D&D General If I had the D&D/WotC Worldbuider job, I would... (+ thread)

[Osgood]

I think there are plenty of good ideas in here so far, and honestly, I wouldn't complain about any of them. But I think a lot of this discussion is backward-looking, which we've already seen plenty of over the past 10 years (with at best, mixed success--Eberron was well done, Spelljammer not so much). I think this role is going to be focused on new worlds, and I'm all for that. The trick is to not fall into the trap of 90s era TSR and splinter the audience, where each setting only captures a small part of the fanbase.

So, to answer the original question, I think I would try to think outside the box and try a different approach. Come up with some new settings, but rather than produce a big Campaign Setting Book, I might make a book that focuses on a theme, style or environment rather than a full setting--could be an environment like desert or swamp, could be thematic like unexplored frontier, fallen kingdom, or oppressed dark land. In that book present five very fleshed out mini-setting--a kingdom or territory--maybe two from older settings, the rest brand new. Then include new monsters, and a few adventures that can be inserted into any of mini-settings.

Over the course of a few books, these worlds come into more detail (and over time they figure out which one are most popular). But if a DM isn't interested in the entre world, they can just drop the individual elements into their home brew world.

 

[J-H]

I agree! But which setting will have traction in the market? Is it better to go gonzo and unusual, or safe pastiche? Do we need a noblebright setting to contrast to Ravenloft? Are there a hidden 12% of DMs that are running "World of Warcraft in D&D" that make it worth reaching out to Blizzard's corporate parent (don't recall the structure now)?

 

[Zaukrie]

I think there are plenty of good ideas in here so far, and honestly, I wouldn't complain about any of them. But I think a lot of this discussion is backward-looking, which we've already seen plenty of over the past 10 years (with at best, mixed success--Eberron was well done, Spelljammer not so much). I think this role is going to be focused on new worlds, and I'm all for that. The trick is to not fall into the trap of 90s era TSR and splinter the audience, where each setting only captures a small part of the fanbase.

So, to answer the original question, I think I would try to think outside the box and try a different approach. Come up with some new settings, but rather than produce a big Campaign Setting Book, I might make a book that focuses on a theme, style or environment rather than a full setting--could be an environment like desert or swamp, could be thematic like unexplored frontier, fallen kingdom, or oppressed dark land. In that book present five very fleshed out mini-setting--a kingdom or territory--maybe two from older settings, the rest brand new. Then include new monsters, and a few adventures that can be inserted into any of mini-settings.

Over the course of a few books, these worlds come into more detail (and over time they figure out which one are most popular). But if a DM isn't interested in the entre world, they can just drop the individual elements into their home brew world.

I agree smaller focus is better.

 

[Steampunkette]

1) Make a go of Sunset Riders as an official campaign setting.
Sure, there's not a ton of push, right now, for an Americana setting in the community. But it would provide novelty and something significantly different from "Traditional Fantasy" for one-shots and the like. It would also introduce just SO MANY MONSTERS that a bunch of us know in passing that have never been statted out in D&D terms.

You also get into new weapons and ideas about armor and get to play with expectations... The biggest stumbling block is Native American representation... and you can hire on Native American writers and designers and advisors to help ensure the Native Acadians aren't directly contemporaneous to any specific tribe or group or include offensive stereotypes.

2) Narrative Consistency
I'm guessing their big narrative goal is managing a storyline that spans multiple settings, probably through the use of a Multiversal or Deific threat. Sort of an "Age of Worms" concept or maybe a new Illithid-Gith conflict. And you know what could be super great for that?

Breaking open the "Impenetrable" barrier around Athas and have the result be Defiling coming to other worlds. Wouldn't -that- be a hoot and a half? Make Feats and Subclasses for Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards that Defile to gain extra impact at the cost of the world around them, or even themselves in the form of fatigue-manipulation.

