Ravnica Table of Contents & More

Looking at the above Table of Contents I'm not surprised by the lack of Ravnica lore since there will be a Ravnica lore book released in January. Wizards puts out the MTG lore books misnamed as "The art of Magic the Gathering- setting name" whenever it visits a new plane. If people want more lore and more art from the setting then they will have to look here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Magic-Gathering-Ravnica/dp/1974705528

Quote doesn't work on my phone, but I get that Paul, and many others don't quite get and it is very hard to be clear that the guilds are not JUST factions, they are also the magic, infrastructure and geography of the world. In many cases guildmasters are semi-divine embodiments of concepts. To say Selesnyan or Gruul district doesn't just tell you who is in charge, it tells you oftwn what the location is, how it is designed and what its purpose is (if it is Selesnyan, it is probably either one or several giant habitable trees)

flametitan said:

Right, I see. I'll have to take a deeper look when the book comes out, but right now the guilds feel like a bit of a weak hook. The interplay between factions with differing goals and ideals is a crux of many settings to me, so it feels odd to go, "yeah, this setting's interesting thing is that it has factions."

Part of that, though, is because when I look into whether a setting interests me or not, it's the encouraged style of campaign that interests me, rather than a setting element. This book focuses heavily on the factions element, and seems to lack in the interesting locales (unless the Tenth District is more varied than the name implies), and I know nearly nothing of what sort of genre the setting wants to encourage, though I imagine political intrigue is going to be a focal point.

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Actually it kind of is, because all the guilds are represented there and have influence there along with it being where the Living Guildpact holds court when he is on the plane at all.

There are Ozhov Balisicias, and banks, there Azorious courts, a Simic Zonot, and different types of guild gates and so on.

The Tenth DistrictEditAzorius territoryEditThe Azorius District on the waterfront.[15]Old Prahv, the former guildhall. Now a wilderness preserve.New Prahv, the guildhall.The South Records Hall.[16]The Forum of Azor.The Pillar of the Paruns.CenterfortParha, a run-down industrial quarter given to the Orzhov for demolition and reclamationRokiric PavillionHeadquarters of the Living GuildpactTin StreetTin Street Market. A favorite of Vraska.Zonot Seven. The only zonot (sinkhole) inside the boundaries of the Tenth District, Zonot Seven is home to Zameck, the current guildhall of the Simic Combine.Zobar, one of the Titans of Ravnica. Now destroyed.Empty Cup Row, an abandoned building block used by the Izzet for experiments.The Detention Compound, a place of correction for criminals.The HarborKeyhole Village, a run down quarter where the harbor workers live.[17]Boros territoryEditThe Boros District with many forts and barracks.Sunhome, the guildhallHorizon Military Academy, a training center for Boros recruitsCenterfort, the headquarters of the Wojek League.Deadbridge, a neighborhood controlled by the Golgari. Used as a public disposal for corpses.Gnat Alley, Ravnica's longest continuous street.Dravhoc, a district built into a mountain, constructed in terraces.Favarial, a district built across a large body of fresh water. One of the more wealthier districts.Izzet territoryEditThe Izzet District, full of factories and labs.Nivix, the guildhallMizzium Foundry, the only place on Ravnica that manufactures Mizzium.Ivy StreetLurias, a district far away from the Center of Ravnica near a "coastline", the meeting place of a swamp used for farming and a large river.Mauzam AsylumOvitzia, a district full of mansions of the wealthy.Orzhov territoryEditThe Orzhov District, containing mansions, banks, trading posts and churches. Also known as the Sixth District.Orzhova, the guildhall and seat of the Obzedat.The Grand Library.[16]Irbitov, an Orzhov-controlled quarter populated with mausoleums, memorial statues, and underground vaults.Vizkopa Bank, the center of Orzhov commerce. A massive institution encrusted with guardian gargoyles and orbited by the floating spirits of Orzhovan debtors.Coiner's Row, the business districtThe Harmony Basilica.[16]Kalnika Quarter or Kalnika DistrictThe Dome of Black Dove.[16]The Moon Market, held every fifth full moon and dedicated to forbidden wares.Nightveil, a precinct under Dimir control. Despite numerous attempts from Boros, Azorius and Orzhov, no criminal activities could be proven.Dinrova Heights, a massive building used as a meeting place for the high-ranking guild mages of the Dimir.Bane Alley, a street where "illegal" services like assassination, extortion or graft are offered by Dimir agents.The Plague QuarterSage's Row, a place critical to the guildsShanav Quarter, a place known for its hostility to the SelesnyaSimic territoryEditThe Simic DistrictNovijen, the guildhall. Now destroyed.Ismeri Library, an officially guildless public library under Dimir control. Used as a major communication center of the guild.The Smelting District, center of Ravnica's industry. Home to numerous unguilded.Keyhole Downs, a place known for its dishonest merchants.[17] Rumored to have ties with the Rakdos.

