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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vorhaart" data-source="post: 4254622" data-attributes="member: 55371">The problem with that is that very few, if any, of those licenses are owned by WotC, and with the current state of copyright law in the US (where the game was primarily developed), they could find themselves in some very hot water if they reference any of that material. I'm not a lawyer, but methinks that any corporate lawyer worth his salt wouldn't allow a book to be published that would paint a big red bulls-eye on the company's flanks. And remember, the bigger the product, the bigger the bulls-eye; 4th edition is looking pretty big nowadays...   So they have to find a way to describe the archetypal settings that gamers love, without actually naming any of the people, places or major plot points that characterize them. Ever try to describe the Conan setting without mentioning Conan himself, or Cimmeria? You have to use broad strokes, it's not easy, and ultimately most players will just skip it entirely. I really can't blame them for sweeping the mess under the rug.   Two pages is not a whole lot, and I'd like to see more than that about such an important topic, but I would think that by the time a player is mature enough (in a player sense, not necessarily in an age sense) to be able to adapt an engine to a different setting, they no longer need much help in working out the intricacies of their game world. More cynically, the less on settings in the core books, the better the opportunity for expansion books later on. Simple economics.   From the sounds of it, 4th provides a framework for what has been traditionally been the meat of most D&D games; exploration and fighting monsters. There's a reason it's called "Dungeons and Dragons". Attempts to mechanize the social aspects of roleplaying often become too unwieldy or fall prey to exploits. Best to stick to providing a solid mechanical foundation for combat and let the gamers adjust things to match their own playstyle. Fewer rules outside combat = more freedom in roleplaying situations.</blockquote>

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