Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
Ok - all of my last post in this thread notwithstanding, I do not consider myself a typical current consumer of D&D. So if it was my heart, not my professional perspective, I'd do the following:
A) Start with the 4e chassis, with some updates, including Proficiency instead of half-level; Advantage/Disadvantage for a lot of roll modifiers. OR! I might start with the 5e chassis; but completely redo it using "sources of power" and "party role" as the foundations for the core 20 classes; and make Magic Items more of a thing.
Books would be:
B) Hire cultural consultants and take a run at Dark Sun to make it releasable
C) Make 4e SRD CC; and I would open up the DMGguild to all existing settings - including a newly modified Dark Sun.
D) Every four years, I would create a BRAND NEW SETTING. It could be via a contest, which I actually loved when 3e did that. And then that Brand New Setting would get a World Guide, 2-3 adventures/content books, and then open it up to the DMGuild after the first year
E) Every alternating four years (like the Winter and Summer Olympics), I would release a "classic" setting in the same way: an updated World Guide, 2-3 adventure/gazeteer books, and then opened up on the DMGuild after the first year. The first one of these of course would be Dark Sun, with Greyhawk, Mystara, Blackmoor(?), and others coming later
A) Start with the 4e chassis, with some updates, including Proficiency instead of half-level; Advantage/Disadvantage for a lot of roll modifiers. OR! I might start with the 5e chassis; but completely redo it using "sources of power" and "party role" as the foundations for the core 20 classes; and make Magic Items more of a thing.
Books would be:
- PHB, including Magic Items and a robust social interaction rules set
- MM, including rules to create new Monsters and encounter design
- DMG, including cosmology, Skill challenges (done right), DM Principles, lots of examples of play, and an initial set of four or five 5 room adventures that hand-hold a DM through running to get confidence, and that can then tie into the adventure book released fourth
- Initial Adventure for 1-10, taking place around Interior Faerun and the western coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars - Cormyr, the Dragon Coast, and the Vilhon Reach; with a gazeteer much like Tomb of A or Storm Kings had for a large part of the area
- PHB2, that would support another set of classes, more feats, more Magic Items, and a Stronghold/Domain development guide for players/DMs so that people have something to do with their money! And that also has robust rules for followers
- This is not a book; but the online model would be subscription based and that gives you access to ALL official WotC SRD content; and for a fee you get access to new non-SRD content (not $30, but more like $10). AND! 3PP's can add/sell their content into this marketplace as well
B) Hire cultural consultants and take a run at Dark Sun to make it releasable
C) Make 4e SRD CC; and I would open up the DMGguild to all existing settings - including a newly modified Dark Sun.
D) Every four years, I would create a BRAND NEW SETTING. It could be via a contest, which I actually loved when 3e did that. And then that Brand New Setting would get a World Guide, 2-3 adventures/content books, and then open it up to the DMGuild after the first year
E) Every alternating four years (like the Winter and Summer Olympics), I would release a "classic" setting in the same way: an updated World Guide, 2-3 adventure/gazeteer books, and then opened up on the DMGuild after the first year. The first one of these of course would be Dark Sun, with Greyhawk, Mystara, Blackmoor(?), and others coming later