D&D 4E Do you really want Greyhawk and Dragonlance for 4e

[CasvalRemDeikun]

I know this would probably end up just pissing off a lot o people... But... I think it would be kind of neat if, in absense of putting out a "setting book" or something, if they just re-did some of the things from bygone settings in the DDI.

I think if they released the gods for the various settings, and some of the major themes, that would go a long way towards letting people that want to play in the setting do so.

Why would that piss people off? Coverage of a setting, even if electronically, is better than no coverage. Seeing release in DDI is probably the only way some of these settings will be released. In terms of Dragonlance, I would be happy to see it come out in DDI if it wasn't going to see release as a book. That way, I can take it to Kinkos and print it out (like what I will be doing with Kara-Tur) and put it in a binder so it will be just as good as a book to me.

 

[Scribble]

Why would that piss people off? Coverage of a setting, even if electronically, is better than no coverage. Seeing release in DDI is probably the only way some of these settings will be released. In terms of Dragonlance, I would be happy to see it come out in DDI if it wasn't going to see release as a book. That way, I can take it to Kinkos and print it out (like what I will be doing with Kara-Tur) and put it in a binder so it will be just as good as a book to me.

Maybe I'm becoming cynical, or something, but anytime I see compromise entering the picture in gaming these days I assume people will be pissed.

The people who want Dragonlance will scream that it's an insult that their setting doesn't get full support, or that they now are forced to have a DDI subscription, or something random about new gamers not having the proper experience.

The people who don't want Dragonlance will scream that it's wasting precious electrons or resources in Dragon and Dungeon that obviously would have been filled with something else they wanted, or that it's just a tactic that moves away from REAL 4e in favor of nostalgia or that it harms new gamers in some way.

I AM feeling cynical today.

 

[Herschel]

No, unless they blow up Krynn and basically start over the whole schpiel from scratch.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Maybe I'm becoming cynical, or something, but anytime I see compromise entering the picture in gaming these days I assume people will be pissed.

The people who want Dragonlance will scream that it's an insult that their setting doesn't get full support, or that they now are forced to have a DDI subscription, or something random about new gamers not having the proper experience.

The people who don't want Dragonlance will scream that it's wasting precious electrons or resources in Dragon and Dungeon that obviously would have been filled with something else they wanted, or that it's just a tactic that moves away from REAL 4e in favor of nostalgia or that it harms new gamers in some way.

I AM feeling cynical today.

You will find in life that people will complain no matter which way you go. As Lincoln said, you can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

[the Jester]

I'd like to see a Dragonlance reboot, set in chronicles.

Oh HELL no. We've ridden that railroad before, and that story has been told. It's not much fun playing pcs in the background or getting channeled to the next station by armies of draconians, and that's what pcs set in the time of the DL Chronicles typically get to look forward to.

Instead of a reboot, how about setting DL 4e in an earlier time period or a later one? One where there isn't a strong story well-known to many of the gamers out there already? One where the pcs get to forge their own destinies without the gm trying to get them to follow the storyline?

 

[was]

I wouldnt mind seeing some Greyhawk stuff. It doesnt have to be as intensive a coverage as the newer stuff but something every once in a while would be nice.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Oh HELL no. We've ridden that railroad before, and that story has been told. It's not much fun playing pcs in the background or getting channeled to the next station by armies of draconians, and that's what pcs set in the time of the DL Chronicles typically get to look forward to.

There are other stories to be told.

Instead of a reboot, how about setting DL 4e in an earlier time period or a later one? One where there isn't a strong story well-known to many of the gamers out there already? One where the pcs get to forge their own destinies without the gm trying to get them to follow the storyline?

The modern-day Age of Mortals would be a good era for this very thing.

 

[Dice4Hire]

There are other stories to be told.



The modern-day Age of Mortals would be a good era for this very thing.

I agree there are other stories, but the Age of Mortals seems too generic for me.

I would prefer to go back a ways.

 

[Big Mac]

I agree there are other stories, but the Age of Mortals seems too generic for me.

I would prefer to go back a ways.

I'd love to see a past-tense Dragonlance setting too. Something set before The Cataclysm could be fairly appealing to me.

The Dragonlance novels (and to a lesser extent) set up Krynn as a kind of post-apocalyptic world, where faith, as well as the land, has been damaged by The Cataclysm. Ansalon (and indeed the rest of Krynn) is only just starting to get back on its feet at the time of the War of the Lance.

I always found the fragments of the things from the past were far more interesting than the stuff that the people of Krynn built later. A full blown "Arcane Age" treatment for Krynn could both make a setting that does something new, as well as being something recognisable to fans.

And if WotC did a historical Dragonlance Campaign Guide well, then it could possibly sell to 3e and 2e players too, as they could toss the rules and keep the background information.

Perhaps the power sources of 4e could fit into the era of uncontrolled magic that existed before the creation of the Wizards of High Sorcery. Maybe.

And dragonborn as a race that is destined to be driven into extinction and forgotten (just like the gods were) could be a way to introduce something new from 4e into Dragonlance's history, while stating that it will not change the classic WotL and AoM eras a single bit.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Instead of a reboot, how about setting DL 4e in an earlier time period or a later one? One where there isn't a strong story well-known to many of the gamers out there already? One where the pcs get to forge their own destinies without the gm trying to get them to follow the storyline?

Instead of swapping the time period, how about an alternate timeline? You take most of the core of the setting, but then change a few key bits that take the history in a different direction. So it is still in the same timeframe. Old setting material is often 75% compatible (in the story, not mechanics). The geography, climate, customs, etc. are much the same. But the story line, threats, etc. are very different.

I don't know Dragonlance well enough to do that justice. But as an example, you do a "lighter" DL where the events that caused the clerics to disappear did not happen. The world developed in a more D&D-straight-forward manner. The gods are still shaky, though.

In Forgotten Realms, you got a lot darker. Elminster and other such heroes were killed young. Various ancient Netherese threats and the Maulgrym got a lot more power. The vast geography really is a "points of light", and always has been. Only the sheer scope of it lets heroes hang on in outposts.

With Dark Sun, defiling has started to turn the world into a desert--and probably still will. But it isn't so far gone as that. If nothing else, heroes might slow it down.

Basically, you take whatever is the perceived trope of that setting, and change it so that instead of the default trope, it is the default threat to happen. Or in FR case, has happened and now you want to bail it out. Take what people like about the setting and see if they can fight for it.