D&D 4E 4E PHB II & DMG II 1 year after release (and a new one every year after that)

[Shade]

This is quite possibly the best idea I've yet to hear about 4th edition.

I can easily see the PHB and MM offering up annual sequels.

DMG is a bit trickier. I found the DMG II to be nearly useless. Of course, if they were to put thing like the expanded environments found in Frostburn and Sandstorm, variant rules like Unearthed Arcana, an so forth, it might be strong enough for an annual release.

I'd also really like to see things like Spell Compendium be annual.

 

[Nellisir]

It might actually increase Sales.....

For example, the PHB is released one quarter, the campaign setting is released another, the DMG is released in the next and finally in the last quarter, the MM comes out.

In-between these major must-buys (a lot of non-DMs pick up campaign settings AND the MM), WOTC can release adventures and campaign expansions...

It sounds really reasonable when you put it like that.

 

[Shade]

It might actually increase Sales.....

For example, the PHB is released one quarter, the campaign setting is released another, the DMG is released in the next and finally in the last quarter, the MM comes out.

In-between these major must-buys (a lot of non-DMs pick up campaign settings AND the MM), WOTC can release adventures and campaign expansions...

I mean, pretty much everyone I know has bought the PHB II and the MM always seems to get great sales so I can see their viewpoint....

The themed months always worked well for Dragon Magazine (January = Campaign Classics, June = Dragons, October = Scary Stuff, etc.)

 

[Keldryn]

Except if I'm primarily playing a Wizard, I don't want to buy a book filled with stuff about other classes and races I probably won't use.

You're already buying a book filled with stuff that you aren't going to use for your Wizard with Complete Arcane or Complete Mage. As both a DM and a player, I would much rather have had all of the new base classes in the Complete series in a single book instead of spread throughout four books. And there was a lot of filler in those books too.

Plus, this approach would keep the stuff in the Complete books that was more DM-oriented in the DMG releases instead of in the player-oriented books.

 

[Mercule]

I think I'm understanding this now. The mark one books will be followed by the Forgotten Realms campaign setting book as a showcase for those rules. The next year the mark two books will come out, which will include let's say gnomes and psionics, and the Eberron campaign setting book will be the showcase for those rules. Then you would basically have a yearly rules addendum and featured setting. If thats the plan, it's pretty damn clever. That would probably mean that I'd be waiting a year to make the switch over, but that's no big deal.

That would be fantastic. New ideas. Implementation. New ideas. Implementation.

The biggest bummer would be waiting a year for psionics, which are integral to my homebrew. Then again, I went into my current campaign planning on it being the last hurrah for the 25 year old setting, so that might not be a bad thing.

 

[Glyfair]

In-between these major must-buys (a lot of non-DMs pick up campaign settings AND the MM), WOTC can release adventures and campaign expansions...

Well, we know some of the early 4E releases:

FR campaign setting
Dragon-related book
Magic item book
Arcane book
Martial arts book.

So, at least initally, we'll get splatbooks.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I like the idea, but really don't like taking a PHB race in every edition of AD&D so far and not giving them a full racial write-up until a year after 4E is released.

If WotC is reading this, please at least put the first 10 levels of gnomes online if you're going to make gnome players wait like this.

 

[delericho]

I really liked the 3.5e PHB2. The idea of building such books into the release strategy from day 1 sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[thundershot]

Bring on the Giff, Vanara, Rakasta, Lupin, Tortle, and Kercpa!


Okay, that'd be MY wish list for PHB2...


Chris

 

[Wormwood]

I really liked the 3.5e PHB2. The idea of building such books into the release strategy from day 1 sounds like a good idea to me.

Exactly.