Variant Player's Handbooks -- Who do you want to write one?

[The Sigil]

Um, well... Without meaning to sound egotistical...

Me.

I truly believe there's still a need for a "Basic" version of D&D, a true and complete game unto itself. The official Basic D&D boxed set, Blue Rose, and Castles & Crusades all have solid aspects and are good in their own right, but none of them are exactly what I'm talking about. I've had the basic idea for such down for a good long while, and even written a few snippets, just haven't had the opportunity to write the book proper.

Hey, Ari, you want Basic, just check my .sig!

Seriously, the person I would love to see write an "Alternate Players Handbook" would be... Kevin Siembieda. The guy's a great idea guy, but the mechanics of his system (Palladium) are a bit kludgy... just get Kevin to crank out the ideas and have someone else embody them with d20 mechanics... howabout a Rifts d20 Players Handbook (properly balanced, of course)?

--The Sigil

 

[johnnype]

You, Phil! No kidding.

Bruce Cordell is also an interesting choice but I don't think he would necessarily focus on psionics. I seem to remember him saying that he likes to work on other projects as well.

Robert J Schwalb, Owen KC Stephens, and Scott Gearin have done a wonderful job with The Black Company which in many respects is almost a new PHB.

The same can be said of Steve Kenson and Blue Rose.

Chris Pramas, although he's too busy with WHFRP.

C.A. Suleiman, with Steve Kenson and Ari Marmell - I love what they did with Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra

Matthew Sernett is a genius. If he can do for a PHB what he did for the Advanced Bestiary then I'd buy it in a hot second.

Aaron Loeb - Again, if he can do a PHB as well as he did The Book of the Righteous, the book is as good as sold.

Eric Mona - Probably too busy with Dungeon Magazine but I'd love to see something from him.

Ken Hite, David Pulver...the list goes on.

Many others I'm forgetting. That said, just as important as the author is how they choose to make this "alternate PHB" different. For instance I have yet to see a reason for me to buy Arcana Unearthed (or evolved for that matter). The books just don't seem that different to standard D&D. Iron Lore on the other hand looks completely different to me. I know I'm going to buy it the second I see it, which is weird because the initial description didn't really grab me. The more I read about it, however, the more I saw it as a book for me. All of which is a long way of saying that what is important in a new PHB is what makes it different. If you are just going to rewrite the range without spell abilities and add a couple of new races then I'm not interested.

 

[devilish]

Go, Phil, Go!

 

[philreed]

Um, well... Without meaning to sound egotistical...

Me.

Get to work, then!


Thanks for the encouragement, guys, but I don't think I could sell enough copies of such a thing to make it worth the time. Especially since anything I would come up with would likely be deemed too weird by a large part of the potential audience. Maybe someday I'll say damn the pay and try it but not today.


And I'll say again that I want Bruce Cordell to write one.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I wouldn't be interested in one from anyone who's already doing D&D work. I'd rather have someone from another successful game company giving their take on D&D instead -- as it is, it's just too incestuous in the industry currently. Monte providing alternate takes on Monte's ideas are fine, but they're hardly a radical new look at the same old material, more of a director's cut. I want radical.

 

[scourger]

...Jonathan Tweet...

Heck yeah! His design of Omega World was brilliant.

 

[Nightfall]

I want radical.

Here's radical for you:

I give you a stick and a d6

If you get a 1, 2, or 3, you get to beat me up.

4, 5, 6 I beat you up.

Simple, realistical AND no complaining afterwards.

 

[Man-thing]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys, but I don't think I could sell enough copies of such a thing to make it worth the time. Especially since anything I would come up with would likely be deemed too weird by a large part of the potential audience. Maybe someday I'll say damn the pay and try it but not today.

So what about a Varient Player's Pipeline?
Shorter Time limit than a year and see if there really is interest.

I always thought you were sort of doing the VPHB anyway.

101 Spell Components, Forbidden Arcana, and Fantasy Player Companions all have things that are varient on the existing rules its just not in one book.

 

[Man-thing]

Besides Bruce Cordell, I would like to see a VPHB by Gareth Hanrahan or Adrian Bott.

 

[Miln]

Aaron Loeb - Again, if he can do a PHB as well as he did The Book of the Righteous, the book is as good as sold.

Another vote for Aaron Loeb, for exactly the same reason. In other words...

Ditto