# D&D Brand Manager of Fluff



## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Hypothetical-

A while ago I hired Greg Nard, D&D RPG Brand Manager of Rules, Tables, Math, and Algorithms. Greg is working out great, cranking out tons of books full of new classes, feats, and all sorts of good crunchy bits.  Most folks on EN World are happy with the products Greg is getting out but over time I have been noticing some grumblings on the boards about a lack of fluff in recent products so I have decided to hire another Brand Manger.

I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year. 

I  have an important dinner with Russ Morrissey, Larry King, Stephen Colbert, Regis & Kelly, and Oprah a week from today at GenCon  and I need short descriptions of each to give to them.

Thanks

Your New Boss


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 9, 2007)

Hmm...the beautiful fluff helped make a few previous WotC books really stand out as winners.  FC1 immediately comes to mind, but further back Draconomicon and Lords of Madness were great too.  So here are my top 3 (if I think of more, I'll post later)--

1) FCIII--I would put out another Fiendish Codex on the Yugoloths.  We haven't covered much ground on them yet in 3.X, and there's a lot to explore, so FCIII could be a lot of fun.

2) Fey Monster Book--I would put out another monster book in the Draconomicon line full of great evocative fluff on Fey (and hopefully beautiful illustrations like Draconomicon as well).  Due to the lack of Ecology descriptions in the MM, D&D Fey by default have become pretty 'Blah' in this edition, but they can be extremely interesting with the right fluff--creepy shadow fey, odd geases, and changelings among other things.

3) Sigil Book--Not only could this be generally useful for new players hoping to start a planar campaign, but there should be a substantial support for a quality Sigil book from former Planescape fans.  The Faction Wars from 2e have left a pretty big launching point for a revival of the factions and rethinking of the city.  We could time the release with a quality planar adventure a la Red Hand of Doom as well.


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## Mark (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Hypothetical-
> 
> A while ago I hired Greg Nard, D&D RPG Brand Manager of Rules, Tables, Math, and Algorithms. Greg is working out great, cranking out tons of books full of new classes, feats, and all sorts of good crunchy bits.  Most folks on EN World are happy with the products Greg is getting out but over time I have been noticing some grumblings on the boards about a lack of fluff in recent products so I have decided to hire another Brand Manger.
> 
> ...





Nice try, Rouse, but you will not get CMG secrets out of me that easily.  A vow has been made and you will have to wait along with everyone else.  In the meantime, I offer just one suggestion.  You will likely want to change the title of the new position as there is simply no way it does not get colloquially shortened from D&D Brand Manager of Fluff to Fluffer.  Best of luck, my nemesis.


Also, please, give my best to Regis, ask Kelly to stop calling and hanging up, and tell Oprah she will get her money as soon as I am able.  Thanks.


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

The Bard's Handbook, redone in 3.5 rules; complete with an actual bard class which doesn't suck.

Aurora's Whole Realm's Catalogue - expanded, and ported to 3.5 - not FR specific.

Legends and Lore - expanded (NO DEITY STATS!!!), updated to 3.5; include Greyhawk Gods.

The Book of Speciality Priests - a bit heavier on the crunch - but with a large emphasis on ritual, holidays, dress, and philosophies.

Planewalker's Guide to the Outer Planes - 95% fluff - stories, tales, legends and locales from all the outer planes as told by a few iconic planewalkers. 

The Big Book of Villages, Thorps and Hamlets - 100 cities detailed. Each with a rough sketch map, points of interest, background, brief statblocks on notable NPCs and plot hooks.

The Book of Villains - 40% crunch - villains and their organizations; personalities, motiviations, goals and desires. From levels 1 to 25. 

Creatures of Mythology - variant monster stats on classical mythological creatures - especially including the numerous fey that always seem to get excluded from the game. Roleplaying ideas, ecology ideas, mannerisms, personalities, objectives goals, etc., included how to place in a campaign.


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## Charwoman Gene (Aug 9, 2007)

Eight titles?

These are just temp names, okay?   Some are STOLEN from existing or past products.
All of these would have a stat block appendix or sidebars or footnotes, so I'll need Greg's Help

_Threshold: The Adventure Begins._
This is a D&D supplement providing a solid framework for a 1-6th level D&D campaign.  Interesting NPC's fleshed out to 7-sentence level.  dungeon locations, encounter tables, wilderness environments.  A geographically enclosed area,like the Two Rivers in Wheel of Time.  It's an idea mine, but there is a thematic link.

_3 parties_ 
This book would consist of a chronicling of the growth and change of three adventuring parties from Levels 1-20.  Chronicle meaning story-like.

_The Great Game_ 
A book on intrigue and politics, presenting a political view of the default setting.  Create a sense of what higher level characters NOT in the dungeon can do.

_Heroes_ 
A sourcebook detailing a series of fully fleshed out Level 20 Heroes, with villians and story notes and stuff.

_Cultures_ 
A sourcebook detailing a series of non-bordering countries in the default setting, each of which would be rich in world detail and mood, and easily rippable to home games.

_Ecologies_ 
Nuff Said.  Fully fleshed out monster Fluff.

_Pantheon_ 
Have you SEEN the Book of the Righteous?  Do a different Mythos, but kinda like that

_Wasteland_ 
A sourcebook describing an inaccessible, isolated without impressive means area that contains great danger and great rewards.  A Book providing a solid framework for a 14-20th level D&D campaign.  Interesting NPC's fleshed out to 7-sentence level.  dungeon locations, encounter tables, wilderness environments.  A geographically enclosed area, like Searing Gorge or Un'Goro Crater in World of Warcraft.  It's an idea mine, but there is a thematic link.

These could all be easily sequelized.


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## Charwoman Gene (Aug 9, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> Aurora's Whole Realm's Catalogue - expanded, and ported to 3.5 - not FR specific.
> 
> Legends and Lore - expanded (NO DEITY STATS!!!), updated to 3.5; include Greyhawk Gods.



I approve this.


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## Charwoman Gene (Aug 9, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> 3) Sigil Book-




I was gonna put this in mine but there was too much crunch, and Greg is really territorial.


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Aug 9, 2007)

The Complete Riding Dog: WotC finally bothers to explain what the heck "trained for war" means.

An environment book devoted to the sky. Finally giving servicable rules for aerial combat. We have the elemental plane of air (plus any other plane with infinite sky which the Astral Plane nearly fits), settings with flying galleons, cloud giants and storm giants with castles in the sky . . . I think time is right for it.


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## blargney the second (Aug 9, 2007)

_Uncivilized West_: an Eberron sourcebook about the nations in western Khorvaire - Droaam, Shadow Marches, Eldeen Reaches, Demon Wastes, and Zilargo.

_Savage East_: an Eberron sourcebook about the nations in eastern Khorvaire - Mror Holds, Q'Barra, Talenta Plains, Valenar, and Darguun.

-blarg


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## Felix (Aug 9, 2007)

Book 1

Demiplanes: A Guide to Finite Realities
This book details how finite Demiplanes, extradimensional and non-dimensional spaces can be brought into the spotlight in your game. Famous personal Demiplanes in existance; the creation of personal planes for security or research; characters who learn to use non-dimension to navigate obstacles; a full discussion on the dangers of Portable Holes and Bags of Holding; equipment and magic related to the safe navagation of planes.​


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## Shawn Kehoe (Aug 9, 2007)

You hired me? Aw man, things must be worse than I thought.

Fluff ...

I've got a soft spot for the monster guide books, so let's do two of them.

*Fiendish Codex III*: In Gehenna we say Daemon Yugoloth! - It would be nice to complete the evil outsider theme that the first two FC volumes started. Also, since the yugoloths, demodands etc were not added to the SRD as open content, Wizards is the only source that can provide this material without significant rewrites, ala Green Ronin's Book of Fiends.

*Giant Book* - my head tells me that giants are iconic D&D monsters and the book would benefit from that financially. My heart says that Fey are more interesting with a wider array of creature types, mythologies and NPC potential. But the eventual goal is to see both in print, so let's say *Giant Book* this year. Save the esoteric stuff for when we are ready to end the line, yeah?

*Heroes of Intrigue / Mystery * Mysteries become really hard to run in D&D once the party gets decent divination magic. This book explores how to maintain the pacing of a mystery story, both by preventing early reveals and getting the game on-track if the PCs miss vital clues. Let that Nard fella worry about the Prestige Classes and feats.

*Magic and You*: Explores the logical ramifications of magic on the various aspects of society: trade, serfs, nobility, etc. If the local noble has pre-paid for a resurrection spell, what is the alternative to assassination? What kinds of laws governing would be commonly adopted in hamlets, cities etc? Since each campaign is different, this book would be general in nature, offering guidelines and suggestions.

*Historical Sourcebook*: Yeah, d20 Past was released a few years back for d20 Modern. I think a D&D sourcebook would target a different (and larger) audience. We could either do a series (like the old 2nd Edition books) or just do the whole damn thing in one volume. Having been burned on a few series that never made it to the third volume, I prefer the big book option. Make it a 220-256 page hardback, covering about 5 time periods in detail, allowing for "realistic" and "mythological" versions of each. Let's say Egypt in the time of the Pharoahs, Rome near its fall, Arthurian England, and two others. Each chapter would include a recommended reading list, so that readers who want more detail have a place to go. Speaking of time...

*D&D Time Travel*: This sounds like a crunchy book at first, but the REAL problems with time travel can't be resolved with skill checks - they are issues on how to resolve time paradoxes, how to define the power of time travel, what can and cannot be changed, etc. The author would present several different sets of "ground rules" for time travel, many of which would likely be inspired by pop culture - "The City on the Edge of Forever" model, the Marvel Universe model, etc. Most importantly, it's gotta be easy to understand - AD&D Chronomancer confused the hell out of me! Time travel has been a part of D&D for a long time (Dragonlance Legends!) and it should be addressed in a rules supplement.

Six down ... but it's 3AM, so unless you're paying overtime, I'll get the other two to you tomorrow.

Still think you were crazy to hire me...
Shawn


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## Frostmarrow (Aug 9, 2007)

Charwoman Gene said:
			
		

> _Threshold: The Adventure Begins._
> This is a D&D supplement providing a solid framework for a 1-6th level D&D campaign.  Interesting NPC's fleshed out to 7-sentence level.  dungeon locations, encounter tables, wilderness environments.  A geographically enclosed area,like the Two Rivers in Wheel of Time.  It's an idea mine, but there is a thematic link.




Thunder Rift? I really liked that one.

OP:

About fluff in general I feel that I like myths ripped off from the real world more than completely new and made up myths. Heh. Frankly I like GWs fluff a whole lot more than Wizards because they scoop up more from the *common cauldron of stories*. Wizards is a lot more intuitive and subject to author whim. Wow, I'm encouraging you to steal more!

Of course it wouldn't jive with FR or Eberron but  it could work in a generic fantasy world. I like to see a thinly veiled Hiawatha take on Porthos, or what have you.


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## pawsplay (Aug 9, 2007)

Allegiances - The book of alignments. Describes alignments with concrete examples, flexible interpretations, discussion of the Paladin code, alternate rules along the lines of BoED/BoVD, non-alignment D&D, and some meat on creatures of the Outer Planes with less emphasis on the "Blood War" and such.

The Complete Greyhawk - Slimmed down version created from the LG stuff as well as original source, cleaving closely to the boxed set version of the setting. Deluxe treatment of Greyhawk itself. Lovely art for all racial variants and human ethnicities. 

The Fantasy Village - A look at ordinary communities, primarily human, but also touching on the other major races. A discussion of D&D economics. Discussion of priests (experts? clerics? adepts? variant classes?), religion, and sects in relation to communities. NPCs and encounters set in the village, such as conspiracies, lycanthropes, and hauntings. Several example villages, with pull out battle maps. 

Orders of Magic - treatment of magical organizations such as the Towers of High Sorcery, Mages of the Order, etc., including cults of Vecna, Wee Jas, and Boccob. Sample wizard towers and archmages. 

Complete Noble - Fiefdoms, rulership, taxes, and aristoractic heroism. 

Arms and Armor- brutally historical look at the weapons and armor of the 5th through 15th centuries. Discussion of pseudo-eras, using style to differentiate culture, and forging and special materials.  Discussion of fantasy arms and armor traditions, such as the elves and dwarves.

Ancient Eras - campaigns of ancient times, when gods strode the world and artifacts were newly forged.

Sigil - reinvisioned, minus retcons but incorporating beneficial changes to the setting.


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## Kae'Yoss (Aug 9, 2007)

*Courts of the Fairies:* The book of Fey. Info about the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, Fey in general, write-ups about the most important types (Satyr, Nymph, Dryad, maybe something else) Might also include a bit about animals and plants.

*They're Definitely Giants (working title, of course):* The book of Giants. Giant society, how they manage to feed themselves, how and where they live, what makes them tick, the whole nine yards.

*The Heartlands:* Forgotten Realms regional sourcebook, guess what region it covers.

*Lords of Light (working title):* FR book about non-evil organisations, just like Lords of Darkness was about the bad guys.

*Faiths of Faerûn:* Big book. A couple of pages of information (history, relationships, names given to priests of various ranks, special observances, holy days, dogma, goals, heresies etc.) about every single deity found in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, and the same again for Monastic and Paladin Orders.


Plus three Eberron books. I'll have to familiarise myself with Eberron first, which I'll do as soon as those books you send your new Brand Manager arrive here  .


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## Alzrius (Aug 9, 2007)

*Expedition to the Barrier Peaks* - This is another _Expedition_ title. While it's a huge adventure, and has a lot of new crunch (mostly sci-fi flavored crunch) it also has a fair amount of fluff on introducing science into your fantasy world. It discusses why you'd want to have scifi in a fantasy game, how to introduce it, the impact it'd have (on PCs, the world, the gods, etc.), and how to remove it later if you wanted to.

*Forgotten Realms: Beyond Faerun Gazetteer* - "Join Volothamp Geddarm as he shows you the wonders of Abeir-Toril that lie beyond the borders of Faerun! Explore the Enlightened Society of Zakhara, the ancient and majestic kingdoms of Kara-Tur, the savage lands of Maztica, and more!" This book would be overflowing with quite a lot of fluff about the lands of Toril that have been ignored since 3E. Of course, it'd have a LOT of new crunch also, since new lands all but demand new feats, spells, PrCs, and monsters, but at least half of the book (dead minimum) would be devoted to fluff about the "new" places.

*Fiendish Codex III: Legions of Hades* - The book that'd give daemons (that is, yugoloths) a fair shake in 3E. While it'd obviously have a lot of crunch (giving the yugoloths stats that'd make them roughly equal to demons and devils), it'd also cover their history, culture, and planar holdings as well. Go over the "real history" of the Lower Planes, where the daemons are the progenitors of the demons and the devils. Cover their dreaded towers across the Gray Waste, Gehenna, and Carceri. Give updates and definitions to the machinations of the yugoloth lords. This is the book that'd add a whole new dimension to evil.

*Eberron: The Dragon Below* - "At long last, Khyber, the Dragon Below, is charted! Explore the underground cities where the monsters from Xoriat reside, or search for fabled pockets of Khyber dragonshards with only untrustworthy humanoids for a guide. Just be careful to avoid the sleeping Lords of Dust, whose power, though bound, is still beyond mortal comprehension." This is the book that'd serve as a guide to the realms below Eberron, opening up a new world of adventure.

