You are D&D's Bible Keeper - What do you do?

[Greg K]

1. Release a Darksun Core Setting: The book would merely update everything to 3.X mechanics. However, there would be none of the nonsense (e.g, Paladins) that the Dragon article introduced to the setting.

2. Release an Al Quadim Core Setting. The setting merely updated to 3.x mechanics.

3. Release 2 Greyhawk Books: Greyhawk Core Setting and Faiths of Greyhawk
- I'd hire Erik Mona to write the core book
- Faiths of Greyhawk would be done in the Core Beliefs style. All of the gods Greyhawk Gods from EGG's articles would bei includes as would the non-human deities from Roger E. Moores articles and the Suel Pantheon deities.

4. Release a new Deities and Demigods. The focus would be on building pantheons and the sample deities would focus on domains and material that affect clerics, paladins etc.

5. Release an Unearthed Arcana II (New Rules. So sue me).
- d20 Modern style Occupations to DND
- d20 Modern Brawl, Combat MA, Defensive MA feat chains to DND
- d20 Modern Allegiance system
- class defense bonus system that actually works with armor
- Book of Iron Might style maneuver system
- chase rules
- alternative diplomacy rules

6. Allow Paizo to publish their Adventure Paths.

 

[Greg K]

Oh, and I would

1. change the flavor of the core rules by:
a. Removing the dungeon punk element
b. removing nearly all of the alchemical equipment and save them for a seperate product
c. removing the spiked chains, orgosh's etc. and save them for a seperate product.
d. I'd then add in missing weapons from previous editions that were reintroduced in various supplements.

2. release themed books for changing the flavor of the game. For example:
- updated Oriental Adventures
- steampunk
- post apocalypse
- gothic horror

 

[el-remmen]

Publish 4E as a modular ruleset that allows for easy playability of low, moderate or high (read the current standard) magic/fantasy without fragmenting the brand by making two or more versions of the same game.

There would be two kinds of supplement books.

General core ones that always address all three approaches that uses the same modularity*, and then specific settings/expansions that explore one of the particular styles to the exclusion of the other two.

When I say modular, I mean like you could have three levels of feats, three levels magic item availability, three levels of details of skills, three levels of spell/class ability progression, etc. . . and then you can mix and match to create the approach you want.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

1. Release a Darksun Core Setting ...

2. Release an Al Quadim Core Setting ...

3. Release 2 Greyhawk Books ...

4. Release a new Deities and Demigods ...

5. Release an Unearthed Arcana II ...

6. Allow Paizo to publish their Adventure Paths.

And then watch yourself go out of business.

 

[Greg K]

And then watch yourself go out of business.

Lol. Or make money by selling settings to those people
a) that have nostalgia for the original settings
b) have heard of those settings and developed a curiosity
c) have never had an interest in Eberron or FR, but might buy a different setting
d) are currently using Eberron or FR, but looking for a change.
e) Completists that buy any DND product with the WOTC logo

 

[Agent Oracle]

• Stay the course.
• Listen to the fans.
• Keep balance in mind.
• Avoid over publishing any given setting.
• Create a single volume "Setting compendium" including summary examples of the as-yet unused TSR classic settings. Dark sun, Planescape, Spelljammer, Al Quadim, and wherever else we might have laying about in the warehouse.
• Use the Minis to support the new publications, but keep core material as the focus.
• Hire a handful of munchkins to over-test any upcoming core books.
• Offer contracts to creaters of exceptional game suppliments. Allow them to publish under WotC label, and distribute through conventional channels.
• Publish "modules of the month" cheaply written and printed for easy play. Distribute to game shops like Dungeon or Dragon magazine. Print a few ads in the back of each to offset publishing cost.
• Listen to the fans, but respect the game's balance.

 

[Hypersmurf]

d. I'd then add in missing weapons from previous editions that were reintroduced in various supplements.

Like the Gyrspike!

-Hyp.

 

[VirgilCaine]

[*]Hire a handful of munchkins to over-test any upcoming core books.
[/list]

[Silly, everyone knows munchkins come in villages, not handfuls!]

On that note:

-Hire intelligent, competent, power-gamers to create a book of NPCs using the core material with suggested selections from other books as "If you have Y, replace A with B from book X. If you have book Y...".

The major fighting archetypes would have 20-level progressions of levels, items, and feats. You'd see the two-handed power attacking barbarian, the two-weapon fighting rogue/ranger, the healing-focused cleric, the melee cleric, the barbarian-ranger archer, the fighter archer, the cleric archer, Small-sized mounted Paladin, sword and board Paladin, etc.

Odd combinations of weapons would also be suggested to throw PCs off and change things up.

Spellcasters would be focused around obvious specializations--the specialist school wizards first, a touch spell user, a ray spell user, etc. etc.

The layout would be focused on easily and quickly creating and using NPCs from the books.

Tactics would be discussed, including the use of high-level magic and it's limitations and advantages.

 

[blargney the second]

I'd transfer all my powers to Keith Baker.
-blarg

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Half-Orcs would no longer be a core character race. The other races would be made more balanced towards each other (i.e. dwarves would be cut down to size, certain others would get a serious boost).

Racial weapons for all core races.

I'd round up the programmers, lock them into a conference room and would only let them out after they come up with a better system for level adjustment/ powerful races and multiclassing.

There's some feats that would be turned into general options (power attack, weapon finesse, others), and the Feats would just inprove those actions effectiveness (power attack would be half as powerful as it is now, unless you get the feat; weapon finesse would allow you to use bigger weapons with dex)

Tone down the reliance upon magic items somewhat.

Get rid of the sorcerer as it is now. Things like the Dread Necromancer/Warmage/Beguiler, or the Warlock, would replace it.