Could someone please explain (summarize)

[CRG]

...a few things for me. I'm a long-time RPG person but for a variety of reasons (wife, kids, job) I don't play as much as I did back in college. Let's just say I'm not hip to the D20 groove as much as I'd like.

I've been reading a bunch, but I have some questions about some of the material being produced. To date, I've stayed mostly within the WoTC realm of material and only bought a few things outside of the "standard" releases.

(1) Love Kenzer & Co, but only for KoDT. No idea they did this Kalamar thing, and I'm a bit confused as to the description "official D&D setting". I thought that was Greyhawk (still). Can anyone explain?

(2) Harn. Is there a Harn D20? I can't for the life of me remember who makes it, and I didn't see anything in the review section. I thought Harn was all abstract and non-system specific...

(3) Ravenloft - does Sword and Sorcery officially own the rights to this now or was it just a joint publication or something, with no current plans by either group to continue to publish?

(4) Legend of the Five Rings - Was OA a joint deal? Is OA now Lot5R? Is it still an Alderac thing? I see Rokugan stuff with their name on it still? Can anyone explain that relationship?

(5) I see alot of folks playing DragonStar...is it really as popular as the internet makes it seem? Before I go buy it (my local game shop has all the books shrinkwrapped), what is it? Is it a fantasy / technology mixed genre?

(6) Are the other settings largely abandoned (except the cool Polyhedron publications)? I'm thinking Spelljammer, Planescape in particular...secondary question about DragonLance, Dark Sun.

 

[2late]

(1) Love Kenzer & Co, but only for KoDT. No idea they did this Kalamar thing, and I'm a bit confused as to the description "official D&D setting". I thought that was Greyhawk (still). Can anyone explain?

They have just licenced the rights to publish their kalamar campaign under LABEL of D&D, the 3rdedition books are still written with Greyhawk in mind.

(2) Harn. Is there a Harn D20? I can't for the life of me remember who makes it, and I didn't see anything in the review section. I thought Harn was all abstract and non-system specific...

There's a Harn D20-Fanproject. Afaik nothing more.

(3) Ravenloft - does Sword and Sorcery officially own the rights to this now or was it just a joint publication or something, with no current plans by either group to continue to publish?

they have the rihts to publish things for ravenloft, but it's still owned by Wotc/TSR. They publish sourcebooks mostly, no modules.

(4) Legend of the Five Rings - Was OA a joint deal? Is OA now Lot5R? Is it still an Alderac thing? I see Rokugan stuff with their name on it still? Can anyone explain that relationship?

Yes it was a jointventure, OA has the Setting of Lot5R.

(5) I see alot of folks playing DragonStar...is it really as popular as the internet makes it seem? Before I go buy it (my local game shop has all the books shrinkwrapped), what is it? Is it a fantasy / technology mixed genre?

Think of Spelljammer with more Tech/sf an you got the picture.

(6) Are the other settings largely abandoned (except the cool Polyhedron publications)? I'm thinking Spelljammer, Planescape particular...secondary question about DragonLance, Dark Sun.

The original authors of Dragonlance, have afaik a license to publish theri version of Dragonlance 3rd edition. Planescape and Darksun are unheard of. Their is a rumor that spelljammer is about to be brought back, the Dungeonmagazine had a cool issuse about it.

 

[Garmorn]

...a few things for me. I'm a long-time RPG person but for a variety of reasons (wife, kids, job) I don't play as much as I did back in college. Let's just say I'm not hip to the D20 groove as much as I'd like.

I've been reading a bunch, but I have some questions about some of the material being produced. To date, I've stayed mostly within the WoTC realm of material and only bought a few things outside of the "standard" releases.

(1) Love Kenzer & Co, but only for KoDT. No idea they did this Kalamar thing, and I'm a bit confused as to the description "official D&D setting". I thought that was Greyhawk (still). Can anyone explain?

It is an official non Wizard setting in the same way The Forgotten Realms is an official Wizard setting for D&D. Greyhawk is the default setting for all of the non setting speific stuff that Wizards prints.

(2) Harn. Is there a Harn D20? I can't for the life of me remember who makes it, and I didn't see anything in the review section. I thought Harn was all abstract and non-system specific...

