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<blockquote data-quote="cyphertube" data-source="post: 261610" data-attributes="member: 6040"><p><strong>Long rant with some suggestions</strong></p><p></p><p>I hope I don't drive everyone nuts on this.</p><p></p><p>First off, as a former project manager, I understand the need for profit margins. I have worked for companies in which people LOVE what they do, use no business sense, and end up in layoffs. This happens in almost any industry, and the failure to understand what is required as a profit margin will kill a company quickly.</p><p></p><p>I agree with the person who posted earlier about justifying products. Perhaps there is a problem with Hasbro not giving very clear definitions. I've had bean-counters who decided that something didn't make enough money, but who didn't give me the criteria they were basing that decision on. Get the criteria written down and then when you need to justify something, justify it within the criteria. Rare is the time I've met anyone in a paper-pushing decision-making position who looked at someone from multiple angles.</p><p></p><p>Second, while I love reading Forgotten Realms novels and I think it's a neat setting, it has been running for a long time and, well, much like adrenaline, I can't do high magic for hours and hours on end without having something taken out of me. I made a conscious decision for 3E to buy no FR books whatsoever. Yeah, I know, I'm a traitor. But since I don't run an FR campaign, I'm waiting for a campaign setting that meets what I want, or else I'll develop my own.</p><p></p><p>I guess that makes me a traitor to the cause, but I didn't get hooked on Dungeons & Dragons through FR. Actually, the overkill of FR through 2E almost lost me. I started off with the Basic D&D rules and checked out the 1E AD&D rules from the library so often I practically owned them. (I do own copies now.) The original feel of those 1E books was one of danger and excitement. Wondrous things are only wonderful if they are rare. Does anybody here remember the excitement of getting online for the first time? That was wondrous! But now it is mundane.</p><p></p><p>The first novels from TSR I read were the Dragonlance novels. Magic wasn't everywhere within them, and it was great. I was gripped by the setting. Now, settings come and go and most people would agree that DL has more/less been killed off, but that's ok. I don't believe in a catch-all setting for WotC to kill by overloading it, but a use of three settings would be great. Greyhawk is sort of middle-of-the-road. FR is definitely high magic. So where's the low magic world? </p><p></p><p>My third and last point is to look at the classics of fantasy. Take a look at Tolkien's writing as an example. No, it's not all a great read. But it is so intricate and well thought out. When we talk about crunchy versus fluffy well, we need to start looking at how things tie together. A good setting will be filled with lots and lots of crunch and be brought together with fluff. A rulebook is going to be crunch, crunch, and more crunch, but disparate rules are useless. Campaign books, as well, should not be fluff only. They should be factually presented, much like a good history book. (Want a good one - try Norman Davies' "Europe: A History".) If we look at life, we look at law books to find rules, history books to find out what has happened, and novels to understand how it felt. Why can't we see that a good campaign setting should be more/less the same?</p><p></p><p>Ok, enough rant.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cyphertube, post: 261610, member: 6040"] [b]Long rant with some suggestions[/b] I hope I don't drive everyone nuts on this. First off, as a former project manager, I understand the need for profit margins. I have worked for companies in which people LOVE what they do, use no business sense, and end up in layoffs. This happens in almost any industry, and the failure to understand what is required as a profit margin will kill a company quickly. I agree with the person who posted earlier about justifying products. Perhaps there is a problem with Hasbro not giving very clear definitions. I've had bean-counters who decided that something didn't make enough money, but who didn't give me the criteria they were basing that decision on. Get the criteria written down and then when you need to justify something, justify it within the criteria. Rare is the time I've met anyone in a paper-pushing decision-making position who looked at someone from multiple angles. Second, while I love reading Forgotten Realms novels and I think it's a neat setting, it has been running for a long time and, well, much like adrenaline, I can't do high magic for hours and hours on end without having something taken out of me. I made a conscious decision for 3E to buy no FR books whatsoever. Yeah, I know, I'm a traitor. But since I don't run an FR campaign, I'm waiting for a campaign setting that meets what I want, or else I'll develop my own. I guess that makes me a traitor to the cause, but I didn't get hooked on Dungeons & Dragons through FR. Actually, the overkill of FR through 2E almost lost me. I started off with the Basic D&D rules and checked out the 1E AD&D rules from the library so often I practically owned them. (I do own copies now.) The original feel of those 1E books was one of danger and excitement. Wondrous things are only wonderful if they are rare. Does anybody here remember the excitement of getting online for the first time? That was wondrous! But now it is mundane. The first novels from TSR I read were the Dragonlance novels. Magic wasn't everywhere within them, and it was great. I was gripped by the setting. Now, settings come and go and most people would agree that DL has more/less been killed off, but that's ok. I don't believe in a catch-all setting for WotC to kill by overloading it, but a use of three settings would be great. Greyhawk is sort of middle-of-the-road. FR is definitely high magic. So where's the low magic world? My third and last point is to look at the classics of fantasy. Take a look at Tolkien's writing as an example. No, it's not all a great read. But it is so intricate and well thought out. When we talk about crunchy versus fluffy well, we need to start looking at how things tie together. A good setting will be filled with lots and lots of crunch and be brought together with fluff. A rulebook is going to be crunch, crunch, and more crunch, but disparate rules are useless. Campaign books, as well, should not be fluff only. They should be factually presented, much like a good history book. (Want a good one - try Norman Davies' "Europe: A History".) If we look at life, we look at law books to find rules, history books to find out what has happened, and novels to understand how it felt. Why can't we see that a good campaign setting should be more/less the same? Ok, enough rant. [/QUOTE]
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