mhacdebhandia said:
Exactly, it would defeat the point, IMO.
"Points of Light" setting--to be developed?
- Thread starter Mercurius
- Start date
Exactly, it would defeat the point, IMO.
And if they actually can manage to keep the PoL setting as is (vague with lots of fluff) and just place adventures on it, every group will have a chance to flesh it out with no canon lawyers dictating where is what and at the same time will do a great service to every DM that doesn't have all the time in the world to prepare. I think the concept setting idea is the greatest DM tool we have seen in D&D for quite some time and hope it stays like that.
Nahat Anoj
First Post
I wouldn't mind seeing an official version of PoL, but I don't think WotC is going to do it. If they don't, then I wouldn't mind seeing a third party version.
Actually, what would be really cool would be a PoL wiki, a D&D specific wiki like how Wookiepedia is specific to Star Wars. Basic information about "official" stuff could be on the wiki, while users could also contribute some of their own stuff. This may be something that WotC plans to do with the digital initiative.
Actually, what would be really cool would be a PoL wiki, a D&D specific wiki like how Wookiepedia is specific to Star Wars. Basic information about "official" stuff could be on the wiki, while users could also contribute some of their own stuff. This may be something that WotC plans to do with the digital initiative.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
I'm beginning to see more clearly where they're going with the PoL and the 'strongly suggested core' now. In many ways, it's like how FFZ ties itself to every FF game all at once (the land is called Ivalice, there's a Lifestream, there are Selkies and Bangaa, etc.): the idea is to have a point of reference for these things in the 'world,' as it were. The "PoL Setting" will take everything published and throw it together, much like 'greyhawk' did for 3e, but without Greyhawk's history or implied setting (4e is, as always, a step away from the "Greyhawk Style" of things).
So they're not using the Great Wheel because this isn't Greyhawk. They're using something more generic, because this is Generica, Land of Examples, and, to the 4e team, the Great Wheel is very "Greyhawk."
But they don't want to publish a Points of Light Campaign Setting, because, in many ways, it would be pointless to codify it all. They don't want to define it. Being vague is it's strength, because it is, in the truest sense of the term, NOT A SETTING. It's just a collection of random proper nouns.
I do think this is an idea I support, however I'm still a bit nervous about some of the more avid worldbuilders on the team sneaking 'setting-specific' information into the core rules (things like Golden Wyvern Adept, if there is a Golden Wyverns organization, for instance). The closer the rules hew to this 'not a setting,' the harder it will be to disentangle them from the setting.
I bet, in many ways, it's an example of what a homebrew could be. The DMG might contain a wealth of 'worldbuilding' information that explains how to take the components from the core and transplant them to a variety of settings.
And this also frees them up to do a 'Greyhawk Campaign Setting,' which I see as a distinct possibility now, with all the fans outraged at the fluff changes for 4e.
So they're not using the Great Wheel because this isn't Greyhawk. They're using something more generic, because this is Generica, Land of Examples, and, to the 4e team, the Great Wheel is very "Greyhawk."
But they don't want to publish a Points of Light Campaign Setting, because, in many ways, it would be pointless to codify it all. They don't want to define it. Being vague is it's strength, because it is, in the truest sense of the term, NOT A SETTING. It's just a collection of random proper nouns.
I do think this is an idea I support, however I'm still a bit nervous about some of the more avid worldbuilders on the team sneaking 'setting-specific' information into the core rules (things like Golden Wyvern Adept, if there is a Golden Wyverns organization, for instance). The closer the rules hew to this 'not a setting,' the harder it will be to disentangle them from the setting.
I bet, in many ways, it's an example of what a homebrew could be. The DMG might contain a wealth of 'worldbuilding' information that explains how to take the components from the core and transplant them to a variety of settings.
And this also frees them up to do a 'Greyhawk Campaign Setting,' which I see as a distinct possibility now, with all the fans outraged at the fluff changes for 4e.
The default setting isn't "Points of Light." The default setting is just the unnamed default setting.
"Points of light" is a descriptive term for a style of campaign design that the DMG is supposed to efficiently support. It involves only writing out as much of the campaign world as you need at the moment, starting small and local with low level characters, and then penning in the rest of the map as the characters grow and begin to roam the world. Eventually, you end with a large, coherent setting, rather than trying to do it all at once up front.