*Complete Epic* - The companion to the _Epic Level Handbook_, this goes over everything that book ignores, with long chapters covering how epic characters interact with a sub-epic world, how to build and run an epic campaign, logically placing epic NPCs in your setting (along with rationale for how they've always been there, but don't upstage your PCs), and a long chapter devoted to a city that's perfect for epic-level PCs: Sigil.

*The Last Battle* - After untold millenia, the ancient prison holding the dark god Tharizdun is beginning to fail, releasing his malevolent power over the World of Greyhawk. When the PCs barely manage to save the Free City from a hoard of vicious monstrosities, they must journey to the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun to learn the truth about what's happening - a truth that will send them on a world-spanning quest to restore the Dark God's bindings before he breaks free, culminating in a battle with Tharizdun himself (an aspect of his that's the first part of him breaking out). This'd have a lot of information about the lands of _Greyhawk_ as the PCs journey for the things to restore the prison, as well as mythological backgrounds for the gods and the history of the world.

*The Fey Folio* - The next iconic monster book would greatly revise and expand the presence of the fey in D&D. Not just devoted to covering new fey monsters (for all CRs), this would cover their immortality, why they interact with mortals, their relationships with the gods and monsters that they share the multiverse with, give expanded coverage to the Plane of Faerie, and much more.

*Forgotten Realms: Stones of Blood* - This adventure/sourcebook covers the Bloodstone Lands in the wake of the next great cataclysm to shake the realms: the Abyss invades the Bloodstone Lands! When the Witch-King Zhengyi was defeated, his phylactery was never destroyed. Now, seers predict the Witch-Kings return, and demons have begun to repopulate the land of Vaasa, testing the wards that surround the kingdom of Damara. The PCs are in a race against time to find and destroy Zhengyi's phylactery, before Orcus himself can personally come to turn the Bloodstone Lands into a piece of the Abyss right on Toril.


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## Olaf the Stout (Aug 9, 2007)

I don't know if I could do 8 but I can think of 2 that would definitely make the list.

1.  *Book of Giants*

Dragons, Undead, Aberrations, Demons, Devils and Drow have all been done.  I think Giants are the next most likely (and will definitely sell).

2.  *Book of Religions*

This will be what Dieties and Demigods should have been.  Instead of stats for the various gods it will go into detail about how their beliefs and rituals.  It will talk about how the various god, good and evil, are different from each other (even those with the same alignment).  For an added bit of crunch it would introduce an option system where all Clerics don't get access to all Cleric spells.  Spells are instead divided into different domains (the same as Wizard spells are divided into different schools) with access to the different domains varying, depending on what god the Cleric follows.

Olaf the Stout


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## Shemeska (Aug 9, 2007)

*Fiendish Codex III* - The multiverse would be a kinder place if the 'loths were just greedy, selfish mercenaries, but the truth is much, much worse... Fleshing out the hierarchy of the yugoloths of the Gray Waste, Gehenna, and Carceri, and their primordial creators, the first fiends, the baernaloths. Also covering the Demodands/Gehreleths because they share a linked origin with the yugoloths since they're the spawn of the exiled baern, Apomps the Triple Aspected. The book could delve into the trio of 'loth towers: Khin-Oin, the Tower Arcane, and the Tower of Incarnate Pain, and the rulers of those respective bastions of yugoloth supremacy within their parent planes. We still need a 3e history for the remaining altraloths and the other yugoloth lords, plus the book could cover Night Hags and Hordelings as the younger, petitioner-derived NE fiends. Aka the 'loth'onomicon, aka I will sell my players kidneys to have a hand in this.







*Sigil the City of Doors* - It had an entire setting line devoted to it in 2e, so a single book on one of D&D's iconic cities won't suffer for lack of material. Covering the city's history of guilds, factions, dead gods, Blood War invasions, and the fog of time that tends to obliterate the city's mysteries. The current power structure needs to be detailed in the vacuum of the factions, and the wider role upon the planes that those factions now might play is a major pot of plothooks to say the least. Any bound space is a portal, if only you have the key. Pure undiluted awesome.

*Demiplanes* - the froth upon the sea of potential, demiplanes exist like bubbles floating atop the ethereal deep. From the mundane lair of a powerful wizard, to cities ripped from their worlds and entombed in perpetual cursed darkness by angry demon lords...

*Fey* - so much untapped potential here, from the courts of the Sidhe in the wandering demiplane of Faerie, to the potential influence and traffic with the Eladrin or the Elves. Just what are Fey representing? Are they mortality writ large? Are they spirits of the prime material? What do they represent, what is their history, and what is their modern relevance?

*Giants* - covering giants and giant'kin, various creation myths, touching upon the titans perhaps. Lots of ground to cover.

*FR Regional Sourcebook - The Dragon Coast* : We've never had this really covered in detail, and we haven't had a true FR regional sourcebook for years despite people all but begging for it. Adventures are great, and they've been really well done, but we still want regional sourcebooks.

*FR Regional Sourcebook - Western Heartlands* : same rational as above.

*FR Regional Sourcebook - The Cold Lands* : Vaasa, Damara and the former Nar and Raumathari empires.


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## Asmor (Aug 9, 2007)

I'd like to see some more products focusing on cosmology, planar travel and exotic planar locales. In particular, the Great Wheel cosmology is of particular interest to me.

I'd like to see a Sigil setting book, maybe something along the lines of Ghostwalk.

Actually, ya know what, just bring back Planescape. 

Seriously, though, I'd love to see a series of one-shot mini-settings, ideally which could be easily dropped into an existing world if so desired.

*1) Planehoppers*: Deals briefly with adventuring in the outer planes. Includes descriptions of at least one major metropolis on each plane, including details of travel, power players and groups of the city, and adventure seeds. Also includes "The Sultan of Flame and the Dragon God's Relic," a plane-spanning adventure for characters of 10th-15th level.

*2) Sail & Sword*: A pirate-based campaign setting centered around a large, but sparse, archipelago consisting of hundreds of small islands. Includes several example pirate ships, including The Red Corsair, a galleon crewed by Tanar'ri and captained by the succubus known as Black Jane; The Ivory Menace, a boat made of bones, which the insane necromancer Falastar "The Gravelord" Malgrave uses to finance and supply his twisted experiements; and many more! Also includes a collection of colorful and exotic ports of call.

*3) Emancipation*: For three millenia, your people have toiled under the absolute control of your demonic overlords. Finally, the planes are shifting, and the fiends' grasp on your world is weakening. Now is the time to strike, now is the time to throw off the chains of oppression, now is the time to reclaim your freedom! Includes a timeline of momentous events which the PCs can directly influence, with details on the goals they must achieve, what they stand to gain with success, and what will happen if they fail. For example: "_The Gate of Souls_." The first blows have been struck, and the demon-lords move to quell the uprising quickly, summoning powerful reinforcements through the Gate of Souls. If the gate can be sealed off quickly, the demon-lords will be dealt a serious blow and their hold on the southern plains will be weakened; fail and provide them with a stronghold with which to stage their retaliation!

Sorry, that's about it for me.


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## jdrakeh (Aug 9, 2007)

I'd revive the _Poor Wizards Almanac_ series, the most useful 'fluff' books in the history of TSR. Specifically, I'd look at having the line examine different official settings, from Eberron to the Forgotten Realms (and beyond). I'd price each volume at $19.95 and publish them in the 'pocket guide' format pioneered by Mongoose Publishing. I'd publish "Eberron:  Overview" and "Forgotten Realms: Overview" this year, following up the former with a regional/city Almanac for Sharn. 

I'd reimage 'epic' to reflect actual literature (e.g., The Odyssey) as opposed to simply ratcheting up the die roll bonuses. In the new _Epic Handbook_ I'd examine roleplay that spans generations of heroes, is firmly rooted in 'wondrous' (perhaps with new PC abilities such as Immunity to Poison), and allows a player to define their character's own fate or destiny -- along with _simple_ mechanics that let them bring it about in actual play (I actually have some such mechanics on the drawing board). The fluff would come largely in the form of literary comparsion and a new, fully redesigned, Union: City of Adventure! 

I'd introduce 'field guides' to monsters in the style pioneered by John Audubon, written from the point of a naturalist and hunter, as opposed to a game designer. These 'field guides' would contain anatomical sketches, pictures of typical habitat, etc. They would _not_ include game stats. Each volume would cover a specific type of creature (e.g., Aberration, Humanoid, etc), with examples of the most fascinating subjects of that type. This year, I'd push for Aberrations, Outsiders, and Undead. 

I would work with the author of an ENWorld Story Hour to create a free weekly (or bi-weekly) PDF download for the DI that chronicles an ongoing D&D campaign from the viewpoint of the characters (much like the Voyage of the Princess Ark). Such a thing could serve as a great way to bring non-gamers into the hobby by showing them how the game is _experienced_, rather than lining up yet _another_ weak "Example of Play" script that reads like poor stage direction. 

Those are my eight products.


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## Gold Roger (Aug 9, 2007)

*The Steampunk Companion:* Somewhat like the enviromental books, this is a full guide to incorporating steampunk in various levels and variations into D&D.


*The Low Magic Companion:* A full on guide on incorperating a more low magic feel into D&D and simplyfly gameplay with as few rulechanges as possible. Appart from few (very few) proposed rulechanges and a few simpler and more low magic alternate class features there should be no rules whatsoever.


*The Book of Elements:* Full on guide on the elemental planes, elementals, elemental subtyped creatures and elemental magic. This is something of a neglected child of D&D. 

There's lots of elemental creatures that deserve some attention and elemental magic deserves to be more than air wizards use lightning spells, watermages cold etc. Also, Imix, Ogremosh, Yan-C-Bin and Olhydra deserve as prominent a place as Demorgorgon, Orcus or the Archdevils of Hell.

Thing is, elemental adventures are harder to come up with than, say, those that revolve around demons. Which is why we need a guide that helps build and inspires such adventures even more.

Those are the three I can come up with immediatly.


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## Yair (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.



Boy, you're in trouble if you had to hire me   

*Nightmare & Dream*: A setting-neutral book providing DMs with an evil organization invading reality from the plane of dreams. The book details the dreamlands, how the Shadow (?) corrupted them, and mechanics to allow the DM to insert the threat into his world. Ties are made with similar organizations in existing settings [especially those Eberron dudes, forgot their name], bringing the "reveal" that these are fronts and entry-ways for the greater Shadow threat. The goal is to create a piece of setting that can be shared across settings and so reduce fragmentation, and hopefully to create enemies as evocative as the Mind Flayers and their likes.

*Faery Tales*: A book to help the DM design and run adventures based around the classic structures and motiffs of fairytales. Complete with information on Arcadia (the faerie plane), faerie courts (Seeline and Unseelie), advice on recurring themes and plot structure, monsters, and magical locales.

*Story Trope: Villains*: A small book opening a line of similar products giving the DM advice and tools to handle specific issues in their games. The next product, planned for next year, would be "Prophecy". Depending on how these do, the line may continue with other products.

*Faiths of Faerun*: Detailing the churches and religions of Faerun, mimicking Faiths of Eberron in style of content.

Four *adventures*, continuing current adventure lines. If there is space, a single one devoted to Nightmare & Dream published together with the book itself.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Aug 9, 2007)

Some of these have been mentioned already, but I'll reinforce:

FR Sourcebooks:

- *Heart of Faerun*: a sourcebook covering the Dalelands and Western Heartlands

- *Other Lands*: a sourcebook covering lands just beyond or far beyond Faerun: the Moonshae Isles, Maztica, Zakhara, and the far east -- basically a single book that rolls up the major fluff from when those areas were separate campaign settings.

- *Politics of Faerun*: a book that focuses on political maneuvering, different forms of government, who's who in varied and different forms of government.  Yes some might overlap with Power of Faerun, but this needs to be focused at lower levels -- even low level characters can get into political intrigue whether in court of in the local village council.

*Seelie Court* -- the complete book of Fey (share credit with Greg as there will be some crunch).

*Stone Axe and Bearskin* -- a complete book of Giants (again, share credit with Greg, as there will be some crunch).

*Greyhawk Campaign Setting* -- an updated and expanded Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, updated to 3.5, incorporating material from the Living Greyhawk Journals.

*Expedition to the Desert of Desolation* -- 'cause this classic adventure series is due.

*Bark, Squak, and Growl* -- a complete guide to pets, familiars, animal companions, and beasts of burden.  This is probably 50% crunch, so I'll share credit with Greg again.

*Inhuman Societies* -- extensive detail about the social organizations, politics, armies, etc of Monstrous Humanoids (esstentially a complete book of Goblinoids/orcs/gnolls/etc but without having to introduce new critters).


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## Razz (Aug 9, 2007)

I really hate pure fluff books. 

I could do with less fluff and more crunch. A balance of the two is ideal for D&D, but it's not looking that way lately it seems with books lately. I will suggest a few book ideas where I believe should have an equal balance of fluff and crunch because I do not like a book wholly of fluff. It'd appeal to me more if the book was for a campaign setting, but otherwise no.

*FIENDISH CODEX III: Yugoloths:* As some have stated here already, an FC3 on these guys would be what I would want to see.

*FEY BOOK:* This is long overdue. There is not one single book covering the Fey creatures in the years D&D has existed. It's about time to create a definitive book on the Fey creatures.

*GIANT-NOMICON:* You guys need to start doing "Creature" books again. The Giant one is what I would like to see, also, along with the Fey book.

*BOOK OF PERFECT BALANCE:* A book like _Book of Exalted Deeds_ and _Book of Vile Darkness_ but covering the "neutral" alignments like Neutral, Neutral Evil, Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral, Chaotic Neutral. This can finally bring more highlight to the Rilmani creatures, forgotten back in 3E Fiend Folio.

*BOOK OF LAW:* Similar to _Book of Exalted Deeds_ and _Book of Vile Darkness_

*BOOK OF CHAOS:* Similar to _Book of Exalted Deeds_ and _Book of Vile Darkness_

*GIANTS OF FAERUN:* I'd like to see this, similar to the way *Dragons of Faerun* was done.

*BEYOND FAERUN:* A book about the Kara-Tur, Al-Qadim, Maztica, and other lands in Faerun. I'd say a 224+ page book. Ideally, I'd want to see a book done seperately for each land, but I know WotC would never do that currently. So a book covering some of all of them would be just as good. Covering "The Sea of Night" in this book would be cool, too, and would be a nice tribute to Spelljammer.

*MONSTER MYTHOLOGY:* This would be a good fluff book. A book on all the monstrous deities such as the goblinoid pantheon, draconic pantheon, illithid, etc. Base it off the original _Monster Mythology_ from 2E, with lore on how they fit in Eberron and Forgotten Realms. Also, be nice and put some "crunch" in it like new feats and prestige classes. Do it similar to the way *Faiths&Pantheons* was done.

*FORGOTTEN REALMS REGIONAL BOOKS:* You guys need to go back this, again, but cover areas never covered before or that haven't been covered for a very long time.

*ANOTHER EPIC BOOK:* Yes, we need more epic material. Just shut us up and give us a 224+ page book giving us new crunch and fluff for these sorts of games.

