Dungeons & Dragons’ next adventure Wild Beyond the Witchlight sends players into the Fey

The next campaign book to be released for tabletop titan Dungeons & Dragons 5E is Wild Beyond the Witchlight, due out on Sept. 21st. Publisher Wizards of the Coast will reveal more information about the upcoming tome next month during streaming event D&D Live.

First reported by Polygon, Wild Beyond the Witchlight will have longtime personality and dungeon master Chris Perkins as its principle story designer and seemingly offer groups a portal into the mysterious and magical world of the Feywild, a plane of existence known for its ephemeral denizens and wily magic. Wizards of the Coast is keeping concrete details close to the chest right now, but the teased cover hints at a circus location and at least one fantastical beast - a lion with monarch butterfly wings running down its spine and back.

The art for the standard book cover was created by longtime Wizards of the Coast-favoured artist Tyler Jacobson, while the variant cover - available at brick and mortar game stores - was done by Hydro47. The latter artist has also embellished the variant covers for past supplements Rime of the Frostmaiden, Tyranny of Dragons, Descent into Avernus and more.

Those who want to speculate on the materials to be included in Wild Beyond the Witchlight might peek at the most recent Unearthed Arcana, Wizards of the Coast’s portal for playtesting upcoming material. A March 11th update titled Folk of the Feywild contains player options for creating characters from the Feywild, including Fairies, Owlfolk, Rabbitfolk and a particular kind of hobgoblin that hews closer to their original origins than those normally found on the Material Plane.

Wild Beyond the Witchlight follows directly after Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, a setting sourcebook chockablock with player options and dungeon master material for playing in the spooky region that vampire lord Strahd calls home, along other classic horrors. It will be the next campaign book since Candlekeep Mysteries, an anthology of smaller adventures created by a group of freelance designers that the publisher touted for its diversity.

One of those writers has since come forward to speak publicly about their experience on the book, which included misrepresentation of created material dire enough for them to ask Wizards of the Coast to remove their name from future editions. Despite that and other public critique from parts of the RPG’s community, the company reported another record year of sales in 2020 likely aided by pandemic lock-ins and its continued support of streamed games and digital tools for groups to play remotely.

Wild Beyond the Witchlight is due out on September 21st, and those anticipating their first steps into the Feywild can tune into D&D Live on July 16th and 17th. The G4-hosted livestream will feature announcements of future games along with interviews and panels. Pre-orders for the sourcebook are already live on Amazon.