D&D Brand Manager of Fluff

[ColonelHardisson]

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?

Make that Al-Qadim and Birthright, and I'm there.

 

[jasin]

I'd like to see something like Oriental Adventures, but based on other eras/places: Norse Adventures (Vikings!), Classical Adventures (Ancient Greece), Arabian Adventures (already mentioned), Celtic Adventures... What classes to use, how the setting influences their flavour (Norse wizards might use rune stones rather than books), what sort of magic is common and what sort isn't, what sort of equipment is used (no full plates in Celtic Adventures!)...

Other books which focus on running a game with a flavour different than the default D&D melting pot: wuxia, low-magic, swashbuckling... while still keeping it D&D.

Also, another vote for a Greyhawk Campaign Setting.

 

[Glyfair]

Without deity stats, it ain't D&D. Perhaps the expanded fluff could explain that many, many myth cycles and legends contain tales of deities who can be challenged by mortals. Happened all the time in Norse and Greek mythology. D&D heroes should have their shot at the immortals, as well.

I agree completely. I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc. in the early days (after all, why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it).

However, there are plenty of good campaign ideas that can be generated in a game where the player characters can challenge the gods. I believe it's the Irish myths where there are several waves of gods destroying their predecessors with the last wave being mortal heroes.

 

[the Jester]

I'd do a book on Law and a book on Chaos in the same vein as the BoVD and BoED (but balanced). Next year we'd get to the book of Neutrality.

I'd do a book on fey, and maybe one on oozes.

One FR fluff book- prolly a regional sourcebook- and one Eberron fluff book of some kind.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc. in the early days (after all, why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it).

I think it stems more from modern perceptions of deities as omnipotent beings. However, the Aesir or the inhabitants of Olympus (for two already used examples), both of which had an influence upon the formation of D&D, are far from omnipotent in their various myths and legends.

 

[jasin]

I agree completely. I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc. in the early days (after all, why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it).

Ah, but that's exactly my problem with the deity stats I know of (Deities and Demigods and Faiths and Pantheons): between the insanely high numbers and abilities like "always gets a 20 on d20" the stats lose their purpose.

If Thor always hits any character I'm likely to use, I don't need to know if his attack bonus is +70 or +71.

Fiendish Codex II, with it's (relatively) low-powered demon lords was much more on the right track. As far as I'm concerned, they don't even have to be labeled as aspects. I'd be perfectly happy if the assumed upper power limit for creatures that get treated as creatures rather than concepts (like, for example, Eberron gods) was assumed to be CR/level ~30, even for deities and demon lords. I haven't seen or heard of many games progressing to the point where you can meaningfully interact with anything much past that, and in the end, interaction is what it's all about.

 

[Shemeska]

and in the end, interaction is what it's all about.

But interaction is in no way limited to fighting them and then looting their corpse.

History, flavor text, and other details about such creatures are a whole hell of a lot more useful for most campaigns than pages upon pages of god/planar lord stats. Switch that around and give pages upon pages of usable details, mythology, follower information, etc and then an abbreviated block for avatar/aspect stats and I'd buy it. Give us something like the 2e FR god books or Monster Mythology rather than 3e D&DG.

 

[Hellcow]

Personally, I want to sit in on the meeting where you tell Oprah all about Fiendish Codex III. Throw in The Book of Erotic Fantasy II and The Book of REALLY Vile Darkness too. (Not that I've got no love for the yugoloth - I'd just like to see how Oprah takes in the whole explanation of the Blood War.)

Needless to say, most of the ideas for things I'd like to see (and write) have already been suggested... some many times. I'd love to work with Nic Logue on a Heroes of Intrigue book, or to have something to do with a general book on Fey. However, since Eberron is my thing...

Planes of Eberron. As others have said, this is one of the big holes in the setting. We step away from the Great Wheel, but then we don't have a lot of information about what's out there. The Planes of Eberron affect the world in many ways - manifest zones, wild zones, planar convergences, and the constant threat of incursions, to name a few. People can end up on other plane just by walking through the wrong grove of trees when the stars are right... but this isn't much use if the DM doesn't know anything about the planes. I'd love to look at the culture and history of each planes, the nature and motivations of their inhabitants, and how the planes relate to each other.

