2010: Is it Dragonlance? (hint)

[doctorhook]

My thoughts are this - Dark Sun is almost definitely the setting for next year. But this year is Dragonlance's anniversary so they will do something special for it - a One-off setting book at "double" length (400ish pages) It will be like the Campaign Guides in previous editions, with both player and DM stuff it in.
This goes against the 'one setting per year' rule, but it's a special year!
Instead of a setting, they may just be re-doing the Chronicles era adventures as a huge hardback too.

Honestly, this seems quite unlikely in the current economy. Books that heavy are expensive to make and sell, which means fewer people will buy it, which means they'll sell fewer copies. A publisher of WotC's size can't afford to publish books that people won't buy, AFAIK.

 

[ggroy]

My thoughts are this - Dark Sun is almost definitely the setting for next year. But this year is Dragonlance's anniversary so they will do something special for it - a One-off setting book at "double" length (400ish pages) It will be like the Campaign Guides in previous editions, with both player and DM stuff it in.
This goes against the 'one setting per year' rule, but it's a special year!
Instead of a setting, they may just be re-doing the Chronicles era adventures as a huge hardback too.

Who knows?

Maybe they'll do some one-off "double length" (400ish pages) books for some of the less popular settings (past saleswise), released at a rate of two or three per year?

After awhile, how many more "martial power X" books can and will they release? (Or for that matter: arcane, divine, primal, psionic, elemental, shadow, etc ... "power" books).

I imagine WotC will look back through their catalog of 3E/3.5E supplemental books, for other stuff to "strip mine" into new 4E books. Another source would be to steal some ideas for new books, from what some 4E 3pp publishers have released already.

Looking at the 3E/3.5E supplemental books catalog, stuff which possibly looks easy and/or viable to "strip mine" into possible new 4E books:

- faiths and pantheons, deities and demigods, etc ...
- epic level handbook, power of Faerun, etc ... (remade to beyond epic)
- book of vile darkness / book of exalted deeds
(champions of ruin / champions of valor)
- races (ie. races of stone, races of destiny, etc ...)
- multiple monster manuals, fiend folio, fiendish codex, etc ...
- libris mortis, lords of madness, drow of the underdark, etc ...
- more draconomicon books, dragon magic, etc ...
- unearthed arcana
- more manual of the planes, planar handbooks, etc ...
- environments: frostburn, sandstorm, stormwrack, etc ...
- evil (ie. exemplars of evil, elder evils, lords of darkness, etc ...)
- ghostwalk
- heroes of battle, heroes of horror
- stronghold builder's guide
- magic (ie. tome of magic, magic of incarnum, etc ...)
- historical (ie. lost empires of Faerun)

No idea if they will publish a new 4E series of "complete" books. Though perhaps the 4E "power" books are functionally serving the same purpose that the "complete" books did for 3.5E.

Towards the end of 4E's shelf life, I wouldn't be surprised to see a "Rules Compendium" book being released eventually. I don't think a 4E version of the "Magic Item Compendium" will be done, considering the Adventurer's Vault books are more or less serving the same purpose. No idea about a "Weapons of Legacy" book.

If persuaded, maybe they'll even go back to churning out 4E versions of all those Forgotten Realms and Ebberon books (ie. shifted by 100 years for the case of FR).

 

[ggroy]

Honestly, this seems quite unlikely in the current economy. Books that heavy are expensive to make and sell, which means fewer people will buy it, which means they'll sell fewer copies. A publisher of WotC's size can't afford to publish books that people won't buy, AFAIK.

During the time period from mid-late 2004 to the announcement of 4E in 2007, there was around an average of two WotC books released per month for 3.5E D&D. In the previous time period from 2000 to early-mid 2004, there was around an average of one WotC book released per month for D&D.

At times I wonder whether the increased rate of WotC books released during mid-late 2004 to Aug 2007, was reflective of the "surging economy" at the time due to the housing bubble (in hindsight). Gamers with steady high paychecks were willing to buy all kinds of books?

Today with many more people out of work, many are less likely to buy new stuff and/or are at least more discriminating in their purchases.

Hopefully the better 3pp's will survive today's economic doldrums.

 

[Nymrohd]

Still it would be nice to see a few familiar names from the 3.5 era into any DL work in 4E. Would that be possible or even likely? Not asking if there is any deal done since there are obvious NDAs involved but if they have Ed Greenwood write part of the new FR I don't see why the same would not happen for an eventual 4E DL be it in 2010 or later.

 

[vagabundo]

This thread exploded out of nowhere!

I have a hunch that draconians are going to be incorporated into core DL in some fashion, not as a precursor to a DL campaign product but because they're iconic in their own way and well, why not?

I believe Dragonlance would work just fine in 4E for the simple reason that it's not terribly far away from core D&D at this point, with only a handful of setting-specific issues that most people won't be overly concerned by and which a setting-specific product would handily deal with.

And while I would give my left gnomish apparatus to work on a 4E Dragonlance, I also think WotC has a fairly good grasp on its intellectual property's marketability and underlying aspects that anything they produce with Dragonlance content will be with an eye toward quality and progressive design.

Cheers,
Cam

I was waiting to see if you would respond in this thread.

To myself I said:

- If Cam responds in this thread it will be Dark Sun

And although I would prefer to run something in Dark Sun - something I've wanted to do since the 2e era - I am interested in what WotC would do with DL.

In fact I think if it is DS or DL I'll be stoked.

 

[DarkMagician]

Maybe it is a new setting, one never done before...

 

[Belorin]

Looking at the 3E/3.5E supplemental books catalog, stuff which possibly looks easy and/or viable to "strip mine" into possible new 4E books:

- faiths and pantheons, deities and demigods, etc ... This might see print as a collection of previously published setting pantheons, i.e., Deities and Demigods 1/2/3...
- epic level handbook, power of Faerun, etc ... (remade to beyond epic) This will probably be DDi material.
- book of vile darkness / book of exalted deeds With the de-emphasis of alignment this type of book may get covered in future DMGs
(champions of ruin / champions of valor) Same as above
- races (ie. races of stone, races of destiny, etc ...) This will be more DDi material, Ecology of..., etc.
- multiple monster manuals, fiend folio, fiendish codex, etc ... Already being done, MM1/2/3 and DDi articles.
- libris mortis, lords of madness, drow of the underdark, etc ... Already have Open Grave and there is an Underdark book due out...
- more draconomicon books, dragon magic, etc ... In the works
- unearthed arcana future DMG & PHBs
- more manual of the planes, planar handbooks, etc ... In the works
- environments: frostburn, sandstorm, stormwrack, etc ... Future DMGs
- evil (ie. exemplars of evil, elder evils, lords of darkness, etc ...) MMs and DDi articles
- ghostwalk Rules for something like this may get covered in the DMG
- heroes of battle, heroes of horror Same here
- stronghold builder's guide future DMG, hopefully!
- magic (ie. tome of magic, magic of incarnum, etc ...) DDi, Power books
- historical (ie. lost empires of Faerun) DDi articles

4E has really been reorganized to prevent alot of spurious splatbooks, you'll get multiple DMGs, PHBs and MMs; the various power books plus the planes books, draconomicons and probably yearly complilations of related DDi material, Fey, Giants, etc.

Bel

 

[Dragonhelm]

- ghostwalk

You know, this raises a good point. Nobody has mentioned Ghostwalk as a possibility. It has an "a".

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I heard from an entirely unreliable source that the new setting will be Krynn. The newest revelation will be that Krynn is actually a Hollow World and the interior is a harsh desert realm with a Dark Sun floating at its center.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Krynn has no "A"'s

Neither does "Oerth".

It's Athas.