Mercurius
Legend
Through its long history, D&D has dabbled with various notions as to what is core, though from the beginnings of AD&D to the present--a span of about 45 years--the trio of the PHB, DMG, and MM has been central. Along the way, various tomes have vied for the spot as the "fourth core"; growing up in the 80s, I always felt like Deities & Demigods best fit that place, at least in terms of prominence within my young D&D-inspired imagination. But Unearthed Arcana, various iterations of a "PHB 2" or a Fiend Folio or MM2, an epic level book, not to mention setting bibles, have had their place.
Really, of course, there doesn't need to be such a thing. Theres a reason TSR and WotC always came back to the "big three," with everything else as optional (despite how they tried to market it, at least in one edition run). But the purpose of this thread is as a fun hypothetical, and ultimately not to be taken too seriously.
I'll frame it with a hypothetical: WotC knocks on your door one Sunday afternoon (or perhaps you bump into a head designer in an elevator, if you prefer), and you're asked: "We're going for something different to refresh the new version of the game and want to start a marketing campaign for fourth core book. Basically book that people don't 'have to have,' but want to have because it almost feels like they have to. Something a bit less than true core, but more than a standard splat or other supplement. What should it be?"
Your answer can be whatever you want, but I would suggest not the following:
So yes, it is sort of breaking my first rule above, but not really. It isn't more classes, monsters, rules, but optional stuff, and rules for making stuff up. And I suppose this would work better if it were pre-planned, so some of the stuff already in the core three could be saved for this fourth book. And yes, it does harken back to the never-fully-actualized "modular options" that were talked about back in 2013 Next era. It could even be called "The D&D Toolkit," because it would be a an in-depth guide to hack the game and make it your own - beyond what the DMG offers. And yes, I realize this is dangerously close to a DMG2. Sue me, but its my thread!
Another idea would be a "Beyond Fantasy" book that provides rules for other genres. It might be hard to do adequately in one book, but I think you can have substantial sections on science fiction, horror, cyberpunk, modern, superheroes, etc. This, I think, would feel less like a fourth core rulebook, though.
What about you?
Really, of course, there doesn't need to be such a thing. Theres a reason TSR and WotC always came back to the "big three," with everything else as optional (despite how they tried to market it, at least in one edition run). But the purpose of this thread is as a fun hypothetical, and ultimately not to be taken too seriously.
I'll frame it with a hypothetical: WotC knocks on your door one Sunday afternoon (or perhaps you bump into a head designer in an elevator, if you prefer), and you're asked: "We're going for something different to refresh the new version of the game and want to start a marketing campaign for fourth core book. Basically book that people don't 'have to have,' but want to have because it almost feels like they have to. Something a bit less than true core, but more than a standard splat or other supplement. What should it be?"
Your answer can be whatever you want, but I would suggest not the following:
- A "2" of the core three; meaning, no PHB 2, MM 2, etc. If it is "2" it isn't core, and is basically a splat. This is something that isn't just more of what the core three offer, but it didn't fit. Something a bit different, preferably.
- A setting book - at least a specific setting book. There's no way to market this as core, given the plethora of settings (not to mention homebrews).
So yes, it is sort of breaking my first rule above, but not really. It isn't more classes, monsters, rules, but optional stuff, and rules for making stuff up. And I suppose this would work better if it were pre-planned, so some of the stuff already in the core three could be saved for this fourth book. And yes, it does harken back to the never-fully-actualized "modular options" that were talked about back in 2013 Next era. It could even be called "The D&D Toolkit," because it would be a an in-depth guide to hack the game and make it your own - beyond what the DMG offers. And yes, I realize this is dangerously close to a DMG2. Sue me, but its my thread!
Another idea would be a "Beyond Fantasy" book that provides rules for other genres. It might be hard to do adequately in one book, but I think you can have substantial sections on science fiction, horror, cyberpunk, modern, superheroes, etc. This, I think, would feel less like a fourth core rulebook, though.
What about you?
