When it comes to tabletop gaming, there is no doubt that the undisputed kings are Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering. The two games that practically started the paper RPG and collectable card gaming industries they both dominate might both have existed for ages, but thanks to constant revisions and regular new content they remain as popular and relevant today as they ever were.
And considering they are both owned by the same company, Hasbro Subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, it’s rather surprising that up to now both properties have never been used together to make an even bigger impact on the industry. Especially when you consider the wealth of stories and rich worlds that exists between both franchises.
Never been used together that is, until now, as the company has announced that they will be releasing a new D&D lore book set in the world of Ravnica – the world of Magic the Gathering. The company will be releasing the new book on November 20th (as reported by Kotaku), which is sure to please fans of both franchises who will now finally get to play their favourite Magic heroes through the sophisticated roleplaying system of D&D. How exactly the colour-based magic system of plains, swamps, mountains, forests and islands will translate into the bigger world of wizards, rangers and the many other varieties of character class you get in the D&D system. I guess not yet knowing though is part of the fun for fans who will no doubt be eager in anticipation to see how it will all work out.
And buying it in droves at the already ridiculously high prices that these two iconic properties can get away with. Still, I expect this to be massively popular when it comes out and be a big hit with the many different groups still playing D&D. That been said, it’s been a long time since I last bought a magic deck and read anything on the word of Ravnica, so I might need a bit if a catch-up myself if I am going to land up playing this exciting new set of rules. As long as I get to still have fun with a twisted Chaotic Neutral character, then I’m up for it.
Below is a description of what the guide will entail:
A perpetual haze of dreary rain hangs over the spires of Ravnica. Bundled against the weather, the cosmopolitan citizens in all their fantastic diversity go about their daily business in bustling markets and shadowy back alleys. Through it all, ten guilds—crime syndicates, scientific institutions, church hierarchies, military forces, judicial courts, buzzing swarms, and rampaging gangs—vie for power, wealth, and influence. These guilds are the foundation of power on Ravnica. They have existed for millennia, and each one has its own identity and civic function, its own diverse collection of races and creatures, and its own distinct subculture. Their history is a web of wars, intrigue, and political machinations as they have vied for control of the plane.
Last Updated: July 25, 2018
Admiral Chief
July 25, 2018 at 10:17
[mssc]
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 10:37
‘ow the ‘ell on earth would this even work?
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 10:38
Different Guilds would be associated with different colours or combination of colours. Well, that is as much as I know for now about that 😛
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 10:48
Yeah, that doesn’t make it clearer at all.
I’m wondering about the mages/wizards. I never got into M:tG (thank fuck, my wallet was saved that!), but far as I can recall, it was all about hectically powerful magic users who used summoned monsters to fight for them, because using their own powers would destroy the world. Or something.
So now how are they going to fit into this?
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 10:48
Yeah, that doesn’t make it clearer at all.
I’m wondering about the mages/wizards. I never got into M:tG (thank fuck, my wallet was saved that!), but far as I can recall, it was all about hectically powerful magic users who used summoned monsters to fight for them, because using their own powers would destroy the world. Or something.
So now how are they going to fit into this?
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 10:48
Also struggling to see how the bridge will be gapped between player characters that are Fighters, Monks or Barbarians. Perhaps the PCs will not be the “planeswalkers”, but just agents of the Guilds, and have some specific bonusses based on which guild they chose? I don’t know…but surely they would not make is summon-heavy
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 10:50
I see this whole “scenario/campaign” as being an offshoot from the main D&D stuff. You either play in this world, or you don’t.
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:00
Yeah. Looking forward to more details, though currently playing a ToA campaign so this will only be handy in the faaaaar future 🙂
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 11:01
So you found someone to do a campaign with there in George?
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:05
Nope. I am still playing with the Pretoria group. Mostly via Skype, but sometimes they arrange it over weekends that I am up there to visit the parents (*cough* more to visit the dog *cough*) so I get to play “live” then. They need their Barbarian…they would all die without him.
Trying to get things together to START a group in George, but then I will have to DM.
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 11:07
Yes, yes…. I see you as a barbarian.
What race? Half-Orc?
Weapon? Greataxe?
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:09
A “tiny” 8ft2 Goliath. Greataxe is normally my go-to weapon, but two sessions ago the DM tried to kill me with a Trycerotops. Needless to say I yanked off one of its horns and am using it as a Great Club now 😛
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 11:13
Well fuck, you aren’t holding back, are you?
In the campaign I ran, we had a half orc barbarian.
I ended up giving him a cursed greataxe. Powerful thing, but also had some hectic negative side effects. He role played the crap out of it, was awesome.
In his story, he ended up becoming an orc chieftan, but only after having his “orc” stripped from him (making him a runty little human…AND a ginger!) and had to go on a quest regain his “orc-ness”. Suddenly he was full orc after that.
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:20
That sounds like a lot of fun! Hope my guy can get a cool weapon. Though right now my “mission” is to get the two Girallon hands I chopped off to a leather worker to make them into gloves or something to serve as my Totem Animal (replacement for the Bear since there are no bears)
This is a Girallon btw – we killed 3, and I soaked 54 damage in 1 round:
http://lilithstreasuretavern.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/7/3/13737227/s144094589190160637_p44_i1_w341.jpeg
Original Heretic
July 25, 2018 at 11:26
Dude…I was a DM for over a decade. I know very well what a girallon is, I am rather well versed with the Monster Manual 1.
The first time I put my group up against them, they nearly bekakked themselves when the Rend happened!
And yeah, our adventure had some epic stories, all from my twisted mind.
When we ended, we were actually still busy with a campaign. A broken continent that had been reduced to a series of islands (Irrigath: The Broken Lands!), and was being run by a dracolich (all the players were very high level by then, so they needed hardcore enemies). Just about every creature they encountered had some kind of draconic flair to it.
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:30
I want to play more! So many epic stories to create/live! PS: I loved the Mythica movies – binged them over the weekend 🙂
Guz
July 25, 2018 at 11:49
Wow , really dig D&D type stuff although only games I played were baldur’s gate and ice wind dale, never did get into the paper version(didnt have anyone to jam with) .
Looks like I missed out *rolls 1*
Phaezen
July 25, 2018 at 11:08
Planeswalkers will be the uber NPCs of the setting (Think Elminster, Raistlin, Mordekainen etc) Otherwise it will be like other campaign settings.
They have released some M:TG settings for D&D on a smaller scale – Zendikar, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Amonkhet and Ixalan. All for free on the Magic website, just do a google search for M:TG Planeshift.
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 11:13
Yeah, saw those, but they are not “official official” D&D stuff, more “nice to have”, and the races do not work in Adventure League. I sooo wanted to be a minion of Sorin!
For the Emperor!
July 25, 2018 at 10:37
Luckily for D&D only one person in the group needs to buy the book 😛
Looking forward to it, though I would have preferred something more to do with Sorin…
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
July 25, 2018 at 17:53
Its time for Szadek to start kicking ass again.
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
July 25, 2018 at 17:53
Its time for Szadek to start kicking ass again.
Lord Chaos
July 26, 2018 at 13:04
I loved Ravnica, my favorite set during the time I played MtG, still have all my cards