D&D Brand Manager of Fluff

[jmucchiello]

The Great Game
A book on intrigue and politics, presenting a political view of the default setting. Create a sense of what higher level characters NOT in the dungeon can do.

Cultures
A sourcebook detailing a series of non-bordering countries in the default setting, each of which would be rich in world detail and mood, and easily rippable to home games.

Pantheon
Have you SEEN the Book of the Righteous? Do a different Mythos, but kinda like that

The Book of Speciality Priests - a bit heavier on the crunch - but with a large emphasis on ritual, holidays, dress, and philosophies.

The Big Book of Villages, Thorps and Hamlets - 100 cities detailed. Each with a rough sketch map, points of interest, background, brief statblocks on notable NPCs and plot hooks.

The Book of Villains - 40% crunch - villains and their organizations; personalities, motiviations, goals and desires. From levels 1 to 25.

These are the books I wanted to commission when I started TDG. I never was very good at finding reliable freelance help though. None were written but I'd still love to see them written, especially the priestly rituals, holidays, dress, etc. And the culture book.

The political book I wanted to see done as a "In the Court of King Somesuch". It would fully detail a small kingdom and its dukes and counts and barons and how they all squabble pettily in the King's court whether in person or by proxy.

 

[Shemeska]

Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?

For the first two certainly.

Considering the extent that Planescape is/is entwined with the standard D&D cosmology, and considering how much material from the setting continually appears in Dragon and Dungeon, monsters in the various Monster Manuals, and comprises one of the major sources for the 3e Manual of the Planes, 3.5 Planar Handbook, the planar content in the BoVD, BoED, Fiendish Codex I, and Fiendish Codex II, and even the most recent Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (for the planar elements)... yes it would sell. There's not much distinction between Planescape and D&D cosmology, just Planescape proper would specifically delve into Sigil as a planar city, and involve itself more heavily with warring ideologies and philosophies of the planes, the Blood War, and the factions.

Planescape is only fallow in the sense that it no longer has a distinct product/setting line, but has become incorporated into standard/core material as a planar default, minus any focus on its more quirky or elaborate aspects. Of any of the older 2e settings without a distinct product line at the moment, this one has retained the most support in 3.x D&D, and plausibly the most chance for success as a distinct book or line of books (see the almost universal praise for FC:I and FC:II, and the clamor for a FC:III).

Ravenloft had enough of a following to spawn a 3e setting line. That speaks for itself I think, and I suspect the new novels will sell handily.

Dark Sun hasn't had much support in material terms in 3e, but I gather that it's still pretty popular. I liked it certainly. It's different, but a good different.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

My question was looking for clarification on what I quoted while providing a specific example.

That's perfectly clear. Thank you, however, for this odd meta-analysis of your post.

 

[RichGreen]

Yea, but who needs a Rast mini?

I could have done with four of those the other day!

Lots of great suggestions from aspiring fluffy brand managers on this thread! I'd definitely go with:

1. World of Greyhawk
2. Cold Lands FR sourcebook
3. Beyond Faerun FR sourcebook
4. FCIII
5. Fey book
6. Giant book
7. indian Adventures
8. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

Cheers


Richard

 

[Knight Otu]

1. Terra Arcana/Where Magic Sleeps/The Tainted Lands: In worlds touched by magic, there will be places and touched by magic, from simple fey rings to deserts of ash, from natural leylines over created zones of elemental dominance to places of catastrophe like the Mournlands. Example regions described in the main text should be grandiose in some fashion (perhaps up to Mournland scope), and interesting places to set adventures. Smaller and/or less hostile places can be described in sidebars or appendices. Ruleswise, provide a number of (flexible) building blocks a la planar traits and a few character options dealing with magical terrain.

2. The Vast Above: Tagline - Not even the sky is the limit. Explore the castles of cloud giants, see the magic of the skies, and find what lies beyond. This may deal with "just" the world of the clouds, which is at least as expansive as the depths of earth and sea, but preferably would go above, and provide cosmology options for what the significance of the stars, the sun(s), and the moon(s) is, and the darkness between. It should stay clear of sci-fi or lovecraftian themes where possible, though (that's what d20 Future is there for).

3. Ages of Fantasy: A common theme of fantasy worlds is that they undergo various ages - the Golden Age, the Age of Magic, the First Age, the Age of Insects and so on. What happens when the End of Times is about, when do ages turn? This book would cover a number of common ages and their impact on people and land alike, with ample material to flesh out other ages and small rules components to plug in.

4. Eyes of the Monster: A close look at the evil humanoids, their cultures and societies, their differences and histories. What shaped their societies to become mostly evil? Are these reasons still relevant? How do Flinds and Gnolls differ from each other?

5. Time and Othertide: What happens when time and space unravel? Where do you go when you are nowhere? How close is the Far Realm? What are good ways to make prophecies work in-game? This book would deal with the impact of chronomancy, temporal chaos, alternate worlds, the astral, ethereal, and shadow planes, and strange places that are seemingly just outside the normal cosmology.

6. Vow and Tradition: A book that looks at several societies, orders, and guilds, some class-based and others open to everyone, some secret and others in plain sight. Provides examples of reworking the flavor of existing classes without (hardly) changing the mechanics, especially for monks.

7. Homes of the Souls: Building and expanding on the flavor of incarnum, this book looks at the Positive and Negative Energy planes both, providing interesting locations both within the planes and outside, also covering planar variants, such as a single yin-yang plane of positive and negative energy.

