Whatever happened to Dominaria to DnD conversion? (among others)

[the Jester]

Whatever happened to this rumored product? Anyone know? Was it shelved due to backlash from hardcore dnd/anti-MtG folk? Was it just an ugly rumor? Gamecat and Hellhound got me thinking about this... I always thought it was a cool idea for a monster manual kind of book.

While we're at it, anyone heard anything about the long-rumored Return to the Barrier Peaks module?

Also, anyone heard anything about Unearthed Arcana 3e? This one's pure speculation, but since they're working up 3e versions of all the 1e hardbacks, I sort of expect it to arrive eventually (prolly a lot like the 2e Tome of Magic crossed with the Book of Artifacts).

 

[Pramas]

Whatever happened to this rumored product? Anyone know? Was it shelved due to backlash from hardcore dnd/anti-MtG folk? Was it just an ugly rumor? Gamecat and Hellhound got me thinking about this... I always thought it was a cool idea for a monster manual kind of book.

It wasn't a rumor. In fact, it was the reason I was hired at WotC back in 1998. At the time, the plan was to do a Dominaria variant of AD&D. Jonathan Tweet was working on the rulebook and I was designing the world book. The entire project was cancelled within two months of me going to work there and I started designing Dragon Fist at that point (another project with a colorful history).

About a year later the project was semi-revived. This time the idea was to do a monster book with creatures from Dominaria. This would allow WotC to test the waters with a limited commitment, and take advantage of one of the best parts of Magic: the cool art.

The trouble with these projects was that the Magic brand team didn't want to do them, but Peter Adkison did. The old TSR folks weren't that keen on it the first iteration either, but seemed behind the monster book project. Basically, the Magic brand folks kept trying new excuses until they found one that Peter would buy. In the case of the monster book, it was that they'd rather see it done for 3E (as this was the period when 3E was in design but still some time away). Thus the second project was cancelled and since then no talk of Dominaria and D&D has taken place to my knowledge.

I was also involved in the attempt to do a Magic minis game, but that's a story for another day.

 

[the Jester]

Wow... Seems like the MtG monster book would be great and relatively cheap to produce (no need for new artwork). I think there is a lot of potential there, dammit! Even though I never really play MtG anymore, I'd shell out $20-30 for a MM3 that had lords of the pits, thrulls, time elementals, etc. in it.

Can you talk at all about the details of what you worked on or are you bound by a NDA-type agreement?

 

[KenM]

well the monster manual 1 for dnD 3rd has nightmares, MM2 has juggernught.

 

[rounser]

well the monster manual 1 for dnD 3rd has nightmares, MM2 has juggernught.

I think you'll find that it was the other way around, with D&D inspiring those monsters' inclusion in Magic. The Nightmare was in the 1E AD&D MM (may have emerged earlier), and the juggernaut debuted with S1 Tomb of Horrors, I think....meaning they've been part of the game since the late 70s/early 80s.

 

[HellHound]

Thanks for the confirmation, Chris.

For those interested, I've converted a bunch of MtG monsters, and poste dthe old conversions to the following thread:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27009&pagenumber=2