What would you like to see 3rd parties produce for 4E?

[Scalemail Ted]

3rd parties should capitalize off of what WOTC is not providing ... fluff.

 

[MichaelSomething]

3rd parties should capitalize off of what WOTC is not providing ... fluff.

They are.

I want 3PP to put stuff out that will make people will stop complaining about how 4E doesn't do something. "A Complete Roleplayer" designed to enhance roleplaying in 4E might help in that department.

 

[Rechan]

I want 3PP to put stuff out that will make people will stop complaining about how 4E doesn't do something.

I believe though that would be a futile endeavor. Nothing will stop internet complainers.

 

[darjr]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/blogs/michaelsomething/1805-blog-post-44-i-had-enough.html "A Complete Roleplayer" designed to enhance roleplaying in 4E might help in that department.

I want this too.

Note that I think WotC is trying to address this as well with DMGII and sections written by Robin Laws.

 

[Khairn]

Others have already said this, but what I'd really like to see is an exciting, new, creative and detailed campaign setting built to showcase 4E, and not just the ret-cons of older settings that are being published these days. Something other than crunch (which WotC is already pumping out) to get my imagination and gaming juices going. IMHO this is the weakest part of the 4E gaming experience, and with the odds of DL being the setting for 2010, its not looking like its going to get any better anytime soon.

During the 3E and AD&D time frames we had numerous creative and even iconic settings. Dark Sun, Ravensloft, Planescape, Eberron, Midnight, and IK to name but a few. But so far in 4E's reign we've seen nothing (rien, niente) from WotC that is new and precious little from 3PP's.

 

[Rechan]

Here's something I just realized I should mention.

Book of Objectives.

Based on this thread, I want to see these encounter designs fleshed out with very solid rules, tested and getting the kinks ironed out. I think these things are bad ass, and I want it so bad.

Namely because I ran such a scenario, and it fell apart because I didn't iron it out properly. So I'd like to see what a designer who hammered it out could do.

 

[kitsune9]

Edit: I was hoping I wouldn't have to say this. If you aren't interested in 4E, please don't post how you want something that isn't for 4E. Start a thread about what 4e products could do to make them interesting for you, if you need to.

Please.


I was scanning through the 4E products on RPGNow and I noticed a distinct lack of variety. Just counting non-free prodcuts, there are about 20 different products that just give players a new race to play. That is close to the total number of adventures that appear on the site (including collections of encounters as adventures).

Then we have a large number of books that enhance classes or introduce new ones (about 15-20). Five of them are Adamant's series giving new pacts for warlocks.

There are about 6 books that focus on magic items, but they are all in the "buck-a-batch" series that, while cool and cheap, is hardly substantive.

Monster books are there, but outside of Goodman Games, only Fiery Dragon has a real presence and that's because of the massive Creature Collection. Strange for what I consider one of the main markets for 4E - monster statblocks.

So, what do you want to see third parties publish for 4E?

For me...

1) Monster collections - 4E does allow you to make a monster on the fly easier than in 3E. However, the design still rewards DMs with a wide selection of monsters and monster statblocks to choose from. I really could use these.

2) Artifacts - The changes to artifacts are among the most interesting 4E changes. I am very surprised that a third party hasn't jumped on a 4E book of artifacts. That book would be rich in both fluff and crunch, and set up many campaigns. Even WotC has barely scratched the surface here.

3) Adventures - Goodman has done a decent job here. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of their adventures. They do the job, but rarely inspire me like works from such companies as Necromancer Games, Fiery Dragon or the like. I really want more choices and variety in adventures.

What about you? What do you want to see done for 4E?

I was really interested in Necro Games idea of producing a variant rulebook that would make 4E play like "First Edition Feel". I love variant rulebooks like Unearthed Arcana (1st and 3rd Ed), and Player's Options (2nd ed).