3) Old Settings
Yup. Dark Sun. The setting would be redone with an eye toward making evil actions obviously evil, and the common people terrified of speaking out against that evil while under the oppressive structures of the Sorcerer Kings. Set in a 4e styled "Points of Light" structure, leaning heavily on Sword and Sorcery tropes.

Yes. Athas would, in some ways, become a gonzo setting as people will want to play their Kenku Bard and their Summer Eladrin or whatever. So make room for it. When the "Impenetrable Barrier" comes down it wreaks havoc across the planes with teleportation accidents resulting in thousands of outsiders being thrust into Athas not as "New Civilizations" like the hamfisted addition of Dragonborn to Athas through adding in a whole subcontinent or whatever, but as lone individuals cut off from their worlds and dumped into a blistering wasteland they might mistake for one of the Hells... Congratulations, Athas steals a bit from Ravenloft but with less "Malicious Will" and more "Random Chance". Also: Psion Official Class. (It would be very Espery)

How to reconnect Athas?

Simple. 1499DR. The Year of the Desperate Gambit.

Dendar the Night Serpent, eater of dreams, existing in half-death of the Shadowfell has found her way through the Shadowfell into the Black. The dark plane that Athas surrounds like a leathery egg. And within it, she coils about the Hollow, the prison of Rajaat, squeezing upon it to draw forth horrible nightmares to consume alongside the nightmares of the Athasian people.

How long has Dendar been in the Black? None can say. But she grows strong on the horrors she consumes. And it won't be long before either the Hollow hatches, or the Black does, revealing an Elder Evil risen to true godhood by eating the dreams of powerful Psionicists.

Shar searches for Dendar in the Shadowfell and eventually finds her in the Black. Angry beyond mortal comprehension that Dendar would seek such power for herself, Shar works to manipulate the Gods of Fury (Talos, Umberlee, Auril, and Malar) to destroy the impenetrable barrier around Athas so their minions can work to unseat Dendar. When it breaks, the Grey is unleashed to slowly spread out like a viscous fog into the Ethereal and Astral planes, thick as soup and almost impossible to navigate while it drains away your essence...

Players plopped on Athas have to figure out how the hell they got there, what's going on, who is behind it, and how to get home. All of which lead them, ultimately, to the Black and a reckoning with Dendar to keep her from breaking open the Hollow and send her back to Shar's prison.

A chapter or two of the adventure is just "Here are some Athasian Encounters and also some remnants of Elemental Priests killed by the thing you had to fight" and "Holy crap those adventurers have steel! GET IT FOR THE SORCERER KING!" type stuff, before they actually learn what's really happening and work their way toward the Black. Probably while having to ally with evil clerics toward a greater good, really driving home how terrible Athas is, since the Sorcerer Kings would try to steal Dendar's power and/or escape Athas rather than help) and the threat of Dendar.

Meanwhile the metaplot of defiling leads to adventures in Faerun where enemies, mostly Undead who don't care about plants and animals and water, are using Defiling to destroy their enemies and salt the earth at the same time. Thayan Defilers would be an absolute nightmare, too. The Emerald Enclave and various Elf Kingdoms work together to fight against the defiling of Faerun in a separate adventure that centers around exploring what this uniquely Athasian mechanic can -do- to other worlds, and how those worlds respond to the threat.

Add in some Adventurer's League style short-form content with adventures into various Elemental Planes dealing with the incursion of Paraelementals in numbers no one has ever seen, Eberron facing a massive empowerment of Far Realm activity as they sense Dendar's growing power and their own potential liberation, etc...

Call it "The Age of Nightmares".

 

[Laurefindel]

First, I would select a setting and a meta-region within that setting. Probably the Sword Coast in Forgotten Realms because BG3 and Honor Among Thieves and Drizzt. Also, we’re kind of there already. Make it a solid gazetteer book mixing geography, demography, cultures, and and plot hooks. No adventure yet.

Then I would re-issue the PHB and MM and lean heavily on the lore of that setting. Aside to that, publish a free SRD-type document for PC species/class and monsters without any fluff. It’s made dry on purpose; please spend your money on t he nice, lavish, expensive published books.

