Upcoming products from Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast has a quick preview of things coming up in April and beyond, and I thought I’d share a few highlights:

Threats of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), May 2008:

Continuing with the Saga Edition, the second sourcebook for the Star Wars RPG releases this May — and it’s absolutely packed with all manner of characters, creatures, and droids for your game. From the introduction:

“Part of the enduring appeal of Star Wars is the richness of the galaxy, the sense of wonder evoked by the countless worlds, the fantastic creatures, the compelling characters, and of course the droids. There is a sense of something larger, that the Star Wars universe is a thriving place filled with endless possibility. The detail is astonishing—each character, place, and thing has a history, a purpose, and a role in the larger universe, and together, they create the backdrop on which the heroes’ stories are told.

“Threats of the Galaxy is a companion volume to the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying Game, offering an enormous selection of creatures, droids, and people with which you can populate the galaxy. With entries drawn from nearly every era of the Star Wars universe and spanning every level of game play, this book is a comprehensive volume that gives you even more tools to create exciting and compelling encounters worthy of joining those on the silver screen.

As a reference for GMs (and a guide for players), Threats of the Galaxy allows you to drop in everything from assassin and sabotage droids, krayt dragons, a sarlacc pit, even Aurra Sing into your next session. Developer Rodney Thompson also provided the following excerpt, which covers the M-3PO and TC protocol droids:

Download the Protocol Droids (522 kb ZIP file)

This is the first Saga Edition book to be released that I didn’t contribute to, so it will be fun to see one of these books from the outside for a change!

Also, as most of you are keenly aware, D&D 4th edition is coming out in June, and the first two peeks at the new rules are available a bit earlier. Dungeons of Dread (D&D Miniatures) is out this month (the full set gallery is now available), and the RPG side of the stat cards provide a preview of how the new system will look. The best look at the new rules before their release, however, will be in Keep on the Shadowfell (D&D 4th edition adventure), May 2008:

Just before the release of the three core rulebooks, May offers the first official 4th Edition adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell, penned by Mike Mearls and Bruce Cordell.

“Realms, both wondrous and dire, border the world. One such realm is the Shadowfell. Although not inherently evil, the Shadowfell is fraught with dangers, and the barriers between worlds can be thin. Sometimes the darkness breaks into the light.”

So begins the preface to the adventure, designed to take characters from 1st to 3rd levels. Keep on the Shadowfell includes not just encounters in the Winterhaven region (the setting for the adventure), but also a Quick-Start Rules book (which includes a very handy conditions list), sample characters to try, as well as tips, advice and adventure hooks for the DM running the show (such as handling scenes between combat).

I think that sounds like a lot of fun — the Quick-Start Rules would be a nice intro to ease into 4th edition. Also, since it goes from 1st to 3rd level, you’d probably still be playing it when the new core rulebooks come out in June, so you’d have an immediate arena in which to expand your learning of the new rules. Now, if I can just talk one of my friends into running the thing so I don’t have to be the DM for once …