Wizards of the Coast promised that three classic campaign settings are returning to D&D's third returning campaign setting in 2023 is still a mystery, yet there are some strong candidates for the position, as well as for future planned returning settings.
It was revealed during the D&D Direct that Spelljammer is coming back in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, which is a box set that contains three books. The Dragonlance setting is coming back in an unusual way, as it's being released as both a campaign book and a board game, which are compatible with each other. These were two of the most highly-anticipated classic campaign settings and longtime fans are ecstatic to see them return after such a long time.
There are a number of classic D&D settings, yet many are unlikely to return. There are some D&D settings that cannot come back in 5e, as they now belong to different publishers, so they are unlikely to come back without a licensing deal in place. There are also some less popular settings that probably won't return, such as Birthright and Council of Wyrms. This still leaves some big names from the history of D&D that could make their return in the future, especially now that Spelljammer and Dragonlance are out of the way. The D&D multiverse will keep adding new planes, as Magic: The Gathering locations are becoming integrated into the game, but there is still room for the classics, especially as the lifespan of D&D will be expanded with the 5.5 launch in 2024.
Planescape Is The Next Step For The D&D Multiverse
The D&D 5e multiverse is growing with each book and the return of Spelljammer will allow people to travel between the different D&D campaign worlds without the need for portals or teleportation spells. Not everyone has the time to fly a spelljammer vessel across the cosmos, especially as there are all kinds of dangers waiting in the reaches of wildspace. This means that many still turn to magic when they need to quickly reach another world or a different plane of existence. Planescape is the campaign setting that focuses on the places between planes, as well as the many strange locations that are spread across the endless multiverse.
Planescape talks about the different planes throughout the multiverse, including D&D's Outer Planes and afterlives. One of the most important locations in Planescape is Sigil, the City of Doors, which is sometimes referred to as the center of the multiverse. Sigil is the domain of the Lady of Pain, one of the most powerful beings in the D&D multiverse, and few would ever dream of invading the city for fear of her reprisal. A fully-fleshed out version of Sigil, with its different factions vying for power, the distinct philosophies of its people, and even its slang , are long overdue for a return to D&D. If the multiverse continues to grow, then Planescape has an important role as the connecting tissue that is holding everything together.
D&D's Greyhawk Setting Has Been Teased In Many 5e Books
The Greyhawk campaign setting is one of the cornerstones of D&D, with the world of Oerth actually being the default setting of D&D 3e, yet it has yet to receive a campaign book for D&D 5e. Greyhawk was one of the original D&D campaign settings and characters from that world continue to be important players in the D&D multiverse, such as Vecna, the arch-lich turned god, yet Oerth still lingers in the shadow of Faerun. The D&D campaign books will often give basic advice for running games in Greyhawk, such as by suggesting locations for adapting the adventure to Oerth, and the Player's Handbook lists the gods of the world, but players have to look to older books for details about the setting.
One of the best aspects of Oerth is how easy it is to tailor for homebrew games, which might be why it was the main setting of D&D 3e. Oerth is a ready-made world, with its own countries, factions, villains, and dungeons, yet it's not as lore heavy as settings like Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. Greyhawk also hosted some of the best adventures in the history of D&D, and it would be amazing to see them adapted for D&D 5e. Wizards of the Coast has released several D&D 5e books with Greyhawk heroes and villains as the title characters, including Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, all of which are part of the D&D Rules Expansion Gift Set, and these could be a hint that a return to Oerth is on the cards.
Dark Sun Needs A D&D 5e Revival
In D&D, Ravenloft has the Domains of Dread, which are locations controlled by some of the evilest and most powerful individuals in the D&D multiverse, yet a Domain of Dread is a holiday in the Caribbean compared to the world of Athas from the Dark Sun campaign setting. Athas is a desert planet that has no gods to provide divine magic to the people. Instead, it's a planet with dwindling natural resources, where the use of arcane magic is destroying what little plant life remains. The cities of Athas are ruled by the sorcerer-kings, who are performing horrific rituals to try and transform themselves into dragons while enforcing their rule with an iron fist.
Dark Sun is an awesome campaign setting, yet it likely won't come to 5e before Planescape or Greyhawk. It's one of the classic campaign settings that received a revival during the D&D 4e era, with a campaign book being released in 2010, so it's still relatively fresh compared to the other returning classic campaign settings, with Spelljammer fans waiting 30 years for its return. The push toward more content in the D&D multiverse also means Dark Sun would be a tricky prospect, as the world of Athas was cut-off from the rest of the multiverse by a crystal sphere that blocked spelljammers and magic spells. The reason for this is that high-level characters from other planes could solve many of Athas' issues, taking away from the point of the setting. Most importantly, Dark Sun has the darkest tone of any of the Dungeons & Dragons settings, and adapting it to 5e brings a number of challenges, as toning down the darker elements would detract from the setting's identity, and could alienate the existing fans of the setting.
