These screencaps were posted by GM Leigh (of Mage Productions) on Twitter after being showed on WotC's Twitch stream, presented by Kate Welch and Nathan Stewart. Note the old Saltmarsh trilogy references!
Does opening up Greyhawk, Planescape, Birthright, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, or any of the other myriad other settings for the DMsguild really hurt WotC's sales? Practically everything on that site is 3rd party. 3rd party products still have the stigma lingering from 3rd edition, nearly 20 years ago. Anyone can toss together overpowered garbage and throw it onto the dmsguild. Most DMs won't allow stuff from there, despite having the "approval" of WotC. Despite there being some pretty decent things on there, you still need to wade through a sea of crap. And woe be on the player who must convince their DM to allow something from there.
You say you get choice by them pigeonholing everything into the Forgotten Realms, that putting the Elemental Evil storyline into the Sword Coast is a good thing. What about the numerous others who have no choice? Numerous people on this forum have expressed their dislike of FR. Where's their choice? Putting the Elemental Evil adventure into the Sword Coast, or the Saltmarsh adventure (if this new book is indeed a remake or sequel to the old Saltmarsh adventures) into the Sword Coast, or one of the old Dark Sun or Al'Qadim adventures (remake or sequel) in the Anauroch desert?
Did Curse of Strahd split the player base? Did Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica really split the playerbase (other than their opinion on it's creation over WotC updating an already existing setting)? With WotC's turtle's pace of a release schedule, I highly doubt they would experience the peril that befell TSR. They could release Planescape in an adventure (similar to Ravenloft and CoS), and give their little "In other settings" sidebar. They could do the same with all their other settings. If the adventure's premise is good, the DMs will buy it and adjust things to fit into their preferred setting, despite what the default setting of the adventure may be. And before you say it, yes they already do that. But why are FR DMs given preferrential treatment over an Eberron or Greyhawk DM?
Al'Qadim adventures (remake or sequel) in the Anauroch desert?
But why are FR DMs given preferrential treatment over an Eberron or Greyhawk DM?
As I recall, al'Qadim was always in Forgotten Realms, albeit a fairly distant part of it.
Ravenloft was opened up AFTER Curse of Strahd. Meaning that DM's Guild becomes a giant resource for anyone wanting to run Curse of Strahd. IOW, DM's Guild wasn't competing with CoS but rather was busily banging out supplements FOR WotC's adventure. Same goes for the latest modules too. Dragon Heist has enough DM's Guild supplementary material to run for 20 levels. Easily. There's fantastic supplements for a module.
This is what's different today. The notion that modules now get supplementary support. It's amazing really.
Why would you want that when:That's what I was actually trying to get at. Set this aquatic adventure in Greyhawk, which will open up the setting for dmsguild, and then let the fans run wild with the setting, and never publish anything else. Make the next adventure set in Planescape or Dragonlance or one of the many others. Then open that setting up for the fans to make things on the dmsguild, and then WotC can go back to acting like these settings don't exist except for lip service in the "In other settings" sidebar in the next adventures.
If the DMsGuild is so terrible and full of content that nobody really uses, why do you care if Greyhawk is on there or not?Plus... having seen what people are doing with Ravenloft and Eberron, there's not a lot of setting expansion going on. How is the setting going to be supported by being on the DMsGuild more than it is right now? What do you need to play Greyhawk in 5e that you don't already have?Practically everything on that site is 3rd party. 3rd party products still have the stigma lingering from 3rd edition, nearly 20 years ago. Anyone can toss together overpowered garbage and throw it onto the dmsguild. Most DMs won't allow stuff from there, despite having the "approval" of WotC. Despite there being some pretty decent things on there, you still need to wade through a sea of crap. And woe be on the player who must convince their DM to allow something from there.
Why would you want that when:If the DMsGuild is so terrible and full of content that nobody really uses, why do you care if Greyhawk is on there or not?Plus... having seen what people are doing with Ravenloft and Eberron, there's not a lot of setting expansion going on. How is the setting going to be supported by being on the DMsGuild more than it is right now? What do you need to play Greyhawk in 5e that you don't already have?
Does opening up Greyhawk, Planescape, Birthright, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, or any of the other myriad other settings for the DMsguild really hurt WotC's sales?
Why would you want that when:
If the DMsGuild is so terrible and full of content that nobody really uses, why do you care if Greyhawk is on there or not?Plus... having seen what people are doing with Ravenloft and Eberron, there's not a lot of setting expansion going on. How is the setting going to be supported by being on the DMsGuild more than it is right now? What do you need to play Greyhawk in 5e that you don't already have?
I don't think it's so much about sales as it is about dibs. Wizards don't want anyone else to do the core bits of their old settings, because that would lead to a dozen competing versions and no One True Birthright. Instead they want to release a core for others to expand on, one that at least gives a common ground.
I honestly don't know much about Al'Qadim. I just know the adventures set within it had a different heading than Forgotten Realms. Though I am sure Maztica and Kara Tur did as well, and I know they are attached to the Forgotten Realms world.