Many of the settings in Dungeons & Dragons have been reused through multiple editions of the tabletop game. Iconic locations like Baldur's Gate, Ravenloft, and Waterdeep have offered players exciting adventures for decades. However, while these adventures have been adapted to fit the newer rules of recent D&D editions, the stories themselves have become outdated, or simply overplayed, and may benefit from being retired. Doing so could potentially create an opportunity for new D&D settings to take the stage.
One of the biggest problems with dated Dungeons & Dragons settings is the badly aged stereotypes given to certain races. This has been a particularly frustrating issue in The Curse of Strahd. Wizards of the Coast re-released the classic horror campaign in July of 2020 with updates regarding the Vistani race, a nomadic people living in Barovia. However, while the changes removed descriptions of the Vistani being untrustworthy drunks, it didn't improve the races' uncanny resemblance to the negative stereotypes used to describe the Romani people. Because of this, The Curse of Strahd remains a dated setting that would benefit from being retired from active D&D updates.
One of the biggest setbacks currently in Dungeons & Dragons is the lack of new realms. While the Forgotten Realms and Eberron continue to be the focal points of most D&D-specific adventures, each of these locations has been heavily explored through both pre-built and homebrewed campaigns. Currently, Eberron is the most recent D&D exclusive realm to have been added to the available settings. This is frustrating, as Eberron was first released in 2004, making it almost two decades old. Retiring these settings to build a new, unexplored realm for 5th Edition would allow new classes, races, and adventures to be added to D&D, revitalizing potentially stale and overplayed campaigns.
Retiring overplayed Dungeons & Dragons settings could be the perfect opportunity for Wizards of the Coast to reboot other older realms. For example, the Spelljammer D&D campaign for 2nd Edition was released in 1989 and hasn't seen a full re-release since. The campaign introduces a number of science fiction aspects to D&D, like a ship that is capable of traveling the Planes of Existence and planet exploration. This type of setting would appeal to fans of Star Wars, Star Trek, or even players who simply enjoy sci-fi storylines.
Currently, it is unlikely Wizards of the Coast will retire well-known settings like Ravenloft or worlds like The Forgotten Realms. The D&D campaigns using these settings often act as entry points to the game for new players, making their familiarity an asset even if the gameplay is sometimes outdated. However, it could be beneficial to introduce new and original Dungeons & Dragons settings in the near future to help update gameplay and fix poorly-aged representation that can be frustrating for current fans of the game.
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