The Soul of and Drama in D&D

[The Little Raven]

What interests you about the Forgotten Realms this time around?

The idea of the spellplague. A lack of a goddess of magic and her near-divine Chosen. Removal of elements I found to be completely lame (Maztica, for one). Political upheaval. A step away from all the previous canon, which could be overwhelming. Something key about the mood it presents has changed, something I can't really put my finger on.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

You are repeating what you said in the OP allready. I allready replied that I disagree. I tried to give you examples of D&D, perhaps they could not be the most clear ones for the case. Have you for example ever tried DMing a CoC or WoD -any setting of it? Rules actively enforce drama in these games.

No, but I've run Torg, which supported dramatic encounters. My contention was that 4E is not stealing this away from D&D because it only exists in D&D through the efforts of its players (including the DM).

 

[Irda Ranger]

From a retail perspective, it's easier to buy and stock boosters than to guess about what you need to get of individual blisters of different types of monsters. This model works great for booksellers and toy stores and still works just fine for hobby stores afraid of sitting on excess merchandise, too. I suspect this had a lot to do with them selling random packs.

That's actually a very astute observation. I hadn't thought of that.

But I'd still order a boat-load of their stuff from their central warehouse (which doesn't have this stocking issue) if I could pick what I was getting. As it is, I own none of it.

 

[kennew142]

Worlds and Monsters has more soul and drama than anything I've read out of D&D in almost a decade. I don't see how anyone can come away from that book and not get tons of inspiration for one's own campaign as well as dozens of ideas for plot hooks for adventure. If 4e is anything like this, then the soul of Dungeons and Dragons is just fine, thank you.

Yes.

I have been on a creative wave ever since the publication of R&C, but W&M really whet my appetite. I can't type fast enough to get all of my ideas recorded. I carry a little notebook around with me so that I can jot down every idea that springs to mind. Then I spend hours at night organizing it all. I haven't been this excited about D&D in years.

The fact that my 8 year old twins will start playing with this edition, this summer, also has me excited. Their excitement id feeding my own. They already play SWSE, and love it.

 

[The Little Raven]

YI have been on a creative wave ever since the publication of R&C, but W&M really whet my appetite. I can't type fast enough to get all of my ideas recorded. I carry a little notebook around with me so that I can jot down every idea that springs to mind. Then I spend hours at night organizing it all. I haven't been this excited about D&D in years.

I have trouble just typing it straight out, so I call a friend over, turn on my computer's mic and sound recorder and just have a conversation about my ideas with the person (who helps me pull out stuff I'd not think to discuss) and then compile it later into a transcript, then work it into a manuscript.

The fact that my 8 year old twins will start playing with this edition, this summer, also has me excited. Their excitement id feeding my own. They already play SWSE, and love it.

That's awesome! I'm looking forward to my nephew being old enough to play, as he's sat around the table with us, rolling my dice for me, but doesn't yet grasp what we're doing.