D&D’s The Deck of Many Things core rulebook has been delayed indefinitely according to Wizards of the Coast. An unacceptable defect rate has been cited as the reason.
The Deck of Many Things is D&D’s next core rulebook that brings Baldur’s Gate 3-inspired shenanigans to the tabletop. It’s another in a massive lineup of rulebooks for D&D 5e.
This latest book looks to expand a D&D staple, the titular Deck of Many Things, with exciting new additions. Things like a guaranteed level-up for facing a combat encounter single-handedly or grenades with a randomized table.
Unfortunately, the physical release of this book has been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. D&D’s Executive Producer Kyle Brink spoke with Polygon and explained the issue.
We drew from the Deck of Many Things and… pic.twitter.com/wIjaCOfPR3
— Dungeons & Dragons (@Wizards_DnD) October 27, 2023
The Deck of Many Things delay: “I cannot in good conscience ship this stock”
According to Brink, quality control checks found numerous faults with the physical products contained in the set. The sheer volume of errors meant that the entire shipment was deemed unsalvagable.
“The defect rate (of The Deck of Many Things) is too high. I cannot in good conscience ship this stock,” Brink explained. “We need to fully inspect it, and understand exactly how many units are defective.”
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The full set includes a physical deck of cards for players to draw from to up the immersion and according to Polygon, this is where a majority of the problems lie. They reported that new packaging methods seem to have damaged the cards.
“We inspected very closely everything throughout the production process to make sure everything was going fine with that, and yet some of the problems that we are seeing here are specifically because of some of the paper packaging that we use,” Brink confirmed.
The new packaging is part of a conscious decision on Wizards of the Coast’s part to have less of an environmental impact. We can’t fault them for that, it’s just a shame it’s caused them and the players such a headache.
Fortunately, the digital release is unaffected and will go ahead on November 14 and those who purchased the Physical + Digital Bundle will still get an early access digital copy on October 31. Wizards of the Coast have said they’re attempting to have a physical launch “this year”.