*CHRONOMANCY:* A book on something you guys covered only once but should do so again. Time travel, the Demiplane of Time, time creatures and gods, how to run a time-traveling campaign, how time travel affects other campaign settings like Eberron, Greyhawk, and Forgotten Realms, etc. Very famous movies and TV shows have been based on time-traveling and it'd be cool if a DM could have rules to run either his own time-traveling campaign or incorporate a little of it into his current campaign.

That's all I can think of for now. If I think up more I will post.


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## Keeper of Secrets (Aug 9, 2007)

*Sinister Schemes*:  A book showing a variety of nasty creatures as masterminds and how to insert them as villains and story hooks for a campaign.  Focus on using lesser used or unusual creatures.

*The Wizard's Guild*:  (Alternatively just *Guilds*)  Show some standard guilds - Thieves' Guilds, Wizards Guilds, etc.  The structure, personalities and some brief adventure ideas. 

*Fantastic Locations*:  Provide a list of unusual places which can be dropped into any campaign between adventures.  Mythic and iconic locations, such as a wizard's tower, a mysterious castle, etc.

*Seduction of the Innocent*:  Ideas on how to use villains who do not resort to violence (or do only rarely).  Villains who manipulate, lie, seduce and confuse.  Evil bards, succubi, king's advisers. etc.  This would require PCs to find other ways to deal with bad guys.

*Complete Guide to Decompression* (or something like that)  Between adventures sometimes players want something that explores their character - romance, mystery, intrigue , etc. as opposed to simple dungeoneering and dungeon crawling.  This could set up ways to actually launch mini-campaigns that can be done between sword swinging and spell slinging adventures.

*Ultimate Setting Guide*:  This would detail how to run different types of campaign and what kind of mood you want to try for.  Horror, romance, high adventure, pulp, and intrigue could be some of the settings described.

*Cults of the Damned*:  Evil religious fanatics are always great bad guys with wonderful motivations.  There are enough demons and other powerful entities out there which can provide the basis for cults with designs that can run counter to the PCs.

*The Complete Book of Flumphs*:  Honestly, does this even need an explanation?


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## Morrus (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> I  have an important dinner with Russ Morrissey, Larry King, Stephen Colbert, Regis & Kelly, and Oprah a week from today at GenCon  and I need short descriptions of each to give to them.




Look, Scott, what have I told you about your attempts to get me and Oprah together?


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## diaglo (Aug 9, 2007)

you are putting me in charge of fluff.

whoa.

okay then.

first things first.

1. *The Complete Idiots Guide to d02 Roleplaying*
The book that teaches you how to have fun with the game. No mechanics included.

2. *Dungeon Mastering for Dummies*
The book to teach the Dungeon Master how to gauge his group. Sample surveys included. Again no mechanics involved.


3. *Ye Olde Historye of thee Gamee*
This is the fluff behind why we use Vancian magic. Why attacks of opportunity have always existed in the game since Chainmail. The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How Come.

4.  *Follow the Yellow Brick Road*
The way to get more story into your roleplaying. Ways to entice your fellow players to open up their imaginations. No more. I roll d20 and hit. miss. swing. I cast Magic Missile or attack the Darkness only. 

5. *Success or Failure* The economics and physics of the game. NO MECHANICS included.

6. *Because I Said So* The Rule 0 of Rule 0. The means and the methods of getting the group to agree on the game you are playing.

7. *The Beermiesters Stein:  Homebrew Recipes* This is Beer & Pretzels gaming.

8. *Simple does not mean Easy* Ways to cut the mechanics from a game but still have too much stuff to do.


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## Razz (Aug 9, 2007)

diaglo said:
			
		

> you are putting me in charge of fluff.
> 
> whoa.
> 
> ...




You're pretty gung-ho on turning D&D into _Amber_ eh?


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## elijah snow (Aug 9, 2007)

It's been said:

1. Fiendish Codex III: Yugoloths
2. Complete Sigil, City of Doors: Begin with a city setting, then open some of those doors to adventures on other planes
3. Complete Greyhawk
4. The Book of Elementals

And:

5. *Expedition to Dark Sun, the Burnt World of Athas*  
6. Complete Book of Unusual PCs: Epic Level, Savage Species, and Templates 
7. Expedition Against the Giants
8. Expedition to the Worlds of the Eternal Champion: The Moorcock Campaign Setting (I can dream, right?)


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## Kaodi (Aug 9, 2007)

*The Planewalker's Eberron*: The definitive guide to the planes of Eberron. Contains fifteen chapters, one for each of the thirteen orbiting planes, one for the transitive planes and one for the material plane, which would focus on the thirteen moons and Ring of Siberys, but would include notes on some of the other planets that may exist in Eberron. Also, an appendix would include a planar timeline, dating from the beginning of the Age of Giants to the present.

*Earth's Children*: I've never really gotten into the Forgotten Realms as a game setting, so I don't know if anything like this has been done before. This book would focus on the connection between our reality and the Forgotten Realms, and on the exploits of the men and women of Earth who would their way into the Forgotten Realms. Unless of course I'm completely mistaken about the relation between the two, if there is any, this would be the guide to why the Forgotten Realms are Forgotten.

I'd also do *Heroes of Intrigue* and *Heroes of Mystery*. As well, a book called *Everyday Heroes* (emphasis on _Every_) which would focus on the things you do in between traditional adventures, like leading the heroic life. The target audience of this book would be those for whom _name level_ is important.

As an experiment, maybe the *Complete Roleplayer*, a book aimed at the player rather than the character. 

*Breakaway*: A single book detailing the remaining nations of Khorvaire that gained their independance during the Last War, as well as the Demon Wastes. Format would be identical to _Five Nations_.

*Secrets of the Ancients*: The guide to Aerenal and Argonessen. Format would include elements of both _Five Nations_ & _Secrets of Xen'drik_. Aerenal would be detailed similarly to the Five Nations, but Argonessen would be less precise on locations the further into the interior one goes, instead detailing encounters and adenture frameworks.


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## ShinHakkaider (Aug 9, 2007)

jdrakeh said:
			
		

> I would work with the author of an ENWorld Story Hour to create a free weekly (or bi-weekly) PDF download for the DI that chronicles an ongoing D&D campaign from the viewpoint of the characters (much like the Voyage of the Princess Ark). Such a thing could serve as a great way to bring non-gamers into the hobby by showing them how the game is _experienced_, rather than lining up yet _another_ weak "Example of Play" script that reads like poor stage direction.




Hands down the best suggestion in this thread so far.


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## Grymar (Aug 9, 2007)

A few that come quickly to mind (sorry for the obvious Eberron-fanboy-ism)

Eberron: Nine Nations (opposed to Five Nations) - detailing the Demon Wastes, Shadow Marches, Drooam, Zilargo, Mror Holds, Valenar, Talentia, Q'barra, and the Principalities.

Eberron: Secrets of the Dhakanni - detailing the old empire and the new rising nation

Eberron: Secrets of Noir - (Written by Keith Baker and Nick Logue, of course) Detailing concepts of noir, how to have anti-heroes, and running intrigue/noir campaigns

Eberron: Secrets of Khyber - As mentioned above, a book giving ideas on the ecology and geography of the Eberron underworld.

Eberron: Beyond the Veil - a sourcebook on the planes of Eberron.


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## diaglo (Aug 9, 2007)

Keeper of Secrets said:
			
		

> *Complete Guide to Decompression* (or something like that)  Between adventures sometimes players want something that explores their character - romance, mystery, intrigue , etc. as opposed to simple dungeoneering and dungeon crawling.  This could set up ways to actually launch mini-campaigns that can be done between sword swinging and spell slinging adventures.



do you have a newsletter?
i wish to subscribe


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## DaveMage (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Hypothetical-
> 
> I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.
> 
> Your New Boss





Easy:

Traveling the Planes I: Sigil 
Traveling the Planes II: The Nine Hells (greatly expand on FC2)
Traveling the Planes III: The Abyss (greatly expand upon FC1)
Traveling the Planes IV: The Far Realm
Traveling the Planes V: Limbo
Traveling the Planes VI: Carceri
Traveling the Planes VII: The Paraelemental Planes
Traveling the Planes VIII: Pockets, Mini-Planes, and Wonderlands


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## schporto (Aug 9, 2007)

I'm not gonna come up with 8.  Then again I've been press ganged, and you get what you pay for....
Core Beliefs.  I have no idea about how licensing and stuff would work, but take the already done core beliefs, follow the formula, finish the gods, and go get the secondary gods.  Go visit other mythos with the series.  Might take a few books.
Book of Challenges.  Do another one.  I've used bits from the first.  I don't think they count as crunch....
Book of Adventures.  A two page description of an adventure/plot.  No maps (unless the map is integral).  Just a textual description of the adventure with some details (but no stat blocks) thrown in.
Book of Campaigns.  A step of from the previous, and probably longer.  Maybe 5-10 pages per campaign.  Might need some maps.  
Those last two are something I've been looking for.  I think they would really help with DM burnout.
I like some of the other suggestions from folks that are similar (detail some cultures or cities/towns).  Give me building blocks.  Let me put them together.  While classes are building blocks, I want slightly higher level building blocks too.  <analogy>I don't want to buy rubber, and steel, and other bits.  I want to buy a tire.  I can put it on the car though.</analogy>
-cpd

P.S.  Are you gonna give us any feedback on our work


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## Numion (Aug 9, 2007)

Keeper of Secrets said:
			
		

> *Complete Guide to Decompression* (or something like that)  Between adventures sometimes players want something that explores their character - romance, mystery, intrigue , etc. as opposed to simple dungeoneering and dungeon crawling.  This could set up ways to actually launch mini-campaigns that can be done between sword swinging and spell slinging adventures.




Can I suggest a new name?

*Complete Ale & Whores*


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## barsoomcore (Aug 9, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> Look, Scott, what have I told you about your attempts to get me and Oprah together?



That it makes you hot?


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## Keeper of Secrets (Aug 9, 2007)

diaglo said:
			
		

> do you have a newsletter?
> i wish to subscribe





High praise, indeed, coming from you.  I actually run my games this way and have tons of old notes that are yellowing in old binders - the best way to have them.  But some day I will type them all up.


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## Keeper of Secrets (Aug 9, 2007)

Numion said:
			
		

> Can I suggest a new name?
> 
> *Complete Ale & Whores*




This would test well with some focus groups.  Like me.  But likely not with many others.


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## Wulf Ratbane (Aug 9, 2007)

I just want to understand why a Brand Manager is cranking out anything.

Isn't R&D supposed to do that?


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## Shadeydm (Aug 9, 2007)

*The World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting:* The grand revival of the greatest setting in the History of DnD, 352 pages.

*Balance of Power:* The forgotten struggle between the forces of Law and Chaos, 256 pages.

*Fantastic Armies:* Detailing the size, composition, units, and ranks of sword and sorcery armies. Including several sample armies fully fleshed out and ready to drop into your game, 256 pages.

*The Mythologies Series Book 1:* The Faiths and Myths of Greyhawk: The creation myths, church orgainization, and stories of legend for the greatest setting in the history of DnD, 320 pages.

*Beyond the Veil of Sleep:* Detailing the Dreamlands and their interaction and effect on the material plane and those who harness its power, 256 pages.

*Fantastic Organizations:* Dozens of fleshed out setting neutral Affiliations, Guilds, and Factions ready to be dropped into your game, 256 pages.

*The Ancient Conflicts Series Book 1:* Detailing the cultures,nations, and personalities that brought you the invoked devastation and rain of colorless fire with enough detail to allow ambitious DMs to run a historical Greyhawk Campaign, 288 pages.

*The Halls of Power:* Detailing everything you need to run scenarios of poilitical intrigue and manipulation including the dynamics of Empire, Monarchy, Feudal governments in a sword and sorcery setting, 288 pages.

Can I work from home? Its going to be a really bad commute from Massachusetts.


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## humble minion (Aug 9, 2007)

A couple of ideas (though 'pure' fluff books are a bad idea imho - there should always be a balance between fluff and crunch)

Fey book.  Unlike everyone else on this thread I've got no clever suggestions as to what it should be called, but I agree with them that it's got enormous potential.  Should include a variety of new fey over a wide CR range, guidelines for replacing the standard inner/outer planes with 'faerie' for a non-regulation setting, extensive details on fey themes, like oaths, bans, banes, curses, destiny, the seelie and unseelie, fey manners and nobility, fey magic as a very distinct entity from mortal magic, etc, etc, etc, and on running a game to properly reflect these.  Mr Nard should be willing to mess with a few of the sacred mechanical cows (by disallowing saving throws etc) in order to emphasise the capricious nature of the fey and their odd abilities.

The New Old Empires (or some similar name).  FR sourcebook covering Mulhorand, Unther and Chessenta post the conquest of Unther.  Mulhorand section should focus on the changes the place has undergone - the pharoah's loss of divinity, the military and economic resurgence, the encroachment of Western gods (romance between the pharoah and the Red Knight-worshipping commoner mercenary captain from the FRCS would make things very interesting).  Unther should focus on the various resistance movements, the attempts to reforge a national identity after the obliteration of the pantheon, and the influence of Thay etc who want to destabilise Mulhorand.  Chessenta should focus on Tchazzar rebuilding the nation and what that means - red totem dragon shamans becoming commonplace, how other nations are dealing with trading, diplomacy, and generally living next door to a CR40 dragon-god-king, etc.  General theme of the book is muddled morality, political irony, and difficult choices of loyalty.  Mulhorand is an unwelcome occupying power in Unther but is heavily LG with lots of paladins.  Lots of (good) Untherites want to be out from under Mulhorandi rule but the independence they once had was under the heel of an evil tyrant.  Do Untheric freedom fighters accept Thayvian help?  Is anyone trying to revive any of the less unpleasant members of the Untheric pantheon, or convince Hoar to be Ramman/Assuran again?  How DO you deal diplomatically with a dragon who has a +80 Diplomacy modifier, and Intimidate to match?  Will the traditional worshippers of the Mulhorandi pantheon be able to stave off intrusion from the Western pantheon without breaking down a successful alliance?  How will the Harpers and the like deal with Mulhorand's semi-benevolent system of slavery?  What exactly IS buried beneath the ruins of Gilgeam's palace?

Arabian Adventures.  A single book in the manner of OA and Ghostwalk, covering Arabian-style games.  Your standard few prestige classes and new/variant base classes in the front, plus a handful of feats and monsters etc as per usual.  Then, you have load of background/ecology material on geniekind (you'll never be able to do a Genie-nomicon, so look on this as an alternative) including the City of Brass, Great Dismal Delve and the rest, Arabian society/manners/culture and how to work them into  game in an evocative way (the stuff in the old Al-Qadim line was great), hints on running games that may include slavery/monotheism/gender inequity, and about 20-odd pages covering a sketched-out basic world setting/home city.   

Mightier than the Sword - a book entirely devoted to non-combat adventures and activities.  Improved systems for social skills and knowledges, rules for libraries and research, ways and means to run mystery/investigation/political plots.  Resources on building political support, running intrigue, recruiting followers/henchmen/employees, governing a city/town/kingdom, promoting a religion, operating a spy ring or a thieve's guild, handling magic used in a non-combat situation for civic improvements and the like (wall of stone, continual flame, etc).  Do it all without any mention of an attack roll - Cityscape covered city-based *combat* perfectly well.

