D&D 4E A Change I'd Like to see in 4E Campaign Guides

[KingCrab]

A town and the surrounding area (with many ideas for adventures) would be an ideal campaign setting supplement. I like the idea.

 

[pogre]

Great idea - and exactly how I set up my campaigns.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A town and the surrounding area (with many ideas for adventures) would be an ideal campaign setting supplement. I like the idea.

I think it'd be hilarious if WotC announced they'd be rereleasing a classic setting, kept it a big secret which one it was, and finally announced that it was Thunder Rift.

 

[mhensley]

I think it'd be hilarious if WotC announced they'd be rereleasing a classic setting, kept it a big secret which one it was, and finally announced that it was Thunder Rift.

Thunder Rift could have been awesome if the adventures for it weren't so lame.

 

[DreamChaser]

Mystara was built one regional sourcebook at a time. I think this is a great way to build, and would love to see the system revived.

I strongly disagree.

From a DM / Player perspective this can be frustrating. In FR for example, if I buy the Cormyr campaign book, I'm left with a peasants-eye view of the world where Cormyr is the only thing that affects Cormyr, which even in a POL situation is not true. Change travels, just more slowly.

What if a player wants to play a character who was born and raised in Zhentil Keep? What if a villain moves in from Amn? What if a plot hook originates at Westgate?

I think that as a DM, I want a clearer sense of what the world is and isn't so that the choices I make are made from knowledge rather than ignorance. Heck, I'm more powerful that the gods in the game, why would I know less about it than they do?

DC

 

[The Ubbergeek]

I prefer the big book tactic, myself. There can always be regional books to fill in holes...

 

[GVDammerung]

I'm really jazzed about the "Points of Light" concept for 4E. That said I think it is time for an overhaul on how Campaign Setting Guides are produced. In keeping with POL mentality we no longer need to have tomes such as the 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Guide. There is no need to cover an entire continent. I'd like to see a new format where a campaign setting is more like the 2E Volo's Guides. As a DM I don't really care about the regions outside the scope of where my game is taking place. I'd find it much more helpful to know about individual towns and cities. I'd like to know what the local populace knows about the surrounding area. Without radio, internet, or some form of rapid communication the civilized areas will be microcosms where nobody will really know or care what is going on outside of it unless it somehow threatens their own little world.
As the DM I'll develop the world around the town/city... it would just really help to have detailed information about the starting point. All of this information could take the space of your typical D&D softcover module and could be marketed between $10-$15. By making the guides non-setting specific you could pick and choose the guides you want to provide detailed info on your own home-brew setting.

Just my $0.02. Feel free to tell me if this is just crazy-talk.

I think you are right to the extent that the focus needs to shift to very detailed immediate play areas, however, I think there is still (very much) a place for an overall societal or cultural sketch. I don't think its one way or another but the emphasis. The support IMO should support the emphasis but should not exclude matters beyond that immediate emphasis. In other words, the greater context in which the area of emphasis functions, but certainly the emphasis on the local should be the primary concern. I think the 4e DMG will try to address this by providing a detailed "starter" town, if I recall correctly.

 

[Meloncov]

I wonder if that will change with 4e and the "points of light" idea, or if Eberron will be more of an exception.

As they have said that they won't be making any major changes to Eberron's fluff, I imagine it will be an exception.

 

[MerricB]

Interesting idea.

Haunted Halls of Eveningstar?
The Village of Hommlet?

Those sort of setting books?

Cheers!

 

[Glyfair]

In keeping with POL mentality we no longer need to have tomes such as the 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Guide.

I disagree with this. While building a personal campaign may work best by starting only by designing small (what the player's need to know) and building outward, a setting needs to show us the big picture.

IMO, I'd like to see an overview book like the campaign setting. After that build with the individual region books (like the Gazetteer series, and the Forgotten Realms supplement books). I would rather that have been done with Eberron rather than the "Five Nations" covering a scattered group at once and leaving the rest comparatively undeveloped. I would rather see one supplement covering Drooam, one covering Breland, etc.

Unfortunately, having discussed this in various areas, I find I am in the minority. Of course, I'm also in the minority who feels we have too many hardback books.