delericho
Legend
If I were in charge at Wizards....
I'd just continue doing what they're doing now. They seem to have the balance about right.
Some specific things I might consider, though:
Feats Compendium and Magic Items Compendium. Both strike me as extremely useful books, if not the most exciting reads.
I might consider doing new versions of the core three with revised artwork. Or, I might do an Expanded Players Handbook (and other core rulebooks), bringing in some of the best material from other sources. In either case, I would very clearly market them as containing NO NEW MATERIAL, so people don't have to rebuy the books for 5 pages of new stuff. However, I would only produce one or the other, and only if 4e is not planned before at least 2010. Since I expect to see 4e in 2008...
Minis boxed sets to complement our new mega-adventures. Instead of selling adventure and minis together, I would do complementary products (since either will really work alone anyway). So, you'd still have Red Hand of Doom as a stand-alone, but also have a box with the RHoD minis, additional battlemaps, and whatever other goodies we want to include. This allows DMs to test the waters by buying the adventure first, and then invest in the minis if they so choose, and cuts down on the number of competing versions we need. (The weakness with including the adventure with the minis is that it cuts out anyone not willing to pay $100 for an adventure they haven't read yet. And doing two versions - adventure alone or adventure in the box - forces them to choose at the outset, rather than giving the opportunity to 'upgrade'.)
I would personally author the definitive book on alignment in D&D, and thereafter mandate that anyone who comment on alignment in an official capacity in future be required to be familiar with that book, and comment in a manner consistent with the contents of that book. (Well, probably not...)
I'm with Hussar on the old settings. I wouldn't publish anything new for Planescape, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, or even Greyhawk. I would license these out, if other companies were interested, but otherwise, I'd let them die. Likewise, I wouldn't bother revising the old adventures. The only exception is "Sunless Citadel", which I would do a formal revision of (to ensure 100% 3.5e compliance, as opposed to the current 95% compliance), and then reprint with a new cover.
There is one more thing I would take a very close look at, and that is the future of the whole PnP roleplaying game. In my opinion, the current structure of groups meeting in realspace might be on its way out, but that PnP will always exist in some form, as there are some things that electronic versions of the game just can't do.
That being the case, it might be time to start looking closely at video-conferencing tools (essentially, MSN video conversations, but with more than two participants), electronic battle-maps, on-line character sheets, and so forth. Also, I think I'd look into specially-constructed dice with value sensors and Bluetooth links, to replace the current on-line rolling tools (because nothing really replaces the feel of dice in your hand).
And I'd start work on an online database of players and games, with an emphasis on forming online gamaing groups that meet in cyberspace in exactly the same way as most groups now meet in realspace. (See "Full Frontal Nerdity", but replace the one web-cam with five geeks each at their own PCs.)
I'd just continue doing what they're doing now. They seem to have the balance about right.
Some specific things I might consider, though:
Feats Compendium and Magic Items Compendium. Both strike me as extremely useful books, if not the most exciting reads.
I might consider doing new versions of the core three with revised artwork. Or, I might do an Expanded Players Handbook (and other core rulebooks), bringing in some of the best material from other sources. In either case, I would very clearly market them as containing NO NEW MATERIAL, so people don't have to rebuy the books for 5 pages of new stuff. However, I would only produce one or the other, and only if 4e is not planned before at least 2010. Since I expect to see 4e in 2008...
Minis boxed sets to complement our new mega-adventures. Instead of selling adventure and minis together, I would do complementary products (since either will really work alone anyway). So, you'd still have Red Hand of Doom as a stand-alone, but also have a box with the RHoD minis, additional battlemaps, and whatever other goodies we want to include. This allows DMs to test the waters by buying the adventure first, and then invest in the minis if they so choose, and cuts down on the number of competing versions we need. (The weakness with including the adventure with the minis is that it cuts out anyone not willing to pay $100 for an adventure they haven't read yet. And doing two versions - adventure alone or adventure in the box - forces them to choose at the outset, rather than giving the opportunity to 'upgrade'.)
I would personally author the definitive book on alignment in D&D, and thereafter mandate that anyone who comment on alignment in an official capacity in future be required to be familiar with that book, and comment in a manner consistent with the contents of that book. (Well, probably not...)
I'm with Hussar on the old settings. I wouldn't publish anything new for Planescape, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, or even Greyhawk. I would license these out, if other companies were interested, but otherwise, I'd let them die. Likewise, I wouldn't bother revising the old adventures. The only exception is "Sunless Citadel", which I would do a formal revision of (to ensure 100% 3.5e compliance, as opposed to the current 95% compliance), and then reprint with a new cover.
There is one more thing I would take a very close look at, and that is the future of the whole PnP roleplaying game. In my opinion, the current structure of groups meeting in realspace might be on its way out, but that PnP will always exist in some form, as there are some things that electronic versions of the game just can't do.
That being the case, it might be time to start looking closely at video-conferencing tools (essentially, MSN video conversations, but with more than two participants), electronic battle-maps, on-line character sheets, and so forth. Also, I think I'd look into specially-constructed dice with value sensors and Bluetooth links, to replace the current on-line rolling tools (because nothing really replaces the feel of dice in your hand).
And I'd start work on an online database of players and games, with an emphasis on forming online gamaing groups that meet in cyberspace in exactly the same way as most groups now meet in realspace. (See "Full Frontal Nerdity", but replace the one web-cam with five geeks each at their own PCs.)