_Edit: and another one! _

Revolution - dealing with social, technological, and political change in a typical fantasy D&D setting.  Assume someone develops basic industrialisation, moveable type, gunpowder, labour-saving magictech etc, and deal with the consequences.  Dark satanic mills, rabble-rousing bards (can you hear the people sing?), political theorists, revolutionaries, Luddites, desperate druids turning terrorist, the near-extinction of the barbarian and ranger way of life, the increasing centralisation of power in nation-states (and the rise of democracy - do summoned or called creatures get to vote?  Clones?  Intelligent monsters or undead?), the impact of the tech and population boom on magocracies (Gutenberg's spellbook?), religions, powerful non-humanoids like dragons, and traditionally medieval cultures.  Should include the basics of new engineering and craft skills and the like, as well as details on steampunk equipment, firearms, constructs, etc, but first and foremost it should be a toolkit from which the GM can take what he likes, rather than a proscriptive set of changes.  What it means to be a low, medium, or high-level character in a world where things are changing and the old ways are making way.


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## meomwt (Aug 9, 2007)

Hmm, let's ignore all that Marketing Stuff we've seen already and throw together some ideas no one would want to publish. 

Until the dark months before a New Edition, that is. 

*1 Angelic Codex* - details on Lawful Good extra-planar creatures for any DM to drop into a campaign when a _deus ex machina_ is required. 

*2 Kuo-Toa Unearthed* - details on the iconic amphibian race of the Underdark. More information on their deities, society, hunting habits and enemies. Includes complete language primer and pronunciation guide. 

*3 Greenwood* - a guidebook to the forests: what to hunt, what to avoid being hunted by, tree guide, Treant identification tips, and how Druids relate to the trees. Includes detailed maps of tree-dwelling communities and tips on wearing Lincoln Green and getting away with it. 

*4 Catalogue of Libraries* - from a single Tome to the vast archives of the Wizards' Guild, this is a guidebook to the books of the medieval world. Details on the different types of paper, inks and illumination, plus a Random Title Generator to add spice to your Library Campaign. 

*5 Cart & Carriage * - 101 ways to get about which aren't on foot. Carts, carriages, sedan chairs, boats and magical flying machines, complete with adventure hooks and detailed illustrations. 

*6 The Complete NPC* - suggestions for improving NPC's - funny voices, nervous tics, descriptions of facial disfigurements and how to dress them according to social class. 

*7 Fetes and Fairs* - how to have fun at festival time: tournaments, markets, parades and sports events for fantasy role-playing games. Includes menus for the food stalls, how to run book for PC's and some easy rules for determining the winners of the Grand Tourneys. 

*8 Campaign Primer* - generic fluff on designing, plotting and running an ongoing campaign. I think there were some 2e books we can photocopy for the bulk of this one. 

There's also an Invisible Stalker handbook (we can save $$$ on the artwork for this one) and the Ghouls and Ghasts Guide that people haven't been asking about for ages.


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## kenmarable (Aug 9, 2007)

Wow. I so want some of these books (and would consider selling my soul to help work on any of them as well). 

Although some of the ones I really like would delve heavily into crunch as well, I think the fluff content would be high enough to be included, such as:

*Law, Chaos, and Neutral* books equivalent to the Vile and Exalted ones (though Neutral about be far the most difficult to come up with, that also makes it the most needed).

*Giants* book and *Constructs* book (modrons!!!). 

Also an environment book on wastelands - not just the desert stuff from Sandstorm, but Mournland-like *magically obliterated wastelands*.

*Fiendish Codex III* - I mean, come on. I know the yugoloths have managed to hide themselves well for most of 3.x, but it's time to turn the tables on their evil plots and fully expose them!


As for ones that I think should be pretty much all crunch, I'd second:

*Sigil* (Technically, I'd third it. Rules of Threes, ya know.)

*Demiplanes*

The *Uncivilized West* and *Savage East* Eberron books mentioned above. At the very least some thorough discussion and detailing of monster societies.

*Heroes of Intrigue/Mystery* - Like the Neutral-themed book above, this one is hard enough to pull off well that a *good* book on it would be extremely helpful.


Oh, and as an aside, when is Greg going to be done with Tome of Magic 2?


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## The_Gneech (Aug 9, 2007)

Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I must decline.

-The Gneech


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## crazy_monkey1956 (Aug 9, 2007)

Some of mine are seconds to what's already been covered...

1. Arabian Adventures: Seconded.

2. Beyond Shadow - A Guide to Fantasy Adventures in the Modern World: Some rules, mostly fluff, on crossing D20 Modern characters into a D&D world and vice versa.

3. The Setting Builder's Guidebook: Step by step process on building a campaign setting, from the ground up, or the pantheon down, whichever you prefer.

4. Heroes of Intrigue: Seconded.

5. Complete Epic: Seconded.

6. Celtic Adventures: In the style of Oriental Adventures and Arabian Adventures, a book that adapts D&D to Celtic myths and legends.

7. Divinity: A bit more rules than fluff here, a guidebook to becoming a deity and gaining divine ranks.

8. Council of Wyrms: Another cheat on the rules as there will be a lot of them, for advancing Dragon PCs from hatchling to Great Wyrm.  Plenty of fluff in revisiting Io's Blood Isles, including notes on using it as a setting for "normal" non-dragon PCs.

Only 8?  Are you sure?


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## I'm A Banana (Aug 9, 2007)

> I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.
> 
> I have an important dinner with Russ Morrissey, Larry King, Stephen Colbert, Regis & Kelly, and Oprah a week from today at GenCon and I need short descriptions of each to give to them.




So my job is to crank out 8 fluff-heavy titles, yeah?

Not a problem. I'll start off with the more ambitious projects, though in practice it might be smarter to spread those out over a few years, while keeping a more steady pace of smaller, less-ambitious projects. Most of these are one-shots.

I think a lot of the books mentioned above are books I'd love to see, but would require a good amount of Crunch to pull off well in my mind. 

*BIG NOVEL TIE-IN*
Similar to what ENWorld is doing with Metamorphosis, we tie a source book in with a novel release, perhaps even packaging them together. Stat out the heroes, the monsters, tell the DM how to mimic this novel, or what adventures are taking place along with it. Give the players a sense of helping out the novel's characters -- reference stuff from the adventure in the novel in an offhanded way. 

*BIG MONSTER DOCUMENTARY*
You know those nature documentaries where they take a segment of the planet and just _watch_ it for a while? Do that, but with a region of a D&D world. Check out how monsters function as wildlife, with advice for DMs making cohesive ecologies and even monster cultures. Of course, this also includes bits about magical applications of monster pieces, an environmental-specific PrC, or whatnot. Total fluff is never a good idea, but this book would focus on it. Think of this like a Monster Manual that's more about quality per monster than quantity of monsters. 

*ARTSY EXTRAVAGANZA*
Art is considered fluff, I'm assuming. It's definitely not rules and math.  So big, brilliant pieces from new and established D&D authors. Make it a huge coffee-table style book, release it 'roundabouts Christmas time. One one side of the page, you have the scene, the creature, the character. On the other side, statblock. 

*'HOW TO FLUFF'*
Let's face it, everyone needs a little here and there. This book is for DMs who know their crunch and don't need help with their statblocks, but who might want to add a bit of richness and detail to the world anyway. Help with verisimilitude, advice on setting a mood, motivations for characters (carrot and stick logic), tables of 100 ideas a la the 100 adventure ideas tables, a crash course in improv, etc. This can include a bunch of crunchy rules for fluffy things, like hard skill mechanics for political negotations. It's supposed to be a bridge between the two focuses, so having a bit more crunch than average might not be a bad idea. 

*ADAPTATIONS*
Or "How to use existing rules in cool ways." Going back to kind of a 2e strategy of defining every viking and knight as a "fighter." Don't change the rules or offer anything new, just show DM's how to get what they want out of the rules as they exist and why the game really doesn't need more of certain things.  This includes cultural adaptations (Asian, Arabian, African, Amerindian, etc.), historical adaptations (dinosaurs and lasers), cinematic adaptations (how to add film genre feels to your games), etc.  

*BOOK O' ORGANIZATIONS*
The Affiliation System is great, but it's often kind of crammed in with books that are really about other stuff. Give it a chance to shine. Give me a book about the machinations and movements of large groups of people, and give my PC a chance to belong to them. 

*GODSMACK*
Punny project title aside, this one is all about gettin' some religion. You know how Dieities and Demigods was 3/4ths about Zeus's +100 attack bonus, and 1/4 about what his D&D faith would look like? Flip it. Reverse it. DON'T go into Zeus's actual history, but what he is in D&D, distinct from his Greek roots. Something like my Deitiy-A-Week Thread, which was pretty much all fluff and the occasional feat. 

*FLUFFY ADVENTURE*
Political intrigue! Romance! Character deapth! Honor! Royalty! And PC's who need to save the day without resorting to much combat!

Those are a few of my best proposals.


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## Li Shenron (Aug 9, 2007)

*A guide to high-level campaigns* 

A practical handbook for DMs to organize their job when the level of the game is between 12th and 20th.

At least one chapter focuses on sensible high-level topics such as divination/scrying, travel with exceptional means, and resurrection. How to challenge these high-level abilities, without having the game succumb to them. How to make high-level games different from low-level games and not just using bigger numbers.

Another chapter deals specifically with high-level combat, and provides help about running it in the smoothest possible way.

One more chapter provides many ideas about high-level adventures design and truly epic encounters.


*A guide to world building* 

A practical handbook about how to build a rich custom setting at all scales (from the detailed tavern the PCs see all the time, to the whole layout of the land, universe and beyond) and maintain verisimilitude during a campaign. Includes focus on a few more difficult topics such as: consistent economy, large scale-politics and warfare, travel facilities in the setting, and the role of knowledge availability/education in the setting.


*1001 Tales - An adventures designer's treasure chest* 

Nothing but plot hooks, adventure schemes, interesting NPCs and locales...


*The holy and the profane* 

This book presents a wide range of information about how to make religions and beliefs more important in your game, or simply create a variation on the theme.

At least one chapter covers topics about wholly alternative systems in order to implement among others the following gaming options: monotheistic religions, dualistic religions, clerics of multiple deities, clerics of different/opposite alignments than their faith.

Another chapter provides practical ideas to enrich any pantheon the gaming group is using at the moment, and includes detailed lists of religious codes (including paladins codes) and ethos, religious practices/celebrations/festivals, quests and more mundane activities as part of a religious groups, unusual temples/shrines and para-religious organizations.

One more chapter describes different approaches to deity intervention in the real life. It provides variant systems for different degrees of how much the deities interacts with their followers (from being completely distant to totally dependent on their worshippers in order to keep their powers). It also provides lots of ideas about direct divine interventions, avatars, miracles, manifestation through animals, natural events, oracles/prohets, visions/dreams and more.


*The book of ethics - A treatise on alignment* 

The book discusses in depths the key features of the classic alignment system, and its possible problematics. It explains different ways of handling alignment, from strict and rigid to the most flexible, and by showcasing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach it helps a gaming group choosing their favourite way of handling alignment issues. 
A dedicated chapter suggests various methods about how to handle alignment arguments at the gaming table in a smooth way.
The book also proposes some alternative alignment systems, including for instance: a customizable point-based system which directly ties character aligment to her in-game actions, a couple of systems that replaces the classic good-evil-law-chaos with a completely different set, and a completely alignment-less system. All of these include explanations on what are the consequences on the game, including mechanical consequences (e.g. what happens to alignment-related spells, and what related changes should be considered).


*Monsters ecologies I - Classic beastiary* 

This book revisits 30 famous classic monsters from the original MM, and vastly expands the information about their societies and cultures. Everything from daily life to relationship with other races, with particular focus about how to use this information in order to embellish encounters or provide adventure hooks. 


*Monsters ecologies II - Creatures of legend* 

The second tome focuses on more rare and legendary monsters.


*Monsters ecologies III - From beyond* 

The third tome focuses on the most alien of the monsters, likely to come from entirely different worlds.


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> I just want to understand why a Brand Manager is cranking out anything.
> 
> Isn't R&D supposed to do that?




You are setting the line not making the books. 

Now this is actually a combined function where either Brand or R&D can contribute ideas but Greg Nard is so spot one R&D has been very comfortable with all his recomendations so far, so don't blow it.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 9, 2007)

I'm struggling to come up with fluff ideas that don't contradict the style of existing D&D products, because D&D is so crunch-heavy these days. A lot of flavor is already implicit in the mechanics, so while I'm hesitant to endorse books that might split the D&D fanbase (which was one of the disastrous flaws of 2nd Edition's "many settings" style), I think there is an audience for such books.

Another flaw is that players tend to be less interested in fluff, since the game is designed to only really give them control over their characters' crunch. The setting, and thus what 'fluff' is available, is tacitly decided by the DM. So we're going to change that paradigm a bit, so that we don't cut out a large percentage of our buying market.

1. *A Magical Medieval Society*. This has already been written, but I'm sure the original authors would not object to a nice WotC-illustrated, hardcover version available in game stores everywhere. This book gives ideas on how societies would believably be influenced by magic. Toss in the bestiary to show how people interact with monsters while you're at it. Everyone here already knows this book is amazing. Let's share it with a broader audience.

To give players incentive to buy this book, we might squeeze in a chapter on what motivated people in real medieval societies, and what would motivate them in a magical medieval society. Give ideas to players for what their characters would want, and reinforce the trend of empowering players, so they feel comfortable telling their GMs, "My character is going to work toward this."

2. *Myth and Mystery*. While there have been D&D books in the past that provided stats for stuff like Aztec critters, or spells that appeared in Chinese ghost stories, this book isn't about that. The point of this book is to examine what myth means, and how people interact with the unknown, both the inhabitants of a world of magic, and to the players playing the game. The book explains how people of different cultures view the mysteries of their world, including very flavorful vignettes of folklore in a typical D&D setting. I'm talking real 'folk tale' sort of stuff, the kind of stories like the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or Cinderella, or all manner of urban legends, the stuff that all too often gets lost in high level games when you're too busy fighting hordes of demons to dwell on the shadowed corners of the nearby forest.

Additionally, it provides DM advice, explaining out classic archetypes and how to use them to make your stories resonate mythically, and it presents suggestions on how to spin your campaign to evoke different styles of cultural myth -- D&D through the eyes of Greek playwrights, or traditional tribal perspectives, or viking warriors, or even French revolutionaries.

For player incentive, we have the few mechanics that are here, which would be like Bad Axe's "Mythic Heroes," which rewards characters for playing to archetype.

3. *Arcane Arts*. This book is devoted to the art of magic, intended to give spellcasters the ability to not just pick spells and power, but style and meaning. How does a character connect to his magic? How does it affect him? Why does he pursue magic? Also included are different magical traditions (such as what I did in the E.N. Publishing book, Mythic Earth), which give a crunch hook to the different flavors of spellcasting.

The first chapter would be the overview, and the rest of the chapters would each present one magical worldview.


Now, let me mine the ideas of others in this thread. They've already explained why these books would be good.

4. *Sigil: City of Doors*. To quote an expert:



			
				Shemeska said:
			
		

> Pure undiluted awesome.




Sigil could easily be the anchor of a series of planar-themed products for a year, such as miniatures, a 10th to 14th level adventure a la Red Hand, fantastic locales, and . . . 

5. *Demiplanes*. Another idea courtesy of Shemeska. In my opinion, Manual of the Planes was one of the best 3e books. It gave me tons of ideas, which was great for me, since I like to make my own settings and adventures. This book is for the more time-strapped DMs, providing them more detailed "Plug and Play" planar locations, with a little something for all character levels.