The default version of, say, Fire Archons isn't how they exist in "points of light" because "points of light" isn't a place. Its just the default version of Fire Archons. Maybe your setting will use Fire Archons, maybe it won't. Maybe your setting will change Fire Archons, maybe it won't. Its a puzzle piece to be dropped in to your map when or if you find it useful.
"Points of light" is a descriptive term for a style of campaign design that the DMG is supposed to efficiently support. It involves only writing out as much of the campaign world as you need at the moment, starting small and local with low level characters, and then penning in the rest of the map as the characters grow and begin to roam the world. Eventually, you end with a large, coherent setting, rather than trying to do it all at once up front.
The default version of, say, Fire Archons isn't how they exist in "points of light" because "points of light" isn't a place. Its just the default version of Fire Archons. Maybe your setting will use Fire Archons, maybe it won't. Maybe your setting will change Fire Archons, maybe it won't. Its a puzzle piece to be dropped in to your map when or if you find it useful.
Lord Zardoz
Explorer
I agree with essentially every other post in this thread so far.
I do not think there will ever be the traditional trappings of a D&D setting. No published maps, no setting back story, no stock NPC names. There will also be no setting name, (as in Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Eberron).
However, any game rules that would benefit from having a fleshed out description referring to a game world will probably use consistent place names. The only published material that will refer to the setting will be adventures that are setting agnostic, and the core rulebooks. This means that the implied setting will have the following.
- Defined Regions (Bael Turath from the Tiefling origin)
- A pantheon
- Defined player races
- Artifacts (any artifact that can be considered setting nonspecifc)
- A pseudo history (Tiefling origin type stuff)
Another way to look at it is that the implied setting will have all the information that a more specific setting tends to end up rewriting. Consider Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron. There are plenty of differences between them, but they have common elements. They each have a primary 'world city' (Palanthas, Waterdeep, and Sharn). They all have different explanations for magic (3 gods of magic / moons, The Weave, and whatever the hell Eberron does). They have gods that fulfill similar functions. I expect the default setting will have much of that kind of information.
END COMMUNICATION
I do not think there will ever be the traditional trappings of a D&D setting. No published maps, no setting back story, no stock NPC names. There will also be no setting name, (as in Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Eberron).
However, any game rules that would benefit from having a fleshed out description referring to a game world will probably use consistent place names. The only published material that will refer to the setting will be adventures that are setting agnostic, and the core rulebooks. This means that the implied setting will have the following.
- Defined Regions (Bael Turath from the Tiefling origin)
- A pantheon
- Defined player races
- Artifacts (any artifact that can be considered setting nonspecifc)
- A pseudo history (Tiefling origin type stuff)
Another way to look at it is that the implied setting will have all the information that a more specific setting tends to end up rewriting. Consider Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron. There are plenty of differences between them, but they have common elements. They each have a primary 'world city' (Palanthas, Waterdeep, and Sharn). They all have different explanations for magic (3 gods of magic / moons, The Weave, and whatever the hell Eberron does). They have gods that fulfill similar functions. I expect the default setting will have much of that kind of information.
END COMMUNICATION
I like it as a framework to be drag'n'dropped. They've provided just enough so that you could develop it into an entire setting if you wanted to. That's pure gold.
I think they've done really well concept-wise as well (although, I'm still going with the LoM version of Illithids as a future empire.)
I think they've done really well concept-wise as well (although, I'm still going with the LoM version of Illithids as a future empire.)
Connorsrpg
Adventurer
I think it is a great idea to simplify things with the cosmology for the core. It is even a better idea to not define this Points of Light in a geographic way (ie CS with map). Much better if a DM can put these places and things where he/she wants. I too hope it stays this way...not that I wouldn't mind seeing peoples' imaginings of this type of setting either.
Our long time Kage Campaign setting (in sig) REALLY fits this as we had moved to this exact campaign hook...(I mean the world has just entered the Age of Darkness and has a Dark God trapped within it...where parts of it seep to the surface and taint the world...Hmm, maybe I should be going back to Kage)...
C
Our long time Kage Campaign setting (in sig) REALLY fits this as we had moved to this exact campaign hook...(I mean the world has just entered the Age of Darkness and has a Dark God trapped within it...where parts of it seep to the surface and taint the world...Hmm, maybe I should be going back to Kage)...
C
Similar Threads
