Where does 3.5 go from here?

[diaglo]

Many of these are fine products, but what would you like to see released at Gencon next year for 3.5?

rerelease of the OD&D boxed set.

Also, has the excitement of new products become lost on you or do you still look forward to new releases?

lost on me since Gen Con 1985. UA and T1-4 pretty much spelled the end of the goodtime.

 

[Garnfellow]

For me -- and I'm pretty sure I'm mostly all by myself, here -- I think we're at the phase in the game's life cycle where it's time to stop expanding the frontiers and start consolidating, updating, and improving the material we've already got. I'm thinking of more products like the Spell Compendium. (And it sounds like a magic item compendium is on the way.)

At this point, I really don't need any more spells, magic items, monsters, feats, core classes. But I'd love to see some of my older existing material revised and updated.

Take monsters, for instance. Right now I'm working on an adventure that will feature a powerful cloaker lord -- I'm thinking something in the CR 17 range. Cloaker lords appeared in Monsters of Faerun. There is a brief 3.5 update in a web enhancement over on the Wizards site, but there are a lot of weird open questions with this monster. For starters, it's a tough son-of-a-gun and casts spells as a 9th level wizard. It's Challenge Rating? 7.

That seems pretty low, and lots of people have commented on this. Maybe the CR is right, and maybe it isn't, but it would be worthwhile to have WotC take another look.

Similarly, the cloaker lord has a couple of abilities that could use updates. It's moan ability is listed as a free action; in 3.5 the regular cloaker's moan ability is specifically a standard action. Should that apply to the cloaker lord? The advancement line for the cloaker lord says "by character class" but the text specifically mentions cloaker lords of larger size and with more HD. Finally, its list of shadow spells could use serious updating.

All of these are smaller things, but they are a pain in the butt for me and cumulatively add up.

I realize this suggestion probably won't be a very popular. Most gamers hate re-hashes, and a bunch of updated and consolidated products probably don't sell as well as a supplement on a sexy new magic system, for instance.

 

[JVisgaitis]

For me -- and I'm pretty sure I'm mostly all by myself, here -- I think we're at the phase in the game's life cycle where it's time to stop expanding the frontiers and start consolidating, updating, and improving the material we've already got.

I don't think we'll see that till 4e, but its not a bad request at all. Hell, I'd love if everything worked as it should, but to me this isn't much of a big deal since I tinker with the rules so much.

 

[JVisgaitis]

So D&D was "king" for 3 years, AD&D for 12 years, 2nd edition for 11 years and 3E is still going at 6 years.

And this is why TSR went bankrupt. D&D was handled as a hobby and never really handled as a business (at least from a lot of the reports I read). I would expect a new edition to come every 8 years or so, which is a much better cycle then what Games Workshop uses for Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. Plus, Wizards doesn't keep jacking up the price every year. Yeah, the new editions come out to bring in more revenue, but at least it keeps the game alive and keeps the products coming.

And for the record, I'm not singling your post out or trying to start a flame war or anything. Just something I've had on my mind for awhile.

 

[reanjr]

FEY!

I'd love to see a 3.5 supplement, solely committed to fey, that doesn't treat them like pansy's and such. Something dark ala Blood Spawn, but more comprehensive. And, something that doesn't just regurgitate the few entries that have already been published.

Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey is an excellent book dealing with creatures like that.

 

[seskis281]

And this is why TSR went bankrupt. D&D was handled as a hobby and never really handled as a business (at least from a lot of the reports I read). I would expect a new edition to come every 8 years or so, which is a much better cycle then what Games Workshop uses for Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. Plus, Wizards doesn't keep jacking up the price every year. Yeah, the new editions come out to bring in more revenue, but at least it keeps the game alive and keeps the products coming.

And for the record, I'm not singling your post out or trying to start a flame war or anything. Just something I've had on my mind for awhile.

I agree with you - and I'll be the 1st to say that WoTC has done an excellent job in the business of RPG. They are the Microsoft of this field, and the standard setters. It can be argued that we are in another golden age of gaming, and that the release of 3.0 six years ago initiated it. It's also the reason that we have so many people with variety of interests now engaging RPGing.

I hope no one ever assumes I am attacking or saying people shouldn't play whatever they love - I only make my opinions to claim what I feel, and everyone else's opinions are just as valid as mine. I don't like the overload of rules and options being created by WotC and d20 systems - it does make for a blurring and path away from the traditional archetypes of fantasy that I enjoy (again, just my likes) - WoTC shrewdly recognized that many younger and newer gamers were also fan bases of comics and superheroes, anime, cyberpunk and other genres and built some of that style and flavor into multiple options and rules - enormous feats and character strengths that make PC's "superheroes" even in a fantasy setting, fast advancement -5 modules or adventures gets you to 15th level, etc. It also recognized the sizeable audience that wants a LOT of "crunch," detailed states, explicit encounters, etc. and publishes to this.

If you love that sort of game, great. It's as legitimate a preference as any of us who like the older, more traditional medieval fantasy with rules-lite, crunch lite and "old school" flavor. The early days of TSR were focused more as a provider of "hobby" material, and it was certainly narrower in its scope of genres. It was also clumsy, a work in progress (it did after all emerge from just a few people's house rules in their own games and get tugged and pulled at by some very strong personalities), but in the end it and the modern world of gaming still have one great thing in common -

It's really only about our own imaginations. The only thing I take exception to are absolutists on either side that claim "this is the way it MUST be."

Sincerely,

John Maddog Wrigth

"Life is like a roll of a d20 - you may see the occasional natural 1 or natural 20, but most everything's gonna be in between."

 

[Jack of Shadows]

I can't speak for WotC, but here is what I suspect,

More books dedicated to single monster types akin to the Draconomicin and Libris Mortis. I would suspect Giants, Goblinoids and Constructs to be on the short list here.

More "Campaign in a Book" products. I don't know how those beyond Shackled City have done but the growing number of them seems promising.

More play aid type materials. Steel Sqwire, Tact-Tiles, and Battlebox type materials. WotC's already starting into these things with their upcoming dungeon tiles. I see this as a real growth point given the amazing products we've been seeing from the small companies already. I've lost count of the folks who've gone out and bought the FDP Battlebox or Tact-Tiles after seeing mine.

More geography books for Eberron likely covering Aerenal and the lands of the Inspired. I think a "campaign in a book" would really help solidify this setting in peoples minds but I'm not certain we'll see one any time soon. I suspect a book akin to Five Nations will arrive detailing the Dragonmarked houses and another detailing the worlds gods and religions.

And for pure self indulgence on my part, WotC will break down and create a Greyhawk Campaign Setting hardcover for all their loyal Greyhawk loving customers written by Eric Mona. (A man can dream can't he).

Jack

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I suspect a book akin to Five Nations will arrive detailing the Dragonmarked houses and another detailing the worlds gods and religions.

Both have already been announced.