 | |
| Rules required | Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition |
|---|---|
| Campaign setting | Multiverse (Magic: The Gathering),Strixhaven |
| First published | December 7, 2021 |
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is a sourcebook, published in December 2021, that details theStrixhavencampaign setting for the5th edition of theDungeons & Dragonsfantasyrole-playing game. The plane of Arcavios and its magical university Strixhaven were originally created for theMagic: The Gatheringcollectible card game and first appeared in the card setStrixhaven: School of Mages, which was released in April of the same year. The book is centered on the most powerful magic university in the multiverse and focuses on the lives of theplayer characters who attend its various colleges.
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is an adventure module and campaign guide for using theStrixhaven setting, from thecollectible card gameMagic: The Gathering, in the 5th edition. The book expands on game elements for the 5th edition, such as:
Strixhaven's colleges were founded by five Elder Dragons.[7] Each college has a specific mascot which player characters have option of summoning via thefind familiar spell.[1][8]
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is the thirdMagic: The Gatheringcampaign setting adapted forDungeons & Dragons; it was preceded byGuildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (2018) andMythic Odysseys of Theros (2020).[11] Greg Tito,Dungeons & Dragons Senior Communications Manager, said toIGN that "the D&D guidebooks around Ravnica, and Theros have done amazingly well, and we thought that the Strixhaven storyline would appeal not only to fans of Magic and fans of D&D, but [also a] younger audience. There is a ton of information on how to create a campaign that would appeal to people of all ages... who love that kind of young adult coming-of-age storytelling – and so we thought Strixhaven would be perfect for dramatizing that in a D&D game".[12]Amanda Hamon,Wizards of the Coast senior designer, is the book's story lead.[13]The Guardian reported that Hamon "used teenage life as inspiration" for Strixhaven and that the setting draws in characters from across the multiverse; Hamon said: "As D&D has grown the creators have realised this game is for everybody. There's lots and lots of folks who are playing, and we want everybody to feel that they're welcome and come to the table. I get questions like: 'What is it like now that D&D is more diverse?' But it always has been. You might not necessarily have seen it because the people who were making things didn't always think: 'Hey, there's this whole wide world of folks out there'".[14]
A crossover campaign bookStrixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos was released in December 2021, which introduces the setting toDungeons & Dragons.[13][15][16] The book was originally scheduled for release on November 16, but was delayed due tosupply chain issues caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[17]CBR reported that "in the world ofMagic: The Gathering, Strixhaven is the largest and most powerful magic academy in the multiverse [...]. Due to its relatively recent addition to theMagic: The Gathering universe, it's likely thisDungeons & Dragons adventure will significantly expand on the lore associated with the magic school".[18]
The book is also available as a digital product through the following Wizards of the Coast licensees:D&D Beyond,Fantasy Grounds, andRoll20. A promotional, free adventure titledNo Tears Over Spilled Coffee! was released on December 2 on D&D Beyond. This one-shot adventure introduces Strixhaven's ruleset for extracurricular activities and is set at the school's Firejolt Café.[19][20]
The various planes fromMagic: The Gathering were first adapted forDungeons & Dragons in a series of free PDF releases calledPlane Shift byJames Wyatt, a "longtime Wizards employee who worked on D&D for over a decade before moving over toMagic in 2014".[21] Wyatt also writes the text for the series ofArt of Magic: The Gathering coffee table books, which reprint illustrations from the cards with details for each plane's lore; thePlane Shift releases were created to allow players to use those books as campaign setting guides by providing the necessary rule adaptations.[21] Between 2016 and 2018, sixPlane Shift articles were released:Amonkhet,Dominaria,Innistrad,Ixalan,Kaladesh, andZendikar, along with an Ixalan-set adventure.[21][22][23]
However, these articles are not considered official material for organized play.[24] In 2017,Mike Mearls wrote: "It's basically a thing James does for fun, and we don't want to burden it with needing all the work required to make it official".[25] The positive response to the "Plane Shift" articles led to the publication ofGuildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (2018), the first full hardcoverDungeons & Dragons guide to theMagic setting,[26] and the success of that sourcebook led to the publication ofMythic Odysseys of Theros (2020).[27][28]
The plane of Arcavios and its magical university Strixhaven were "created from scratch by the world-building team" for the 2021Strixhaven: School of Mages post-blockMagic set expansion.[7]Polygon reported that "on the surface,Magic: The Gathering's new set,Strixhaven: School of Mages, looks like a simple pastiche of Harry Potter's Hogwarts. That's definitely part of its charm. But the intricacies of this new set — and the promise of its accompanying lore — could make it the biggest release of the year. [...] Fledgling mages who apply to Strixhaven must narrow their field of study during their first year of schooling. To represent that, developers have remixed the game's classic multi-color deck combinations" which are represented in the various colleges.[29]Dot Esports highlighted that Wizards of the Coast "made substantial efforts to make the colleges ofStrixhaven feel distinct from their Ravnican counterparts. This was accomplished by leaning into the tension between each color pair, leading to conflicts between and within colleges. [...] Within each college are two separate philosophies that students can align with. [...] The team created a magic system that applies specific forms of spellcasting and philosophies to each college".[7]
Ash Parrish, forKotaku, highlighted that "Strixhaven is a school for mages founded by five powerful dragons, each with their own disciplines and personalities. [...] Strixhaven sounds very much like a real university with math, science, history, and literature departments, each with their unique magical flair. [...] WithStrixhaven, I'm really excited to get to know more about the world. It seems like so much fun—a stark contrast toMagic's usual stories of war or surviving in monster-infested environments.Strixhaven seems like it's just kids learning and having a good time, and that's a nice change of pace".[9]Dot Esports also commented that "mage schools are a common fantasy trope and often appear in popular fiction, fromHarry Potter to the College of Winterhold inSkyrim. [...]Strixhaven subverted these expectations by creating a world that was allMagic, with little to no references to other popular media".[7]