Then, publish another gazetteer of a different meta-region. Spend a good part of the book adjusting the fluff from the PHB and MM to that region. Use it as a how-to-guide with complete examples.

Then publish another settings that shatters all the assumptions and fluff of the PHB and MM without affecting rules. I feel Eberron would fit nicely. Again, use this book as a how-to-guide for a whole setting.

Expand from there publishing small, inexpensive gazetteer booklets and larger setting books. Use adventures to ciment that FR uses PHB and MM content as presented but other setting deviate heavily from those assumptions.

And finally, get fired because the company is now going bankrupt…

 

[TwoSix]

Meanwhile the metaplot of defiling leads to adventures in Faerun where enemies, mostly Undead who don't care about plants and animals and water, are using Defiling to destroy their enemies and salt the earth at the same time. Thayan Defilers would be an absolute nightmare, too. The Emerald Enclave and various Elf Kingdoms work together to fight against the defiling of Faerun in a separate adventure that centers around exploring what this uniquely Athasian mechanic can -do- to other worlds, and how those worlds respond to the threat.

Add in some Adventurer's League style short-form content with adventures into various Elemental Planes dealing with the incursion of Paraelementals in numbers no one has ever seen, Eberron facing a massive empowerment of Far Realm activity as they sense Dendar's growing power and their own potential liberation, etc...

Call it "The Age of Nightmares".

This would make so many people angry, and I am 100% here for it.

 

[Stormonu]

I'd do what the they did back in 3E. Have a campaign world contest, selecting the best submitted world for publishing. I think that would create a lot of hype and wonder over what will be chosen. Along with that, announce that Adventure League play would have an effect on events to grow the campaign world, hinting that high level (10th+) would be eligible for Birthright-style administration of a realm and that what is happening at that level could shape the structure of the campaign world.

Every few years (5 or so), perhaps retire that world concluding that "it's story has been told", publish a final version and start the process again. Create and keep engagement in an evolving set of campaign worlds.

 

[KYRON45]

If i had the world builder job i would.....build a world. I would stop leaning on all of the old timey stuff and move forward. I would build a core world that lays down the basic fundamentals of what D&D is and leave the "other settings" to the OGL crowd.
Of course the problem with this is that "what is D&D?" has an awful lot of answers to it.

So in short; i will not be applying for the job and hope that whoever gets it has a stiff spine and a thick skin.

 

[nute]

1: Publish a set of Volo's Gazetteers for various established worlds: Faerun, Krynn, Eberron, Maztica, Ravnica, Theros, Ravenloft. Each would include history up to the "current" date, appropriate NPCs and bestiary, maps and atlases, and specifically: keywording each entry. So, for example, in Volo's Gazetteer of Eberron, the entry for Thrane could be keyworded with Plains, Mountains, Theocracy, Post-War. This comes in useful when...

2: New adventures and published materials will be set in a generic "Nentir Vale" style setting, but with needed locations given certain keywords so that if you want to run it in Krynn for instance, and the adventure's set in the frozen tundra (keywords: arctic, remote) then you could find a location in the Volo's Gazetteer of Krynn that would fit the tone.

3: Emphasize that published adventures will not alter the ongoing continuity of any established setting, the Gazetteers lock that in as of (arbitrarily assigned "Present Day") and it's up to DMs to decide what happens next, or if they want to alter what's published. It's their table, the job is for Worldbuilder, not Continuity Cop.

4: Alternatively, contract with the Pinkertons to ensure that every home game is run according to published canon.

 

[Incenjucar]

I'd bring back my old setting proposal from back in the day, polished with all the new ideas I had since then. Heavy themes of transformation, self-determination vs. compliance, soft power vs. hard power, relationships between mortals and the rest of the universe, and other perceptions of binaries and borders, with heavy elemental influence.

So, like, a very very millenial setting.