For a long time, the community has waited – accordingly, the anticipation is great. For many fans of World of Warcraft, it could be the start of a new hobby.
For many role-playing fans, it may not be the announcements at BlizzCon that are the highlight of the year, but a collaboration between Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft. The 5.5e version of D&D will receive a ruleset that transports you into the world of World of Warcraft. These contents were presented at GenCon and have since been intensely discussed by the community.
WoW in D&D is anticipated, but skepticism is high
The majority of the community seems – as far as can be seen in forums and social media – to be quite positive about the release. Although there have been various adjustments in the past to allow for playing Warcraft in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, most were fan-made and rather smaller projects. Now, finally getting an official version is seen by many as the perfect time to give pen-and-paper another chance and explore a world they have known for years from the MMORPG.
A post creator in the WoW subreddit is visibly excited:
- „I used to play Dungeons & Dragons and this will probably pull me back in. I’m looking forward to it and hope they respect the source material and don’t disappoint.” – OceanProphecy
However, there are also potential players who are significantly more skeptical regarding the scope. Many fear that a large part of the idiosyncrasies of World of Warcraft will be lost in the implementation.
- „I find it hard to see how they want to import 3 Shaman specializations, 3 Death Knight specializations, 2 Demon Hunter specializations, 2 Caller specializations, Mistweaver Monks, Holy Paladins, Discipline and Shadow Priests, and Demonology Warlocks into 5.5e when there are only 9 new subclasses and a few flavor changes. There’s just so much essential WoW flavor that won’t be carried over.” – ctwalkup
Of course, there is also a part of the community that finds it quite amusing and believes that there will be a lot of “silly jokes” in the pen-and-paper when transferring game mechanics and encounters from the MMORPG:
- „Remember, game masters and role players: It’s not frustrating, it’s just authentic that you spend 5 hours looking for the last group member, just for the 5-person table to collapse during the first fight.” – TheWorclown
- „If it’s considered bad manners to hoard all the food that the wizard conjured at the beginning of the round and then for my human Paladin in Slutmog named “Xdeathlolz” to call the group a bunch of “damn, useless bastards” after the first person drops to 0 HP, only to immediately leave the group and never talk to them again – is it really a World of Warcraft D&D?“ – Murphy1up
Are you looking forward to a D&D adventure in the familiar setting? Or will you give pen-and-paper a real chance for the first time? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
Cortyn says: For me, the “old” Warcraft pen-and-paper from over 20 years ago was one that I really liked. It was not only a nice source for pen-and-paper sessions but also provided me with many ideas, inspirations and usable background information for roleplay in WoW, which could be well woven into the RP – even if the books were later removed from the canon.
It has always seemed so obvious that WoW would once again become a part of D&D and that this pen-and-paper would be revived in a new version. I am very much looking forward to it and I am itching to lead a group again and unleash my little “fool squad” from the mage academy of Stormwind, who solves all problems with a fireball, onto the world…
For those who have not yet had a chance to get excited about pen-and-paper, starting with a familiar setting might be easier. Since pen-and-paper is an overwhelmingly positive hobby, it would be a nice thing to gain more players here to also experience something together again at the large living room table. One can even recover a bit from WoW burnout.
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!