D&D General What Is Your Dream 50th Anniversary Product?

[Echohawk]

If the books come with a strong magnifying glass included, the page count - and thus the height/thickness - can be reduced considerably.

Sure, if you packaged it with a microfiche reader you could get the width of a Complete D&D Monster Book down to 1¼ inches (3 cm)

 

[Stormonu]

That would reduce the width of the product to 3 feet (91cm), or half that if there were different monsters on each side of the page. Even a 1½ foot (46cm) wide book would be unmanageable. There are simply a lot of D&D monsters!

In all seriousness, if they could do postcard size monster cards, and sell them in a series (A-B, C, D, etc. - or "by book", "by CR" or some other form) I absolutely would buy them - even if they only did the 5E monsters (assuming they also included the ones from adventures and other supplements, not just the monster manuals). I happily bought the GF9 cards, but I hate they all aren't the same size and don't cover all the existing 5E monsters.

 

[Older Beholder]

Does it still count as a dream product if it's a reality?
If so, (although not tied to the 50th anniversary, it's something I've been waiting almost 30 years for at this point) the Planescape miniature set coming out next year would be my dream product.

 

[Echohawk]

In all seriousness, if they could do postcard size monster cards, and sell them in a series (A-B, C, D, etc. - or "by book", "by CR" or some other form) I absolutely would buy them - even if they only did the 5E monsters (assuming they also included the ones from adventures and other supplements, not just the monster manuals). I happily bought the GF9 cards, but I hate they all aren't the same size and don't cover all the existing 5E monsters.

I would also buy that product. Indeed, I have the GF9 cards, and the original AD&D Monster Cards, and a complete set of the monster cards that came with the WotC miniatures line. Clearly I'm in the target market for anything with a monster on it.

However, practically speaking, cards are not ideal for a complete D&D monster reference. Some sort of reference book (however thick) where each monster can get a variable amount of space would work much better. There is a lot more D&D lore for aarakocra than there is for the zzonga-bush.

 

[Stormonu]

I would also buy that product. Indeed, I have the GF9 cards, and the original AD&D Monster Cards, and a complete set of the monster cards that came with the WotC miniatures line. Clearly I'm in the target market for anything with a monster on it.

However, practically speaking, cards are not ideal for a complete D&D monster reference. Some sort of reference book (however thick) where each monster can get a variable amount of space would work much better. There is a lot more D&D lore for aarakocra than there is for the zzonga-bush.

Oh true, having a reference series like the Encyclopedia Britannica for monsters would be a godsend product I could put some money into. I'd actually take it over the history of D&D books we got, to tell the truth.

But for gameplay reference, I'd flat love postcard stat blocks with a picture on the reverse side so I don't have to have a pile of monster books at my side during a game.

If we were really lucky, they'd do both (well, maybe also a "with miniature" option to boot) - and have a payment plan for buying it. If I was willing to pay Eaglemoss for Star Trek ship models, you can count on me doing it for D&D monsters.

 

[Stormonu]

Oh heck, I feel like an idiot. I e-mailed Beedles and Grimm about this idea, and discovered they've already started down this path...I-I feel like I need to buy them.

Encounter Cards (D&D) - Challenge Rating 0-6 PACK 1

Designed to rest on the top of your DM screen, these 30 encounter cards feature all-new gorgeous artwork on the front and DM info on the back. DM info includes the full D&D stat block and exclusive Beadle & Grimm’s Tactical Tips. Tactical Tips are combat hints for the DM provided in...

beadleandgrimms.com

 

[Demetrios1453]

Well, now you guys made me do it, I had to go figure out how many monsters are currently in 5e, just to work out what we would need for books/cards for this edition alone. D&D Beyond's filters are both helpful and, annoyingly, not helpful in this endeavor.

Currently, there are 2753 statblocks listed on their Monsters tab. However, a lot of them, 285 to be exact, are duplicate legacy entries, mainly from VGtM and MToF ( I didn't include the 5 orc stat blocks from Volo's that weren't reprinted in MotM and thus weren't duplicated.); the fact that there is no "Legacy" sort option made this a pain. There are, if I counted correctly, 225 named humanoid NPCs who, according to various definitions, may or may not count as "monsters" (the NPC tag is very inconsistent in D&DB, pulling in legacy stuff and just random things. Who put an "NPC" tag on Animated Statues?). So, there are (if did my counting and math right) 2468 or 2243 monster stat blocks in 5e currently, depending if you count individual humanoid NPCs or not.

 

[Clint_L]

Well, now you guys made me do it, I had to go figure out how many monsters are currently in 5e, just to work out what we would need for books/cards for this edition alone. D&D Beyond's filters are both helpful and, annoyingly, not helpful in this endeavor.

Currently, there are 2753 statblocks listed on their Monsters tab. However, a lot of them, 285 to be exact, are duplicate legacy entries, mainly from VGtM and MToF ( I didn't include the 5 orc stat blocks from Volo's that weren't reprinted in MotM and thus weren't duplicated.); the fact that there is no "Legacy" sort option made this a pain. There are, if I counted correctly, 225 named humanoid NPCs who, according to various definitions, may or may not count as "monsters" (the NPC tag is very inconsistent in D&DB, pulling in legacy stuff and just random things. Who put an "NPC" tag on Animated Statues?). So, there are (if did my counting and math right) 2468 or 2243 monster stat blocks in 5e currently, depending if you count individual humanoid NPCs or not.

You select which books to include in the search, if you do an advanced search.

 

[Demetrios1453]

You select which books to include in the search, if you do an advanced search.

I did that for Volo's and Mordenkainen's, and subtracted their totals out. But it would be much easier to have a filter that could just remove sources you don't want, instead of tediously clicking and adding the dozens of sources you do want...

 

[DammitVictor]

Other people have thoroughly covered my fondest wish-- opening up CC and DMG development for legacy editions-- but I would feel remiss if I did not voice my support for it. I am pretty much not a customer anymore, and this would make me (and a lot of people like me) throw them at least some money once in a while, while also producing the materials ourselves.

What I will say, is instead of a product in time for the 50th Anniversary, a simple product announcement: akin to the recent TMNT revival Kickstarter, a single "Paizo doorstop" for each of the main D&D and AD&D campaign settings from 1989 to the present, updated to the 5.5e rules and filled with the original legacy artwork. And I mean fully updated, not just reskinned; a combination of gaming reference and coffee-table book for fans of the original settings and D&D history, with campaign-specific toolsets that DMs can mix and match.

And yeah... that includes revisiting the boxed sets they did recently for 5e. Sucks for the people who bought them this year, but the anniversary is a chance to earn back some of that early 2000s goodwill.