’s most iconic monsters.
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk – September 19
Many D&D players are familiar with the village of Phandelver, as it’s where the Lost Mines of Phandelver mini-campaign from the D&D Starter Set is based. Those who are itching to return can do so in Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, a campaign that runs from levels 1-12. The new Phandelver campaign tells a cosmic horror story as players uncover the plot to create an evil empire in the region, which is linked to the black obelisks that have appeared in multiple D&D campaigns since the launch of 5E in 2014.
Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse – October 17
The Planescape setting is the connective tissue that binds the D&D multiverse together, yet its concepts are rarely brought up in modern D&D. Indeed, most fans are only familiar with the setting via the excellent Planescape: Torment video game rather than the books from the AD&D era. That’s about to change, as Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse brings the city of Sigil and the Outlands into D&D 5E.
Like the Spelljammer set before it, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse is a boxset that consists of three books, a DM screen, and a map. The books are Sigil and the Outlands, Morte’s Planar Parade, and Turn of Fortune’s Wheel. Sigil and the Outlands contain new rules for characters and flesh out the setting, Morte’s Planar Parade is the monster book, and Turn of Fortune’s Wheel is an adventure.
The Deck of Many Things – November 14
The Deck of Many Things is one of the most powerful artifacts in the history of D&D, to the point where only the most chaotic or foolhardy DMs would risk destroying their campaign by using it. This is because drawing one of the cards can instantly grant the player incredible power or wipe their character from the face of the world.
Related: D&D Players Split As Abundance of Magic “Cheapens” Class Fantasy
The Deck of Many Things is also a D&D 5E product that comes with a rulebook (called the Book of Many Things), a case with 66 cards based on the deck (including 44 new ones), and a Card Reference Guide. The Book of Many Things will introduce lots of new player content that is related to the Deck of Many Things, including new spells, magic items, and character options, while the Card Reference Guide offers guidance for using the physical cards in your game, without needing to drop an overpowered artifact into the campaign.
