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

[Propagandroid]

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.

I think given their commitment to making it all immediately official as well as putting it in the rules database in real time suggests that they'll retain full control over the articles. I'm sure it's subject to change.

 

[Jer]

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.

Let's see - a continent that was colonized by refugees from another continent, whose own native population has been shoved aside to the hinterlands, that has just come out of a horrible civil war and is on the cutting edge of an Industrial Revolution. With trains and dirigibles. Huh. I don't see how you could possibly liken Eberron to the Old West at 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.

I like the model, but I think three books as outlined above is probably a bit too small. There's no "Monster Manual" and no "Adventure Path" with this breakdown. I imagine you can just make the yearly Monster Manual release thematically tied to the setting, but I'd like to see at least a "mega-adventure" released for each setting as well. I guess that's what the DDI Dungeon subscription is for.

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.

HAH! Clearly, my good sir, you are a dreamer. This is the Internets we are talking about here.

The die-hard fans will always find ways to shut the casual fans out. It doesn't matter what the discussion is about, it's just a fact of Internet discussions.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

Speaking only for myself, I think it's a great idea.

I love the "limited release" model for campaign settings. (It's worked very well for White Wolf, for instance.) It's enough to give the basics of the setting, without hyper-detailing every little corner of the world--that, at least to me, is the perfect mix.

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.

I agree here, and will also add that I'll purchase more from WotC in this model (and I believe others will as well). I just don't have the time or dedication to follow various endless lines, but I'd be more than willing to invest my money knowing that I'd have everything to play on three books.

This is also great for those who like to collect the settings (like me ); I feel more inclined to collect a new one when I know how many books to get and when (although for this It wouldn't matter if each setting got five or ten books, it would feel just the same).

Cheers,

 

[med stud]

The die-hard fans will always find ways to shut the casual fans out. It doesn't matter what the discussion is about, it's just a fact of Internet discussions.

They have a smaller margin to shut casuals out now. Before, they dragged the discussions down to pointless minutiae that few people knew about and just about only the die-hards cared about. Now, it becomes more of a game of interpretation. Everyone has access to the same material and there won't be the kind of information overload that paves the way for die-hard fan- domination.

About Eberron: I haven't read much Eberron material, to be honest. If I had, I suppose I would see the US- connection

It doesn't change the fact, though, that I think the Old West is very good inspiration for fantasy RPGs. I like it much more than the pseudo-medieval settings that are the traditional rage.

 

[Gundark]

Yeah good news. I'm happy to hear about Ravenloft and Spelljammer.....not so happy to hear that they'll be down the road a ways .

Also I was sorry to not hear Birthright being mentioned. While the world is okay, what I really loved about the setting was the bloodline powers and running kingdoms. Maybe that'll be in an "Empires" book or something like that.

 

[nerfherder]

I imagine you can just make the yearly Monster Manual release thematically tied to the setting

That sounds like a good prediction - I'd also hazard a guess that at least one DDM release per year will tie in with that year's setting.

 

[Nebulous]

That sounds like a good prediction - I'd also hazard a guess that at least one DDM release per year will tie in with that year's setting.

They've gotten very, very good at thematically tying releases together. I don't expect that to change.

 

[Argyuile]

Spelljammer and Dark Sun books! Where do I sign up? I am incredibly excited about this announcement. I'm unhappy that it will take so long by at least they will be there this time around.

It seems to me you could just have a mini birthright ruleset and then just inject it into whatever campaign you liked, same with Red Steel IMO. I always felt these where 2 pretty weak settings.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Yeah, because "novels on demand" are such a great idea... :rolleyes

Since I neither said nor implied anything about "on demand," I haven't the first clue where this is coming from.

 

[Mouseferatu]

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.

I know that they've stopped taking submissions until 4E is out. But I can't imagine that they'd close DDI to outside submissions. I've certainly heard nothing of the sort, and I've been talking to Chris Youngs a lot, as I have several 4E articles pending.