What is going on with the release schedule? Now metaplot?

[Zaukrie]

I just want to know if the Essentials stuff if relevant to someone that has already bought DDI and most of the books for 4E so far. Like, you know, some kind of more definitive statement.

2. I like soft cover, if I get more pages for less money.

C. I'm not in favor of a meta plot, but it won't kill me if they have one. I can just ignore it probably.

 

[Jack99]

I just want to know if the Essentials stuff if relevant to someone that has already bought DDI and most of the books for 4E so far. Like, you know, some kind of more definitive statement.

They have said that the Essentials are almost all new stuff, and that it will be included in the DDI.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I have no insider knowledge of this--I first heard of the Abyssal Plague when I followed the link, yesterday--I think people are forgetting one tiny detail:

Unless WotC is suddenly changing their plans, a metaplot can't affect the ongoing development of existing settings, because there isn't any. Three books and out, remember? So even if the Abyssal Plague is supposed to affect all the worlds--and from my reading, that's ambiguous--it will only do so via novels, and maybe DDI articles. The only setting that's really "ongoing" enough to have a metaplot is the core pseudo-setting of Nentir Vale & Friends. If it has any impact on the others, it'll have to be minimal, by definition.

 

[Aegeri]

I think I've let a lack of patience and just general disappointment that I haven't seen a lot to be excited about (for me) coming out in future. They'll probably announce a whole lot of awesome things in the next couple of months or after gencon and I'll be all happy again. Well I hope anyway.

 

[Markn]

Honestly, I'm pretty stoked about the Monster Vault - which is essentially (get it?) redesigned monsters, many of which are from the MM1. This is how they will update the MM - of course some of the monsters will be new.

I'm kind of hoping they redo the dragons, maybe even go so far as to make some of the Elites since so many solo dragons exist.

 

[Camelot]

But you don't understand. The ENTIRE LINE OF D&D EVARR has been one huge meta plot. It all links back to Sigil and the Lady of Pain, but they have not yet released who or what she is and how Sigil came into being.

If that's not enough, even the MECHANICS of the game are tied to the meta plot! Every edition change has been the result of some multiverse-shattering event. For example, when Vecna invaded Sigil (hmmm, Sigil...), he messed with some portals that weren't supposed to be messed with and caused the edition change (from 2e to 3e, I think). Now in 4e, this Abyssal Plague will continue the metaplot involving Tharizdun, who I believe links to the Lady of Pain. If he gets out, I guarantee he'll head straight for Sigil.

But even if that's true, or they're doing some other meta plot, I just homebrew my world anyway.

If you think I was kidding, you don't know me. T)

 

[MacMathan]

Following the release of Monster Manual 3 (which I now refer to as See Page XX because I cannot believe that the editors still aren't catching this error), I've decided that I profoundly dislike the direction that WotC is taking its story elements. I am also certain that infecting each of their worlds with the same metaplot is going to brown off pretty much every fan.

I like a lot of the mechanical stuff that WotC produces but I am liking the story changes less and less.

Sadly I think WotC are caught between a rock and a hard place as the previous complaints about MM1 & 2 were "Where is the fluff, these are boring to read!" In writing decent fluff some direction has to be taken and thus risks alienating some fans. It does look like the vocal "give us fluff" crowd has forced an evolution.

BTW I totally agree about the See Page XX errors, where I have worked editors would be let go for such basic mistakes.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Sadly I think WotC are caught between a rock and a hard place as the previous complaints about MM1 & 2 were "Where is the fluff, these are boring to read!" In writing decent fluff some direction has to be taken and thus risks alienating some fans. It does look like the vocal "give us fluff" crowd has forced an evolution. (snip)

I agree with using more fluff. I suppose I would just like it to be consistent with what has gone before (it doesn't have to be an exact copy but a solid homage would be nice). The problem with saying that, of course, is it can provoke the edition warriors to war (which is not my intention).

(snip)BTW I totally agree about the See Page XX errors, where I have worked editors would be let go for such basic mistakes.

I agree.

Over the years of reading business proposals and whatnot I've got a few things I look out for if I need to evaluate something quickly. Things like "should of" instead of "should have" and not knowing the difference between "its" and "it's" are like canaries in the coalmine for me when it comes to doing a quick evaluation (I work on the principle that if someone cannot be bothered attending to the detail in a proposal, chances are they won't do it in the project either). The "see page xx" error falls into that category for me. Inexcusable.

 

[McTreble]

Why use any of it? Novels are easy to ignore, use different adventures, or make your own. Even the fluff in books is ignorable. Gygax would be rolling in his grave over all of this whining about metaplot and crap. These are guidelines and suggestions, nothing more.

I love the fluff they added, but I'm no stranger to excluding classes and races (all psionics, Deva, those crystal guys) and modifying everything else as I see fit.

The reality is, you should be able to have infinate enjoyment from the game with only the Core Set of PHB, DMG, and MM.

Everything else is a sidebar. Stop letting WotC explain the worlds; explain them yourself.

 

[Argyle King]

The following post has no basis on fact; simply playing the devil's advocate for a moment...


The meta-plot could be a world spanning super event which heroes from multiple realities need to unite to handle. In this way they can officially combine all of the settings published for 4E and all future settings into one big multi-verse of settings, and that multi-verse will be presented as the 'default' 4E setting... which is basically a storyline way of also saying that the default 4E setting is whatever setting you want it to be because the multi-verse of 4E has portals to every game world; even your homebrew.

or maybe it will be like the world shaking events which transitioned 2e into 3e; IIRC, that's what the Die Vecna Die series of adventures were supposed to be - a way to explain the rules changes via in game story.