Paul Farquhar said:

Congratulations on your attempt to use sarcasm to disguise the fact that you have no answer to my challenge.

Ravnica was a MtG setting. Now it is a D&D setting. And the marketing has been perfectly clear about that from the start, that this would be a D&D book, not a MtG book, and it wouldn't be adding planeswalkers or coloured magic to D&D.

You can argue that it's a bad decision, you can state without argument that it's not what you want (I wanted Dark Sun, but we rarely get what we want, welcome to Real Life), but you can't argue that MtG-in-D&D was promised without gross dishonesty.

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Lets see...

"Ummm.... Magic the Gathering is repeatedly mentioned in the sample page we have, linked in the first post.
And Magic the Gathering is mentioned on the cover. It’s mentioned before D&D on the back cover.
And the name of the product on Amazon is: “Dungeons & Dragons Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica / D&D/Magic: The Gathering Adventure Book and Campaign Setting”

Arguing it is a Ravnica book and not a MtG book feels like arguing a Dragonlance product isn’t a D&D product.

It’s not a MtG card game product but it is very much part of the same brand"

MidwayHaven said:

WotC is not hosting the RPGSports duels. It's been mentioned multiple times already.

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Doesn't matter. The guilds are there to artificially create tribes for the streaming thing and bring MtG fans to it. It has nothing to do with enriching D&D or the player experience. Guilds create conflicts between players and players who want to get promotions in the guilds derail campaigns.

Parmandur said:

Your mileage may vary, but I'm quite happy with my time and money investment, and goodness knows that I am hardly alone.

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Meh. 4e was the best edition ever! So was 3e. So was 2e... people keep saying that cause they like shinny new stuff, but it doesn't mean they are right. The same people who say they won't switch to 6e likely will and just repeat the cycle.

cbwjm said:

In MtG, Ravnica is part of the MtG multiverse. In DnD, it is part of the DnD multiverse. If you can't wrap your head around that, I cant help you and you'll just have to live in denial.

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"Ummm.... Magic the Gathering is repeatedly mentioned in the sample page we have, linked in the first post.
And Magic the Gathering is mentioned on the cover. It’s mentioned before D&D on the back cover.
And the name of the product on Amazon is: “Dungeons & Dragons Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica / D&D/Magic: The Gathering Adventure Book and Campaign Setting”

Arguing it is a Ravnica book and not a MtG book feels like arguing a Dragonlance product isn’t a D&D product.

It’s not a MtG card game product but it is very much part of the same brand"

Parmandur said:

Dragonlance SAGA was not a D&D product.

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Arguably not.
But what about the original Dragonlance novels? And if they count, what about the SAGA novels? How about the modules with both SAGA and AD&D Rules?
What about a D&D board game? Those are often less “D&D” than SAGA but have the D&D iconography.

So, is this a MtG branded product? I’d say “yes”. Just like a MtG CCG set that was themed around Faerun would kinda be a D&D product.

Paul Farquhar said:

Congratulations on your attempt to use sarcasm to disguise the fact that you have no answer to my challenge.

Ravnica was a MtG setting. Now it is a D&D setting. And the marketing has been perfectly clear about that from the start, that this would be a D&D book, not a MtG book, and it wouldn't be adding planeswalkers or coloured magic to D&D.

You can argue that it's a bad decision, you can state without argument that it's not what you want (I wanted Dark Sun, but we rarely get what we want, welcome to Real Life), but you can't argue that MtG-in-D&D was promised without gross dishonesty.

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They're not mutually exclusive. It can be a MtG setting AND a D&D setting. Doing a D&D update doesn't mean it's no longer a MtG plane.

They're not adding in any MtG mechanics or adding an alternate magic system, but it is using the lore, concepts, and flavour of the world. But I can name a half-dozen D&D branded games and products that are "D&D" but do not use the rules of the tabletop game.

Jester David said:

Arguably not.
But what about the original Dragonlance novels? And if they count, what about the SAGA novels? How about the modules with both SAGA and AD&D Rules?
What about a D&D board game? Those are often less “D&D” than SAGA but have the D&D iconography.

So, is this a MtG branded product? I’d say “yes”. Just like a MtG CCG set that was themed around Faerun would kinda be a D&D product.

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Logically speaking, to an extent "Dragonlance" and "Ravnica" are separate intellectual property from either D&D or Magic.

The trade dress of this book is that of D&D. Did you listen to or watch the Dragon Talk that was done the day the book was announced? Jeremy Crawford was pretty clear that he wanted this to be in no way a Magic RPG book, but a definite D&D book that happens to be in the Ravnica setting, removing all Magic specific references. At one point, Wyatt had written up a bunch of color mana as alternate alignment system material (which is in Planeshift booklets previously), but Crawford cut it and made it all the in to D&D. They have made every effort in marketing to emphasize this is a D&D book.