What types of D&D books do you want to see?
- Thread starter MerricB
- Start date
Acid_crash
First Post
If I owned Wizards, my first idea would be to discontinue D&D and focus more on a more generic fantasy rules system...but I would probably lose a lot of money doing that and soon be out of business. 
Second notion would be to send a survey to all stores, on internet web sites, and ask people what they would like to see in a 4th edition. Based on responses over the course of six months to a year, I would then rewrite the game according to most popular responses as well as cool ideas, and write a series of 4th edition books designed for a) Introduction to D&D, b) Advanced rules options, and c) Expert options. Each would be its own box set, each would expand upon the earlier box sets and I would aim to have them sell retail about 1/3 current PHB prices. Each would combine elements of being a player and a DM.
Then I would write those books previously mentioned on the beginners guide to being a DM and the beginners guide to city adventuring...then probably one for each major section of the wilderness (one for deserts, one for ocean/sea, one for forests/plains/swamps/arctic).
Then I would want to write a book based on the different genres, each genre getting about fifteen to twenty pages of information, maybe more depending on content and cost, all aimed at both players and dm's.
Eventually I would come up with a nifty design to ask for a bunch of setting options from 11,000 people and end up creating a system specifically for 4th edition and release that as the new staple of what 4th edition can do.
Second notion would be to send a survey to all stores, on internet web sites, and ask people what they would like to see in a 4th edition. Based on responses over the course of six months to a year, I would then rewrite the game according to most popular responses as well as cool ideas, and write a series of 4th edition books designed for a) Introduction to D&D, b) Advanced rules options, and c) Expert options. Each would be its own box set, each would expand upon the earlier box sets and I would aim to have them sell retail about 1/3 current PHB prices. Each would combine elements of being a player and a DM.
Then I would write those books previously mentioned on the beginners guide to being a DM and the beginners guide to city adventuring...then probably one for each major section of the wilderness (one for deserts, one for ocean/sea, one for forests/plains/swamps/arctic).
Then I would want to write a book based on the different genres, each genre getting about fifteen to twenty pages of information, maybe more depending on content and cost, all aimed at both players and dm's.
Eventually I would come up with a nifty design to ask for a bunch of setting options from 11,000 people and end up creating a system specifically for 4th edition and release that as the new staple of what 4th edition can do.
MerricB said:So, what book (or books) do you create?
Alternatively (and probably more to the point), you are the project manager at Wizards. You decide which products will be made. Which products do you want to see? (You have the world's perfect designer to work on them)
Cheers!
The answer to these questions really depend on whether we have to take the market into account or not.. ie. is our perfect world also one where Wizards won't go broke/be shut down by Hasbro no matter what we print?
If the answer to that is yes, then I would immediately cancel the Eberron line, make it clear that Greyhawk, DL etc were done (but maybe get someone to design a really nice free webpage with regular support being put up there); and keep having good people working on FR, which would continue to be the main setting for D&D. I would also, however, release a new setting based on a low-magic (using the magic system from Midnight) renaissance oriented world (smokepowder pistols, protestantism -- yes, only ONE deity but at least two or more different schools claiming to know the "truth", etc etc). That game would have a lot of Rennaisance style opportunities for political/social RP, gritty combat, and exploration of the "new worlds" (other continents).
Then there'd be another setting based on a sprawling classical empire very similar to the Roman empire, where magic is dark and sinister (a lá Call of Cthulhu), the old pantheon of gods once walked the earth regularly but are now losing their power (as are their clerics), strange new cults and barbarians in the north threaten the stability of the peace, etc etc. The setting would be classical and suitable for epic play.
BOTH these settings woudl be set up from the very beginning to have a fixed set of releases, and a fixed "shelf-life" of, say, 3 years. After which they would be retired to their own free webpage support, and other settings would come out. All of these fixed-run settings would be designed to be as different as possible in era/magic/technology/details from Forgotten Realms (the default for D&D) and from each other. The idea here would be that there would not be two bog-fantasy or high-fantasy settings competing with each other, dividing potential markets. Instead there'd be the one big market for the majority of D&D players who want Realms-style fantasy, and a bunch of "limited series" Campaign settings that emphasized differentness and slightly more mature themes than FR's.
