Info from the 2006 May to August WotC Catalog

[Sammael]

I love the new NPC statblock format. What I absolutely hate is the new magic item format, i.e. "let's take up quarter of a page with useless filler text."

I find it odd that Dragons of Faerun won't incorporate Wyrms of the North articles. If it does, it is utterly unfair that Ed and SKR aren't listed as authors.

 

[Brakkart]

Dragons of Faerun The Forgotten Realms answer to the Draconomicon.
Dragons of Faerun features an in-depth look at the dragons of Forgotten Realms. Dungeon Masters are given information on adventuring in the Year of Rogue Dragons on specific dragons of Faerun and how they may interact with or fight against the players. They are givin information on organizations that the players can belong to or work against, like the evil Cult of the Dragon. Also included is information on how to run a campaign that features the Year of the Rogue Dragons, the one time every thousand years the dragons of Faerun rampage across the continent.
This product is tied to 2006's Year of the Dragons theme, which is a key marketing platform across the D&D RPG, novels, and miniatures brands.
by Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Burnstein, Evan Jamieson; 160 pages, $29.95

Well I'm definately interested in this book, as my campaign is just about the enter the Year of Rogue Dragons. Granted it's not out until August *growls* but we're going to be taking a time out to do some stand alone adventures anyway.

As for the rest of the books, Secrets of the Moonsea is a no-brainer (I'm a Realms junkie), and I'll look at the PHB II and Monster Manual IV for certain. and I just know I'll end up getting those massive dragon minis cos I suck at painting large creatures. and I'll probably end up getting the Fiendish Codex too cos the Abyss is my favourite of the outer planes.

 

[comrade raoul]

If the Book of Nine Swords finally has a prestige class that does a good job of modelling the unarmored, meditative, 1e-style kensai (rather than the weird version in the CW), I'll be really happy.

Is there a link to the catalog from January to April?

 

[pierworker]

Thanks for the news Thalmin! Looking forward to...well, all of them! Gotta ask though - does anybody else find the price jump from gargantuan to colossal a little too extreme? I mean, I'm enough of a fan to buy the black for $25, but I'll think twice about paying $50 for a colossal mini! (And then I'll probably buy it anyway but still...ouch!!)

 

[Reynard]

But where's the innovation!?!

 

[Psychic Warrior]

But where's the innovation!?!

Don't make us stab you!

 

[thalmin]

Thanks for the news Thalmin! Looking forward to...well, all of them! Gotta ask though - does anybody else find the price jump from gargantuan to colossal a little too extreme? I mean, I'm enough of a fan to buy the black for $25, but I'll think twice about paying $50 for a colossal mini! (And then I'll probably buy it anyway but still...ouch!!)

The catalog lists a "Trim Size" for these products. The Black is 11"x11"x6", while Red is listed as 12"x17"x9".

 

[Exquisite Dead Guy]

D&D Icons Gargantuan Black Dragon A new line of massive monsters debuts with this menacing black dragon.
...
$24.99

This is listed as retailing for $19.99 with a selling price of $13.59 on Amazon. If we pre-order it now (before they fix it) do you think they'll have to sell it to us at that price?

 

[Pseudonym]

Player's Handbook II

Okay, this has my attention, though I will not be buying it sight unseen as I have in the past with other WotC books. I hope review copies get sent out with enough lead time.

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Kit

Interesting, if only for the paperback PHB.

Secrets of Xen'drik

Since Keith Baker has a hand in it, I think it won't be a wash, but I'm not so sure I like the idea of elaborating on the one area that has been set aside for DMs to make their own. Still though, I'll buy it regardless. Hopefully it won't have too much of a videogame tie-in.

 

[DaveMage]

I like it overall, but two things concern me about the minis...

#1) The Huge set boxes seem to have 8 minis *including* the huge, where GoL had 8 minis PLUS the Huge. I wonder if that means it's a 60-piece set instead of a 72-piece one. Also, does this mean that each Huge is a "Rare" and that there is no chance of a regular-size rare in there as well?

#2) I thought the gargantuan and colossal figs were supposed to come with a second (regular-sized) mini in them as well, but I see no mention of this in the promo materials.