D&D General Campaign Setting Contest: Should We Do It Again?

[Zardnaar]

My submission would be the Star of Death, a moon sized Spelljammer that can blow up planets. You could use it to crush terrorist psychic warriors lead by Jake Starrunner

 

[The Glen]

If they do a Mystara product, how likely is it they'd give a good amount of space to the Hollow World? I love Taladas, but I'm sure that any Dragonlance product would focus on Ansalon (and more specifically the War of the Lance).

You do the Hollow World as its own expansion to Mystara, there's just too much lore for the Hollow World to be included in the primary book to give it anything more than a cursory mention unless you want a 500 page book. Mystara is three separate regions, with the Known World, Hollow World and the Savage Coast/Serpent Peninsula about equal sizes. Didn't help Mystara released itself one fully fleshed out nation book at a time, so the information on all its lands is massive compared to other settings.

 

[Mistwell]

What's with all this "split the player base"?

Did the player base split when they published a ton of tools to make your own setting?
Did the player base split when they published Ravinica?
Did the player base split when they published adventures set specifically in Greyhawk?
Will the player base split when they publish Eberron later this year?

Guys, the player base is more resilient than that.

 

[CapnZapp]

Remember all the people who claimed they would not submit an entry for fear WOTC would just steal their ideas?

Yeah...how did that turn out?

I think that turned out well. Apparently enough people weren't paranoid about this for the contest to produce quality results. And since people knew the rules of the games, I don't see any reason to be upset by WotC reusing any of the submitted ideas.

TL;DR: If you didn't like the rules, you were free to self-publish instead of submitting your pitch. Of course, then you weren't allowed to call it D&D, and the chance for your idea to become an official campaign world went from non-zero to absolutely zero. It was your choice. WotC certainly did not force you.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What's with all this "split the player base"?

Did the player base split when they published a ton of tools to make your own setting?
Did the player base split when they published Ravinica?
Did the player base split when they published adventures set specifically in Greyhawk?
Will the player base split when they publish Eberron later this year?

Guys, the player base is more resilient than that.

It split in the 1980s. So yes, it will split if they follow up a setting book with a series of products made specifically for that setting.

As for Ravinica, didn't buy it, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, I moved it to the Forgotten Realms.

 

[Aldarc]

Yeah, definitely. As much as I think Midnight took a bold approach to Tolkienistic fantasy by having the heroes lose, when you look at Eberron, it’s clear why it won and things like Dawnforge and Midnight did not. They clearly were looking for something that was a radical departure from trad fantasy.

At the same time, one of the biggest selling points that Eberron had in its favor for WotC is that it did not require rewriting or invalidating the rulebooks. When we look at the published Dawnforge, for example, it replaced the cleric (the Disciple), the druid (the Shaman), and the monk (the Spirit Adept). It also rewrites the pre-existing races to buff them a bit, provide racial levels, and the like. Bill Slavicsek had even said that while many submitted setting ideas were "super cool," a number of them often had things like "humans only," "no half-orcs or half-elves," or "no monks." World design choices that basically invalidated or restricted your player handbook options. Eberron, however, said that your 3.5 PHB still applied to Eberron.

 

[Mistwell]

I think that turned out well. Apparently enough people weren't paranoid about this for the contest to produce quality results. And since people knew the rules of the games, I don't see any reason to be upset by WotC reusing any of the submitted ideas.

TL;DR: If you didn't like the rules, you were free to self-publish instead of submitting your pitch. Of course, then you weren't allowed to call it D&D, and the chance for your idea to become an official campaign world went from non-zero to absolutely zero. It was your choice. WotC certainly did not force you.

My point is, WOTC didn't steal anyone's ideas of those who did submit and the paranoia was just that - unfounded fear.

 

[Mistwell]

It split in the 1980s. So yes, it will split if they follow up a setting book with a series of products made specifically for that setting.

As for Ravinica, didn't buy it, and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, I moved it to the Forgotten Realms.

In the 80s it split because they were simultaneously running over a dozen settings. Not because they published a handful of them. Much like it didn't split during 3e and 4e where they published a handful of settings. There is a comfortable room between over a dozen settings and just one.

 

[generic]

What's with all this "split the player base"?

Did the player base split when they published a ton of tools to make your own setting?
Did the player base split when they published Ravinica?
Did the player base split when they published adventures set specifically in Greyhawk?
Will the player base split when they publish Eberron later this year?

Guys, the player base is more resilient than that.

It is?

I always though that the players were so weak-minded and had such short attention spans as to be fatally vulnerable to the release of a new book!

Wait, are you suggesting that...

Not everyone might buy a specific book that's released?

!>!Panic Mode!<!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Good point! I remember Midnight having different (and quite good) takes on the Ranger and Monk classes, not to mention plenty of racial variants.

At the same time, one of the biggest selling points that Eberron had in its favor for WotC is that it did not require rewriting or invalidating the rulebooks.