D&D Brand Manager of Fluff

[blargney the second]

So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?

That's an incredibly tough question to answer at this point. Whether there's an actual setting included in the core manuals, there's always an implied setting that arises from the rules and the way they make the game play.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've been playing long enough that I can fill in any fluff gap that WotC leaves open, so I'm not looking for anything in particular.

Personally, I'd like to see this in 4Ed: a better melding of fluff & crunch. For example:

1) It has always bugged me that Elves have fluff text: "Wizardry comes naturally to elves" and yet have no stat bonus linked to that natural talent for wizardry.

If you have a race that has fluff that says members of the race are good "innate casters" or have a "natural link" to magic (like the 3.5 Sorc or WarMage) as opposed to being good at researching magic like a Wizard, they should have bonuses in the relevant stats and Favored Classes (or their 4Ed equivalent) that reflect that link.

Simply and generally put, dont give me fluff that says race/class/whatever X is good or bad at some aspect of the game linked to zero crunch that backs up the fluff.

2) Class fluff should be generalized. Again, with Sorcerers, there is the mention of the "blood of dragons." That's great, but logically, it could just as easily been "blood of djin" or "blood of demons," and better would have been something like "blood of powerful mystical beings."

Paizo's DCv1's version of Bloodline feats for spontaneous casters were, IMHO, better than WotC's (though WotC's Feats like Lord of the Uttercold, Spell Hand, and reserve feats delivered similar effects). Each added something to the class that distinguished PCs based on their mysterious heritage, almost like the Sorcerer's equivalent to Specialist Wizards.

In my campaigns, I'm even making taking such feats a neccessary prereq for taking level in spontaneous caster classes. The fluff- the PC gets an explanation as to why they can do what they do. The crunch- one of the spells/lvl they get to know innately MUST come from that Bloodline list. (This doesn't increase their spells known- since the Feats add 1 spell and I'm using them like Alternative Class Features, I remove 1 spell known/lvl from the chart and replace it with the one from the Feat/ACF.)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Aurora's Whole Realm's Catalogue - expanded, and ported to 3.5 - not FR specific.

Yes. Bring it back, dammit. I never got more use out of a sourcebook for any setting in any game, my players were constantly flicking through it, and it really brought the world to life on a very "low" but important level.

Otoh, I'm ok with it being FR-specific, because if it wasn't, it'd make a lot less sense and not be able to be as "real".

Scott Rouse - THAT is the fluff I want to see: Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue reborn. Or something very very like it. Something that contains all the food, clothing (especially clothing!), random little items and so on that one might expect in a typical D&D fantasy world (i.e. very late medieval/early Renaissence with some magical stuff), replete with prices.

If you expanded it to cover the prices and so on of stuff in general it'd be even better. How much does a wedding cost in the Forgotten Realms? How a about building a temple? What if it's a really FANCY temple? And so on.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?

The Very Big Book of Gnomes.

 

[Matt Black]

For something completely different (for D&D), I think with the coming of 4e it's time for D&D Earth.

A book that helps the DM create fantasy variants of the real world. It would describe how to weave D&D tropes into historical settings: where the races might fit in (barbaric Irish elves, orcs invading Rome, gypsie halflings), how the presence of magic might change the real world, and how it might replace real world technologies. Guidance on running games in different cultures and tech levels.

Mostly, it would lead by example, with a couple of short sample settings. Perhaps: a swashbuckling 15th century Venice with duels in gondolas, alchemical firearms, magical printing presses; an empire run by the guile of merchant-rogues and enchantments of its wizard council. Or: chivalric Britain, its knights holding out against the Gaelic elves and dwarfs, with bards and druids (if either still exist!) in their traditional roles in the Celtic world. The mythic Aegean, Jerusalem of the Crusades, 16th century Prague, etc., etc.

 

[Kaodi]

So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?

If you go back through all the posts in this thread and mark down any idea and title that involves Eberron you will have a pretty good idea of what fluff I want to see for 4e.

 

[szilard]

A World of Monsters - Taking a look at the ecology of a world filled with monsters.

The Book of Conflicts - A book filled with adventure hooks and NPC (humanoid or otherwise) that center around conflicts that are best resolved through something other than combat.

A World of Magic - Taking a look at how the presence of magic can alter societies - if an otherwise dirt-poor village has a few Adepts (and maybe a low-level Wizard) in it, is it likely to be dirt-poor? How would common magics change a city? How would it change travel? A lot of this is covered in various Eberron books, but much of that is fairly setting-specific (and spread out).

A jungle/swamp book - to go along with Stormwrack, Frostburn, and the like.

A Fae book - Fae in D&D are ill-defined and not nearly as evocative as they could be...

A book about arcana - A look at spell research, magic item creation, and flavor to add to your arcane caster... mix up some magical theory and history/evolution of some common spells. What do verbal components sound like? What do somatic components look like? What are some alternate material components? There is a lot that could be done here.... and players of arcane casters would eat it up.

The Gamers' Guide - A book about how to find (and keep) a gaming group, how to take part in (and make the most of) the DI, how to make the most out of gaming conventions. Provide some background on the larger gaming community (both online and off) and its history. Include some discussion of social contracts for gaming groups and things like that.

That's seven off the top of my head. I had an eighth, but it has slipped my mind for the moment.

-Stuart

 

[szilard]

Ah, yes....

The Book of Legends - Feature a number of legends that can be dropped into a variety of campaigns- say 20-30. Each of them gets a bardic song and a few variations on the story. Each legend gets a number of adventure hooks... maybe a map or two... and possibly a couple write-ups of unique NPCs/monsters/magic items.

Think of it a bit like the Weapons of Legacy book, but broader and not tied to unique crunch that a lot of games won't use.

-Stuart

 

[Nifft]

Six Nations -- Give six nations, each with a unique power base, culture, relationship to magic, legal system, and relationship to several religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings. Perhaps just take nations from established settings and expand on them here.

No maps.


Twelve Cities -- Give twelve city-states, each with a unique power base, culture, relationship to magic, legal system, political situation regarding nearby nations, and relationship to several religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings. Perhaps just take cities from established settings and expand on them here.

No maps.


Twenty Cults -- Give twenty insidious cults, each with a unique agenda, power base, method of infiltration / concealment, magical arsenal, code of honor, method of action (assassination, etc.), and relationship to various types of nations / groups / religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings.

This is a good place for some new DM-centric crunch, too.


- - -

No more new monster books. Only Expedition style adventures with large sections written by Greg's team. I'd push this philosophy on the SW Saga team, too -- they should only be releasing Era-specific crunch in Expedition format.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Kae'Yoss]

So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?

A lot of the stuff I already mentioned will work for 4e, perhaps even better.

I like the idea of a book about the Races (and Classes) in the Realms, which I heard will be one of the 08 FR books.

Faiths of Faerûn: I read that the 4e Realms will focus more on fluff, so this makes even more sense than before: A book containing a detailed description of every single deity used in the Realms: Their history, their outlook, their relationships with other deities. Their churches and worshippers, and how they are worshipped. Big book with plenty of information for each deity.

FR regional books.

Organisations of Faerûn: The biggest organisations for good, evil, order, chaos, balance, freedom, money and the Worship of Fluffy Bunnies as Incarnations of Cute Destructions.