6. *Dark Woods, Distant Peaks*. This is a combination of the fey and giant books so many people want. Since the two creatures go together so well in northern European folklore, I think it's natural to put them in the same book, because they were scarcely separate entities in the original myths. We would discuss the nature of these creatures and what they represent -- a somewhat simple question for giants, but for fey the answers are always somewhat ambiguous. The book would include not just actual 'fey' and 'giant' creature types, but also any creatures that would ostensibly be part of the same folklore, like goblins. 

7. *Grognards and Graybeards*. Inspired by diaglo. This will be perhaps the first comedy book put out for 3e, tapping the power of nostalgia to draw tons of sales. It will be a mix of tongue-in-cheek "History of the World, Pt. I" stuff, and explanations for all the weird jank that exists in D&D because it grew organically over three decades. If you don't believe in the power of nostalgia, ask the Magic: the Gathering team how well their latest set has been selling.


And finally, an idea that is close to my heart:

8. *Campaign Guide - The Grand Tour*.
The first in a series, the campaign guides give advice on how to run and play in a campaign of a particular style. Later books will include high romance, noir drama, and epic saga. This one focuses on "showing off the world," the style of campaign where every adventure is a new location, and the heroes constantly travel across the world in exploration, in pursuit, or in flight. Sample campaign ideas and example locations give the fluff some meatiness, and it's all tied to a discussion of how to pull out all the stuff you own in the rest of your D&D books, and get a chance to use it in the same campaign.

Brilliant, eh?


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## GreatLemur (Aug 9, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> The Book of Speciality Priests - a bit heavier on the crunch - but with a large emphasis on ritual, holidays, dress, and philosophies.



Yeah, the loss of 2nd Edition's deity-specific custom Clerics is one of the few steps backwards in 3rd Edition.



			
				Charwoman Gene said:
			
		

> _Cultures_
> A sourcebook detailing a series of non-bordering countries in the default setting, each of which would be rich in world detail and mood, and easily rippable to home games.



I think there's a lot of possibility in this idea.  It could have about twenty semi-fleshed-out cultures for every climate and all the major D&D races, with a few suggestions on what kind of crunch to use for them (by God, we do not need more prestige classes) and also (this bit is important) suggestions on how they might be customized to fit into a DM's campaign world (other races that could use the same set of cultural traits, alternate environments and niches, etc.).


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## jasin (Aug 9, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> 2. *Myth and Mystery*. While there have been D&D books in the past that provided stats for stuff like Aztec critters, or spells that appeared in Chinese ghost stories, this book isn't about that. The point of this book is to examine what myth means, and how people interact with the unknown, both the inhabitants of a world of magic, and to the players playing the game. The book explains how people of different cultures view the mysteries of their world, including very flavorful vignettes of folklore in a typical D&D setting. I'm talking real 'folk tale' sort of stuff, the kind of stories like the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or Cinderella, or all manner of urban legends, the stuff that all too often gets lost in high level games when you're too busy fighting hordes of demons to dwell on the shadowed corners of the nearby forest.
> 
> Additionally, it provides DM advice, explaining out classic archetypes and how to use them to make your stories resonate mythically, and it presents suggestions on how to spin your campaign to evoke different styles of cultural myth -- D&D through the eyes of Greek playwrights, or traditional tribal perspectives, or viking warriors, or even French revolutionaries.
> 
> For player incentive, we have the few mechanics that are here, which would be like Bad Axe's "Mythic Heroes," which rewards characters for playing to archetype.



Done well, this would be totally awesome.


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## BiggusGeekus (Aug 9, 2007)

I'm trying to think of this in a "what might I buy" sense and not a "what I think would be cool".   My gaming budget this year has been very, very limited.  I've spent most of it on donation drives, magazines, and PDFs.  So I think my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt because  I don't feel I'm a likely purchaser.

That said:

*Known World/Glantri 3.5 *- If Bruce Heard's name was on this, I think I really would purchase it.  But I'm probably in an insignificant demographic with regards to my Bruce Heard fandom.  The Glantri nation stands on its own.  I would move away from the huge statblocks that occupied the Monte Cook version and place the emphasis on the mid-level range.  To minimize mechanics, I would gave some kind of NPC wizard generator.    I would not spend much time on the rest of the Known World, again I'd do this as a stand-alone.  A few short adventures of 3 encounters each to span levels 1-15 to help DMs use the book would make it complete.

*Campaign Template Books* - Monte Cook had a couple of these (e.g. _Requiem for a God_).  Pop Quiz: What's the most popular RPG setting?  No, not the Forgotten Realms.  Not Eberron.  Not even the much admired but seldom purchased Murchad's Legacy.  The most popular game setting is ... "my homebew".  Yes, this was a trick question.    Have a book that overlays a campaign onto any fantasy setting.  A great example of how this could work is -- stay with me now -- Dragonlance.  The War of the Lance is a draconic invasion that more or less pops up out of nowhere.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  There's all sorts of history.  But the PCs don't know any of that until the middle of the novels/game.  So how would you take the concept of a dragon war and integrate it into any homebrew?  Background on bad guys, a history that can be tweaked here and there, and the ever popular Evil Scheme.  Flying Islands work great for this because that way you can just move the flying island wherever you need it on any setting map.    If flying islands aren't your speed, you can always have things pop up from deep underground or dimensional portals.  The idea is not to alter the setting map.  Now throw in a few short adventures and encounters.  Viola!  ENnie awards and groupies are yours!

*Big Book of Planescape* - because Sigil is where it's at and only wimps go to Union.  If you go this route please, please, please highlight how people from different factions would work together.  Also, if anyone wants to work on it, force them to play _Planescape Torment_ at gunpoint.  No, I don't need to see Annah, Dak'kon, Morte, and Nameless (Floyd lives!) in the book.  But PT captured the feel of the setting.  There's so much background here, I don't know where to begin.  So let me just say about the mechanics: I advise using the defense bonus rule in Unearthed Arcana.  

*The Positive Material Plane* - why?  Because of the constant healing.  This would be a challenge.  The meta-concept is to migrate core D&D from a per-day game to a per-encounter game.  Because this book is going to take place on or near an endless fountain of life, people get their spells back faster, are always slowly regenerating hit points, and spells like _raise dead_ are easier to cast.  You can still die at 0 or -10 or whatever, but while alive there is less "downtime".  The setting in this case would serve to support the game mechanics.  This would also act as a bridge product between the PnP RPG crowd and the MMORPG crowd.  But the flavor text would be absolutely crucial because you have to show the PnP guys that you aren't selling out to the computer gamers.   To be honest, I think a book like this would either be a hit or a bomb.


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## Terraism (Aug 9, 2007)

Hrm.  Eight products, huh?  Well, let's say we define our focus first, shall we?

In any given year, we want to include both generic sourcebooks and those that are world-specific.  The two current WotC worlds being Faerun and Eberron, let's give the same number to each - two.  That leaves us with four (half) of our initial total for generic sourcebooks, while not neglecting either of the fanbases (despite my inclination to giggle and give Faerun a book ending the setting.   )

As for the generic supplements, I'm thinking we need at least one book on critters - the primary debate here is whether it's giants or fey.  I prefer the latter, myself, but I suspect the former would be more useful to the majority of campaigns.  So let's go with giants, and push fey back to next year.

For another sourcebook, fluff-centric (with a bit of tasty crunch,) how about we address the time-constrained DM with a book that provides interactable _things_.  I figure, we could go with places (towns or more specific locations, like taverns,) or groups.  Because I think it's easier to pull things from the latter, I'll take a page from _Complete Champion_'s organizations, and put together a book of societies, guilds, and the like.

Moving on, let's put in one of the ever-popular "how to" type series, especially since they're among the most portable.  Intrigue and mystery, as pointed out, are the two big ones currently open.

So, our fourth open product.  Hrm.  Let's do something big, shall we?


*Generic Products*

*Rock and Sinew - The Book of Giants*: The fourth book in the _Draconomicon/Libris Mortis/Lords of Madness_ series, this would cover giants, from the lowly ogres up to the storm giants and titans.  Include cultural notes, notes on how the interact with the more humanocentric world around them, interrelations, and the like.  Include options for giant fighters (though we all gnome dwarven rangers do it best  ) as well as a small selection of feats for larger-than-normal characters, including some sort of "giantblood" template that provides for normal (human/demihuman) characters to grow so as to take advantage of the crunch bits included.  Short (8 page each) appendices or web enhancements that detail differences between the presented material and how it fits into Eberron and the Forgotten Realms.  224 pages.
*Guilds and Fellowships - An Organizational Guidebook*: Including a thorough overview on the affiliation rules, as well as discussion on how to create new organizations, this sourcebook presents detailed groups for the players to befriend or oppose.  Divided by type, it covers thieves guilds, adventuring societies, mystical associations and military orders, at around 10 pages per.  Include at least one map per organization, a half-page/column of plot hooks, notes on introducing it to the players, and prominent members (stats limited to name/race/class/level).  Each organization should also include a tiny bit of crunch, such as a specific feat or two, substitution levels, or similar abilities.  224 pages.
*Heroes of Intrigue*: Covering adventuring in political situations, this, the third of the _Heroes of..._ line, addresses the fact that social situations can be just as conducive to adventures as dank dungeons or blood-soaked fields.  Include discussions on the underlying themes of political campaigns, how to implement political overtures into an existing game, ideas for how the core classes (at least) tend to handle, and contribute, to political games.  Make a point to cover uses, abuses, and intentions behind the social skills (Bluff/Diplomacy/Intimidate/Sense Motive,) as well as the ones that'll likely see more use in such a game, such as Forgery.  Probably provide methods for either adjudicating the uses o such skills in extended opposed checks, as well as notes on experience provided for it. 160 pages.
*Greyhawk Campaign Setting - From the Ashes*: Full-sized, self-contained Greyhawk sourcebook that pushes the timeline several years past the war, assuming that nations have begun rebuilding, thus providing a very open future for DMs looking to utilize it.  Cover racial locations, nationalities, and the like, importing a lot of material from the _Living Greyhawk Gazetteer_.  Include regional feats and a hefty section on how to adapt the generic, 'pseudo-Greyhawk' material presented in 3.5 books to the setting, when necessary. 320 pages.


*Eberron Products*

*Rising Nations*: Sourcebook covering, similar to how _Five Nations_ did, of the non-Galifarn nations; specifically, Darguun, Droaam, The Eldeen Reaches, Lhazaar Principalities, Mror Holds, Q'barra, Valenar, and Zilargo.  Almost no crunch, not even the bit located at the end of the nations in _Five Nations_ - we've got a lot of material to cover, and very little space to do it in.  160 pages.
*Planes of Eberron*: Planar sourcebook written by Keith Baker that discusses the specific role of the planes in Eberron, including touching on their relationship with the moons, manifest zones, coterminous/remote information, and planar descriptions using the format presented in the _Manual of the Planes_.  Specific focus on extraplanar adventures in Eberron - _why_ do the locals choose to go somewhere else?  Do extraplanar beings come to them?  Who can do it?  224 pages.


*Forgotten Realms Products*

*Beyond Faeurn*: Stealing an entry from Razz, this would cover the three primary non-Faerun locations on Toril: Kara-Tur, Al-Qadim, Maztica.  Location information, advice on running campaigns either set in those locations or short journeys there from a more Faerun-focused campaign, as well as adaptation notes to adapt mechanics to reflect the feel of the lands (eg, "arcane casters in _x_ are more likely to be wu-jen, CA, then sorcerers or wizards). 224 pages.
?  I'm honestly not sure what to place here.  I'm reasonably familiar with the FR, but not with their recent product line, so I'm really a bit unsure of what areas haven't been covered.  Regional sourcebook of some kind, though, located much closer to home than the above entry to appeal more to the fans who like their Faerun right where it is, thank you very much.


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## s.j. bagley (Aug 9, 2007)

personally, speaking simply of 'fluff' books, i think it would be very interesting to see a 'grand history of oerth' or some such book about greyhawk.
(interestingly enough, i've never been that big a fan of the setting but i really like the 'grand history of the realms' and i think something like that would be bought by me in a heartbeat and might revitalize interest in d&d's core setting.)


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## Wulf Ratbane (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> You are setting the line not making the books.
> 
> Now this is actually a combined function where either Brand or R&D can contribute ideas but Greg Nard is so spot on R&D has been very comfortable with all his recomendations so far, so don't blow it.




I'm far more comfortable with the idea of Marketing setting the line from a fluff perspective than I am with a multi-class grognard/marketer setting the line via crunch.

"We need more books with tables and charts!" 

I hope Greg brings more to the table than that. I hope he's right up there in mearls' _grille_, man, fact-checking his mechanics.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 9, 2007)

Psst. "Greg Nard" is a pun.


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## Wulf Ratbane (Aug 9, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Psst. "Greg Nard" is a pun.




As noted in my reply...


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## Arnwyn (Aug 9, 2007)

Let's see...

*Forgotten Realms: The Demon Lands:* Regional sourcebook in the vein of _Unapproachable East_ and _Shining South_ that covers Vaasa, Damara, Impiltur, and Narfell (and the completely-untouched-even-in-2007 Sossal if it can be fit in).

*Forgotten Realms: The Island Kingdoms:* Regional sourcebook in the vein of _Unapproachable East_ and _Shining South_ that covers Nimbral, Lantan, Moonshaes, Tharsult, and the northern Sword Coast islands (Mintarn, Orlumbor, etc).

*Fiendish Codex III: The Yugoloths:* What everyone else said.

*Book of Fey:* As what others said. In the same vein as _Draconomicon_ and _Lords of Madness_ (and less-so, _Libris Mortis_), it covers The Seelie and Unseelie Courts, the Queen of Air and Darkness, etc.

*Book of Giants:* What others said.


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## dmccoy1693 (Aug 9, 2007)

Greyhawk

*1. Royalscape (working title)*: A book devoted to the upper class and interacting with them.  This book focus on the "human aspect" of role playing and give ways for DMs to encourage role playing.  Oprah's audiance and Kelly fans (Regis and Kelly) will find this book of particular interest.  Examples of various royalties throughout time to show how kingdoms are set up.

*2. Plane of Earth Gazetter*: Settings book solely for the Plane of Earth.  What Living Grayhawk Gazetter did for Greyhawk, this series of books does for each plane.  Crunchy bits should include:  List of "standard" races (rock humans, dwarves, gnomes, golithians, and several new ones), new earth spells, variations on new spells (summon nature's ally=>summon earth ally), new CR 1/2-12 monsters, etc.  Fluff should focus on 2-3 signature mega-cities, history of nations, unique gods, etc.  EN World regulars would find this of particular interest because this series would provide a whole new direction and feel for D&D.  New Plane of _____ Gazetter books should come out once every 6-12 months, each detailing a different plane with much more detail then Planescape/MotP ever did.  This is similar to the FC I and II, but the other planes should also be developed.

*3. PoEG Adventure (title TBD)*:  This adventure should focus around players that were born and raised on the Plane of Earth.  It should focus around some of the unique aspects of life there.  Starting with level 1 players it takes the group to level 5.  An appendix should appear in the back on how to vary the adventure for players born and raised on the material plane that were transported here.  All Po_G books should be followed by an adventure.