Cabals and Conspiracies. A closer look at the hidden powers that shape Eberron. The Lords of Dust, the Chamber, the Aurum, the Dreaming Dark, the Lord of Blades, the Undying Court, Vol, and their ilk. The history behind these organizations, their motives and goals, and lots of ways to use them in a campaign, either as enemies, allies, or even the basis for a party of adventurers. You are Lords of Dust - do you have what it takes to outwit the Chamber and free your overlord?

Ages of War. Forge of War provided insight into the Last War, and helped people see how to run campaigns during the conflict. I'd like to look back at the great struggles of history, and let people step into each of these battles. In each of these cases, the goal would be to provide an alternate campaign path in the past of Eberron - but also to provide material that could be used in a modern campaign.

• The Lycanthropic Purge - do you play as templars struggling against a terrifying foe? Lycanthropes - either good 'thropes trying to undo the damage and prove their innocence, or evil 'thropes using cunning and supernatural might to destroy the forces of the Silver Flame? Or the shifters caught in the middle?
• The War of the Mark. Whether you take the side of the dragonmarked houses or join Lord Tarkanan and the Lady of the Plague in their struggle for survival, you will learn more about the struggle between the aberrant and the pure. Beyond the potential for a historical campaign, the information about the power of the ancient aberrant marks and the weapons and focus items developed by Tarkanan and his allies could play a significant role in a modern-day game.
• The Fall of Dhakaan. The Dhakaani Empire during the height of the Daelkyr Incursion. Hobgoblin heroes and orc mystics struggle against a tied of madness and things that should not be. This would provide an opportunity to explore the Empire of Dhakaan, but also set the stage for what might happen if the Daelkyr are released in the present day.
• The Last Days of Xen'drik. The Valenar of the modern day worship their ancestors, the warriors and wizards who rose up and battled the mighty giants. As an elf in the darkest days of Xen'drik, do you have what it takes to become one of those heroes, to inspire your people and challenge the giant overlords? Beyond the war campaign, this would provide a great deal of insight into the modern Valenar and relics that could be found in Xen'drik.

These are just a few ideas. One could look at the Sundering in Sarlona, though it's really too broad. The first Quori Incursion (which would presumably involve playing either giant or quori PCs). Galifar's conquest of the Five Nations. In any case, the goal would be to look back at some of the major events in the history of Eberron, to offer an opportunity to play in these periods, and also to see how they can be used in a modern campaign.

The Rest of Khorvaire. Yes, it would be nice to have Five Nations - style books covering the rest of Khorvaire. While one book would be better than no book, it really wants to be two books - East and West, or Wild and Civilized. Either way, I'd love to see either of them.

I'll stop there, but there's lots of other possibilities I'd love to see. The Khyber book suggested earlier would be fun. "The Secret of the Mourning: Revealed!" - a 160-page book containing 160 possible explanations for the Mourning. OK, maybe not...

 

[Echohawk]

You know, it probably wouldn't sell very well, but a collector's pack of Monster Manual Minis that included at least one mini for every critter in the Monster Manual would be super spiffy.

It would also have to be shipped in a 3' x 3' x 3' box!

The Colossal Red Dragon comes in a box approximately 41cm x 39cm x 25cm in size. The box for the Gargantuan Black Dragon is about 27cm x 24cm x 17cm. The Monster Manual includes eight Colossal creatures and thirty-seven Gargantuan creatures, which works out to about 0.73 cubic meters of space, assuming that the 102 Huge, 179 Large, 184 Medium, 58 Small, 24 Tiny and 7 Diminutive creatures can be packed into the empty spaces left by Colossal and Gargantuan figures not completely filling the volume of a box. Since this is good old imperial-measurement D&D, 0.73 cubic meters is 25.8 cubic feet, or a 3' x 3' x 3' box.

The box would also weigh at least 35kg, or 77lb. If you have a Strength of less than 17, that'll be at least a medium load to lug home from your FLGS!

 

[Kaodi]

Hey, Keith.

When you turn up plugging for Planes of Eberron along with the rest of us, I think we can say the future looks good, hehehe...