I would probably write the main books myself, but if part of this fantasy is to get a "dream team" of people writing for you, I would try to get C.J.Carella writing for the "classical" setting (he did a brilliant job with GURPS Imperial Rome), and have Jonathan Tweet writing just about damn near anything he wants. Ditto for Erick Wujcik.
Also, I know the question was D&D specific, but this is WoTC we're talking about, so I would negotiate with Chaosium to be able to release more CoC d20 stuff, and would negotiate with Lucasfilm for permission to release a Knights of the Old Republic sourcebook for SW.
I probably wouldn't bother getting the license for LoTR, but if it was available, I would do my damndest to hire the guys who came up with Midnight to write the books for it.
I would also kill whatever agreement is currently in place for Gamma World if nescessary, and release a full-sized line of "Jonathan Tweet's Omega World", for D20 Future. That, and look into a D20 Future Dr.Who license.
Come to think of it, those are all things I would probably do whether or not profitability mattered, because i think all those would be profitable ideas (except killing Eberron because at this stage that would be a big loss). I guess the only thing I would change would be to make Eberron as UNLIKE FR as possible, and to release a new series of very inexpensive "basic books" for younger customers.
Nisarg
Dark Jezter
First Post
I'd make a Forgotten Realms regional suppliment: The Bloodstone Lands
The book would include in-depth information on the countries of Narfell and Damara, histories of the two regions, statistics for important NPCs (like Gareth Dragonsbane), feats, spells, maps, monsters, magic items, and prestige classes. The book would also include maps of Castle Perilous, a dungeon area for high-level PCs.
The book would include in-depth information on the countries of Narfell and Damara, histories of the two regions, statistics for important NPCs (like Gareth Dragonsbane), feats, spells, maps, monsters, magic items, and prestige classes. The book would also include maps of Castle Perilous, a dungeon area for high-level PCs.
Akrasia
Procrastinator
As a CONSUMER:
A slim ONE volume "reference" version of DnD (all core rules) with SHORT summaries of all the rules.
"Brevity is the soul of wit." (the Bard)
As a PRODUCER:
Several volumes on this truly BRILLIANT world setting -- with plenty of modules as well -- that simply EVERYONE will want to buy. Sadly, only I can produce these wonderful materials.
A burden, yes, but I can handle it.
A slim ONE volume "reference" version of DnD (all core rules) with SHORT summaries of all the rules.
"Brevity is the soul of wit." (the Bard)
As a PRODUCER:
Several volumes on this truly BRILLIANT world setting -- with plenty of modules as well -- that simply EVERYONE will want to buy. Sadly, only I can produce these wonderful materials.
A burden, yes, but I can handle it.
To start:
Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition
No feats. They would become tricks, knacks, and talents instead. Picked up through roleplaying instead of gained when leveling.
No prestige classes. A player would instead be able to have his character join a group of some kind that provides special training.
No balance. Players would be encouraged to be creative in encounters, with XP awards for things other than killing stuff. Player participation would be the job of the DM and the players, with consideration given to those players who don't want to be in the spotlight all that often.
Solving problems in-setting instead of through meta-gaming would be encouraged.
I would also incorporate something like lifepaths from the Burning Wheel RPG or the like from a product such as Aria: Roleplaying, and have a system whereby the players could plan out a character's career. So instead of a Fighter suddenly becoming a Wizard upon leveling the process of said Fighter learning how to be a Wizard would get played out.
I would also expand the definition of adventure to include man vs. nature situations and playing out events otherwise abstracted away. A team game such as baseball or soccer for example.
My D&D 4e would also have an explicit setting, instead of the implicit setting 3.5 now has. A setting of my design with a bible other designers would use to create material for it.
I've got other ideas, but this is long enough. If anybody's interested I'll add more.
Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition
No feats. They would become tricks, knacks, and talents instead. Picked up through roleplaying instead of gained when leveling.
No prestige classes. A player would instead be able to have his character join a group of some kind that provides special training.
No balance. Players would be encouraged to be creative in encounters, with XP awards for things other than killing stuff. Player participation would be the job of the DM and the players, with consideration given to those players who don't want to be in the spotlight all that often.
Solving problems in-setting instead of through meta-gaming would be encouraged.
I would also incorporate something like lifepaths from the Burning Wheel RPG or the like from a product such as Aria: Roleplaying, and have a system whereby the players could plan out a character's career. So instead of a Fighter suddenly becoming a Wizard upon leveling the process of said Fighter learning how to be a Wizard would get played out.
