Kwalish Kid
Explorer
Not quite; it could be referred to as the Savage Coast.
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2010: Is it Dragonlance? (hint)
- Thread starter avin
- Start date
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
The talk of "unusual" campaign settings points at DS more than DL, so that keeps DS in the running, I think. I'm nervous about 4e's ability to combine "unusual" with "all-inclusive;" the two ideas are hard to reconcile, and while you can do pallette-swaps and "mechanics are a skeleton to hang any race on" work-arounds, there's a limit. Eladrin, for instance, might be able to keep the raw mechanics (though teleport is weird), but the idea of an arcane-magical archfey from a verdant parallel universe kind of ruins the "sand in your jockstrap, sweat in your eyes, knuckles bloody, lips shriveled" atmosphere in DS, so they wouldn't be able to keep much else -- they'd be too different from "core" eladrin to be able to use "generic eladrin feat #328 from the Complete Faerie" for instance, and part of the all-inclusive 4e philosophy has been that nothing published excludes anything else published. I'm not convinced there's not a solid work-around WotC can figure out -- or a not-so-solid one they'll go with anyway -- but it's riskier.
Speaking of risk...
Why do you think that? In my mind, it seems you have it entirely backwards. Dragonlance has several editions' worth of sales history, a very successful third party run, and, above all, an already-successful novel line that is celebrating a fortuitous anniversary. Dark Sun may have been good back in the '90s, but it's been more than 10 years since anything new has been made and marketed under that brand, and the last time it was tried, it wasn't exactly a resounding success, in part due to an inclusive philosophy ("PALADINS?! IN DARK SUN?!"). When it was successful, the market and the game were in very different places, so replicating that success would be a gamble. The built-in fan base is smaller, and the weirdness of the world means it's going to turn off more "traditional D&D" fans.
Dark Sun is a setting you do like a movie studio does a promising indie flick, I'd think: You do it when you're sitting on top of the world with successes and can do what you please, knowing that you can have a mild success or a break-even point and be OK. You do it when you can afford to take a risk (or when you can't afford NOT to!), not when you're looking for a sure thing.
Maybe WotC is able to take that risk in 2010 with the setting book (or perhaps they can't not take the risk). DS would be a very hedged bet to take, given the amount of fan buzz on the thing, so it would make sense.
But DL is a sure bet in comparison. And given the specific publishing industry troubles and the general economic troubles, the "safe bet" would seem more likely to me.
DS is a very real possibility, and I'll be pleasantly amused if they choose it (and very cautious about what it will be...Eberron succeeded only because it was already assuming a lot of the same things 4e was, and FR was hosed even though it wasn't as hostile to those things as DS might be). DL also seems to be a very real possibility, and that seems more like the safe bet.
On the bright side, 4e DL might be the first DL I check out, given that I've never been into the novels enough to get into the setting before, but I've heard enough good juju about it that I figure there's something there.
Speaking of risk...
Mercurius said:
Why do you think that? In my mind, it seems you have it entirely backwards. Dragonlance has several editions' worth of sales history, a very successful third party run, and, above all, an already-successful novel line that is celebrating a fortuitous anniversary. Dark Sun may have been good back in the '90s, but it's been more than 10 years since anything new has been made and marketed under that brand, and the last time it was tried, it wasn't exactly a resounding success, in part due to an inclusive philosophy ("PALADINS?! IN DARK SUN?!"). When it was successful, the market and the game were in very different places, so replicating that success would be a gamble. The built-in fan base is smaller, and the weirdness of the world means it's going to turn off more "traditional D&D" fans.
Dark Sun is a setting you do like a movie studio does a promising indie flick, I'd think: You do it when you're sitting on top of the world with successes and can do what you please, knowing that you can have a mild success or a break-even point and be OK. You do it when you can afford to take a risk (or when you can't afford NOT to!), not when you're looking for a sure thing.
Maybe WotC is able to take that risk in 2010 with the setting book (or perhaps they can't not take the risk). DS would be a very hedged bet to take, given the amount of fan buzz on the thing, so it would make sense.
But DL is a sure bet in comparison. And given the specific publishing industry troubles and the general economic troubles, the "safe bet" would seem more likely to me.
DS is a very real possibility, and I'll be pleasantly amused if they choose it (and very cautious about what it will be...Eberron succeeded only because it was already assuming a lot of the same things 4e was, and FR was hosed even though it wasn't as hostile to those things as DS might be). DL also seems to be a very real possibility, and that seems more like the safe bet.
On the bright side, 4e DL might be the first DL I check out, given that I've never been into the novels enough to get into the setting before, but I've heard enough good juju about it that I figure there's something there.
Dragonhelm
Knight of Solamnia
Care to elaborate on why you feel this way?
I would say the opposite. Dragonlance has its fair number of NY Times best-selling novels from which to base a game world on. It's been around for 25 years and has a decent-sized fan base.
Dark Sun, in comparison, has only had two series of books, neither of which were NY Times bestsellers, IIRC. While it certainly seems popular enough, it hasn't had the continuing support that Dragonlance has had.
I can see arguments both ways on which setting is more likely, but from a financial standpoint, I've got to give it to Dragonlance.
And please don't get me wrong, I'm a Dark Sun fan too. I'm just trying to look at both settings through the eyes of a corporate executive.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
But I don't like kender.
Jack99
Adventurer
The 2010 setting has an "a" in the name.
Does that clear things up?
well, "an" could mean that there is only one "a", which would leave us with Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Mystara, Ravenloft, and Spelljammer.
Keefe the Thief
Adventurer
Dire Bare
Legend
Heh, as much as I love Mystara (including Red Steel & Hollow World), I would be pretty surprised to ever see it in print again.
Frostmarrow
First Post
Haven't you noticed halflings are virtual kenders nowadays?
CasvalRemDeikun
Adventurer
well, "an" could mean that there is only one "a", which would leave us with Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Mystara, Ravenloft, and Spelljammer.
Except he said "an" not "only one".
Bingo. The halfling has been approaching the kender ever since 3e changd them to thin, short, and quick rather than short, fat homebodies. 4e took this a step further by making them resistant to fear. Oh, but we hate kender though.... what a load of BS.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
Wait, didn't 3.x Halflings have a +2 on saves vs. fear already?
And I am not sure it riverboating Halflings are Kender, but I don't know much about either.
And I am not sure it riverboating Halflings are Kender, but I don't know much about either.
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