Failed Saving Throw
Explorer
I don't have much of a problem with WotC's periodical model of publishing. It's pretty obvious that in modern RPG design, pumping out a fairly steady stream of products is one of the best ways to insure that your game continues to make money and stays relevant. That's fine - I like reading and collecting RPG books.
But with 4E, WotC has waded deep into a rut of mediocrity with many of their products. The published adventures have thus far been largely uninspiring affairs. Too often they suffer from being too repetitive and combat-heavy. Even if your players are the kinds who like classic dungeon-crawling and hack-and-slash, adventures like Revenge of the Giants turn into tedious chains of combat after combat.
The Monster Manuals are far more disappointing. I'm one of those DMs who feels that 4E is actually a very elegant system, and I applaud the forward thinking put into how 4E has improved running D&D for DMs. But so we get this great system...and a complete dearth of good fluff. The Monster books are nothing more than boring lists of stats. There's no real flavor at all to inspire DMs and make monster encounters more memorable.
What frustrates me more is that all WotC writers need to do is check out what some of their peers have done and continue to do. First of all, Paizo. Forget about Pathfinder for a minute and concentrate instead on their modules and Adventure Paths. In short, while some of them have flaws, they are amazing products, full of great stories, ideas, maps, new monsters, plot arcs, art and cool NPCs. Ten years from now, I don't think people will be waxing nostalgic about Revenge of the Giants or Seekers of the Ashen Crown. But they will still be talking about Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Further, Golarion is easily the best-developed fantasy setting to hit the scene in years. The campaign setting book is outstanding, and the "micro" splatbooks on the cities, gods and races of Golarion have been great.
As far as monster books go, the standard - besides the 2E Monstrous Compendiums, which were awesome - needs to be Privateer Press' Monsternomicons. Those books are jam-packed with great fluff. The approach of each monster described by a single narrator is brilliant, and the art and atmosphere of each book is superb. Instead of just a stat bloc and some cursory information about each monster that only boisl down to "this is what this thing is going to do when it tries to kill you," the Monsternomicons establish how each monster fits into the world and how they're perceived. Dozens of adventure ideas pop effortlessly from these books.
WotC needs to step up its game. Other companies have truly raised the bar with campaign, adventure and monster design, and I think 4E players would enthusiastically embrace an improvement in products to come.
But with 4E, WotC has waded deep into a rut of mediocrity with many of their products. The published adventures have thus far been largely uninspiring affairs. Too often they suffer from being too repetitive and combat-heavy. Even if your players are the kinds who like classic dungeon-crawling and hack-and-slash, adventures like Revenge of the Giants turn into tedious chains of combat after combat.
The Monster Manuals are far more disappointing. I'm one of those DMs who feels that 4E is actually a very elegant system, and I applaud the forward thinking put into how 4E has improved running D&D for DMs. But so we get this great system...and a complete dearth of good fluff. The Monster books are nothing more than boring lists of stats. There's no real flavor at all to inspire DMs and make monster encounters more memorable.
What frustrates me more is that all WotC writers need to do is check out what some of their peers have done and continue to do. First of all, Paizo. Forget about Pathfinder for a minute and concentrate instead on their modules and Adventure Paths. In short, while some of them have flaws, they are amazing products, full of great stories, ideas, maps, new monsters, plot arcs, art and cool NPCs. Ten years from now, I don't think people will be waxing nostalgic about Revenge of the Giants or Seekers of the Ashen Crown. But they will still be talking about Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Further, Golarion is easily the best-developed fantasy setting to hit the scene in years. The campaign setting book is outstanding, and the "micro" splatbooks on the cities, gods and races of Golarion have been great.
As far as monster books go, the standard - besides the 2E Monstrous Compendiums, which were awesome - needs to be Privateer Press' Monsternomicons. Those books are jam-packed with great fluff. The approach of each monster described by a single narrator is brilliant, and the art and atmosphere of each book is superb. Instead of just a stat bloc and some cursory information about each monster that only boisl down to "this is what this thing is going to do when it tries to kill you," the Monsternomicons establish how each monster fits into the world and how they're perceived. Dozens of adventure ideas pop effortlessly from these books.
WotC needs to step up its game. Other companies have truly raised the bar with campaign, adventure and monster design, and I think 4E players would enthusiastically embrace an improvement in products to come.
