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

[Mouseferatu]

Well said, Terramotus. In all respects.

Indeed. The notion that a novel is "not art" if certain aspects of it are decided cooperatively, or even mandated from on high, is brutally offensive and patently absurd. I appreciate the fact that someone other than me said so.

 

[The Little Raven]

Indeed. The notion that a novel is "not art" if certain aspects of it are decided cooperatively, or even mandated from on high, is brutally offensive and patently absurd. I appreciate the fact that someone other than me said so.

Lord of the Rings was an on-demand writing, as Tolkein intended to do the Silmarillion material as his next project, but his publisher directly asked for a sequel to the Hobbit, and LotR is what Tolkein came back with.

I guess that means LotR isn't "art," since it was written by request from above rather than being the original intent of Tolkein.

 

[SSquirrel]

3 books per setting eh? No books beyond that to expand on anything? There are more than a dozen Eberron books, and probably as many or more FR books for 3/3.5e. Some better than others, to be sure. But this is a substantial change.

I have mixed feelings about this, if true. How to they plan to expand on the settings, for those that crave more? D&DI content, I assume? While I don't want to see WotC churn out endless setting supplemental manuals with little of use to most campaigns inside, I think there is definitely room for more than 3 books per setting. It just seems to me that there is so much that won't get covered, compared to what we saw covered in the 3e manuals. Both crunch *and* fluff.

If the 3 book rule is true, then we are definitely seeing a substantial paradigm shift in terms of how WotC views and supports their settings.

Of course, one of the big complaints about the Realms has always been the endless line of novels and supplements if you wanted to stay anywhere near approaching up to date on the setting. I don't forsee a novel slowdown, but I think the idea of a finite collection is good. We will avoid the insanely detailed Realms that so many find overwhelming/annoying. "We're in Waterdeep near the Inn of Happy Hookers? 3 blocks down and 2 over is the best boot shop in the city!".

On one level it's kinda neat that there is that much detail for a setting, but for many people it destroys that vaunted Sense of Wonder and just adds levels of detail many don't want/need. More freedom for teh DM to design what they want to fill the blanks. This method also worked quite well for Ptolus and Arcana Evolved.

BTW, speaking of the WW limited series books, Changeling has been so crazy popular (and it should be it is extremely well done) it has been green lighted for a bit more development. Ethan Skemp answered a thread of mine at WW's site and said it isn't sure yet, but somewhere in the 7-9 book range. That counts print books only, any pdf downloads that get developed on the side do NOT count toward that figure

 

[Mercule]

Thinking about this three book thing, especially the adventure, I had a realization.

If the setting-specific adventure is a mega-module/adventure path that really draws on the unique flavor of the setting -- which is exactly what I'd expect if 1/3 of the lifetime physical material for a setting is an adventure -- there is a very good chance that I'd cycle through the settings pretty quickly (i.e. I'd up my book purchases).

The thing that kept me from ever really going whole-hog with Eberron was that there wasn't really a good AP for it. If I have to build the adventures, anyway, I may as well drop them in my home-brew. On the other hand, if WotC wants to send me on a guided tour of a setting, I'm right there.

Odds are good that not every setting will float my boat. I'll pass on FR, Spell Jammer, and Planescape, for sure. But, that just gives me sufficient time to explore Ravenloft, Dark Sun, and Birthright. Heck, knowing that there's a year's worth of adventure in the module and an escape clause at the end, I might even give Planescape a shot.

I'm actually really excited about that idea. So, door #1 is a 192 page adventure (that's RtToEE, IRRC). Door #2 is having a setting-of-the-year focus in Dungeon (I'm thinking an Adventure Path, still). Even better might be to open both doors up and give enough material in the adventure book to run a bare-bones campaign arc, but have the Dungeon adventures fill in gaps, offer alternate steps (i.e. the PCs find out about the tomb the lich wants to raid and beat him to it, rather than kill him), and side quests.

Squee....

 

[Shroomy]

I love adventures, so buying the third book in each series would probably be a no-brainer for me. Personally, I really like this model and assuming my funds hold out, I can easily see myself purchasing each campaign setting. Its a definite improvement on the older model of endless splatbooks which are hard to keep up with.

 

[Ruined]

I'd be really excited to see Ravenloft score a big three books. It would give me an appropriate amount of crunch for running the setting, and then I could rely on all of the wonderful books of fluff that White Wolf put out for the setting for 3.0

Planescape? I'm a huge fan of the setting, ran many games there, but I doubt if we'll see it come to pass. It has a fervent, yet narrow appeal within the market. I can't imagine WotC devoting a year of time for that as their setting. Plus I'm not sure the 4e treatment will work as well for it, sad to say.

Of course by then, 5th ed might be a good fit.

 

[Propagandroid]

I put up all the product information that I gathered at the show, I'm sure most of it is old news to you guys, but there are some insights from Bill Slaviscek and Scott Rouse that might amuse you.

Well, I didn't write anything about my experience leafing through the PHB, DMG, MM, and H1 for a couple of hours, but I'll be happy to answer questions about them based on what I remember.

Sorry for the lateness of the delay, I ran into Vegas's notorious internet problems and then spent most of yesterday and this morning traveling.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I put up all the product information that I gathered at the show, I'm sure most of it is old news to you guys, but there are some insights from Bill Slaviscek and Scott Rouse that might amuse you.

Well, I didn't write anything about my experience leafing through the PHB, DMG, MM, and H1 for a couple of hours, but I'll be happy to answer questions about them based on what I remember.

Sorry for the lateness of the delay, I ran into Vegas's notorious internet problems and then spent most of yesterday and this morning traveling.

Thanks a lot!

I like the fact that there seem to cover the first 20 levels of player relatively quick. That should ensure we can actually sustain a single 4E campaign. I just hope there will be additional adventures and adventure paths in the Dungeon. I don't want to be the only one in my group to DM 4E! (Assuming I won't give the adventures into the hand of my fellow gamers and roll up my own adventures. I mean, I did this for 3E, Dragonstar, Arcana Evolved and Iron Heroes, and I survived the stat-block nightmares then, I should be able to make a lot better adventures in 4E now!

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

Well, it's putting a smile on my face! Long as they do it right!!!
Brom for Dark Sun, oh yeah, and ignore the "official" sucky history etc,and don't do a "Spider Moon" mess for Spelljammer.

Andor,
nejoy the wodners of "cheek pouching" giant space hamsters
And yes, giff rule...
http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/wildspace/characters1.htm

*puts on music from "633 Squadron" and jumps into his Spelljammer ship!*

 

[Jack99]

When WoTC says they are going to upgrade the old DMM-lines, I assume they mean they will release new cards for the Minis game? Or what? Any idea?