One new setting a year?

[Betote]

In any event, I am not concerned that this will happen to 4e at all. I'm sure they've learned their lesson. The impression that I've gotten is that they will release a single book for each setting a year. For example, just one book for, say, Birthright. One book for Eberron. One book for Ravenloft.

I'd really like that. One setting, one book. Maybe one or two settings would get additional material (bets on FR, maybe Eberron). It's not a good idea for a company to try to sell too many different, competing products. As it's been said before on this thred, it means dilluting efforts. 3E has many different settings, but each one is supported almost exclusively by one company (Necromancer has Wilderness, Arthaus had Ravenloft, etc).

But if they just release one book with a complete setting each year (and one zillion FR books a month), they wouldn't be competing with each other.

 

[dmccoy1693]

2008: Forgotten Realms
2009: Eberron
2010: "4E is unfun an fundamentally flawed. We're releasing 5E in a few months"

No. No. No. It'll be like this:
2008 -> 4E and FR
2009 -> 4.1E and Eb
2010 -> 4.2E and Planescape
2011 -> 4.3E and Dark Sun
...
2018 -> 5E and Eb

Each version will publish a new chargen system so a 4.1E character will be handsdown more powerful then a 4E character until finally 5E where everyone is running around in a red cape, red underwear with a yellow "S" on the back and has what we now know as a Fly spell as a spell like ability.

 

[Imaro]

Actually this is true, it is one of the things that hurt 2e. It didn't kill 2e, however. That's a whole other ball of wax.

As for proof, you can go and look up any old designers and their notes on the demise of 2e. They mention all of their lines and how they were not sustainable. A friend of mine who is a consultant explained on splitting the market hurts the product. You produce, say, Birthright and you produce Planescape. Now, every month, you are producing twice as much product because you need to produce stuff for both settings. But your core base has not expanded. So 50% of the consumers are buying Birthright and 50% are buying Planescape. So you are producing twice as much product and getting half of the returns on both.

In any event, I am not concerned that this will happen to 4e at all. I'm sure they've learned their lesson. The impression that I've gotten is that they will release a single book for each setting a year. For example, just one book for, say, Birthright. One book for Eberron. One book for Ravenloft.

My money is a book on Ravenloft, since they are coming out with new novels for that setting.

I think it had more to do with Buck Rogers, the cost of making the setting box sets they were designing and mismanagement of funds...but ok, I'll bite...won't 4e do this same thing...split the fanbase? Won't fewer and fewer customers buy each campaign setting as they start playing in the particualr world they've chosen? If D&D 4e runs 6 to 7 years as an edition that's at the least 7 different settings to choose form.

Second I just wanted to point out it's not necessarily going to be one book...they've already said there will be both a campaign sourcebook and DM's book for Forgotten Realms.

EDIT: Let me just take this settings dilute argument a little further...how does a company like Mongoose survive? Runequest, Lankhmar, Elric, Hawkmoon, Conan, Lonewolf, Babylon 5, Starship Troopers, etc. Their fanbase should have splintered to nothing by now...

Or better yet White Wolf: nWoD (mortals), Mage, Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling, Promethean, Scion, Exalted, etc. all of these are different settings.

 

[Ranger REG]

Please, show me one iota of actual proof that this is true...

Remember TSR and their truckload of short-lived AD&D settings?

That's why WotC only does a handful for 3e, and licensed other companies to handle a few more (Ravenloft licensed to White Wolf/Arthaus, Dragonlance support line licensed to Sovereign Press/MWP, Gamma World licensed to Sword & Sorcery Studio, etc.).

Now you want WotC to bring back a truckload? Do you want to be a fan support yet another short-lived setting?

I honestly don't know how they're going to do this. Are they going to introduce one setting and support it with supplements for a year and then end it? Or are they just going to continue the existing setting while they introduce a new setting next year? How many setting-specific products are they planning to release for the first (and possibly only) 12 months?

 

[Ranger REG]

EDIT: Let me just take this settings dilute argument a little further...how does a company like Mongoose survive? Runequest, Lankhmar, Elric, Hawkmoon, Conan, Lonewolf, Babylon 5, Starship Troopers, etc. Their fanbase should have splintered to nothing by now...

I'm surprised they made it this far, especially with complaints regarding their editing performance. Just kidding.

So far, I hear no new products from some of them, correct me if I'm wrong. Also, be glad that Mongoose is not part of any big parent company.

Or better yet White Wolf: nWoD (mortals), Mage, Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling, Promethean, Scion, Exalted, etc. all of these are different settings.

I know they canceled the Wraith and Trinity Universe lines. Again, be glad that White Wolf is not part of any big parent company ... because it IS a big parent company to several subsidiaries (Sword & Sorcery, Arthaus, etc.).

 

[JohnSnow]

It's also worth mentioning that White Wolf was bought up by a larger company not too long ago.

 

[Ranger REG]

It's also worth mentioning that White Wolf was bought up by a larger company not too long ago.

I must've been in a coma. Who bought them? Hopefully not Mattel. If I see a Barbie the Vampire Hunter collection at Toys'R'Us, I'm gonna poke my eyes with their lead-filled stake.

 

[an_idol_mind]

I'm betting that by 2010 there will be enough product released for the "core" 4e setting that WotC could create a new campaign setting drawing from that material. Sort of like how the Known World was born out of the early D&D products.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If the settings after Eberron are just a single mega-tome, like Ghostwalk, I think no harm will come to anyone's brand, and I think everyone will win.

 

[Feything]

I somehow don't think the statement was really meant to be read as "we will release one new setting per year for as long as we publish 4E". I think what it is supposed to mean is that they will not publish Campaign Setting books for the settings they actually plan to support any faster than that.
In other words, we'll only have FR in 2008 and only Eberron in 2009.
Personally I think we might see either Ravenloft or Dragonlance as well. DL has an anniversary coming up, right?
Perhaps some one-shots (sort of like Ghostwalk) later on as well.

Edited: silly keyboard accident