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<blockquote data-quote="PeterWeller" data-source="post: 3875626" data-attributes="member: 55795">Not only that, but there was little to differentiate many of the settings.&nbsp; Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Mystara, and the a lesser extent Birthright and Dragonlance were all variations on the same generic fantasy tropes.&nbsp; Indeed, they had different focuses, but in the end they were all Elves, Dwarfs and Wizards against monsters and evil gods.&nbsp; Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft and Spelljammer, on the other hand, all showed how D&amp;D could do &quot;different&quot; fantasy, and Eberron has shown the viability of providing those old school tropes with a modern twist.Wizards could easily release a setting a year as long as they stay away from the half dozen slight variations on the same theme that characterized 2E settings.&nbsp; If, instead, they make sure each setting has a strong and unique theme and flavor, they can, instead of fracturing the market, appeal to its niches.&nbsp; This means, however, that we only get one &quot;big grab bag of fantasy&quot; setting, and that means no Greyhawk or Mystara or as of yet unnamed generic fantasy world.&nbsp; So, that could suck if you're not an FR fan.Now, they'll have even more freedom if they decide that not every setting deserves an entire line of books.&nbsp; Forgotten Realms and Eberron will probably be supported for the life of the system.&nbsp; They're the flag ship settings, and they have the fan base to sustain continued sales.&nbsp; Dark Sun and Ravenloft on the other hand, can probably be done to everyone's satisfaction with two books (a fluff splat and a crunch splat) followed by DI articles.&nbsp; Oriental and Arabian adventures could also pop up as settings under this setup.&nbsp; They might require only one book each, a PoL worldless rule book, with perhaps, a follow up FR splat for their respective home settings (Kara-Tur and Zakhara).&nbsp; Obviously, these could also be divorced from Faerun and made into their own stand alone settings.&nbsp; Another option is to do what they did with Dragonlance.&nbsp; The core book was, IIRC, released by WotC; the follow ups released by [I forget who has/had the license].&nbsp; There's a lot of ways they can release a new setting each year without fracturing their market.&nbsp; Notice how I only mentioned already existing settings.&nbsp; I'm sure they could develop or acquire new settings that fill new niches.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="PeterWeller, post: 3875626, member: 55795"] Not only that, but there was little to differentiate many of the settings. Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Mystara, and the a lesser extent Birthright and Dragonlance were all variations on the same generic fantasy tropes. Indeed, they had different focuses, but in the end they were all Elves, Dwarfs and Wizards against monsters and evil gods. Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft and Spelljammer, on the other hand, all showed how D&D could do "different" fantasy, and Eberron has shown the viability of providing those old school tropes with a modern twist. Wizards could easily release a setting a year as long as they stay away from the half dozen slight variations on the same theme that characterized 2E settings. If, instead, they make sure each setting has a strong and unique theme and flavor, they can, instead of fracturing the market, appeal to its niches. This means, however, that we only get one "big grab bag of fantasy" setting, and that means no Greyhawk or Mystara or as of yet unnamed generic fantasy world. So, that could suck if you're not an FR fan. Now, they'll have even more freedom if they decide that not every setting deserves an entire line of books. Forgotten Realms and Eberron will probably be supported for the life of the system. They're the flag ship settings, and they have the fan base to sustain continued sales. Dark Sun and Ravenloft on the other hand, can probably be done to everyone's satisfaction with two books (a fluff splat and a crunch splat) followed by DI articles. Oriental and Arabian adventures could also pop up as settings under this setup. They might require only one book each, a PoL worldless rule book, with perhaps, a follow up FR splat for their respective home settings (Kara-Tur and Zakhara). Obviously, these could also be divorced from Faerun and made into their own stand alone settings. Another option is to do what they did with Dragonlance. The core book was, IIRC, released by WotC; the follow ups released by [I forget who has/had the license]. There's a lot of ways they can release a new setting each year without fracturing their market. Notice how I only mentioned already existing settings. I'm sure they could develop or acquire new settings that fill new niches. [/QUOTE]

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