Iron Lore: Malhavoc's Surprise?

[TerraDave]

That darn dragon

the dragon was mentioned as an example--based on what Mike Mearls had said--of the sort of thing an Iron Lore charecter could fight...and then in the promo material on the Malhavoc site they give exactly that example.

Yes, it is an argument a little bit ahead of its time and yet seems to have gone on too long...but speculation about forthcoming products is what ENWorld is all about.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Interest <> Ranting and railing.

No offense intended, I was speaking in general terms at that point - possibly not clear.

Cheers

 

[BryonD]

Considering that the options available are taking a few whacks at a straw man offered up by the author, making up issues out of the thin air, or pretty much not commenting on a very intriguing product, I think that the most reasonable course of action has been selected.

I think that people offering up possible issues have been more than clear that they are simply addressing matters based on the limited info available. Getting knee-jerk defensive against people who express interest in how issues will be taken on seems much less reasonable to me than simply expressing an interest in how those issues will be addressed.

Based on past record I don't have a moments pause toward giving Mike the assumption that he has a great solution. But Wulf has presented some really pertinent questions about what may be behind the curtain. I understand why Mike can't/won't discuss it more yet. I don't understand why other people should be criticised for debating the matter, much less why that debate should be mischaracterized as prejudgement.

 

[Ozmar]

Cool cover art!

I can't wait to start my Purple Monkey Dishwasher campaign this August!

Ozmar the Fan

 

[Nightfall]

Bryon,

Uhm I think what others and Joe (myself included) feel is inappropriate about such a discussion isn't so much that Mike brought it up, but it's kind of like what happened with 3rd edition at the beginning where people were like "NOO!!! They killed off the fun of elves!!!" kind of deal. You know, we are only getting PIECE meal before the whole cloth becomes available.

You and everyone else can discuss it to your heart's content. I'm just saying I'm not going to involve myself in that aspect of the discussion when it comes to Iron Lore. What I AM going to say is this: I LIKE the idea of how to specialize in fighting with a particular type and/or types of weapons. I LIKE the idea where feats, skills and backgrounds are more than just tacked on adjectives for a character AND a world. I LIKE the fact Mike is going to tackle such issues and still leave room for high level/normal D&D magic to be accessible for others.
This is why I have a lot of hope for what Iron Lore might have to offer. While Grim Tales deals with the gritty/low magic, I want more than a kind of rehash (not saying it is!) of Midnight or even a better variant.

 

[tetsujin28]

What he said

 

[Geoff Watson]

My guess?

I don't think there will be a "Director's Cut" of Iron Lore released in 2 years. Why?

1) I think that AU had a lot more "implied setting" with the various races and classes, and really needed The Diamond Throne to put some of those pieces together;

2) Wizards of the Coast isn't (as far as I know) planning on releasing a book called LORE IRON that will cause all sorts of confusion in the market place;

There you go!

- JB

Why did Monte call his book Arcana Unearthed when he knew that Wizards were planning Unearthed Arcana?
How did he plan to profit from the confusion?

Geoff.

 

[Staffan]

Why did Monte call his book Arcana Unearthed when he knew that Wizards were planning Unearthed Arcana?
How did he plan to profit from the confusion?

As I understand it, it went something like this:
1. Monte wants to make an alternate PHB.
2. Monte thinks "Hey, Unearthed Arcana was a cool book way back when, I'll ask WOTC if I can use that title."
3. WOTC says "No, but if you swap the words around it's OK."
4. Monte publishes Arcana Unearthed.
5. WOTC publishes Unearthed Arcana 3e, which Monte didn't know about until it was announced (well, maybe a little sooner given that he likely still knows people at WOTC, but more or less).
6. Monte runs out of Arcana Unearthed, and decides to do a revision instead of just a reprint. He includes some other stuff in it, and calls it Arcana Evolved in order to avoid the confusion caused by AU/UA.

 

[Selganor]

Why did Monte call his book Arcana Unearthed when he knew that Wizards were planning Unearthed Arcana?
How did he plan to profit from the confusion?

Apparently he didn't know that WotC planned to (re)release UA but rather the title was an homage to the AD&D1 supplement Unearthed Arcana which introduced lots of new rules (like cantrips, lots of polearms, ...)

I don't know if he would still have used this title if he knew that they intended to (re)release UA.

 

[woodelf]

Ok I only read the first page so someone in the next 2 pages may have already asked this, but you only mention converting it to D&D and vice versa. What about conversion between IL and AE/AU? Some of these rules sound like something that could be a very interesting tweak to the AE/AU setting.

Agreed--my only complaint with AU was that he didn't change the combat rules, since everything that was changed was for the better, and it fixed my problems with the races, classes, and magic. I want to see Malhavoc's take on fixing the combat rules (which, after the classes, is probably the chapter of D&D3E that frustrates me the most).

For that matter, my "D&D 'Done Right'" that's been on the back burner for a bit over two years was going in a lot of the same directions as AU for magic, and it sounds like in a lot of the same ways as Iron Lore is for combat rules and class abilities. So, if i take the two of them and merge them, i won't have to do it myself.