*4. Hero Gods*: - This should be a book of only hero-gods, some well established, some new.  It should not be a list of Name, alignment, typical followers, and domains, but give the stories of what made the gods stand up and take notice of him and decide to add him to the ranks, a song the bards sing about said god, how clerics that follow this god dress, behave, etc, basic doctrine, and how followers should live their lives, maps of temples.  Some names should be serious, others less so, but all should be presented serious.  Example god:  *Colbertus*, CG god of Freedom.  The tale should talk about how he singlehandedly fought off invaders from another plane.  It should recount how he dropped his flaming sword and had to tumble beneath the feet of one of the monsters to retrieve it.  The focus of the tale should be on how he spent the remaining years of his life trying to cleanse his land of what he felt were the evils of his time and fought for freedom of the people.  

Unfortunately, I do not know FR and Eb well enough to post ideas for new material at this time.  Offer me a real job and I will be happy to correct that.  The remaining 4 titles should be split evenly between the two settings.


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

I can't help but be amused by how many of the books suggested have already been done by 3rd party publishers.


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## Shemeska (Aug 9, 2007)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> *The Positive Material Plane[/i] -
> 
> ...
> 
> To be honest, I think a book like this would either be a hit or a bomb.*



*

That'd lead to some short games I might think, and hit or bomb of the product itself aside, the PCs would be the bomb when they explode like one and have their souls incinerated after perhaps a minute or two of unshielded exposure to the plane. 

Single most hostile place I've ever had PCs go, but it was seriously fun admittedly.*


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## diaglo (Aug 9, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Psst. "Greg Nard" is a pun.



the heck you say.

he stood with napolean


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

Li Shenron said:
			
		

> *A guide to world building*
> 
> A practical handbook about how to build a rich custom setting at all scales (from the detailed tavern the PCs see all the time, to the whole layout of the land, universe and beyond) and maintain verisimilitude during a campaign. Includes focus on a few more difficult topics such as: consistent economy, large scale-politics and warfare, travel facilities in the setting, and the role of knowledge availability/education in the setting.




Expeditious Retreat Press already has a really good book on this - Ecology and Culture



> *1001 Tales - An adventures designer's treasure chest*
> 
> Nothing but plot hooks, adventure schemes, interesting NPCs and locales...




I'd definitely buy this.


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## Arnwyn (Aug 9, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I can't help but be amused by how many of the books suggested have already been done by 3rd party publishers.



Indeed. But for some books, there is significant value in (and preference for) WotC's IP (and rightly so). _That's_ what holds value.

So, some topics work better than others for 3rd party books. For example, I love kingdom-building/rulership stuff, and that's been done very well by 3rd parties - I don't need WotC to do that.

But a book of 3rd party daemons? Pffft, whatever. Give me WotC's yugoloths, Great Wheel, and Planescape any day.


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## Xyxox (Aug 9, 2007)

One thing I would do is introduce teh concept of "One-Shot Campaign Settings". Be upfront and put out a camaign setting that all customers understand at the outset are, by design, a single product with no further support. The idea being to put out something that, by design, is intended to have all future development conducted by the indivdual DMS. I'd tie that into the Gleemax site with specific areas for individual fans to post additional material.


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## Athenon (Aug 9, 2007)

I would emphasize the real strengths of the fantastic Dungeons and Dragons IP.

I would harness Ed Greenwood to write *Realms of the Heartland*.  This would be a Forgotten Realms sourcebook covering Cormyr and Sembia.  Ed could mine the copious notes he has about these central areas of Faerun that have never gotten adequate coverage.  I would point out that the Regional Sourcebooks featuring Ed's primary witing (Silver Marches, Serpent Kingdoms, Power of Faerun) have been the more enduring and well reviewed books in the 3E line.  As Fluff Tsar, I'm going to emphasize Ed's gifts.

*World of Greyhawk,* a multi-volume project updating the lands of Greyhawk.  This would be a massive relaunch with many potential sequel volumes.  Most importantly, I would hire Eric Mona to head the project.  I would also recruit Gary Gygax to write a great deal of the material, particularly expanding on unseen aspects of his original home campaign.  This is one seriously neglected area of the D&D IP.  Mona has proved he can do Greyhawk like nobody's business and Gary's involvement has been sadly lacking for decades.

*The Pirate's Grimoire*.  This would be a volume detailing what it is to be a brigand of the high seas.  It would also detail several pirate-ruled realms and sample islands to place in the campaign.  Not delving too far into crunch, I would still take the opportunity to expand the nautical rules and ship to ship combat info.

*Demonlands*  I would tap Eric Boyd and George Krashos to write a book detailing the Vassa, Damara, Impiltur & Narfell areas of Faerun.  This could have a tie-in to an "Invasion of Demons"/Orcus adventure proposed above.

*The Savage North*, A Forgotten Realms book updating the situation around Silverymoon and the Kingdom of Many Arrows as well as the North at large.  There are many changes in this area since the happenings of Rich Baker's and R.A. Salvatore's novel series were written.  I would involve both authors in the writing of this (Salvatore's lack of involvement/ignorance of what was going on in *Silver Marches* greatly hurt the usability of the product.)  I would also try to update many of the ideas put forward in the original FR5 Savage Frontier.

Lastly, I would produce a *Knightly Orders* book detailing many different orders of Knighthood, focusing on medieval analogues, secrets of these orders and fluff-centric entry requirements.  I would create multiple knighthoods for generic fantasy/homebrew, FR and Greyhawk.  Heck, I might even throw the Eberron folks a bone and create a knighthood just for warforged.

*Maps of Greyhawk*

*Maps of Faerun*

My 2cp.

Will


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## tzor (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.




I'll start by saying that you really can't live on pure crunch or pure fluff alone, so crunch books need to have some fluff and fluff books need to have some crunch.  Note also that as this is off of the top of my head I'm sure the titles probably need fine tuning.

*The Complete Village*:  Basically an echo of what others have suggested, this would cover various sample villages based on alignment and perhaps racial types with general descriptions on how to super size them to larger population models.

*The Book of Discipline*:  (another way of saying law)  Basically a book on the aspects of law in the design of a lawful character, with special emphasis on paladins and monks, but with broader implications for any charcter that might be covered under heirarchical structures and or codes of conduct.

*The Book of Guilds*:  This would be on the aspects of guilds and societies from villages to that of major cities.  From the classic thieves and assassin's guilds to adventuring guilds, this would cover how such guilds are structured and how they can have an impact on character role playing development.

*The Tiny Book*:  (It's got some crunch ... a "little" crunch.)  I've always been personally fascinated with tiny and diminutive creatures, going back to the old days of the 1E AD&D Lankhmar and the rats of Lankhmar Below to the famous "Book of Gnomes" (along with "Secrets of the Gnomes").  Unfortunately there is only a tiny amount of material on very small scale opponents or even very small scale player characters.  One might be tempted to call it "Honey, I shrunk the characters" but for the obvious trademark issues.

*The Dark Ages*:  Although one tends to associate the "dark ages" with a specific period in history (and were they really dark of just mostly cloudy) one can also associate a style of play in which technology is lost (the former glory of Rome has faded) and battles between order and chaos are common.

*The Age of Merchants*:  That other reason to adventure ... from hired hands on a caravan across the desert sands to slow and fast ships on sea or even air various ways in which characters can have an impact on the economy of the land with and through merchants.

*The Complete Barbarian*:  From the fury of the Norsemen, and other chaotic groups deliver us.  Just because you're chaotic doesn't mean you have no structure; this book would detail the social life of barbarian tribes of various humanoids both player races and monster races.

*The Book of Disease*:  (Bad title)  Basically most diseases and even poisons tend to be reduced to pure crunch.  Recall the old d20 joke as how a character's eyesight actually improves with age.  Because simple diseases people normally get as a result of old age are not included in the standard set of diseases.  You can also include "curses" such as lyanchropy and other famous afflictions that might be placed upon PC and NPC alike.


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## ShadowDenizen (Aug 9, 2007)

*Angelic Voices: A Guide to the Seven Heavens.  * 
Self-explantory;  done in the vein of the old 2E “Guide to Hell”, and the old Dragon article “The Nine Hells” by Ed Greenwood.

*Book of Artifacts*.
Everyone knows ‘em, everyone loves ‘em.
This has been somewhat touched on in “Magic of Incarnum”, “Weapons of Legacy”, and”Magic Item Compendium”, but it would be nice to have the inconics all in one place, as they did in 2E. (Hand/Eye of Vecna, Sword of Kas, Mighty Servant of Leuk-O, Rod of Seven Parts, etc.)

*Touring the Multiverse I: The Demiplanes*

*Straight and Narrow: A guide to alignment*:  One of the more ambiguous systems since it’s inception, this book attempts to put alignment into perspective  How to choose your alignment, and what that means to the player and the characters.  Rules for changing alignment. 

*The Eternal Struggle- Law vs. Chaos.*
A companion to “BoED” and “BoVD”, as well as “Straight and Narrow” (see above.)
Puts the age-old struggle into perspective, showing how these tow forces affect the world and the characters.

*Of King and Crown
(Companion to Frontier Justice)*
A guide to nobility and ruling, including typical edicts and enforcement of said edicts.  Contains several “model” Kingdoms, and fully statted NPC’s.

*Frontier Justice 
(Companion to King & Crown)*
A guide to law and law-enforcement in fantasy worlds. Includes guidelines for common infractions and punishments, as well as sample enforcement officials, as well as “adventure hooks”.

*Fee Fi Fo Fum: A Guide to Giantkind*
(Heh, was toying with other titles, but I couldn’t resist!!!)
One of the notable “Missing” books thus far. (Lords of Madness and Draconomicon are tow of my favorite books from the D+D line!!)

 Of course, I’d alos like to see “A Guide to Sigil”,as well. J


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## WayneLigon (Aug 9, 2007)

*Campaign Creation Handbook* - How to create your own homebrew and not tear your hair out in the process. It's a little of everything, on how to make continents that don't suck to how cities and towns grow organically. Chapters would include 

'A Place for Everything Doesn't Mean Everything In It's Place' - why you don't have to use all the monsters in the MM. AKA 'Creating a Monstrous Ecology'.
'Change is Good' - on how to take existing monsters, spells, etc, and change them to make them yours.

*The Incomplete Adventurer* - Similar to the Heroe's Guide for the old Star Wars d20, and the skimilar product for D&D - Show people how to use class combinations to create new 'classes', or fill different niches. A simple and basic book for the beginner.

*The Code * - a discussion of various Paladin codes and how to creat your own, and how to properly play the most controversial class in D&D.

*A FR product of some type * - I'm not familiar enough with FR to say what needs doing.

*An Eberron product of some type.* The one about Rising Nations above sounds excellent. 

*The High and the Low * - The royalty and the scum. What both do, and how they do it.

The Lay of the Land - A basic quasi-middle-ages primer. What a castle is and what it does. What feudalism is. What a king can and cannot do. What are the various noble ranks? The rule of law vs the rule of man.

*The Fantastic World * - A primer for basic modern fantasy, a Cliff Notes version of the genre, what it is and is not, tropes, cliches, etc. Not quite a reprint of A Tough Guide to Fantasyland, without the sarcasm and mean-spiritedness. Why some genres and books work well in D&D and why some do not. This is for all the people that have no freakin' idea what a 'halfling' is and why it's in D&D.


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## Tiberius (Aug 9, 2007)

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> I just want to understand why a Brand Manager is cranking out anything.
> 
> Isn't R&D supposed to do that?




Shut yer noise, you! Let the man get his free market research!


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## No Name (Aug 9, 2007)

1. *Deliberate Indifference: The Gray Book of Neutrality* The three good and evil alignments each get a book, but the five neutral alignments don't? Both moral and ethical neutrality are explained (with chaotic neutral getting it's own chapter). Also included for the DM is a chapter on how to play neutral monsters.

2. *Complete Commoner* It's harvest season! Pure fluff descriptions of a variety of commoner celebrations that will fit into any game world. Chapters will include growing tips for any environment, taking care of your hoe, and what to do when the kobolds attack.

3. *The Class Fluff Book* No new rules, just chapter after chapter chock full of class information. Ideas and examples of creating your own barbarian tribes, bardic colleges, fighter schools, monk monastic traditions, wizardly education, and much more.

4. *Cubeanomicon* Vivid detail of what oozes, slimes,  puddings, and jellies do when no one is looking.

5. *Races of Crossbreeding* Everyone knows about half-elves and half-orcs, but what about the half-halfling quarter-gnome quarter-dwarf? Attitudes and lifestyles of every possible combination of the base races fill this book.

6. *Religion and Politics* I can't discuss the content of this book on this board. Trust me, it's good.

7. *The Far Realm Explained* A random jumbling of letters, words, and pictures... or is it? Those who know about the Far Realm will understand it, the rest will be driven mad.

8. *4th Edition*


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## Tiberius (Aug 9, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I can't help but be amused by how many of the books suggested have already been done by 3rd party publishers.




True, but for many people (such as myself) if the book wasn't done by WotC, then it may as well not exist. It would be nice to see a Wizards treatment of some of these (though, if I had my say, not Sigil or FC:III. I'm one of the weirdos who hates Planescape irrationally because of the changes made to the planes from 1e, and have always found the daemons boring; also, a city above the spire of Concordant Opposition? Riiiiiiiiiiiight).


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## GreatLemur (Aug 9, 2007)

To be honest, I _prefer_ WotC's crunch-heavy books.  I've got basically no interest in using someone else's fluff (although it sure as hell can be fun to read).  That said, there are a hell of a lot of great suggestions, here.



			
				Charwoman Gene said:
			
		

> _Cultures_
> A sourcebook detailing a series of non-bordering countries in the default setting, each of which would be rich in world detail and mood, and easily rippable to home games.



Damn, you beat me to that one.  I'd really like to see a book explaining that races other than humans can have different cultures (without having to get into the whole "subrace" bit).  It might even be especially cool if the cultures offered were (to whatever degree is possible) race-independent: "In your campaign, the Red Scar Nomads might be hobgoblins as we present them here, but here's what might change if you used them as halflings, instead..."

(Damn, now I'm actually thinking about a nation of desert-dwelling hobgoblins the work kind of like D&D tusken raiders, with a little bit of fremen thrown in.  They could wear full-body outfits of alchemical, moisture-retaining bandages and masks, manufacture weird and powerful drugs, and ride around on big, shaggy, non-sentient, quadrupedal devolved bugbears.)



			
				Shawn Kehoe said:
			
		

> *Heroes of Intrigue / Mystery * Mysteries become really hard to run in D&D once the party gets decent divination magic. This book explores how to maintain the pacing of a mystery story, both by preventing early reveals and getting the game on-track if the PCs miss vital clues. Let that Nard fella worry about the Prestige Classes and feats.
> 
> *Magic and You*: Explores the logical ramifications of magic on the various aspects of society: trade, serfs, nobility, etc. If the local noble has pre-paid for a resurrection spell, what is the alternative to assassination? What kinds of laws governing would be commonly adopted in hamlets, cities etc? Since each campaign is different, this book would be general in nature, offering guidelines and suggestions.



