Dungeon Master's Guide 3?

[Riastlin]

I HATE IT when the Internet glitches my XP!!

Ahem. "I'll 'see' your DonutBorn Monk and 'raise' you my PizzaBorn Barbarian."

There.

We have some serious potential here:

Pizza the Hutt -- Pizzaborn Warlord
Grylls -- Bearclaw Shaman
Sprinkles -- Donutborn Monk
Limony -- Merengue Invoker
Slim -- Jerkyborn Paladin

What evil mastermind wouldn't be stopped by this party?

 

[OnlineDM]

Limony -- Merengue Invoker

Does he compete with the Disco Bandit from Kingdom of Loathing?

Merengue as a race somehow seems even funnier to me than (what I believe was intended here) Meringue. Either way, loads of potential!

 

[Riastlin]

Does he compete with the Disco Bandit from Kingdom of Loathing?

Merengue as a race somehow seems even funnier to me than (what I believe was intended here) Meringue. Either way, loads of potential!

Doh! Failed my Intelligence roll.

 

[Erdrick Dragin]

I just find it more and more hard to expect anything WotC says anymore. They say "We will release one new PHB, DMG, and MM each year" then I expect them to follow through. Just like they say they will create a program for DDI subscribers to "play on the internet together so people separated by distance can enjoy playing D&D" was something I expected to happen, and right at launch, as they said. But we're 3 years in almost and nothing?

It's come to the point where, I believe (and you can bash me for it if that will make WotC Zombies feel any better), that WotC went from poor management by writers that loved the game for the game (TSR) to poor management by writers looking to make the next quick buck before moving on to a new edition or half an edition (or, in 4E's case, half of a disguised edition).

It's sweet spot was when 3rd Edition was around. They needed some cleaning up, yes, and if they had done just that, 3rd Edition would've been given another generation to continue just fine.

But I believe WotC has no real power, it's all Hasbro. I wish they'd sell D&D to those that aren't trying to make it as marketable as WoW and isn't as corporate as Hasbro. Tabletop RPGs never will be, they will always be niche markets, and they need to accept that fact and work within the already set parameters.

Just my thoughts and growing dissatisfaction with believing anything WotC says anymore. I'm considering jumping on the Paizo band wagon now...

 

[Riastlin]

I just find it more and more hard to expect anything WotC says anymore. They say "We will release one new PHB, DMG, and MM each year" then I expect them to follow through. Just like they say they will create a program for DDI subscribers to "play on the internet together so people separated by distance can enjoy playing D&D" was something I expected to happen, and right at launch, as they said. But we're 3 years in almost and nothing?

Can you point to where they actually said they would release a PHB, MM, and DMG each year? I know a lot of people (myself included) assumed they would but I don't recall ever seeing anything to that point from WotC. That being said, they have released 4 MM's (counting the Vault), 5 PHBs (counting HotFL/K), and 3 DMGs (counting the DM Kit). At worst, they are 1 release behind on the DMG, at best, they are ahead of the game on two fronts while on pace on the third.

As for the VTT, yeah, I agree it really sucks. Should have been there at launch (along with the other preveiwed tools). Internet rumors (and yes I realize they are probably only rumors) also suggest that there were some fairly major events that caused the delay which were entirely out of WotC's control. From what I understand in piecing together assorted threads is that WotC did contract out the VTT (which was smart considering WotC is not a software developer) but then the proverbial turds hit the fan. Sure, WotC could have chosen better. Heck, I'm sure Bungie or Bioware would have done an amazing job with the VTT. I'm also not convinced a company like Bungie or Bioware would have been interested in the relatively small potatoes that is the VTT.

As for DMG 3, I agree. I would love to see it. I really think that there is a huge void in Epic tier support, but there's also an arguable lack of demand for Epic play. Personally, I think its a bit of a chicken and the egg (groups don't play Epic because there's not enough support and because few are playing Epic WotC doesn't provide much support). That being said though I know that my two current campaigns are both still in heroic tier so it will be quite a while (a year at least most likely) before either one hits Epic. Despite that, I'll still probably snatch up a DMG 3 as soon as its released.

