Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft was announced way back in July, as the first Universes Beyond release for the storied tabletop RPG. And just like the MMO it's based on, D&D: World of Warcraft is absolutely massive.
But while this was the first Universes Beyond release for D&D, it’s nothing new for Wizards of the Coast, with the initiative driving a huge number of Magic: The Gathering sets over the last few years. But just like the scope of the Lord of the Rings set for MTG, Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft is an absolutely massive expansion, and almost feels like an entire game unto itself.
Rather than just taking the easy way out and releasing a one-off story module, Wizards of the Coast packed its World of Warcraft expansion with enough lore, dungeons, and professions that it could feasibly take you years to try everything. But, unlike WoW on your desktop, you can choose exactly how your Azeroth story will play out.
World of Warcraft has been around for 22 years on its own, and the franchise as a whole has been around since 1994. Needless to say, there is a ton of lore and history baked into the world of Azeroth. And, a huge portion of it is built into D&D: World of Warcraft.
The entire world of Azeroth is described in the book, up to The War Within. And, just like the game, each zone has a rough level range that Wizards had in mind when designing them. As Game Designer Joey Haeck says, “WoW has a starting zone for Orcs in Durotar, so it makes sense for that to be a level 1-4 zone in D&D.” Likewise, endgame zones like Northrend (at least zones that used to be endgame zones) will be designed with high-level characters in mind.
Though, this is D&D, so it’s entirely possible to just shrug off these suggestions and build your own campaign the way you want to. Haeck says, “as usual, with D&D, the power is in your hands.”
However, the expansion is focused entirely on the planet of Azeroth itself. So you won’t find the likes of Argus, the Shadowlands or Draenor here, though you can rely on your own knowledge of those worlds. Luckily, Shadowlands and Warlords of Draenor are two of the most maligned WoW expansions in history, so I’m sure a lot of people won’t miss them too much. It does mean, though, that you might have to get creative to do a campaign in The Burning Crusade’s Outland – which is just a blown-up Draenor.
But it’s not just the geography of Azeroth. Wizards of the Coast also worked in all the major conflicts that have driven the story of WoW over the years. Principal Game Designer James Wyatt listed just a few examples, like the Alliance vs. Horde campaign, the invasion of the Burning Crusade and the Scourge. The Dungeon Master’s guide will suggest you pick three of these conflicts to shape your campaign, which will then help populate the world with appropriate monsters, adventure hooks and locations.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/dungeons-and-dragons-world-of-warcraft-everything-you-need-to-know