Yeah, both of these are basically vital, in my opinion, particularly the latter one.  It could present three or four basic magic level paradigms (say, low magic, "D&D standard" magic, beyond-Eberron high magic, and possibly some variant scenario where it's just divine magic or psionics or something), and sketch out just how basic things like survival, medicine, commerce, entertainment, justice, warfare, and education would be affected.  Also, it'd be worth bringing up the results of magical inequalities: Just because one society in a campaign setting is "high magic", don't mean their neighbors are.



			
				pawsplay said:
			
		

> Allegiances - The book of alignments. Describes alignments with concrete examples, flexible interpretations, discussion of the Paladin code, alternate rules along the lines of BoED/BoVD, non-alignment D&D, and some meat on creatures of the Outer Planes with less emphasis on the "Blood War" and such.



I'd buy that for the non-alignment section alone.  Also, it'd be great to have some alternate alignment systems offered.  I'd love to see a D&D version of the various character-advancement-for-following-character's-personality-quirks-and-goals mechanic that's gaining popularity today.



			
				pawsplay said:
			
		

> Complete Noble - Fiefdoms, rulership, taxes, and aristoractic heroism.



This is pretty necessary, yeah.  I think it'd be more like "Heroes of Nobility" or "Heroes of Power", though.  It's closer to being a genre/situation book than a class book.



			
				Yair said:
			
		

> *Nightmare & Dream*: A setting-neutral book providing DMs with an evil organization invading reality from the plane of dreams. The book details the dreamlands, how the Shadow (?) corrupted them, and mechanics to allow the DM to insert the threat into his world. Ties are made with similar organizations in existing settings [especially those Eberron dudes, forgot their name], bringing the "reveal" that these are fronts and entry-ways for the greater Shadow threat. The goal is to create a piece of setting that can be shared across settings and so reduce fragmentation, and hopefully to create enemies as evocative as the Mind Flayers and their likes.



You stole that right out of my brain.  I really dig the idea of a Lovecraft-tyle "Dreamlands" mini-setting that can be added to an existing world.  Just, for the love of God, no "when you die in the Dream, you die for real" stuff, or physical gateways into the dreamworld.  D&D's Astral Plane has already been rendered meaningless by stuff like that.



			
				Olgar Shiverstone said:
			
		

> *Bark, Squak, and Growl* -- a complete guide to pets, familiars, animal companions, and beasts of burden.  This is probably 50% crunch, so I'll share credit with Greg again.



This sounds damned worthwhile.  Given the number of D&D core classes that get some kind of pet as a class feature, we need a few feats or alternate rules to make them less of a freaking burden.  Also, we need new animals and animal-equivalents to use in these roles (including things like constructs, outsiders, and even undead).  And this would be useful for more than just full-time pets: Remeber that all those summoning spells could get a lot of mileage out of this book, too.



			
				humble minion said:
			
		

> Mightier than the Sword - a book entirely devoted to non-combat adventures and activities.  Improved systems for social skills and knowledges, rules for libraries and research, ways and means to run mystery/investigation/political plots.  Resources on building political support, running intrigue, recruiting followers/henchmen/employees, governing a city/town/kingdom, promoting a religion, operating a spy ring or a thieve's guild, handling magic used in a non-combat situation for civic improvements and the like (wall of stone, continual flame, etc).  Do it all without any mention of an attack roll - Cityscape covered city-based *combat* perfectly well.



I would really dig that.



			
				BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> *The Positive Material Plane* - why?  Because of the constant healing.  This would be a challenge.  The meta-concept is to migrate core D&D from a per-day game to a per-encounter game.  Because this book is going to take place on or near an endless fountain of life, people get their spells back faster, are always slowly regenerating hit points, and spells like _raise dead_ are easier to cast.  You can still die at 0 or -10 or whatever, but while alive there is less "downtime".  The setting in this case would serve to support the game mechanics.  This would also act as a bridge product between the PnP RPG crowd and the MMORPG crowd.  But the flavor text would be absolutely crucial because you have to show the PnP guys that you aren't selling out to the computer gamers.   To be honest, I think a book like this would either be a hit or a bomb.



Oh, now that is a deeply bizarre idea.  I can't imagine it'd ever happen, but I do think it could actually work, and I'd really love to see the art for such a setting.  The civilizations that would develop in such a work (and, for that matter, the environments themselves) should be extremely interesting.

Furthermore, I've got to echo the calls for *Heroes of Intrigue* (which, in my mind, could cover mysteries, general non-combat challenges and adventure ideas, and _also_ some PCs-as-political-or-aristocratic-powers material), and monster books on constructs, fey, and savage humanoids.  A constructs book would be especially great, and I'm shocked more people haven't asked for it.  The possibilities for new construct-making rules, intelligent constructs, magical cyborgs, etc. are absolutely huge (lots of useful stuff for Eberron fans, especially).

Also, I think it's downright criminal that we still haven't seen a book devoted to the Far Realms, in spite of the increasing frequency of references to that concept.  Such a book would be a goldmine of both crunch and fluff possibilities, detailing not just the environs of the Far Realms themselves, but the impact they have on the Prime Material in terms of invasions, cults, leakages of weird mutagens, etc.

Another thing I've been dying for is a dedicated alchemy book.  We could really use an Alchemist base class, and a large catalog of new craftable alchemical items.  It'd also be nice to get some new, more in-depth alchemy rules, possibly involving the procurement of specific ingrediants rather than just flat GP expenditures.  It'd also be nice to throw in some special materials and alchemical treatments for mundane items.  I'd like to see some rules for alchemical potion-making, too; while the Brew Potion feat is the domain of spellcasters, it's definitely the sort of thing most people picture alchemists doing.  Furthermore, the book could include information on exotic substances (monster parts, rare minerals and plants, etc.) that can be used in alchemy, as spell components, in magic item creation, and so on (note that a lot of MMORPG players are used to the idea of having to collect specific materials in order to craft items or cast certain spells).

I might even go so far as to say we could really use a book just on crafting in general, which would detail things like artisans' guilds and setting up a shop to run in between adventures (hey, the Fighter's gotta do _something_ while the Wizard is off scribing all his new spells), as well as offering more in-depth crafting rules.  In addition to the possibilities of specific raw materials that I mentioned above, there's definitely a lot more that could be done for a "masterwork" item than a simple +1 bonus.  The Black Company campaign setting did some nice work in this regard, but it's definitely something that can be taken farther.  I think one thing that the success of MMORPGs has shown is that _people dig crafting_, even the kids who are more interested in whacking skeletons than roleplaying.

The last suggestion I've got is a series of single-book campaign settings, each one under the direction of a single imaginative, appealing, and extremely distinctive artist.  I'm talking about folks like Brom, Mike Mignola, Keith Thompson, Wayne Douglas Barlowe, Guy Davis, Alex Sheikman, Wayne Reynolds, or any of a hundred young geniuses from deviantART and ConceptArt.org.  A single, focused, blazingly awesome artistic vision and a storm of weird, visually-exciting ideas, harnessed by WotC staff writing and editing.  We're all creative people, and WotC has given us loads of raw material to work with.  Who needs a setting with "support"?  I think there's a lot of possibility in just giving people a _spark_.


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## Faraer (Aug 9, 2007)

For me, this is the same question as 'What books would you like Wizards to publish?' OK:

*Life in Faerûn:* The texture of what it's like to live there: a huge deluxe compendium discussing music, law, art, theatre, food, private worship, language and names, fairs and festivals, games, rites of passage, sayings, heraldry, jests... A true player's guide showing how folk live and think, and a great resource for DMs (and novelists too).

*Adventurers of Faerûn:* A book about not individuals but companies of adventurers: their mindset, culture, histories, legendary bands, names and charters, goals, relationship to society, how they work together as more than the sum of parts. More on the high-level Zelazny-inspired intrigue, competition over _portals_, how adventurers manipulate and are manipulated, etc. This is the core subject of playing D&D in the Realms, but has never been addressed directly and at length.

*The Dales:* Their government, mindset, culture, local merchant costers and cults and other power groups, adventure opportunities beyond the villages, the farming year, how dalesfolk act and work with adventurers; secrets of the lost dales, the land's pre-elven inhabitants, the druidic circles, byways and local tales, ruins and adventure sites from Aencar's Manor to the tomb of the Deeping Princess to White Crag. (Ed Greenwood's extant but unpublished lore could feed a dozen volumes!)

*The Book of the Art:* For the first time, a thorough delving into the depth and complexity of magic in the Forgotten Realms, long skirted, never addressed: the experience of working magic, its combinations, fine-tuning, philosophy, traditions, branches and wild talents and minor types; wards and mantles and spellwebs, _farspeak_ and communication magics, types of scrying and their counters, non-adventuring spells; _gate_ lore; advice on creating magic item histories... This would have a lot of game-mechanical information, one place it's actually called for.

Some Eberron books, which I'm not qualified to fantasize about.

*The World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting*.

A book on collaborative storytelling in D&D; a huge subject on which a lot has been written indirectly in other disciplines, but has only been discussed fumblingly and amateurishly in RPG books.


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## MrFilthyIke (Aug 9, 2007)

Having had many great ideas already put forth, I would just like to add that my next character will be named Greg Nard.


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## Shawn_Kehoe (Aug 9, 2007)

... I'm wondering if everyone posting here is really following the guidelines of the exercise.

I mean ... the scenario is that you are Brand Manager ... it's your job. If your selections result in abysmal sales, you lose that job.

Some of the answers seem to be along the lines of "8 books I'd really like to read" rather than "8 books I think will be good *and profitable.*"

As I said in my entry above, I'd really like a Fey Book over a Giant Book. But I'd approve the Giant Book first, because it would sell better IMO.

Also, keep in mind that the books are supposed to be released in a one-year timeline. If all 8 books follow a single theme, be it monsters, planes, or campaign settings, the very best fan reaction you can hope for is "too much, too soon" or "too much of a good thing."

I guess what I'm really saying is: roleplay as what your character the Brand Manager would do, not what you as a consumer would want.


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## sirwmholder (Aug 9, 2007)

It's hard to pitch an idea about what would be a good Fluff book without knowing what most DM's want.  As a DM the most important Fluff product I picked up this year was Dragon's Monster Ecologies.  It is easy to use in any game and gave each monster a very unique feel beyond just the stats on the paper.  I'd be very interested in Ecology styled books... the more the merrier.

Just a thought,
William Holder


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## Charwoman Gene (Aug 9, 2007)

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> I just want to understand why a Brand Manager is cranking out anything.
> 
> Isn't R&D supposed to do that?




R&D have been drafted by Greg Nards to give him foot massages.


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## Troll Wizard (Aug 9, 2007)

*Giant Book* as been stated above by several

*Races of War/Carnage... * hobgoblins and orcs book

*Low Magic/Medieval* DM guide book to creating a more medieval mean and gritty campaign.

*Arms & Equipment Guide 3.5*, lots of historical arms, armor and equipment that could be stat'd out with good artwork.  I feel that many DMs would find this extremely useful for fleshing out campaign details and making their campaigns nations unique and flavorful in numerous ways.


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## blargney the second (Aug 9, 2007)

The suggestions for Planes of Eberron and Rising Nations are actually very good.
-blarg


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 9, 2007)

Shawn_Kehoe said:
			
		

> ... I'm wondering if everyone posting here is really following the guidelines of the exercise.
> 
> I mean ... the scenario is that you are Brand Manager ... it's your job. If your selections result in abysmal sales, you lose that job.
> 
> ...



 I'm convinced that a Fey book would sell better.  If ENWorld is any indication, we had a poll a while back with huge support for a Fey book.  I think a lot of people know that Fey are cool and know that we can do a lot more with them but some of them are really looking for help on that, and you just don't get that help from the current D&D monster books.  

Personally, I've come up with fey-related plots and adventures on my own, but I'm always happy to see more stuff, and to those others, a Fey book is more useful than a Giant book because it is very easy to run a giant-based adventure vis-a-vis running the Fey in an evocative way.  Giants are the quintessential combat brutes, after all, whereas Fey are limned in mystery, illusion, and enchantment.

Anyway, we could have a bet.  Scott can help us by getting WotC to publish both of the books.  Then we see which one sells more  (I heard he likes to eat Morruses--if you bribe him with one, maybe he'll get them to release your book around a holiday so it'll spike )


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Xyxox said:
			
		

> One thing I would do is introduce teh concept of "One-Shot Campaign Settings". Be upfront and put out a camaign setting that all customers understand at the outset are, by design, a single product with no further support. The idea being to put out something that, by design, is intended to have all future development conducted by the indivdual DMS. I'd tie that into the Gleemax site with specific areas for individual fans to post additional material.





Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?


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## Wulf Ratbane (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



 No, No, and HELL YES.


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



 Honestly?  The fans will want more than that, but they'll be grateful for whatever they get.  Joe Gamer, particularly those who may have never been exposed to those settings, should be able to get a large amount of mileage out of just the 300 page setting book.  And of course, if you run a line of those and one of them turns out to become a big hit, you could capitalise on that with a follow-up.  As the faux Fluff Brand Manager, I would say that each of those settings also cries out for a cool introductory adventure (fortunately, we do have Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, and Demonweb Pits is out there too, but nothing for Dark Sun yet), possibly contained within the same book, but as a fan, I would want the whole 300 pages for fluff and details, and as someone who remembers Mysteries of the Moonsea's relative success, or lack thereof, I would be wary of another adventure/fluff mixed book, so I might release the adventure separately.


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## Particle_Man (Aug 9, 2007)

*Paladins*  Make them cooler.  Also, spell out, in terms that are unambiguous and explainable to a 4 year old, exactly what does and does not cause a paladin to lose paladinhood (spell out when this is "temporary but curable" and when this is "permanent").  Look to all the "Paladin" threads in gamer boards for ideas on particular situations that should be addressed.  Also, what "associating with evil" means, for example, with Paladins of Wee Jas (whose followers often go a rather necromantic route).  Detail more about where they special mounts are coming from, and what they are doing when they are *not* summoned.

*Rangers* Make them cooler.  Spell out what it means to have a favored enemy - does this mean "I hate them!" or does it simply mean "I have a talent for dealing with these guys" or could it be either?  Maybe tips on roleplaying animal companions.

*Monks*  Make them cooler.  I wanna hear more about monasteries and such, and Ancient Masters, and oaths, and great secrets.

*Half-Orcs* Make them cooler.  Please get away from the whole "descendant of a rape" thing and give them some interesting backgrounds.

*Illusions* Give some (1000?) ideas on what to do with illusions.  Help people out with ideas to pump their imaginations.

*Evil minions* In a universe with objectively provable horrible afterlifes for the bad guys (and great afterlifes for the good guys) explain why the smarter bad guys don't wise up and join Team Good ASAP, since there are magical means to detect this stuff.

*Chaotic Neutral* What does this mean?  What do these beings want?  What do pure chaos outsiders want?  How are they different from the Far Realms?

*Lawful Neutral* What does this mean?  What do they want?  What do pure law outsiders want?  How are they different from Contstructs.  Speaking of which, bring back the Modrons, Goddamit!

Also, whatever fluff you have, don't have it contradict the rules.  Case in point, the Warlock's Baleful Utterance uses a word of Dark Speech in the fluff, but before, speaking a word of Dark Speech had specific rules implications.


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## Kaodi (Aug 9, 2007)

*Complete Guide To Scott Rouse's Sinister Methodology & Dastardly Plans*

Just sayin',    .

