Monday, August 24, 2020

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Wizards of the Coast just announced their next book for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and I could not more excited.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is set for release on November 17, 2020.  I already pre-ordered the standard and alternate cover from my FLGS so I should be getting it on Nov. 7.

What is this book about?  Well, that is Tasha, aka Natasha the Dark, aka Iggwilv the Witch Queen on the cover.  Honestly, that is all I need to know.

But...I can see why others might want to know more. 


It is going to be set up similar to Xanathar's Guide to Everything with new rules.  What do I know is in it so far?

  • New subclasses for every class.
  • The Artificer class.
  • Some psionic classes such as the Aberrant Mind.
  • A new lineage system that adds on to and supplants the D&D racial system. Rather looking forward to that.
  • Group Patrons and sidekicks. Add a little more organization to your adventuring group. 
  • New spells, artifacts and magical tattoos.  That chicken foot tattoo on Tasha's face is a huge clue as to what you are likely to get. (more on that later)
  • Puzzles and more puzzles!
So yeah a lot to offer.  And a lot of it looks like it would translate well into other versions of D&D; which was one of the early design goals of D&D5e/Next.  

I am sure I will find out more, but that chicken foot tattoo on Tasha/Iggwilv gives me a LOT of ideas.  It also might help me figure out some details of my own Pact of Baba Yaga that I talked about a bit ago.  Though now I might call it "The Mark of Baba Yaga" and it is how the Daughters of Baba Yaga can recognize each other.  I can expand on the magical tattoos I presented in The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition

The art for this also looks fantastic as to be expected.


There is nothing I don't love about that picture.   The color palette, moon, and satyr remind me of the cover of Dragon #114.
And that is Graz'zt on the Alternate limited edition cover too.


Wizards is hosting a D&D Celebration on September 18-20 and will be revealing more.  I am going to try to make it.

Too bad it won't be out for Halloween!

Of course let's not forget the art Jacob Blackmon created for me of the Witch Queens, Larina, Feiya, and Iggwilv!

8 comments:

  1. Any idea who did the art for the alternative cover? It looks amazing! :D

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  2. All that magical power, and that's the best hat she can find?

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  3. Trollsmyth: No idea. But I'll fo some digging.

    Dave Morris: What?? I love that hat!

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  4. The alternate cover looks like it's by Charles Vess! Probably not, but definitely influenced by his style.

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  5. The alternate cover is Wylie Beckert. The standard cover is by Magali Villeneuve.

    Be aware I got this info from Gizmodo, so grains of salt and all that. :p

    https://io9.gizmodo.com/with-d-ds-next-rulebook-character-creation-will-never-1844807934

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  6. Something strange is going on with iggwilv. First, why revert to the old name of Tasha? Second, while I love the new witchy outfit, what happened to her black leather dominatrix gown? Third, iggwilv was all about demons, but now she's hanging with faeries and a satyr? Seems very out of character for her. I hope the new book will explain these changes.

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  7. Maybe this is the time when she was going by Tasha and not yet "Iggwilv".

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