Harn d20 is d20 stats for anything put out by Harnmaster game system which is the game system designed with Harn in mind. It is still in the process of being expanded to include even a small portion of the material out for Harn as Columbia Games has a low publish rate.

(3) Ravenloft - does Sword and Sorcery officially own the rights to this now or was it just a joint publication or something, with no current plans by either group to continue to publish?

(4) Legend of the Five Rings - Was OA a joint deal? Is OA now Lot5R? Is it still an Alderac thing? I see Rokugan stuff with their name on it still? Can anyone explain that relationship?

These I can't explain.

(5) I see alot of folks playing DragonStar...is it really as popular as the internet makes it seem? Before I go buy it (my local game shop has all the books shrinkwrapped), what is it? Is it a fantasy / technology mixed genre?

(6) Are the other settings largely abandoned (except the cool Polyhedron publications)? I'm thinking Spelljammer, Planescape in particular...secondary question about DragonLance, Dark Sun.

DragonStar is D&D in space; literaly. It uses all of the base classes, magic items, ect adding just enough new spells, equipment and rules to expand it into space. There is no different between a DragonStar Fighter or Mage and Greyhawk Fighter or Mage excpet their equipment and skill they might have. It is very easy to take a traditional campain and intergate it with Dragonstar with out any problems. It is a fun setting that is great for a change in pace.

The other campain settings I can't comment on.

 

[Avatar]

(4) Legend of the Five Rings - Was OA a joint deal? Is OA now Lot5R? Is it still an Alderac thing? I see Rokugan stuff with their name on it still? Can anyone explain that relationship?

Well someone's already answered that yes, OA is based on L5R. As for who owns it, WotC bought it, then, last year, sold it back to AEG. That's why their name is on Gold Edition, the latest release. (I think it's still the most recent).

Hope that helps,

Alan

 

[Tsyr]

(1) Love Kenzer & Co, but only for KoDT. No idea they did this Kalamar thing, and I'm a bit confused as to the description "official D&D setting". I thought that was Greyhawk (still). Can anyone explain?

Kalamar is an offical setting in the same way Forgotten Realms or, in the past, things like Dragonlance or Birthright were "official settings". Not the "default", which is what greyhawk is supposed to be now, but "offical" in that WotC approves of it, and it carries the DnD brand name, as opposed to being a generic D20 fantasy product.

(2) Harn. Is there a Harn D20? I can't for the life of me remember who makes it, and I didn't see anything in the review section. I thought Harn was all abstract and non-system specific...

Most Harn still is. There are two or three products out or in the works though that are d20 stated, I guess... at least, they bear the words D20, but not following Harn, I don't know the specifics.

(3) Ravenloft - does Sword and Sorcery officially own the rights to this now or was it just a joint publication or something, with no current plans by either group to continue to publish?

There are still more ravenloft books in the works, I believe.

(4) Legend of the Five Rings - Was OA a joint deal? Is OA now Lot5R? Is it still an Alderac thing? I see Rokugan stuff with their name on it still? Can anyone explain that relationship?

Basicly, AEG still owns Rokugan, and still is putting out Rokugan (in d20 form)... But Rokugan is now the "official" OA setting, as opposed to Kara Tur, as it used to be. As a result, AEG has (I gather) some limited rights to use stuff from the OA book, or something. I'm not sure of the exact legal details.

(5) I see alot of folks playing DragonStar...is it really as popular as the internet makes it seem? Before I go buy it (my local game shop has all the books shrinkwrapped), what is it? Is it a fantasy / technology mixed genre?

It's DnD crossed with starwars, basicly. Yeah, you have it pretty much correct... It's a space fantasy setting, but some of the more traditional "sci-fi" trappings are at least partial magical... cybernetics is now handled by spellware and soulmechs, "warp drive" is replaced by starcasters, etc. Much more... "realistic"... than Spelljammer ever even tried to be, but still with fantasy elements.

(6) Are the other settings largely abandoned (except the cool Polyhedron publications)? I'm thinking Spelljammer, Planescape particular...secondary question about DragonLance, Dark Sun.

