Good Fluff Books?

[DMZ2112]

Thanks, all, for your responses. I'll look into MV:TNV and HoF -- I'd more or less written off TNV, and it is good to know there's some decent setting material in there. I was already leaning toward HoF and HoEC, but I wasn't sure if the 30 pages of fluff each were worth $1/page.

I agree that HoS and the Draconomicons don't seem to contain any setting material at all, unless you count dragons as set pieces (which I guess you could).

Kingdoms of Kalamar is solid stuff -- I'm a long-time Kenzer fan -- but I am specifically trying to gather fluff about the D&D core setting as proposed by 4th Edition.

Regarding my play choices in D&D4 -- just call it personal preference. ...That way no one gets their feathers ruffled.

 

[LostSoul]

One of the interesting things about Open Grave is that it details how each undead rises.

 

[GreyLord]

Monster Vault: Threats to Nentir Vale has the best fluff of almost all of the 4e books. In fact, it has more fluff than just about anything else.

 

[Jhaelen]

Avoid Draconomicon - these are useless in terms of fluff (if you ever played any prior edition you already know about dragons) and particularly useless in terms on crunch (the dragons in here are completely unplayable pre-MM3 solos and should not be used).

I'd like to disagree - at least regarding Draconomicon 2. It features the metallic dragons and has truly inspring fluff about their motivations which makes them a lot more interesting to encounter than the chromatic dragons. And the dragon stats are (almost) on par with typical MM3 solos.

 

[pemerton]

Any other advice anyone wants to give?

I use Open Grave a lot, but for its monsters (which have to be updated to MM3 standards) more than its flavour text. But it does have quite a few mini-scenarios of which I've used a handufl, as well as some backstory on the Shadowfell et al, and a lot of undead lore/ecology.

Heroes of the Elemental Chaos has pages of descriptions of Primordials and their motivations, cults etc as well as a roster of known Primordials.

 

[DMZ2112]

Thanks again for all the feedback, guys. I've pretty much narrowed the field to these three books, and now it's just a matter of gritting my teeth and paying the $1/page fee for the fluff:

• Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale
• Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild
• Player's Option: Heroes of the Elemental Chaos

I'm still not totally convinced about MV:TNV, but I'm trusting you guys, because the damn thing is shrinkwrapped. Open Grave and Heroes of the Shadow are right out because I don't see the fluff value -- I own the Gloomwrought box, and it just doesn't look like OG:SU or PO:HS add to that material the way PO:HEC adds to The Plane Below.

I would pay many, many gold pieces for a Feywild box, or even just a dedicated book. Shame Wizards has halted production.

The Draconomicons are a near miss, because while the D&D perspective on dragons is interesting, it's not strictly germane to the /setting/, and when it comes right down to it I don't like D&D4's positioning of dragons as obstacles to be overcome. I tend to think of my dragons as demigods (or perhaps quasideities).

Thank you!

 

[jacktannery]

Good choices in my opinion - let us know if you were happy with them.

 

[Drammattex]

I'm still not totally convinced about MV:TNV, but I'm trusting you guys, because the damn thing is shrinkwrapped.

I would pay many, many gold pieces for a Feywild box, or even just a dedicated book. Shame Wizards has halted production.

A couple comments while I'm procrastinating.

You can sample entries from Monster Vault Threats to the Nentir Vale on this page in the related articles section. The Wandering Tower, Boggle, Penanggalan, Hound of Ill Omen, and Mages of Saruun entries were a few of mine, which you can DOWNLOAD, read, and decide whether you're interested in the book.

The thing about Heroes of the Feywild that I don't think a lot of people see is that it kind of is a boxed set. Only instead of being inside a box, it's between 2 covers. I feel like what a lot of people want from a boxed set is DM material that describes the various locations in the world, gives you a rundown on the setting. People expect this to be in a box because that's the way settings are usually done. Or in a book or 2 books (one player-focused and the other DM-focused). This information is included in chapter 1 of Heroes of the Feywild, in which each of the "known" settings in the Feywild is described, along with some of the strange customs or superstitions of the region, the various conflicts at play, and so forth. As I recall, those sections are written from a second person perspective, placing you there. These are the same entries I'd have written for a Feywild boxed set. Maybe the style would have even been the same. The other thing you tend to find in boxed sets are maps, and Rodney and I discussed the map thing back and forth before deciding to include ONE map showing the "known" locations. I'm putting scare quotes around "known" because I wasn't sure that the Feywild should have a map. As the land of Faerie, I don't want it defined in precise terms or broken down in precise terms--the material needs to be strong enough to suggest directions for your imagination to invent, but not so specific or deconstructive that it saps the magic from the place. Moving along, you have a section on special objects, fey blessings, and a build your history section at the back. Plus, a wealth of brand new fairy tales written for the book (in a boxed set, they may have had their own book). I don't know what more I'd want from a boxed set of the Feywild.

This would be my ideal Feywild boxed set:
- Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
- The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
- The Book of Invasions
- Selected fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Lord Dunsany
- Steeleye Span's recording of Thomas the Rhymer, Fairport Convention's recording of Tam Lin, Stan Rogers's recording of The Witch of the Westmoreland

I should stop procrastinating. Hope that helps!

 

[DMZ2112]

A couple comments while I'm procrastinating

Wow, Steve, thanks for weighing in. I appreciate the link.

I hear your points about PO:HF, and I see where you're coming from, but I can't agree. I could fill volumes about a plane as nebulous as the Feywild -- from where I'm sitting, nebulosity ought to encourage content, not discourage it.

When it comes right down to it, PO:HF is /great/, but it is only 30 pages of great. Any reluctance I have is a matter of volume and dollar value, not content quality.

 

[Drammattex]

That's cool, DMZ!

I think my favorite boxed sets I ever owned were Ravenloft and Masque of the Red Death. The key points for me in those sets were Ravenloft's breakdown of gothic horror and how to run a horror game, and all the world and historical information given in Masque; since the setting was completely different from D&D, the wealth of background material was entirely necessary. I sold some of my old boxed sets a long time ago, but I'll always hold on to those two.