TheUnearthed Arcana series is the 5th edition publicplaytest where the content released is "a near-final draft of the rules";[30] parts ofStrixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos were developed through this playtest.[18][13] InUnearthed Arcana: Mages of Strixhaven, new character subclasses were tied to specific Strixhaven Colleges and multiple classes could choose these subclasses. Traditionally, subclasses are tied directly to a singlecharacter class. However, there was an overwhelmingly negative response from both fans and playtesters which resulted in these subclasses being cut from the final book.[31][32][33] Lead rules designerJeremy Crawford stated that "the Unearthed Arcana playtest did the job we asked it to do. Occasionally, we put some very experimental things in front of D&D fans and ask them if they want to see more of it. In this case, the very simple answer was 'No'. We learned two really important things from this playtest that reinforced something we've been seeing from the D&D community [...]. People love for D&D subclasses to speak to the distinctiveness of a particular class. 5E fans also want subclasses to be usable in as many settings as possible, since so many DMs homebrew their own settings".[33]
InPublishers Weekly's "Best-selling Books Week Ending December 17, 2021",Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos was #8 in "Hardcover Nonfiction" and sold 18,298 units.[34][35] InUSA Today's "Best-Selling Books List for December 16, 2021",Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos was #53.[36][37]
Samantha Nelson, forPolygon, commented thatStrixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos "demonstrates publisher Wizards of the Coast's commitment to inclusiveness and accessibility. Strixhaven's buildings magically shift to accommodate anyone regardless of their size or mobility, and the book contains trans and nonbinary NPCs".[38] Nelson highlighted the strengths and weakness of the various new rulesets and wrote that the sourcebook "isn't a perfect book, but the new subsystems and whimsical adventures provide some really fun material, whether you're running the adventure as written or borrowing elements to slip into a homebrew campaign. Like any college experience, how much you enjoy Strixhaven will really depend on finding the right friends to share it with, and knowing what rules you can ignore in the interest of having a good time".[38] Charlie Hall, in a separate article forPolygon, highlighted themin-maxing potential of the new NPC relationship ruleset. Hall wrote that "all of this is being done in a PG-13 way, mind you, which is the game's de facto age rating, according to our discussions with Wizards of the Coast over the years. In fact, the relationships section goes from introducing the concept right into a discussion on whether or not they're even right for the players at your table. They include tips for Dungeon Masters (DMs) who have some players who aren't really into the idea, and even talks about what to do if someone's BFF begins to hog the spotlight".[4]
The review inStrange Assembly highlighted the new frameworks the sourcebook adds to the game which can be tracked for individual player characters such as "relationships, classes, extracurriculars, and jobs".[39] Their main disappointment is that the sourcebook "ends up not quite being as much of a setting book as I would have liked. In particular, the adventures do not include scenes on all five of the college campuses, so you don't get as much detail as I would have liked. Yes, you do get a general overview and you get information on professors, but because there's no combat/exploration segments for some of the campuses you don't get something like a map of what their main hall looks like".[39] The review highlights that this book requires work on the part of the Dungeon Master and that it can't just be picked up and run.[39] The review states that Dungeon Master needs "to proactively inject social interactions and, to a lesser extent, academic events, into the story. You can maybe get away with not creating fun scenes during class, but you've absolutely got to work in those social interactions (it reminds me of somethingPowered by the Apocalypse, like the Phoenix Academy setting for Masks). But if you've got that right sort of DM – and the right sort of players – there's a big payoff to be had. For the right D&D group,Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, will be fabulous".[39]
Christian Hoffer, forComicBook, also commented that the setting information in this sourcebook is much shorter than the setting sections in the otherMagic: The Gathering campaign setting books.[40] Hoffer wrote: "To make up for the lack of locales and plot hooks, the D&D team instead provides a full-length campaign for players to run through, complete with new rules that allow players to benefit from participating in extracurricular activities, jobs, and building relationships with NPC students. [...] The new spells are particularly thematic and provide some nice abilities specific to students of a single college, while the background/feat options allow characters of non-magical classes to participate in a Strixhaven campaign setting. [...] As for the Level 1-to-Level 10 campaign, it sadly feels generic and lackluster. The campaign shies away from the strengths of the Strixhaven campaign setting – the five magical dragons, the bizarre archaics that wander around the outskirts of campus, and the mysterious Oriq organization seeking to destroy Strixhaven from within – for a mundane adventure involving an expelled student looking to get revenge on the school. The most memorable students from the Strixhaven set are also left out, but they are at least replaced with a cast of NPC options that feel more fleshed out than the typical NPC who appears in a Wizards of the CoastD&D adventure".[40] Hoffer highlighted thatStrixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is a "niche book" that benefits from themagical school story demand.[40]
Wizards of the Coast has announced that its remaining 2021 Dungeons & Dragons books will have their release dates slightly pushed back. Fizban's Treasury of Dragons will have its release date pushed back by a week to October 26th, 2021, whileStrixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos will have its release date pushed back three weeks to December 7th, 2021. This will impact both physical and digital releases.
