For the last month, Dungeons & Dragons fans have been wondering about a mysterious new setting created by actor and D&D superfan Joe Manganiello for the tabletop role-playing game. First spotted in the description of an event taking place at GenCon later this week, “Death Saves” is a world inspired by Manganiello’s clothing line of the same name. Now, the actor has shared more details in a post on X ahead of the setting’s debut.
Details are still scarce at the time of writing, but it appears that Death Saves will be an official mainline setting for Dungeons & Dragons, part of a new “Black Label” line. Death Saves is described as a dark fantasy setting, which ties in perfectly with the aesthetics of Manganiello’s clothing line. It was developed by Manganiello and Mike Mearls, who was the co-lead designer for Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th edition and the former franchise creative director. This marks Mearls’ first direct involvement with a mainline D&D product since he was laid off by Wizards of the Coast in 2023.
The Black Label moniker evokes the idea of a grittier, more mature line of products: for example, DC Comics has an imprint of the same name, which publishes stories with an adult target audience. The description of Death Saves: The Blood War surely fits that mold. In this world, the Blood War (the endless conflict between the devils of Baator and the demons of the Abyss) has ended, the gods are dead, and “the world hangs on by a thread.” The official description of the GenCon event originally mentioned “the Great War,” but that name has now been changed to the Blood War in Manganiello’s post, perhaps to tie in more directly with the official D&D cosmology.
Manganiello’s Death Saves clothing line was thought to be long discontinued, as stock hadn’t been renewed in years. Now, he’s bringing back the dark fantasy, heavy metal vibes that so many D&D players love with a full world to play in. The fact that this is an official Wizards of the Coast event and Manganiello’s ongoing collaboration with the publisher are all signs that Death Saves is primed to become an official D&D setting. Details are still scarce at the moment, but Polygon has reached out to a Wizards of the Coast representative for information, and we will update this story accordingly.
Fans of the game have no shortage of fantastic worlds to play in, from the Forgotten Realms to Greyhawk. However, Manganiello’s Death Saves has a very distinct grimdark vibe, one that reminds me of indie TTRPG sensation Mörk Borg. As the actor wrote in his post, he’s “drawing from D&D’s past to chart its future,” and the first glimpse of that new chapter will be the live play taking place at GenCon this weekend. The lucky fans in attendance can catch it on Friday at 11:30 a.m. ET in the Janet Allen Stage.