 

[The Little Raven]

I just find it more and more hard to expect anything WotC says anymore. They say "We will release one new PHB, DMG, and MM each year" then I expect them to follow through. Just like they say they will create a program for DDI subscribers to "play on the internet together so people separated by distance can enjoy playing D&D" was something I expected to happen, and right at launch, as they said. But we're 3 years in almost and nothing?

Okay, so they aren't allowed to change business plans without being liars. That sounds like a recipe for success!

And I guess you don't pay attention to news updates after announcements, because it was clear at least a month before launch that we would not see the VTT at launch (Bill Slavicsek's "The Scoop on D&D Insider").

It's come to the point where, I believe (and you can bash me for it if that will make WotC Zombies feel any better), that WotC went from poor management by writers that loved the game for the game (TSR) to poor management by writers looking to make the next quick buck before moving on to a new edition or half an edition (or, in 4E's case, half of a disguised edition).

Ah, so TSR was full of great wonderful writers who loved the game, while WotC is full of writers who just want to make a quick buck despite the RPG industry being the exact wrong place to try to make a quick buck... and despite the fact that there was significant overlap from TSR to WotC.

And a dig at 4e! And calling people who disagree with you zombies! Brilliant!

It's sweet spot was when 3rd Edition was around. They needed some cleaning up, yes, and if they had done just that, 3rd Edition would've been given another generation to continue just fine.

Random internet guy knows more about how 3e would do if it continued than the people who had the sales data for it. Priceless! God bless the internet for giving us experts on things for which they have no data.

But I believe WotC has no real power, it's all Hasbro. I wish they'd sell D&D to those that aren't trying to make it as marketable as WoW and isn't as corporate as Hasbro. Tabletop RPGs never will be, they will always be niche markets, and they need to accept that fact and work within the already set parameters.

So, first, WotC is mismanaged by writers wanting to make a quick buck, and now they aren't even in control, it's all Hasbro, the company that has owned WotC since before 3e (aka the "sweet spot") was published.

And don't bother to try to grow the market, just work within the already set parameters of a shrinking and aging market.

Just my thoughts and growing dissatisfaction with believing anything WotC says anymore. I'm considering jumping on the Paizo band wagon now...

You might want to watch out. Paizo tends to pick up those "writers looking to make a quick buck" as freelancers and such after they leave WotC.

 

[Aegeri]

And a dig at 4e! And calling people who disagree with you zombies! Brilliant!

Can I say "Bingo" yet?

 

[Stormonu]

PLAYER: I rolled up a Dragon Paladin!
DM: You mean a Dragonborn Paladin.
PLAYER: No, an actual ancient red dragon! He attacks the evil sorceress and does... 328 ongoing fire damage!
DM: Before we get to that, let's talk about how your dragon manages to fit into the Neverwinter sewer system.

If something like that popped up in a Player's Options: Monstrous Races book, though, I wouldn't feel as bound to allow it in my game.

Obviously, you have not heard of the Council of Wyrms campaign from 2E days.

 

[drothgery]

I just find it more and more hard to expect anything WotC says anymore. They say "We will release one new PHB, DMG, and MM each year" then I expect them to follow through.

... whereas I never expected the 'PHB, DMG, & MM every year' plan to last, precisely because coming up with stuff to make a DMG3 or PH4 that a lot of people wanted to buy would be too difficult.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I thought PHB3 was pretty much a bit of a reach. There's some good stuff in there, but none of it is really what I would call 'core worthy'. A DMG3 would be a bit of a reach, but as an epic focused resource could have been done. MM3 again, pretty much filled out the menagerie. MMs are one thing that you probably can just keep cranking out, at least in 4e where you have so many variations and need a whole lineup for each tier, but it always seemed clear to me that the whole 'new core book every year' thing was never destined to go on for too long.