8. Sciences of Magic: Where does magic come from? How was it developed? Was there a first wizard, and did he or she live before or after the first sorcerer? What secrets of magic lie yet undiscovered? Who came first, deities or clerics? This book would provide a Progress Level-like breakup (but more flexible) of advances in magic and similar disciplines (such as psionics, truenaming), possible origins and destinations, limitations and interactions, and theories on magic.

I definitely second several of the suggestions in this thread, though.

 

[Napftor]

D&D Time Travel: This sounds like a crunchy book at first, but the REAL problems with time travel can't be resolved with skill checks - they are issues on how to resolve time paradoxes, how to define the power of time travel, what can and cannot be changed, etc. The author would present several different sets of "ground rules" for time travel, many of which would likely be inspired by pop culture - "The City on the Edge of Forever" model, the Marvel Universe model, etc. Most importantly, it's gotta be easy to understand - AD&D Chronomancer confused the hell out of me! Time travel has been a part of D&D for a long time (Dragonlance Legends!) and it should be addressed in a rules supplement.

CHRONOMANCY: A book on something you guys covered only once but should do so again. Time travel, the Demiplane of Time, time creatures and gods, how to run a time-traveling campaign, how time travel affects other campaign settings like Eberron, Greyhawk, and Forgotten Realms, etc. Very famous movies and TV shows have been based on time-traveling and it'd be cool if a DM could have rules to run either his own time-traveling campaign or incorporate a little of it into his current campaign.

And you other folks interested in temporally-oriented material...

Perhaps not exactly what you folks are looking for, but Temporality should appease you nonetheless: http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=20324&it=1

Or in print: http://www.amazon.com/Temporality-D...2007959?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186697927&sr=1-3

 

[elijah snow]

Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?

A 300 page Dark Sun setting book would be a dream come true.

I'd buy the others as well, especially Planescape. The fallow settings from D&D's past were vibrant, unique settings that deserve updating. They don't need ongoing support, a la Eberron.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.

The Fables of Burdock - As mentioned in the 1E DMG, this is a book of legendary artifacts, heroes, villains, monsters, great magics and more. Round up all your most creative contributors -- including some who haven't been heard from in years -- and have them each come up with a one-page idea. The key is that half of it has to be told as a short adventure story, in a non-specific setting, long ago, and far away. Commission your favorite artists to do deluxe full-page paintings as well, and use these to help inspire the creators. Look at the great old childrens' fairy tale and myth collections from the early 20th century for examples of the lush, imaginative and even romantic imagery. Each fable would be supplemented by something crunchy. It could be a new spell talked about in the fable, it could be a strange monster, it could be a magic item (probably lots of artifacts), it could be something as simple as an alchemy recipe. This would work as a toolkit for DMs to add bits of fable and legend to any setting, with the caveat that none of this stuff would step on the toes of the setting creators. (No fables about how Shar is really just an angry black kitten. If you have a story like that, the goddess is unnamed.)

Far Horizons of the Forgotten Realms - Kara-Tur, Maztica, Zakhara and never-before-seen distant lands of Toril, each given a mini-setting treatment, along with crunch for new monsters, spells, prestige classes, and so on.

Knights of the Silver Dragon - The Mirrorstone books get the D&D treatment in a product intended to bridge the gap between the Basic game and the core books. A map of the city and surrounding areas, including the dungeons featured in the books, a write-up of all the NPCs, and Basic D&D-style removable character sheets for each of the characters, including new expansions to the basic set to let players adventure alongside (or as) the Knights of the Silver Dragon.

Myths & Legends of Eberron - Folk tales, legendary figures, urban myths and more of Eberron, along with (sometimes) the truth of such stories, crunch relating to things that come out of the legends (including mistaken beliefs or responses). Lots of fantastical urban legends and war stories from the Last War. Information about the Koranberg Chronicle and Morgrave University's history and archeology departments.

Myths & Legends Realms - Folk tales, legendary figures, urban myths and more of the Forgotten Realms. Given the epic nature of the realms, this will have more crunch, but it'll also have write-ups of events and characters from the novels in a format that makes them useful for DMs who have never read (and have no interest in the novels) and never-before-seen setting details about the more obscure corners of the Realms, with an eye toward ideas and areas that would make for compelling adventures.

Sigil, City of Doors - An update of the capital city of the planes, including a section on advice on how to run a planar campaign from level one, as well as appropriate crunch. No alignment for the Lady of Pain. This is a standalone setting product, not a series, and will be clearly marked as such.

Skyscape - Swashbuckling in the sky and magical space. One-volume update of Spelljammer and beyond, with Manual of the Planes-style options for changing the nature of magical space in an appendix. The book includes ideas for what's up there, including sample moons, worlds and stranger things. Obligatory supplemental crunch.

World of Greyhawk - An update of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, bringing it up to level of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This is a standalone setting product, not a series, and will be clearly marked as such.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The three settings I gave were mere examples. Insert favorite setting here________.

I'd buy a single-book campaign setting for:

- Greyhawk (A-frickin-men!)
- Mystara/Known World
- Planescape

I would be violently indifferent to:

- Ravenloft
- Dragonlance (exists already, I know)
- Spelljammer
- Dark Sun
- Birthright
- Blackmoor (exists, I know)

I'd buy this one only if they were bundled in one book:

- Maztica- Al-Qadim/Zakhara - Kara-tur ... i.e. the Beyond Faerun book.

 

[Faraer]

Fables of Burdock is a terrific idea. I'd set most of it, however loosely, in the World of Greyhawk, try very hard to get contributions from Gary Gygax, and find some way to pay tribute to Hugh E. Burdick, after whom, like Heward, the Fables are named.