D&D 4E 4e, Gleemax, and DDI info from GAMA Trade Show

[Riley]

The problem was that the TSR settings were competing with each other for shelf space and market share. People were buying Al-Qadim or Planescape or Ravenloft or...

(Yes, some people bought 'em all. Most people didn't.)

And a few particularly lucky people were able to buy them all at pennies on the dollar when TSR's warehouse stock was liquidated to pay overdue bills.

But even at those slashed prices, I couldn't bring myself to buy any of the huge numbers of available 'Buck Rogers' supplements.

 

[Voss]

So Ebberon is a standard European setting... interesting.

Well, a generic, homogenized and through americanized bland fantasy setting, which is really what he seems to be referring to.

 

[AllisterH]

So Ebberon is a standard European setting... interesting.

Compared to Spelljammer, Darksun, Planescape and Al-Qadim?

Yeah, it's way closer to bog-standard FR/GH than the above. PS' tag from back during its initial advertising campaign was "Fantasy taken to the Edge" and the other settings are decidely unique.

Still, I left out Ravenloft and I don't think WOTC can do 1 setting a year for 10 years so I suspect not all settings will see a release.... I have a hunch that WOTC will have a survey on DDI after its initial testing where they ask people, "Decide on the setting which you want" which gives them a year and a half to work on said setting.

EDIT: I should add that I like eberron and Dragonlance and none of the "standard" settings, Greyhawk, FR, Dragonlance, Birthright and Eberron are carbon copies of each other. However, you pretty much I find can use one adventure in these settings in the other by just simplying filing off the names.

 

[Propagandroid]

NOTE: Am I reading this wrong or are the Dragon and Dungeon articles no longer open to fan submissions? Could someone clarify that for me?

That is certainly the impression that Bill gave. I think he stated it rather clearly, but I was writing so fast that some things are a blur. He said everything would be 100% official content and would be coordinated with Organized Play, and I'm pretty sure he said everything will be written by R&D.

I clarified things today, and Dragon and Dungeon will still be open to freelancers, and they'll still use them to find new writing talent, but everything will be vetted by R&D so as to be official. Sounds like a big job, I wish them luck!

 

[Propagandroid]

I'm curious if the monster manuals that come out each year (they're coming out with a MM each year, right?) will be geared toward the setting that's coming out the same year. It would free up even more space in the three setting books. It would also end up giving each expansion MM a theme, which would be helpful for people looking to run a particular type of game not directly based on one of the settings.

There will be a PHB, DMG, and MM out every year, and they'll be core, not setting specific. I'm pretty sure monsters for settings will be in either the Campaign Guide or DM's Guide for each setting, as they mentioned "maulagrym to Manshoon" on the slide for the FRCG.

 

[Lizard]

So Ebberon is a standard European setting... interesting.

I saw plenty of elemental-powered trains and warforged when *I* went to England.

 

[Zinovia]

I like the 3 book model for campaign settings. As someone who has used a homebrew setting for our 3.5 game, I don't own any settings books for D&D. If I wanted to start a 3.5 game in Eberron it would be difficult to do. Facing the wall of Eberron books in the FLGS is rather intimidating. Instead of feeling excited about what adventures we might run there, I find myself thinking, "Oh my god that's a lot of books. I don't have time to read all those. It must be so detailed that there's no room for my own ideas and my own players. I can't afford them all, so why buy any of them?".

Of course I know that you don't need all of them, but faced with such abundance, it's easy to feel out of control of the setting and overwhelmed at the sheer volume of material. Two or three books to cover the setting sounds perfect, especially with the understanding that it will *not* explode into 15 hardcover books. As someone said it makes the writers focus more on including the most important parts, but should leave plenty of room for the DM to make the setting his own.

I may actually look at some of these settings now that I know buying them isn't like committing to the Columbia record club with new books arriving every month for the next three years.

 

[med stud]

Well, a generic, homogenized and through americanized bland fantasy setting, which is really what he seems to be referring to.

As a European, I think one of the charms with Eberron is that is "Americanized". It feels like a fantasy/medieval version of the Old West. I can't put my finger on what in Eberron gives me that feeling, but I find it refreshing. I think the Wild West as a theme is far underutilized in fantasy RPGs over all.

I have never liked FR very much, but a three book series on Dark Sun? That's something I never thought would happen! WotC can consider me a customer for that.

The three book lines on campaign settings feels very good. I don't like too much details and this way a line could be considered closed with those three books. You don't have to put up with a two paragraph part about dune traders because a supplement about dune traders is planned for later. They have to get everything they want into those three books. Really nice.

EDIT: Not to mention, communication about the settings on places like ENWorld will be so much easier if everyone got the same three books. Instead of the die-hard fans having discussions about the colour of Elminster's beard, it will be discussions that everyone can be involved in.

 

[Nebulous]

That said, there's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the settings will see expansion, in DDI articles. And I'm also willing to bet that if the three books exceed sales expectations, WotC would probably at least consider expanding the lines down the road. But again, those are just guesses.

It will also ensure that people keep their subscriptions up year after year to continue their setting updates. Actually, i think this is a good idea. If you already have every 3rd edition FR book, you don't really need the same hardbacks for 4e.

 

[Jack99]

That is certainly the impression that Bill gave. I think he stated it rather clearly, but I was writing so fast that some things are a blur. He said everything would be 100% official content and would be coordinated with Organized Play, and I'm pretty sure he said everything will be written by R&D.

Maybe he said that all content would be checked (vetted?) by RD, or something along those lines. Seems odd to me if they will be doing all the Dragon and Dungeon crunch, but then again, what do I know.