I would also expand the definition of adventure to include man vs. nature situations and playing out events otherwise abstracted away. A team game such as baseball or soccer for example.
My D&D 4e would also have an explicit setting, instead of the implicit setting 3.5 now has. A setting of my design with a bible other designers would use to create material for it.
I've got other ideas, but this is long enough. If anybody's interested I'll add more.
Kanegrundar
Explorer
A Perfect World, huh? Here's what I'd do:
I'd start off with doing one-shot books of classic settings. They'd be big books (400 or so pages each...easy) detailing races, modified classes (if needed), new classes (if needed), new PrC's, etc.. Then I'd put out a monster book for each setting (essentially making each setting a two-off line), with all the monsters not yet converted to 3.5 at pretain to that setting. That way I have more room for actually fleshing out the world.
Then I'd start out putting out regional setting books for both FR and Eberron, until the worlds are covered in their entirety, but with plenty of breathing room for any new material...not that it would be needed.
I would then put out a big book filled with rules for playing different monsters/races as PC's. The thing I would do though, like what WotC is already doing in Races of Stone, is list all the various rules options for dealing with ECL's and then list each race with a ECL over 0 with a monster class. Yeah, it's a clunky idea, but I've had a LOT of seccess with it in my games. This would cover all WotC monster books and detail just about any monster that could conceivably be used as a PC (just about anything with an advancement "by character class").
Then I would put out a series of monster books (one every other month or so) converting over any and all monsters that haven't been done yet. I mean a smart conversion, not just taking all the silliness from previous editions and sticking then in the new edition just because that critter had such and such power in 1 or 2E. (Why did the Death Knight has the ability to cast a Fireball?)
An yearly Monster Manual Appendix with monsters from Dragon and Dungeon/Poly from the previous year.
I would put out a book detailing the New Republic Era for the SW RPG.
I would put out a fully-fleshed out setting books for each of the campaign samples in the various D20 Modern Books.
I would bring back Dark*Matter for D20 Modern.
I'm sure there are other books I'd like to do, but I just can't think of them right now.
Adios,
Kane
I'd start off with doing one-shot books of classic settings. They'd be big books (400 or so pages each...easy) detailing races, modified classes (if needed), new classes (if needed), new PrC's, etc.. Then I'd put out a monster book for each setting (essentially making each setting a two-off line), with all the monsters not yet converted to 3.5 at pretain to that setting. That way I have more room for actually fleshing out the world.
Then I'd start out putting out regional setting books for both FR and Eberron, until the worlds are covered in their entirety, but with plenty of breathing room for any new material...not that it would be needed.
I would then put out a big book filled with rules for playing different monsters/races as PC's. The thing I would do though, like what WotC is already doing in Races of Stone, is list all the various rules options for dealing with ECL's and then list each race with a ECL over 0 with a monster class. Yeah, it's a clunky idea, but I've had a LOT of seccess with it in my games. This would cover all WotC monster books and detail just about any monster that could conceivably be used as a PC (just about anything with an advancement "by character class").
Then I would put out a series of monster books (one every other month or so) converting over any and all monsters that haven't been done yet. I mean a smart conversion, not just taking all the silliness from previous editions and sticking then in the new edition just because that critter had such and such power in 1 or 2E. (Why did the Death Knight has the ability to cast a Fireball?)
An yearly Monster Manual Appendix with monsters from Dragon and Dungeon/Poly from the previous year.
I would put out a book detailing the New Republic Era for the SW RPG.
I would put out a fully-fleshed out setting books for each of the campaign samples in the various D20 Modern Books.
I would bring back Dark*Matter for D20 Modern.
I'm sure there are other books I'd like to do, but I just can't think of them right now.
Adios,
Kane
CarlZog
Explorer
What I'd do from a business perspective is quite different from what I'd love to see as a consumer. Here's the top things the fan in me would do:
-- I'd replace d20Modern/Future with a revised edition of Alternity.
-- I'd resurrect Polyhedron as a true journal of role-playing games, discussing the ideas and issues that cross system boundaries.
zog
-- I'd replace d20Modern/Future with a revised edition of Alternity.
-- I'd resurrect Polyhedron as a true journal of role-playing games, discussing the ideas and issues that cross system boundaries.
zog
