D&D General What Is Your Dream 50th Anniversary Product?

[Micah Sweet]

When D&D celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1999, they released a nice boxed set featuring reprints of several classic modules, the Holmes rulebook, and a brief history of TSR booklet.

I've been thinking about what I'd love to see Wizards release in 2024 for D&D's 50th anniversary, and it's a tough question. Lots of the rulebooks were reprinted just before 5E came out. Lots of old adventures are available on DM's Guild, many even in the print-on-demand format.

I think what I want is a giant boxed set of the first 25 (or even 50!) adventure modules that TSR ever published. I'm talking about nice reprints, with the original loose folder covers. (The print-on-demand versions have the covers bound to the modules.)

Or, the first 25-50 supplements, including adventures along with things like Dungeon Geomorphs, character sheets, etc.

Yeah, it would be expensive, but they could do a limited run of maybe 1000 (or 5000) copies and call it a collectible. I feel sure the market exists for such a product.

Anyone else have thoughts about your idea 50th anniversary product?

A single book providing vital mechanics for as many setting-specific game widgets as possible. Maybe a separate one for monsters. Minimal lore in any case, as previous edition material is easily available.

 

[bedir than]

A new, original kitchen sink setting that incorporates everything that Wizards has learned about inclusion and world building.

 

[Micah Sweet]

POD books are nice and most (but by no means all) TSR and WotC products are now available that way.

But extremely high end reprints of older material would be nice. The upcoming OD&D reprint with the design notes and history add sounds great, but is probably an impractical form factor for most other editions, as the AD&D fork turned into three or more hardbacks considered "core" for each edition.

The classic premium reprints came out a decade ago and now go for hundreds of dollars on the aftermarket. I would have loved to have seen another set of those, maybe even nicer (some of the 1E reprints from that run are a little blurry). This seems like something they could safely license out to Beedle & Grimm's, who would no doubt make it really deluxe.

See, I would just like to have physical copies of certain older products that don't require me to take out a second mortgage. Beedle & Grimm's has always seemed like unnecessary flippers to me. I know a lot of other people feel it's worth it though.

 

[Micah Sweet]

A new, original kitchen sink setting that incorporates everything that Wizards has learned about inclusion and world building.

I'd be very interested in finding out what that actually means.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A new, original kitchen sink setting that incorporates everything that Wizards has learned about inclusion and world building.

I would really love something that provides more context for the Concord Worlds civilizations from the Radiant Citadel, a number of which appear to be occupying the same planet. That would be a strong basis for a new kitchen sink.

 

[Parmandur]

Greyhawk.

With the Darlene Map. Full size.

We may even get that yet.

I think WotC busting out a checkbook and making all Gygax estate issues go away, and hiring Luke Gygax to write a definitive Castle Greyhawk product would be the blowout dream product.

 

[Clint_L]

We may even get that yet.

I think WotC busting out a checkbook and making all Gygax estate issues go away, and hiring Luke Gygax to write a definitive Castle Greyhawk product would be the blowout dream product.

This, and I think it is important to recognize Arneson at the same time. I'd also like to see the inclusion of characters played by that first wave of players. All those guys are in the game's DNA, and deserve their flowers. I'm quite excited to see what Jon Peterson has cooking for the 50th anniversary project.

 

[Parmandur]

This, and I think it is important to recognize Arneson at the same time. I'd also like to see the inclusion of characters played by that first wave of players. All those guys are in the game's DNA, and deserve their flowers. I'm quite excited to see what Jon Peterson has cooking for the 50th anniversary project.

Well, we are getting a bunch of "multiversal" characters in thw DMG Lore Glossary, imagine that sort of thing will be a big part of it.

I would love it if they did something for Blackmoor: unfortunately, doing that "authenticly" might be difficult due to lack of material, though WotC has the rights free and clear. They could retool the DA modules,, but Ingather those are somewhat controversial.

 

[R_J_K75]

A series of 4' W x 8' L, vinyl wet erase maps of Waterdeep, Undermountain and Skullport. Not the crap ones that dont show the entrance to Skullpot but the good one that does. And it needs to include all the locations from 1E-5E ever detailed, buildings, noble villas, taverns, etc. I'd definitely buy that regardless of the cost.

 

[Echohawk]

I guess for me I’d like postcard-sized tent flap entries (Ala, the monster cards from Beedle and Grimm) of every D&D monster, from 1E, 2E, 3E, 4E, Dungeon, Dragon, Basic and 5E converted to 5E. Something similar was attempted in smaller scale with the GaleForce9 monster cards, but they had different sized cards and only did cards for the monster books, and not the adventures.

There have been roughly 9000 distinct D&D monsters published over the last 50 years. If we assume that each one gets its own card, and that the cards are the same thickness as a typical postcard, that would result in a stack of cards 5¼ feet (1.6 meters) high!