Ravnica Table of Contents & More

Thank you.

 

[epithet]

...
But we will get 10 guilds with this book. Its... disappointing.

It's an interesting choice that WotC made. It seems that people who are interested in Ravnica are feeling "meh" about the book because it is limited in its detail on the setting, and those of us who don't care about Ravnica at all are feeling "meh" about it because all the guild stuff is probably wasted space and a fair number of the monsters and NPCs will need significant revision to be useful in ongoing D&D campaigns. All of us are likely to buy it, though, because it's a starting point for y'all to build on and it has some interesting stat blocks and toys for the rest of us to play with.

 

[gyor]

Magic the Gathering lore? Yeah. You'll be disappointed. There is a rich history on Dominaria and many other planes that compose the MtG universe. There are many story arcs often linked to cards blocks. Just trying to explain how the Phyrixians tried to invade Dominaria and the aftermath would take days.

From MtG's history you could make a dozen monster manuels. Saprolings, thrulls, slivers, ball lightning, Serra Angels, Sengir Vampires, stats for the three Eldrazi, stats for Yagmoth as a demi-god, stats for Nicol Bolas... Just those would be awesome.

Planewalking explained, would be great. Every MtG players are supposed to be a planewalker and there are plenty of planewalkers who are important NPCs. Urza comes to mind.

Then there are the magical items and artifacts. Dakkon's Black Blade, the Weatherlight, the Mirari, icy manipulators, sol rings, irory towers, Zuran orbs...

There are special places like Ith's Maze, Vesuva, the Diamond Valley...

And there's the spells. Tonnes of spells.

But we will get 10 guilds with this book. Its... disappointing.

Too be fair it's 10 massive global, multipurpose guilds, with internal organizations biggered then a regular cities guilds. But also five new races, two new subclasses, and a bunch of knew monsters including Felidar (winged Felidar), Archons, Battle Angels, Orzhov Angels (maybe called Fallen Angels?), Psyshic Vampires, Thrulls, Undead, ect... powerful Guildmasters like Niv-Mizzet, Rakdos, Aurelia, Isperia, Jarad, ect..., important NPCs like Teysa, Izoni Thousand Eyes, act..., a new spell Encoded Thoughts, some new magic items like Guild Signets, Guild Keyrunes, Mizzarium gizmos, Illusionist Braces, and so on. And hopefully important and interesting locations within the 10th district. I figure we will get around 40 to 60 completely new creatures, and dozens more reflavoured from the MM. Plus a bunch of NPCs and NPC templates.

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=6670153]gyor[/MENTION]: I don’t know what game you’ve been playing, but it’s been obvious to me ever since the play test period that 5e was the “DIY Edition” of D&D. We’re never going to get more than bare bones minimal coverage of anything because they want us to do it all ourselves.

 

[gyor]

I'm glad they are expanding 5E's available settings. On the other hand I have no interest in Ravnica and only limited interest in Eberron. I'll probably pick up the Eberron book. The Ravnica book will be the first WotC 5E book I haven't bought. Which is, I guess, the problem with setting books in general. I don't run FR btw. I have my own home brew setting and have picked up every book so far to glean useful bits from (and just for reading). Now, I would have picked up a Planescape product even though I never thought about running it. A lot of the material in it was useful back in the day. And would be now. An updated setting would have interested me. A new setting probably would have. MtG doesn't interest me, I haven't played it since it first came out and have only a casual knowledge of the game now. *sigh* I was looking forward to the new books... oh well, time to quit whining. And get back to work. Grading never ends...

From recycling parts of it for home brew perspective, many of the monsters in Ravnica and even some NPCs should be of value, the subclasses and PC races might be as well for your players. There is supposed to be a ton of maps, many of which should be repurposable for other settings, some of the spell stuff might be useful, and the rejigged way they use backgrounds and renown might make for good inspiration. In fact the Guilds themselves could be repurposed. Orzhov turns into a corrupt Kingdom or Theocracy that used to be good, Simic becomes a Eco friendly Magocracy, Selysnia becomes a Theocratic Communist stat, Boros becomes a fantasy Roman Empire or Knights Templar style Knight Order/Nation, Izzet Magitech University, Dimir the Kingdom of a Skull Lord in the Shadowfell or a Thieves Guild.

