His art in the FF books was a huge influence. The Citadel of Chaos was my gateway into RPGs. This darker/British/satirical shade of fantasy still influences my games and writings. You might know him from D&D (Fiend Folio, etc.), Warhammer, or OSR games.
He managed to combine fantasy, detail, grittiness, weirdness, and action into his work. This guy was a legend, the the epitome of "old school dark fantasy".
Thanks to social media, I managed to let him know and send him a "thank you for everything", which he responded kindly.
It’s bigger than that. One D&D will usher in the next generation of D&D with new and more comprehensive versions of the core rulebooks that millions of players have enjoyed for the past decade. The rules will be backward compatible with fifth edition adventures and supplements and offer players and Dungeon Masters new options and opportunities for adventure. The evolution of fifth edition has shown us it’s less important to create new editions of the game and more important to grow and expand the game you love with each new product.
What is changing with the One D&D rules?
There will be many fundamental updates to D&D that we will collect your feedback on. In the upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest content, you’ll see proposed updates to character backgrounds, races, classes, feats, information presentation, and more. Ultimately, the answer to what will change depends on what we hear from you throughout One D&D playtests.
When will the One D&D rules be released?
The new core rulebooks are expected to be released in 2024.
How do I access One D&D playtest materials?
Log in with your D&D Beyond account and head over to the One D&D claim page to unlock the Unearthed Arcana playtest materials. You will then see the One D&D compendium (found under the “Sources” menu) where you can download the latest playtest and respond to the latest survey.
So you need D&D beyond to access the material and respond surveys.
And here is a video explaining some changes. As summarized by u/KyfeHeartsword on Reddit:
- PHB races are being completely revised. Orc is being added, new race of animalistic upper plane humanoids called Ardlings, half-elf and half-orc are being replaced by mix and match half-races, dwarves get limited use tremorsense when in contact with stone and optional traits, tiefling subraces are being consolidated into the main tiefling race with ancestral choices (Infernal, Abyssal, etc).
- Backgrounds now determine ASIs instead of race. All backgrounds give multiple options on where you can put your ASIs as they relate to your background choice. Backgrounds presented are built upon the same methodology as the customize and create your own background.
- All backgrounds give you a starting feat, these feats are specifically 1st level feats and all feats will now be grouped by power level.
Sounds like a new edition to me!
Probably not a radical change like 3e->4e, maybe something closer to 1e->2e.
Will I play it?
Meh. Probably not.
Might check it our if there is a good SRD. If they want someone to fix weapons, give me a call. ;)
But I'm not buying a whole new set of books (curiously, there is ALREADY a new set out in 2022, that will be made mostly obsolete in a couple of years). I like some of these ideas, but it's making the game more complex. Not my cup of tea. I'm on the OSR train now!
Anyway, let's see how it goes.
EDIT: also, apparently Planescape in 2023!
EDIT 2: Here are the first rules changes. This IS a new edition. Some changes are good, some are bad, but overall I don't really care. Oh well.
