What do you think the new setting will be, from Ampersand?

[rounser]

Most of all, though, I really want to see the other two finalists of the Setting Search.

I think I read somewhere that they were cannibalised to make Eberron. Is that true?

 

[darjr]

Didn't wizards just rerelease a bunch of DarkSun novels? I wonder if they are guaging the interest, I wonder if voting with my dollar would push them towards it as next?

Note that I voted for spelljammer.

 

[Mostlyjoe]

I'm praying that it's Dark Sun.

 

[Glyfair]

I think I read somewhere that they were cannibalised to make Eberron. Is that true?

I believe it has been stated that the Aernal elves had bits and pieces lifted from Rich Burlew's entry by James Wyatt. The whole worshipping their "not undead" ancestors.

I don't believe I have heard anything else specifically was lifted.

 

[Knightfall]

Greyhawk? I heard some rumors way back that there was a plan to reboot Greyhawk. I'd be very curious to see that.

If they do that and stay true to "history" and "feel" of Greyhawk then I might reconsider 4e. As the very least, I'd buy the campaign book.

 

[Knightfall]

Good grief you young'uns! Why has nobody thought of Mystara/Known World yet (OD&D)?

I haven't gone 4E so I don't know all of the specifics, but if it supposed to includes "anything for anybody" as somebody mentions, I know that that world was certainly starting to feel like it as the Voyage of the Princess Ark Dragon series continued.

Yep - Hollow World, Savage Coast with curse of Red Steel/Smoke Powder, Thyatia, Glantri, Alphatia (whether pre or post Day of Magic), Heldannic Territories, Hul, Ethengar Khanate and Emirates of Ylaruam, Ostland/Vestland, etc. etc. etc. Certainly enough points to light up there!

Now that is an interesting idea! A lot of 4Es structure would work well with Mystara. Immortals = Primordials.

 

[Dragonblade]

Now that is an interesting idea! A lot of 4Es structure would work well with Mystara. Immortals = Primordials.

Not really. Immortals were the gods of the Mystara world, IRC.

 

[amethal]

I think I read somewhere that they were cannibalised to make Eberron. Is that true?

Yes, its true, you definitely did . I read it somewhere as well.

Its an interesting rumour but (apart from what Glyfair mentioned) I've never seen any evidence.

It would be great if each of the three settings had its own "long lost evil threat", and they decided to put them all into Eberron. It would make me feel better about how I can never keep them straight in my head.

Giants vs Aberrations?, Orcs vs ?, Quori? Lords of Dust? Coatl getting involved somewhere? Dealkyr being another threat or maybe part of one of the previous factions? Probably Dragons involved at some point?

 

[Knightfall]

Not really. Immortals were the gods of the Mystara world, IRC.

The Immortals were godlike and many of them had names that were based on many Real World mythologies, but the idea for Mystara was that th Immortals weren't truly deities.

I could be remembering it wrong, so I'm not sure. I think it was (and still is) a hotly debated issue amongst fans of the Known World.

 

[jsaving]

This thread's about what the next setting will be, not what people *hope* it will be, right?

With that in mind, on what logical basis do people believe Dark Sun is likely to be the next setting? I agree that it's an interesting and innovative place to adventure, but its dark and gritty done is antithetical to the clear "good guys versus bad guys" paradigm the designers are pushing for 4e. And on a more practical level, WotC's recent firing of Noonan -- the person most responsible for making the setting what it is today -- doesn't lend much credence to the idea that they're itching to bring Dark Sun back. Finally, much as I like Dark Sun, it isn't an especially popular setting and hence doesn't jibe with WotC claims that "a lot of people will be pleased" with the next setting selection.

With Eberron not having a whole lot to do with the primal source, it's fallacious to think Dark Sun must be the 2010 choice because the PH3 might focus on psionics. Even if the general idea linking power sources to settings were right, Kara-Tur would seem to be a much stronger choice than Dark Sun for two reasons. First, ki has been confirmed for the PH3 whereas psi has only been hinted at, and second, both authors have some familiarity with Kara-Tur (heck, Wyatt wrote two of the OA sourcebooks) whereas neither one of them has done much with Dark Sun.

But I think people are overthinking the problem a bit. If you look at which settings have a specific reason to be published in 2010, only two of them get over the bar: Greyhawk because of Gygax's death and Dragonlance because of its fast-approaching anniversary date. Both of these settings were wildly popular back in the day and have a fair amount of residual goodwill, almost ensuring a fairly large cheerleading contingent if they were to be selected. And the fact that we're likely to see both of them over the next few years is strongly foreshadowed in the Manual of the Planes, which specifically calls these places out while barely throwing a bone to the other settings under consideration in this thread. Why make the reference unless the settings are actually going to be explored?

I like Dark Sun, but I just don't think it is very likely it will make its triumphant reappearance in 2010.