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D&D Could Go Back to the Underdark Soon With a New Campaign
Dungeons & Dragons could soon return to the Underdark, its perilous subterranean setting, following clues in recent Wizards of the Coast material and announcements at Gen Con 2026. The latest Unearthed Arcana playtest content included "Underdark Options" subclasses, while the D&D Vision Keynote revealed a new initiative called D&D Icons, led by actor and producer Joe Manganiello, which will reunite veteran creators to produce original D&D content. This matters to fans because the Underdark has not featured in an official product for some time, despite being home to some of the game's most iconic monsters and factions.
The D&D Icons lineup includes Dragonlance creators Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Greyhawk loremaster Luke Gygax, and author R.A. Salvatore, best known for popularising the Underdark and the drow through 40 novels featuring the ranger Drizzt Do'Urden. While Weis, Hickman and Gygax have confirmed projects on Dragonlance and Greyhawk respectively, Salvatore's contribution remains unannounced, though many suspect an Underdark-focused product given his history with the setting since introducing Drizzt in 1988's The Crystal Shard. The Underdark, first referenced by Gary Gygax in 1978 and formally named by Douglas Niles in 1986, is known for its hostile environment and unique inhabitants, including beholders, mind flayers, drow and duergar.
In short
- New Unearthed Arcana playtest hints at an Underdark-focused D&D product.
- Joe Manganiello leads new "D&D Icons" initiative with veteran creators.
- R.A. Salvatore's involvement suggests a possible Underdark campaign book.
Explained simply
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game in which players create characters and share an adventure guided by a game master. Its settings include the Underdark, a vast network of dangerous caverns beneath the surface world, inhabited by creatures such as drow, mind flayers and beholders.
The Underdark has been part of D&D for decades, and author R.A. Salvatore helped make it familiar to many readers through his novels about the drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden. Salvatore is among the veteran creators involved in D&D Icons, a new initiative led by actor and producer Joe Manganiello to develop original D&D content.
Other Icons creators have announced projects tied to settings such as Dragonlance and Greyhawk, but Salvatore’s project has not been revealed. His history with the Underdark has led fans to speculate that it could feature in new material, which would bring attention back to a long-standing part of the game’s world.