Dark Sun - Player's Guide rendered obsolete

[Wik]

Yeah, and it kinda irks me a bit. I can deal with the absence of core material (and even appreciate it), but it still rubs me the wrong way because Forgotten Realms and Eberron were reworked to make them conform to the core D&D design precepts.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a deal-breaker or anything. I'm certainly looking forward to playing a gladiator from Balic or Raam.

So, you're irked because Wotc learned from their mistakes and didn't try to shoehorn in concepts that didn't fit? Or am I misreading you?

***

and, for the record, I am totally fine with this release model. A book fully dedicated to monsters is a good thing, and I imagine it will sell well even outside of the Dark Sun crowd (as opposed to the current campaign structure, where people buy the player's guide for the class, and then neglect the campaign setting - here, they'll buy the Player's guide for the crunch, and the monster book for the beasties).

Also, I'm excited that the books come out just in time for my birthday.

 

[the Jester]

A 32 page softcover for 4E by WotC costs $10 (point of comparison: Dragonborn and Tiefling race codeces).

Wait, what are these? Are they announced future products by WotC, a 3rd party product or something else entirely? Or just made up?

 

[garyh]

Wait, what are these? Are they announced future products by WotC, a 3rd party product or something else entirely? Or just made up?

Real WotC products. Dragonborn releases this month, tiefling in June.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Races-Dragonborn-Supplement/dp/0786953861/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263192214&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement (9780786953868): James Wyatt: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Races-Tieflings-4th/dp/0786954892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263192207&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings (4th Edition D&D) (9780786954896): Mike Mearls: Books[/ame]

 

[JoeGKushner]

I hope that next year WoTC does a brand new setting based firmly around their whole points of light thing using the core gods from the PHB/DMG, using all the locations from the various adventurers, etc... and then SUPPORTS IT.

One of the reasons I'm still buying Paizo books is that in addition to having some great backgrounds and details that are fairly useful with any D&D setting, such as their goblins, ogres, etc..., the books are links in a chain of stories about the setting. This whole fire and forget thing with limited print release adventurers isn't to my taste at all.

Heck, I still pull down Pathfinder 1 just to read the little side bars on the goblins which motivates me to bust out the Classics Revisited.

That's just my take on it though. These fire and forget models might be good for getting the material out there, but at the pace their going, it'll be 6th ed before they cover them all.

Mystra, Red Steel, Hollow Earth
Spelljammer, Planescape
Al-Qadim, Kara-Tur
Jakandor
Greyhawk
Birthright
Dragonlance
Ravenloft/Masque of the Red Death

And I'm sure I'm missing some. Even if we take out the duplicates, and say, lump Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur with Forgotten Realms, and combine Red Steel, Hollow Earth and Mystara, that's still like seven campaign settings and at one a year? Yeah, 6th ed by the time they get around to Birthright.

 

[Jack99]

Yeah, and it kinda irks me a bit. I can deal with the absence of core material (and even appreciate it), but it still rubs me the wrong way because Forgotten Realms and Eberron were reworked to make them conform to the core D&D design precepts.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a deal-breaker or anything. I'm certainly looking forward to playing a gladiator from Balic or Raam.

Seriously? You are irked because WotC finally does the right thing? This calls for the rolling of eyes-icon, which we do not have here at ENworld...

 

[Votan]

Real WotC products. Dragonborn releases this month, tiefling in June.

Do you know if there is any chance of more guides on other races?

 

[Jack99]

Do you know if there is any chance of more guides on other races?

Nothing announced as of yet.

 

[vagabundo]

I hope that the catalog is similar to Open Grave. That book is a better MM than the true MM.
I really don't care how the are released TBH i'll buy anything DS at this point.

I do think that there needs to be top notch adventure support, don't leave us hanging there.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

I hope that next year WoTC does a brand new setting based firmly around their whole points of light thing using the core gods from the PHB/DMG, using all the locations from the various adventurers, etc... and then SUPPORTS IT.

One of the reasons I'm still buying Paizo books is that in addition to having some great backgrounds and details that are fairly useful with any D&D setting, such as their goblins, ogres, etc..., the books are links in a chain of stories about the setting. This whole fire and forget thing with limited print release adventurers isn't to my taste at all.

Heck, I still pull down Pathfinder 1 just to read the little side bars on the goblins which motivates me to bust out the Classics Revisited.

That's just my take on it though. These fire and forget models might be good for getting the material out there, but at the pace their going, it'll be 6th ed before they cover them all.

Mystra, Red Steel, Hollow Earth
Spelljammer, Planescape
Al-Qadim, Kara-Tur
Jakandor
Greyhawk
Birthright
Dragonlance
Ravenloft/Masque of the Red Death

And I'm sure I'm missing some. Even if we take out the duplicates, and say, lump Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur with Forgotten Realms, and combine Red Steel, Hollow Earth and Mystara, that's still like seven campaign settings and at one a year? Yeah, 6th ed by the time they get around to Birthright.

I´m pretty sure we´re never going to see Birthright - every setting has it´s own sales history, and i think this is more important for Wotc than revisiting them all. Oh, and the fact that Birthright tried to be too much at once.

And the Fire-and-Forget-model is for guys like me who think that FR should have stopped at the Grey Box and then only be expanded with Dragon articles and adventures. For some it´s support, for others it´s "Wotc does what i am supposed to do - expand the setting".

 

[Windjammer]

I feel stupid for posting this thread. See, I missed the elephant in the room.

Someone up thread said that there'll be hardly any new classes and races in Dark Sun. That's not true. A great deal of that info is in Player's Handbook 3, along with the psionic power source which is pretty much indispensable for running Dark Sun in 4E.

Long story, short answer: the PH 3 is such a strong tie-in to the Dark Sun setting that another DS Player's Guide is rendered obsolete - in the sense of not creating enough additional buyer incentive. (Reminds me of how the 3.5 expanded Psionics handbook also contained the Dark Sun races.)

Hey, my thread title still works.