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

[Mouseferatu]

Or will this lead to the problems of TSR and AD&D? Too many settings fracture the fan-base and you'll find less and less buyers? On the other hand if they really give us only 3 books per setting, the risk is probably minimized. It's not the same as supporting dozens of settings for multiple years.

The latter.

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.)

That's not a problem if they aren't all in production simultaneously. They're not drawing resources or profit from each other.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I don't know if 3 is the magic number. WW's been doing well with 5. WotC seems to feel that 3 serves their purposes, though, and whether or not that's a hard limit or a soft one, the fact remains that such a line exists somewhere.

Well, Mouseferatu, 2 of the 5 are essentially a MM (Pandora's Box and Autumn Nightmares) and extra PHB options (Strange Alchemies and Rites of Spring). So I think the D&D equivalents would fit snugly into the Campaign Guide and Player's Guide.

The others like the Corebook would be split between all three books. The essentially extra-weirdness and essay books would fit into the DMG.

 

[Zulithe]

Of course you're right Ari. And frankly, I seem to get the impression that WotC wants to focus on doing fewer books, yet upping the quality of those which it does produce. Which has the added benefit of increasing sales since, for example, a new 'guide to campaign x' book is sure to sell more than say 'Forgotten Realms: Waterdeep' or any city supplement. So this does fall into line with that.

Is 3 the magic number? Well, I don't know a lot about White Wolf's online strategy (never was a big follower of theirs), but I'd hazard a guess that it is a lot less encompassing than what WotC has planned for 4e. Through D&DI content they should be able to fill in the larger gaps, if there is a demand. Or go with a third party system as mentioned earlier.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Of course, I personally think that the best solution is to do three core books--and then do a whole heap of novels for each and every setting they release, with authors bouncing between lines as they will. But that may just be wishful thinking and my current career goals talking.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Of course, I personally think that the best solution is to do three core books--and then do a whole heap of novels for each and every setting they release, with authors bouncing between lines as they will. But that may just be wishful thinking and my current career goals talking.

Well... Actually almost like a sign of what to come there was the thread here and part of the discussion was the re-release of Dark Sun and Ravenloft novels/new ones. So perhaps more ones shall be made.

 

[Green Knight]

I share your enthusiasm re: more settings being published! At the end of the day, I think i'd much rather see 8 or 10 settings published in 3-book sets than only 2 or 3 settings getting 20+ books. This allows both for enhanced variety and more room for the DM to play around with the setting and fill in the gaps him/her self.

Agreed. Despite being a huge Forgotten Realms fan (although I'm not exactly thrilled with the changes to the 4E Realms. Well, except for the change I'mr responsible for, but this isn't the place to stroke my ego ), I'd rather have books on half-a-dozen settings rather then books on The Shining South, The Unnaproachable East, etc. Between the internet and downloading old supplements, it's easy enough to get old fluff on specific areas within a campaign setting. The most important thing is getting the setting converted to 4E, so that you can play it right away. A Campaign Guide, Player's Guide, and DM's Guide for each setting is a great idea. That's more then enough to get a campaign off and running. And if you need more background info, then download some of the old stuff.

Also the idea of licensing out settings is fantastic. The best of both worlds! We get MORE settings, plus, smaller publishers would have the name recongition on their products to boost sales while giving the campaigns that thirst for extended material what they want.

Everyone would win.

One can only hope. While I'm pretty happy with three books for all those settings, I'm a greedy sonofabitch, and so want more. As Ari points out, WotC can't really publish some of these books, as they can't really make a profit off of them. But a 3rd party publisher could. After all, isn't that why White Wolf created Arthaus, for instance? To publish stuff which they couldn't turn a profit on, but which a smaller company could make a profit on? Same thing. License out the setting to any third party publisher who thinks they can make money off of it. This can only lead to WotC making more money, as any fans garnered by those third party publishers would have to buy the three setting core books from WotC. Well, we'll see. Either way, I am SO looking forward to these! Damn shame it's only one per year. In addition to being a greedy sonofabitch, I'm also an impatient sonofabitch.

 

[Sammael]

Of course, I personally think that the best solution is to do three core books--and then do a whole heap of novels for each and every setting they release, with authors bouncing between lines as they will. But that may just be wishful thinking and my current career goals talking.

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

 

[illathid]

I share your enthusiasm re: more settings being published! At the end of the day, I think i'd much rather see 8 or 10 settings published in 3-book sets than only 2 or 3 settings getting 20+ books. This allows both for enhanced variety and more room for the DM to play around with the setting and fill in the gaps him/her self.

Also the idea of licensing out settings is fantastic. The best of both worlds! We get MORE settings, plus, smaller publishers would have the name recongition on their products to boost sales while giving the campaigns that thirst for extended material what they want.

Everyone would win.

Ya know... This could also be a push to try and get more people to subscribe to D&D Insider. As it stands it will be the only place one can get additional information about the setting. That fact alone might be the straw that brakes the camel's back for a hesitant fan of FR or Eberron.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Is there a possibility that the FR Books would become released through the GSL?

Maybe the release of some of that IP is part of their weird choices.

Just a strange idea.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I'm pleased (and maybe a little surprised) that, our of all the news items in the OP, the one that garned the most interest and discussion thus far was the re-release of old settings!

I'm still fairly neutral about 4E, and am unlikely to switch in the immediate future; the digital component is just not of the that much interest to me,especially when coupled with the price-point (Do they really expect people to pay for both DDI and Gleemax, especiually given the debacle that is the Aplha test of the site?)

BUT when '10 rolls up, I will take a serious look at the settings books; I'm a fan of most of the old settings,and I think a "Limited Run" on the settings is a smart move, (I love "Scion" and "Orpheus" from White Wolf) and I"m willing to consider supporting it, depending on the content. (Seems like Dark SUn would be a tough transistion, especially given the role of PReservers/Defilers and Templars!!)

Of course, I personally think that the best solution is to do three core books--and then do a whole heap of novels for each and every setting they release, with authors bouncing between lines as they will. But that may just be wishful thinking and my current career goals talking.

I suport this idea, and I'm more likely to buy novels than sourcebooks at this stage, as long as they're of good quality with authors who are knowledgeable about the settings. And some of the lines (Ravenloft, in particular), IMHO, are begging for a comeback in novel-form... And an Al-Qadim line coujld be awesome!!

Unfortunately, IMHO, the TSR/WotC novel lines have always been largely hit-or-miss; the "Dark Sun" line in particular REALLY ranged in quality, novel-wise.