D&D 5E D&DNext for all Appendix N worlds

[Dungeonosophy]

I'd like to see Wotc make an Appendix N series of 5e sourcebooks, with the aim of bringing all of D&D's original literary inspirations as D&D Next campaign settings:

Anderson, Poul: THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
Bellairs, John: THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh
Brown, Frederic
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: "Pellucidar" series; Mars series; Venus series
Carter, Lin: "World's End" series
de Camp, L. Sprague: LEST DARKNESS FALL; THE FALLIBLE FIEND; et al
de Camp & Pratt: "Harold Shea" series; THE CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August
Dunsany, Lord
Farmer, P. J.: "The World of the Tiers" series; et al
Fox, Gardner: "Kothar" series; "Kyrik" series; et al
Howard, R. E.: "Conan" series
Lanier, Sterling: HIERO'S JOURNEY
Leiber, Fritz: "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" series; et al
Lovecraft, H. P.
Merritt, A.: CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al
Moorcock, Michael: STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" series (esp. the
first three books)
Norton, Andre
Offutt, Andrew J.: editor of SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III
Pratt, Fletcher: BLUE STAR; et al
Saberhagen, Fred: CHANGELING EARTH; et al
St. Clair, Margaret: THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
Tolkien, J. R. R.: THE HOBBIT; "Ring trilogy"
Vance, Jack: THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al
Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, Manley Wade
Williamson, Jack
Zelazny, Roger: JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" series; et al
​

What say ye ENWorlders?

 

[hafrogman]

I say the licensing costs would be insurmountable, and most of the books wouldn't sell enough copies to justify development and printing.

 

[TerraDave]

But people will insist on playing elves and kender hobbits halflings no mater what you do.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Then I say:

1) Start with the cheap licenses. I don't imagine the Wellman Estate driving a hard bargain. Probably not a lot licensees banging on their door. But it'd be swell to have D&D Next "Appalachian Adventures" with the Silver John Cycle as the campaign model.

2) Perhaps you're right in regard to monetizing. It's a pity that Indie-Style settings can't be worth a large corporation's effort. All the more reason for an OGN: Open Game Next.

3) It's a pity that the Game Industry isn't associative. In an associative economy, the various game companies might collaborate to cover all the Appendix N worlds, with a shared "Appendix N" logo. Mongoose does D&D Conan, Pelgrane does D&D "Jack Vance's Dying Earth", Chaosium does D&D Lovecraft, and so forth.

 

[Janaxstrus]

Personally, I wouldn't be interested in playing in any of those type of campaigns.

No offense, but not a one of them speak to me.

About the only campaign settings I'd be interested in, beside homebrew, Golarion, Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk would be Malazan or the Black Company setting. Since we already have a Black Company sourcebook, I think I'm all set.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

About the only campaign settings I'd be interested in, beside homebrew, Golarion, Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk would be Malazan or the Black Company setting. Since we already have a Black Company sourcebook, I think I'm all set.

Thanks for your honest input. Yep, you're all set. Good luck to ya.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Or build the core rules so that it can do all of these settings. Vancian magic and Harry Potter magic, etc.

 

[howandwhy99]

While I would *love* to own a copy of each of those books, I think it's even more improbable that a setting will be made for each of them in 5e.

I want to keep that list as sources of inspiration. I also think it needs a lot of adding to. Heck, there's almost 40 years of stuff to catch up on not to mention current works.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Does D&D do planetary romance, a la Leigh Brackett and Stanley Weinbaum? Or 'lost world' fiction such as Merritt's The Moon Pool and Dwellers in the Mirage?

 

[Mallus]

Does D&D do planetary romance, a la Leigh Brackett and Stanley Weinbaum?

As an aside, I think with a little tweaking 4e could do a bang-up job emulating the Barsoom books.

Personally, I prefer D&D to be a whole crazy mess of literary and cinematic influences blended into a slurry. I'm not so keen on it being used to emulate specific works and settings, not matter how much I might like them.

Though I admit, the idea of completely dishonoring the genius of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun by setting a D&D campaign in it has a perverse appeal...