Legends and Lore and the Present

[Kinneus]

The Shadowfell boxed set and the Heroes of Shadow Book fit his definition of modular to a T, however. They're add-ons that change your game in a very fundamental way but yet are not "core", like a PHB or a Campaign setting.

I'm confused. How exactly did Heroes of Shadow change the game in a very fundamental way? Isn't it basically just new races, classes, feats, PPs and EDs?

 

[SpydersWebbing]

Themes and Fortune cards are add-ons.

The Despair Deck is essentially a card version of a d100 terrain effect table.

So are the Climb rules Mearls talked about and the scaling levels of complexity, if we go by your definition. I have this unshakable feeling that we're saying "poh-tay-toh" and "poh-tah-toh".
To all you people who can actually spell dictionary sounding out things, my deepest apologies.

I'm confused. How exactly did Heroes of Shadow change the game in a very fundamental way? Isn't it basically just new races, classes, feats, PPs and EDs?

Heroes of Shadow has all that stuff, but it has the impact of a campaign setting if you take all the stuff in it and add it to your game, whereas previous books didn't really impact the game story-wise from their inclusion. Heroes of Shadow significantly changes the story of your game should you choose to include it or any part of it.

 

[Incenjucar]

So are the Climb rules Mearls talked about and the scaling levels of complexity, if we go by your definition. I have this unshakable feeling that we're saying "poh-tay-toh" and "poh-tah-toh".
To all you people who can actually spell dictionary sounding out things, my deepest apologies.



Heroes of Shadow has all that stuff, but it has the impact of a campaign setting if you take all the stuff in it and add it to your game, whereas previous books didn't really impact the game story-wise from their inclusion. Heroes of Shadow significantly changes the story of your game should you choose to include it or any part of it.

So do the PHBs and all prior setting books, and most Dragon or Dungeon articles. You are drawing a distinction without a difference. Mearls is proposing something like Fortune Cards or Themes, NOT something like "Orcus hates the Raven Queen SOOO much." or "This fighter can just spam basic attacks." In fact, what he proposes is larger than that - he's proposing a DIFFERENT system instead of an add-on system, in this case.

 

[TwoSix]

Heroes of Shadow has all that stuff, but it has the impact of a campaign setting if you take all the stuff in it and add it to your game, whereas previous books didn't really impact the game story-wise from their inclusion. Heroes of Shadow significantly changes the story of your game should you choose to include it or any part of it.

I'd say the part you're talking about is the bundling of products around a specific hook, like HoS and Gloomwrought, or all of the Neverwinter products (campaign setting, Encounters setting, Fortune Cards, Legend of Drizzt board game, new Salvatore novel).

That actually reminds more of how expansions come out for M:tG, with 3 expansions per years, all based around a concept that introduces a different rules wrinkle per year. I do think WotC's current releases follow a similar theme. If you want to try our newest campaign, use these rules modules. Later on, try this group of books. It's a pretty good idea, I have to say.