Planescape 3E by WotC

[johnsemlak]

Aside from the problems of 3E's relativistic cosmologies, which can be explained away as primes all being berks, there is the money issue. If WotC doesn't think it will make major money off of a Planescape setting, they won't do it. And further, Planescape is apparently far too expensive for a third party to ever obtain the rights. I heard somewhere, I think from a PS3E.com blood, that Hasbro considers the Planescape name to be extremely valuable due to the success of the PS:Torment video game. The prices demanded by the suits to use the Planescape copyrights are incredible. That's the last I've heard about it, anyway.

You bring up another good point regarding third party publishers, in that they might not be able to make much use of material from other WotC settings. In the treatment of powers and their realms, this would be...suck.

Would the rights to do an RPG based on Planescape be prohibitively expensieve for many companies? I assume that that that would be different than acquiring the rights to do a computer game.

Still, if Planescape: Torment was hugely successful, it that would certainly affect the market value of Planescape as an RPG title of course.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

The general story is that, for whatever reason, any license to use Planescape is multo expensivo, much more than one would expect.

 

[sledged]

Is Planescape a 'failed' setting?

Depends on your definition of "failed."

 

[Ashy]

As I have said before, way back in the day when Planewalker became the official site, I spoke with WotC about purchasing the rights to produce the game outright. I was given a figure that I would need just to come to the table and talk about it; that figure is likely more than the 5 top D20 companies' profit line at the height of D20 - it was high (you could have bought a nice car with it - let's say that).

Needless to say, I think that unless WotC decides to produce a 3e PS, then we won't see it (other than what we already have and the fruit of the efforts of the folks over at Planewalker.com)...

 

[Gez]

In a way, Planescape was like Eberron, it's "D&D gone to eleven." Everything that is in D&D has a place somewhere in Planescape (and usually, several places, even), and there's more than just that.

Contrarily to, say, Birthright, Dragonlance or Ravenloft, which are all subsets of D&D; licensing Planescape would mean licensing all of Hasbro/Wizards/TSR's IP concerning D&D.

That's why it's so expensive. Just my theory.

 

[Desdichado]

I was given a figure that I would need just to come to the table and talk about it; that figure is likely more than the 5 top D20 companies' profit line at the height of D20 - it was high (you could have bought a nice car with it - let's say that).

I'm not sure how useful that comparison is; to some a tricked out low-level Jaguar X-type is a really nice car at under $30,000. To others, a nice car is an Maybach for $357,000, more than ten times as much money.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

The interview I just did with the old Planescape design team may have some relevance here.

Oh how many ways must you tease me!

I've never played Planescape back in 2nd edition so I don't know what made it so great but it just seemed like a way to connect various worlds and also to toss out a few strange ideas. I’ve seen more than a few 3rd party books on the planes out there... So what's missing from them besides sigil?


Edit:

After seeing the Planar Handbook, I am convinced I would rather see WotC cover new ground instead of try to reinvent the wheel.

Nice pun...

 

[Ashy]

In a way, Planescape was like Eberron, it's "D&D gone to eleven." Everything that is in D&D has a place somewhere in Planescape (and usually, several places, even), and there's more than just that.

Contrarily to, say, Birthright, Dragonlance or Ravenloft, which are all subsets of D&D; licensing Planescape would mean licensing all of Hasbro/Wizards/TSR's IP concerning D&D.

That's why it's so expensive. Just my theory.

That is sort of the way it was explained to me as well, coupled with the success of Tormet - which only added more fuel to the money pile.

 

[Ashy]

I'm not sure how useful that comparison is; to some a tricked out low-level Jaguar X-type is a really nice car at under $30,000. To others, a nice car is an Maybach for $357,000, more than ten times as much money.

::chuckle:: Let's just say the figure I was given was somewhere between those two numbers.

 

[BOZ]

you will never see anything even remotely resembling Planescape in print again. people may come close, but they will never nail it again. treasure your old books, and tailor them to fit your campaign in 3E if you wish, but WotC will never release something that is 100% compatable with old PS stuff again. c'est la vie...