What WotC hasnt done yet: Old Settings

[Rechan]

Even when they gave us Dark Sun 4E, the books were IMO outstandingly boring due to the current philosophy that kids nowadays only care about exciting fight scenes and descriptions of culture and history and stuff.

This month's Setting related material in Dragon:

Crowns and Mantles: Cormyr's Ranks and Titles
Before you can rub shoulders with the nobles and military officers of Cormyr, you need to know how to properly address them.

Swords of State: Royal Blades of Cormyr
Fall in love with a collection of swords that symbolize the honor and legacy of Cormyr.

Character Themes: Heroes of Cormyr
What does it take to defend the greatest kingdom in Faerûn? Become a Purple Dragon Knight or War Wizard to find out.

Eye on the Realms: Surprising Vintage
Uncork a bottle of treasure.

Eye on Dark Sun: King Hanaksaman: He fancies himself a king, but this hermit is missing some sand in his hourglass.

Eye on Eberron: Vadalia and Cardaen
They were lovers and warriors, and they made the Valenar elves what they are today. (For those who don't know Eberron, these are the ancestors of one type of elves that are all about ancestral worship)

Character Themes: Sentinel Marshal
By ancient decree, the Sentinel Marshals of House Deneith bring law and order to every nation of Khorvaire. And that’s no simple task.

This month's setting related Dungeon material

Cormyr Royale
Compare the royal courts of Regent Alusair Obarskyr and King Foril Obarskyr, and see what adventures await in the Palace of the Purple Dragon circa 1379 DR and 1479 DR.

Backdrop: Suzail
Visit a breathtaking city rife with intrigue and adventure. Enjoy the rumors, festivals, landmarks, and everything else Cormyr’s capital has to offer.

Tavern Profile: Jaggerbad Skyhouse
A dragon with a tavern strapped to its back? Better fasten your seat belts—it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Every month, there are typically 2-4 articles in Dungeon between Eberron, FR and Dark Sun.

 

[Rechan]

You want an article in Dragon or Dungeon on an old setting? Write one.

 

[Aldarc]

And gnomes just don't exist as PC races?

The 4E PHB2 has been out for some time now.

 

[JoeGKushner]

The 4E PHB2 has been out for some time now.

True. And if we go with everything in every PHB being core, that means we get the funk from PHB3 too. I'll gladly sacrifice the gnome to avert that thankyouverymuc.

 

[havard]

So, with the exceptions of Ravenloft and Dragonlance (plus FR, Eberron and DS, of course), in order to support the settings, they would need to go for full-blown book support (or an equivalently-expansive DDI equivalent).

Is the market really there for books on Birthright, Spelljammer, or even Al-Qadim?

It's just one book. If they can do a single-adventure hardback like Revenge of the Giants, I'd think a campaign-setting book would be at least as practical and probably sell more. It's not like they're committing to a stream of supplements.

Exactly. And if there isnt enough profit in it for even a single book, how about throwing two settings into the one book?

While Dragonlance and Ravenloft could get their own books, you could do something like:

REALMS OF CLASSIC FANTASY
Greyhawk, Mystara and Birthright

REALMS OF PULP FANTASY
Blackmoor and Spelljammer

REALMS OF EXOTIC FANTASY
Oriental Adventures, Al Quadim and Maztica


Now, even if these products would not sell as much, there is a bigger picture here. Each setting comes with a fan base of its own as demonstrated on the Piazza and the many forums dedicated to each setting. Giving a small recognition to the older fan bases could get those people not only to buy that book, but also other 4E products. Each of the setting books could have a page with suggestions on where to place 4E modules etc.

In addition to the older fans, I think the idea of more settings appeal to alot of gamers. The idea of supporting each setting may have caused big problems for TSR, but the settings themselves were immensely popular.

While I agree with some that Dark Sun received excellent treatment and that Eberron came in solid, the treatment the Forgotten Realms received irks me still. .

Yep. They can do this the stupid way or the right way. Dont setting-rape the campaign worlds. Emphasise their unique features instead of trying to shoehorn everything into the 4E framework. Perhaps that lesson has been learnt by now?




-Havard

 

[S'mon]

Exactly. And if there isnt enough profit in it for even a single book, how about throwing two settings into the one book?

Or a 128-page softback could work very well - people will easily pay £15 for a 128-page softback, especially if there's colour art. And that's big enough for decently in-depth coverage.

Edit: And as you say, these could both be marketed to fans of the older vesions, and drive sales of other 4e product. I would keep them very rules-light on the Kalamar model, I wouldn't make major setting changes - in fact I'd probably go *back* in time, not forward, or do a Dark Sun type 'reset' - but have some notes on using 4e rules with the setting, eg suggested NPC class & level, something WotC have avoided doing for non "there to die" NPCs.

 

[Pour]

While I'm still pushing for a completely new setting which utilizes 4e assumptions, if they were going back, I'd be happy to see a number of things:

Al'Qadim as part of the Zakhara peninsula of the Forgotten Realms. I think it's unique versus the typical Western European setting, but also connected enough to work with the current 'lets explore FR but keep things portable'. It also lends itself to Heroes of the Elemental Chaos (which has a Sha'ir build, and various elemental options for sorcerers to boot).

Birthright would be an even better choice, though, given the design ground they might cover that would be beneficial to the entire community- regardless if they were actually interested in Aebrynis (though that will certainly sell some people on its own). They could explore more options for strongholds, mass combat rules, renown and leadership, and of course bloodlines (which I'm thinking could be some sort of 30 level Divine theme).

But when all is said and done, of all the settings, give me Spelljammer. And if not, Ghostwalk hehe. Or something new! Wait, you know, I think I'd be happy with just about anything in addition to Menzo...

 

[Quickleaf]

You want an article in Dragon or Dungeon on an old setting? Write one.

From the online writer's guidelines: "We're also not looking for articles that update material from previous editions; it’s not that we’re opposed to them, but we’re selective about what we update and when."

I think any article like that would come from in-house or a request sent out to specific freelancers, rather than something considered in a submission.

Overall I appreciate the sentiment though

 

[havard]

The point here isnt really what one or two of us would like to see, but what would be a good idea for WotC. A DDI article in that respect would be almost useless.

The point of producing a book covering one or two old campaign settings would be to reach out to those parts of the D&D fan base who have turned their back on WotC as well as non-D&D fans who might be attracted to the wide range of settings, just like those settings attracted new gamers to the hobby over the last few decades.

-Havard

 

[JoeGKushner]

And alas, this is another problem with the restrictive lisence. In the past, game settings very pretty plentiful. If you couldn't get an official version of your setting, you could probably get something close.

And WoTC had licensed out Gamma World, Ravenloft, Dragonlance and... Blackmoor I believe. Good times.