So I can see it as being very useful for people who want to poach elements and inspiration from it.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Look under the guilds in the table of contents and it lists Guild Spells and there is a section for magic items.

Which is exactly what I would expect from this kind of D&D book, with no ties to M:tG

 

[gyor]

It's an interesting choice that WotC made. It seems that people who are interested in Ravnica are feeling "meh" about the book because it is limited in its detail on the setting, and those of us who don't care about Ravnica at all are feeling "meh" about it because all the guild stuff is probably wasted space and a fair number of the monsters and NPCs will need significant revision to be useful in ongoing D&D campaigns. All of us are likely to buy it, though, because it's a starting point for y'all to build on and it has some interesting stat blocks and toys for the rest of us to play with.

Yeah that sums it up well. It should offer a lot more then it does. But it offers enough to make it worth it. Plus Ravnica will become DMSGUILD legal, maybe even part or all of MtG's universe beyond that (although I think they can will keep it to Ravnica and generic MtG stuff, like none setting linked cards from core sets and the like).

It's also possible that MtG monsters, spells, and artifacts, and races will end up in regular D&D products, like playable Vampires and Reverants might be be in Volo's Guide to Specters, maybe some none Ravnica MtG undead and Serra Angels.

Something dawned on me. When Ari get referring to Boros style Angels as Battles Angels, that might be the D&D name for White and Red Mana MtG Angels from now on, not just Boros Angels. Example Angelic Skirmisher, Besandra, and others. Maybe pure white Angels will have their own name, and Black White Mana Angels will be say Fallen or Dark Angels, Green and White Angels, Angels of Nature, and so on.

One thing I am curious about is how Ravnica style celestial Archons are going to relate to more traditional D&D celestial archons. Both seem very Lawful Good inclined, both Celestial, so in say FR it might make sense for the regular D&D Archons to just absorb MtG Archons, as subtypes of Archon. So say Lantern Archon, Hound Archon, Trumpet Archon, Blazing Archon, Triumvete Archon, Throne Archon, Tome Archon.

I feel like with the one multiverse thing with D&D settings and with MtG multiverse and D&D merged, we really need a cosmology book on how all the Setting Elements fit together and interact.

 

[neobolts]

This concerns me as well. If the book doesn't contain enough information to run the campaign setting, then what's the point? Just make a setting neutral guild product that people can drop into their homebrew.
.

Hopefully this is enough in the guilds section to run the setting. i mean the entire sitting is one mega metropolis. Like the 3e Sharn book vs the 3e Eberron book.

 

[gyor]

Hopefully this is enough in the guilds section to run the setting. i mean the entire sitting is one mega metropolis. Like the 3e Sharn book vs the 3e Eberron book.

Between the Guild Section, MtG Wikis, and DMGUILD, it should be fine, but Art of Ravnica and the novels and short stories and the 10th district chapter, and the creatures of course, it should be have enough to run campaigns for the Setting. AL will like release AL Iegal Adventures for Ravnica, the way it has for Eberron. Who knows if the demand is there, perhaps they will release more Ravnica and MtG official hardcover products in the future.

 

[cbwjm]

I know what is bothering me so much with this campaign string book. It suffers from the gnome effect. What is missing isn't gnomes though. It's the campaign setting. And planewalking. And iconic MtG spells, artifacts and monsters. And colored magic.

Guilds aren't what MtG is about. This is a MtG setting book in name only.

For which I'm grateful. This is a MtG setting converted to the DnD multiverse where MtG concepts do not exist. Forcing in MtG concepts like the colour system and planeswalkers would be a mistake in my opinion. As is, it looks like each guild had some of their own unique spells unless those sections in each guild are just talking about the spells they commonly use.

 

[Parmandur]

[MENTION=6670153]gyor[/MENTION]: I don’t know what game you’ve been playing, but it’s been obvious to me ever since the play test period that 5e was the “DIY Edition” of D&D. We’re never going to get more than bare bones minimal coverage of anything because they want us to do it all ourselves.

If it works, it works.