Planescape doesn't exist as a setting anymore, officialy, but with Manual of the Planes has some vaugly planescape-esq information

Dragonlance is in the works, being published by WotC, but wrote by Sovereign Press (Where most of the old Dragonlance crew works now, on the Sov. Stone campagin setting... worth a look if you liked Dragonlance).

AEG has apparently aquired the rights to do Dark Sun, but no word on a publication as of yet.

 

[CRG]

Ok thanks for the info so far...of course, now I have more questions....

The OA I saw I thought had a L5R sidebar in one of the first pages. If they sold it back to AEG that kinda makes some sense, because I thought Magic / Creatures of Rokugan were published by AEG...

The Kalamar stuff was confusing as they have statements like "Unlike other "d20 System" products, Kingdoms of Kalamar is an official Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting" and "because it's Kingdoms of Kalamar™, it's all officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons™ 3rd Edition canon!" on their website. Was unsure how that actually is to fit in. Most of the home games I've played in have always allowed all "base" rulebooks with their related info (in D20 this is skills, feats, prestige classes, etc.). We tend to not use FR unless playing in FR but things like Song & Silence, etc. are automatically adopted. Not sure if I'm missing out by not buying their book.

As for Ravenloft, god I HOPE there is more written.

Side question, WoTC partnered w/ Chaosium to do Call of Cthulhu...can anyone who's read that and Chaosium's Dragon Lords of Melnibone (which is lacking, IMO) let me know if CoC is worth the buy in comparison?

 

[Wicht]

Having not read the Dragon Lord's of Melnibone, I still feel safe in saying that the WotC CoC book is wel worth the buy if you like Cthulhu. Parts of the book are fantastic even for just a modern d20 game.

The "official" Kalamar thing is mainly a marketing gimmick. Most DMs IMO will use whatever book stikes their fantasy regardless of the official sanction of WotC. However, that said, the Kalamar products are very well done and are, from this DM's perspective, just about the most useful books I have outside the 3 core rulebooks. Even the modules are packed full of goodness for those DMs that don't plan on running the modules immediately as is. The Kalamar Player's handbook has some terrific stuff in it and I can't wait to see the Kalamar Atlas next month.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Side question, WoTC partnered w/ Chaosium to do Call of Cthulhu...can anyone who's read that and Chaosium's Dragon Lords of Melnibone (which is lacking, IMO) let me know if CoC is worth the buy in comparison?

CoC is a much better book in every way. Mostly because you have John Tynes and Monte Cook writing it. CoC has a lot of great, useful innovations. While it has a different feel than Chaosium's original CoC, CoC d20 is one of the best d20 games out there, and is a worthy addition to the Call of Cthulhu and d20 lines. You should be able to find reviews on the review section of this site, or any number of places on the internet. They're almost universally good.

 

[Green Knight]

As for Ravenloft, god I HOPE there is more written.

Well so far they got...

Ravenloft Third Edition Campaign Setting
Secrets of the Dread Realm (Has the Witch Hunter Prestige Class, stats for most of the Darklords, and a DM's screen)
Denizens of Darkness (Ravenloft Monster Manual)
Van Richten's Arsenal
Ravenloft Gazeteer 1

And more to come, if the fact that the Ravenloft Gazeteer is labelled as "1" (Which implies a 2, 3, etc) is anything to go by. Not much, mind you.

EDIT: Just found out about more Ravenloft releases.

1. Heroes of Light
2. Champions of Darkness
3. Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume 2

 

[Oracular Vision]

Dark Sun conversion very much alive

http://www.athas.org/

is the WotC official Dark Sun website. A 3rd edition conversion is in final editing, and a beta release of the whole document is expected soon. There is enough on the website, scattered in many files, to play 3rd edition Dark Sun. Converted modules and characters races, feats, etc. are all there. AEG has been rumored to have bought the publishing rights, but there has been no official word on it, and no activity, and WotC have not withdrawn permission for the current official site to convert to 3rd edition.

I personally am updating the DS Monsterious Compediums to 3rd edition, so work is onging. Most these are already done too, in separate html pages on the web site.