Editing Theros (section)

==Mythic Odysseys of Theros==
In March 2020, a website called "Penguin Random House" announced a new product due out in May 2020; titled '''Mythic Odysseys of Theros''', it meant that Theros would be joining [[Ravnica]] as the second MtG [[plane]] to be converted to a [[campaign setting]] for [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]]. Not counting the [[Plane Shift]]s, obviously. The page was swiftly taken down, but /tg/ was confident that it was true. Sure enough, Amazon would follow soon after, although now claiming that the book would be due out in June 2020, and claiming that, in addition to the obvious new subclasses (citing the "College of Eloquence" [[Bard]] and the "Oath of Heroism" [[Paladin]] - but not, strangely, the "Circle of Stars" [[Druid]], which many fans felt was a perfect fit) and new races (mentioning the obvious [[Satyr]] and not-so-obvious [[Leonin]]), the book would include new mechanics for "Supernatural Gifts", which are, quote, "abilities that give you remarkable powers that set you on the path to legend", and new "Mythic Monsters".

WotC finally confirmed that, yes, this was going to be real with an article in Dragon+ #30. In addition to providing a more in-depth reveal of the planned subclasses (reprinting the Forge and Grave [[Cleric Domain]]s, Order of Eloquence [[Bard]], Oath of Heroism [[Paladin]]) and races (reprinted [[Centaur]] and [[Minotaur]], [[Triton]] stats reskinned as [[Merfolk]], new [[Satyr]] and [[Leonin]]), this article explained that the Theros book would be based around converting the '''Devotion''' mechanic from the card-set, in the same way that Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica centered around '''Renown'''. It also provided a clearer definition of two teased mechanics; supernatural gifts - a background like "magical powerup" you choose at character creation, such as being immune to thought-reading attacks - and "mythic monsters", which are basically a new tier of uber-powerful "endgame boss" style monsters, kind of like 4e's Solos or Pathfinder's Mythical Tier monsters.

Reception to the book's announcement has been mixed. Many have asked what the ''point'' of a Greco-Roman inspired setting in D&D is when so many Greco-Roman monsters appear in base D&D already and [[Odyssey of the Dragonlords|not one]] but '''[[Arkadia|two]]''' third-party settings did it before. Of course, the presence of the outraged fans of [[Dark Sun]], [[Planescape]], and [[Spelljammer]], who are sick and tired of WotC's "only 3 books per year!" rule screwing them out of an update, cannot be ignored in this debate either, especially considering that the other book was based on [[Critical Role|a podcast whose popularity WOTC wanted to cash in on]].

All of which is setting aside that D&D already ''had'' [[Birthright|a setting in previous editions themed around playing demigods in a world where all the monsters are unique]], but I guess you gotta milk that cross-brand synergy to please the corporate masters, eh?

The plus side of the book is that the art is ''[[Awesome|outstanding]].''  Every single page is crammed with some of the very best art D&D has ever put to page, and the covers alone look better than the entirety of the Tyranny of Dragons books.  The new Heroism rules do, at the least, succeed in making a playable and useful mechanism for increasing player visibility and profile in a pre-electricity world, and the new Mythic Monsters are [[Tarrasque]]-level scary to fight.  Finally, the new [[Paladin]] subclass is perfect for people who want to roleplay their Pallies as being classical archetype heroes instead of religious types, gestapo, or eldritch knights.  Overall, the book has seen the exact kind of controversy and division that damn near every book before it produced in the 5e line.

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