I kind of like the idea of one-off campaign settings. _Ghostwalk_ was in this vein, no? It's a way to introduce a little variety without derailing the Forgotten Realms/Eberron Engine by introducing fully supported settings. Of course, there may still be some of that risk involved.


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?





Absolutely - Al Qadim was awesome with just one book.  It started to suck after tons of boxed sets got released for it.

How about:

India  (6-armed, elephant headed scimitar wielding dudes!)
Ancient Greece
Al-Qadim redone


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## Monkey King (Aug 9, 2007)

*Core Books (5)*
*Unseelie Courts:* Fey and changlings. I'm sure this is more popular than giants. Amazing potential for both player and DM use, if it's done right.
*Expedition to the Barrier Peaks:* A new take on the classic adventure. Plus hey, killer robots and lasers.
*Age of Worms Hardcover:* Lots of pent-up demand for this. Why not give the people what they want?
*Complete Steampunk:* A crunch/fluff book of all that piston-driven awesomeness, lots of drawings, some artificer tie-ins, backstory on constructs, and maybe a machine organization or society. Could also be the Big Book of Constructs, though that might push it into heavy crunch. How do tech and magic come together in D&D?
*The Far Realm:* Bruce Cordell's take on Lovecraftian madness is a huge favorite and has a come a long way in just a few years. Work it.

*Setting-Specific (3)*
*Eberron:* Maybe something discussing warforged, the dragonmarked houses, and artificers in more detail. Get some crunch and a lot of stories, politics, and discussion of the machines of war. 
   Eberron Rising Nations seems like a good book for DMs, a little less so for players.
*Sigil:* The ultimate planar city, an add-on usable in many campaigns, but also a Planescape book. Lots of distinctive NPCs, massive hooks, new planar lore, bigshot planar movers and shakers. Not your average city book. Builds off In the Cage and the Faces book.
*Forgotten Realms:* The Dales. Or the Savage North. I'm no Realms expert, but I get the sense that there's lots of great 2E fluff that has never been updated. Maybe review the 2E sales to figure out what FR to revisit?

I'd love to say the *Greyhawk corebook* should be on this list, but I'm fairly sure that expanding the core setting doesn't align with the brand philosophy. Would be awfully cool, though. Likewise an *Arabian/Elemental book* would be amazing, but it's probably a crunch book of classes and spells, not a fluff book at all.


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## drothgery (Aug 9, 2007)

The only 'fluff' D&D book I can think of that I'd like to see and hasn't already been suggested is 

Flamekeep: Citadel of the Silver Flame , i.e. a big city book for a place that's not they hyper-cosmopolitan center of the world, and as part of the who's who inherrent in a city book, fills out some important parts of the Church heirachy


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## SPoD (Aug 9, 2007)

A lot of this has been said, but:

1.) Book of Giants. A no-brainer.

2.) One-shot campaign setting, brand new. Find something completely out there, but that could combine with existing campaigns the way Ravenloft and Planescape sort of did. 

3.) Heroes of Mystery. This would need a lot of fluff regarding how to deal with divination and how to devise classic whodunits.

4.) Heroes of Comedy. A book that tells me how to run a campaign as silly as Order of the Stick without it falling apart at the seams! 

5.) Book of Prophecies. Talks about incorporating foreknowledge, prophecy, and time travel without breaking the game or railroading the players.

6.) Planes of Eberron. Detail the other planes, since we only know stuff about them through the novels.

7.) Something Forgotten Realm-sy. I don't actually use FR at all, but I would have to be a fool not to put something out for it.

8.) Book of Law and Chaos. There may not be enough for a book on each, but a Law/Chaos companion to BoVD/BoED would be nice.


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## BiggusGeekus (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




Well, I'm not really into Ravenloft and I disliked the direction Dark Sun took literally a few months after it was published.  

Planescape.  Would I buy just one book?  Given my purchasing habits, probably.  But I'd have to have that first book.  

What it would take to get me to buy future Planescape books ... good question.  I can see myself buying planescape PDFs off of Gleemax or subscribing to Gleemax for Planescape support.  But if there was an adventure on Gleemax that included a prestige class and a monster found in a paper Planescape book, that would not be enough for me to get the book.  Planescape books would have to have some seriously freaky stuff in them for me to pick them up as paper products.  

I'm saying this in the spirit of complete honesty: what I suspect that I really want is for other people to play Planescape and for me to see it on the game store shelves.   That's pretty selfish of me, I know.  

Though now that I think about it, I did buy Mongoose's _Paranoia XP_ and one supporting book.  I did that based completely on the fluff.  I couldn't even tell you what dice _Paranoia XP_ uses, but I do know that I'm irritated that they didn't use the punny names.  So, given my consumer habits of the past, I think it's probable that I'd buy a supporting Planescape book.

I'm not making a good case for a franchise I want to see, am I?


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## s.j. bagley (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



well, i don't know about 'enough.'
fans would want more, but i'd take whatever i could get as far as that goes.
however, books like that combined with support through the new digital initiative might be interesting.


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## Glyfair (Aug 9, 2007)

Monkey King said:
			
		

> *Setting-Specific (3)*
> *Eberron:* Maybe something discussing warforged, the dragonmarked houses, and artificers in more detail. Get some crunch and a lot of stories, politics, and discussion of the machines of war.
> Eberron Rising Nations seems like a good book for DMs, a little less so for players.




Planes.  They have barely been touched and are one of the areas where Eberron varies far from the core.  There would be some crunch (I'm a firm believer in a nice mix), but mostly atmosphere.


			
				Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



Everyone? Don't you know by now you won't please everyone? 

I would support a periodic release of a limited campaign setting.  Make each one a core book and perhaps a support book, or give periodic online support (a couple of adventures, a couple of web enhancements).

I suggest rotating between classic and new settings.  _Ghostwalk_ had some great ideas and was mostly unfortunate in being released for 3.0 after 3.5 was announced.  Some of the Polyhedron d20 mini-games had some great ideas that could have been expanded to a full book.  There are plenty of new ideas out there that everything shouldn't be retreads.


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## crazy_monkey1956 (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




Echoing others, one print campaign setting book and then support from the Digital Initiative would certainly be enough.  I would (if I weren't a poor gamer and a hundred years [literally, I figured it out once based on my current buying rate] behind on my collection) buy every darn one of these, both the old settings and any new weirdness that might pop up.


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## qstor (Aug 9, 2007)

Shadeydm said:
			
		

> *The World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting:* The grand revival of the greatest setting in the History of DnD, 352 pages.[.




This would be at the TOP of my list if I was Brand Manger of Fluff 

Then the Fey and Giants and Historical Campaign books. Nice sugguestions all!

Mike


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## vongarr (Aug 9, 2007)

1. Villains of Eberron - Give a chapter to each organization. Detail each group's main lair, it's leadership, and how much influence it has (with example of what it has done) This would be mostly fluff, the crunch being the locations and the stats on NPCS.

2. Cities of Eberron - I'm getting tired of starting from just a name and a location. Cover the big ones (Korranberg, Newthrone, etc.) and give at least a short paragraph on most. I guess there would be PrC's and feats, but it doesn't need them.

3. How to melt your player's face - A guide on DM tricks to mechanically overcome what the PC's can do to you at higher levels. Inventive traps would have a place here as well.

4. A REAL dungeon ecology book.

5. Expedition to the tomb of horrors - Update the updated second edition box set.

6. Planes of Eberron - Self explanatory. Give us some details on the planes. 

I'm out. Can't think of two more.


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## qstor (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




You're forgetting Greyhawk 

Mike


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## vongarr (Aug 9, 2007)

I echo the thoughts of a big setting specific book. Make it clear to the writers that short of adventures, this all that's being printed about said setting.


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## DaveMage (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




A one-shot planescape would not be enough  - too much to cover in one book.  It would have to be a series.

A one-shot Dark Sun would be cool.

Ravenloft has already been done for this edition extensively by white wolf - more is not needed.  For 4e, however, a one-shot would be fine.


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## Fifth Element (Aug 9, 2007)

I would suggest the *Complete Left-Handed Albino Elven Bard's Handbook*, just because so many people refer to it (and other similar works), and yet I've never actually seen it.


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## Razz (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




I would say no to those. If you offer something as well detailed and established as Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun you're only going to depress people with the fact that there will NOT be future support.

I think "one-shot" campaigns should be like *Ghostwalk*...but then we all know how successful that was, don't we?   

Now *Oriental Adventures* was successful, but there are angry gamers out there who're peeved at the fact that, well, there hasn't been any OA support since. 

Personally, I'd say like a 300+ page book on Planescape, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, etc., with like mini-supplements once or twice a year for each setting that's like 96 pages or something.


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## SolitonMan (Aug 9, 2007)

diaglo said:
			
		

> 1. *The Complete Idiots Guide to d02 Roleplaying*
> The book that teaches you how to have fun with the game. No mechanics included.




AKA "Coin-flipping for Dummies"  


Sorry, diaglo, I can't resist bad puns...it's gotten my players to threaten to stab me in the eye with a pencil more than once...

I think that the ideas already expressed in this thread are great: Giant book, Fey book, setting books (especially Greyhawk and Dark Sun), monster ecologies (that aren't already published), and maybe a line of non-DDM minis that are sold not-randomly.  I love the minis, but I hate having to play a "game" to acquire what I want, since I don't play DDM, I play D&D.


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## Lonely Tylenol (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



What do you mean?  You release a book as though it were the core book of the setting (a la Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), and then if it sells well enough, you release a second book, etc.  I know that WotC doesn't want to fragment the fan base, but I think of it this way: you're already fragmenting the fan base with books like Tome of Magic, or Tome of Battle, which not everyone wants to include in their campaigns.  However, with something like a Greyhawk book, it works in the other direction.  Those who want to play in Greyhawk buy the Greyhawk book(s), and then they can use all the splatbooks in that campaign.  Or in the Planescape campaign.  You only really run into trouble with campaigns like Oriental Adventures, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, etc., in which there are specific restrictions on which sorts of things can be imported into the campaign from the various splatbooks.  The reason why Forgotten Realms is such a great setting to support is precisely due to its "--and the kitchen sink" attitude toward new material.  It has its own unique stuff, but you can plug the Complete series right in without a hiccup.

Still, a single Dark Sun book would probably go a long way toward satisfying people.  And I do think your question is nonsense.  Even if a single book doesn't satisfy the fans of the setting, they'll buy it.  They'll buy it and then complain that there aren't more books in the works.  From a business perspective, you never want to satisfy anyone.  You want them to buy everything and then beg for more.


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## crazy_monkey1956 (Aug 9, 2007)

SolitonMan said:
			
		

> AKA "Coin-flipping for Dummies"
> 
> 
> Sorry, diaglo, I can't resist bad puns...it's gotten my players to threaten to stab me in the eye with a pencil more than once...
> ...




You know, it probably wouldn't sell very well, but a collector's pack of Monster Manual Minis that included at least one mini for every critter in the Monster Manual would be super spiffy.


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## Jedi_Solo (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




Now we're talking...  Except that you missed Spelljammer?  No love for wooden boats flying though space and giant space hamsters?  Come on!

Ghostwalk had some great stuff but was unfortunate that it had some strikes against it (timing for one thing).  Ravenloft has stuff out there (out of print, but they are out there) so I don't think it needs one right now.  Planescape has stuff scattered across multiple books but a Sigil book done up like Ghostwalk would likley be a good one.  Outside of a few Dragon articles I haven't seen much 'official' stuff for Dark Sun and a buddy of mine keeps talking about the setting. A single book would give a better chance to understand what is going on if nothing else.  I've seen even less for Spelljammer and Al Qadim.

As others have said these then would open up many, many opprotunities to put up enhancements and adventures.

I know Ghostwalk didn't go over as well as people hoped.  But I think these open up great opprotunities for new and old fans alike.


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## freyar (Aug 9, 2007)

crazypixie said:
			
		

> You know, it probably wouldn't sell very well, but a collector's pack of Monster Manual Minis that included at least one mini for every critter in the Monster Manual would be super spiffy.




I don't know; if it's reasonably priced, those might be the only D&D minis I'd buy.  'Course, it's more fun to make my own.


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

crazypixie said:
			
		

> You know, it probably wouldn't sell very well, but a collector's pack of Monster Manual Minis that included at least one mini for every critter in the Monster Manual would be super spiffy.




Yea, but who needs a Rast mini?


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## der_kluge (Aug 9, 2007)

Razz said:
			
		

> I would say no to those. If you offer something as well detailed and established as Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun you're only going to depress people with the fact that there will NOT be future support.





You mean, we're not already depressed?  Come on - how is having one 300 page book on Planescape worse than having no 300 page book for Planescape?


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Dr. Awkward said:
			
		

> What do you mean?  You release a book as though it were the core book of the setting (a la Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), and then if it sells well enough, you release a second book, etc.  I know that WotC doesn't want to fragment the fan base, but I think of it this way: you're already fragmenting the fan base with books like Tome of Magic, or Tome of Battle, which not everyone wants to include in their campaigns.  However, with something like a Greyhawk book, it works in the other direction.  Those who want to play in Greyhawk buy the Greyhawk book(s), and then they can use all the splatbooks in that campaign.  Or in the Planescape campaign.  You only really run into trouble with campaigns like Oriental Adventures, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, etc., in which there are specific restrictions on which sorts of things can be imported into the campaign from the various splatbooks.  The reason why Forgotten Realms is such a great setting to support is precisely due to its "--and the kitchen sink" attitude toward new material.  It has its own unique stuff, but you can plug the Complete series right in without a hiccup.
> 
> Still, a single Dark Sun book would probably go a long way toward satisfying people.  And I do think your question is nonsense.  Even if a single book doesn't satisfy the fans of the setting, they'll buy it.  They'll buy it and then complain that there aren't more books in the works.  From a business perspective, you never want to satisfy anyone.  You want them to buy everything and then beg for more.




My question was looking for clarification on what I quoted while providing a specific example.


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Jedi_Solo said:
			
		

> Now we're talking...  Except that you missed Spelljammer?  No love for wooden boats flying though space and giant space hamsters?  Come on!
> 
> Ghostwalk had some great stuff but was unfortunate that it had some strikes against it (timing for one thing).  Ravenloft has stuff out there (out of print, but they are out there) so I don't think it needs one right now.  Planescape has stuff scattered across multiple books but a Sigil book done up like Ghostwalk would likley be a good one.  Outside of a few Dragon articles I haven't seen much 'official' stuff for Dark Sun and a buddy of mine keeps talking about the setting. A single book would give a better chance to understand what is going on if nothing else.  I've seen even less for Spelljammer and Al Qadim.
> 
> ...




The three settings I gave were mere examples. Insert favorite setting here________.


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 9, 2007)

qstor said:
			
		

> You're forgetting Greyhawk
> 
> Mike




You guys are getting slow in your old age, that took 15 posts


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## TwinBahamut (Aug 9, 2007)

Well, here are my eight, I guess...

1)*A Fey Book*   Rather than making this a monster book, or something like the Draconomicon, it would focus on trying to convey the feel of old fey stories, and the author would be required to sit down and read some before starting. Would contain rules for turning classic fey creatures like elves and trolls into proper fey, would have "otherworld" rules, and would focus on making fey seem less like strange forest creatures, and more like the mischevious, inhuman, and possibly dangerous spirits they classically are. It would perhaps help brindge the odd gap made in D&D between western faerie stories and eastern spirit stories (which are almost identical, if you don't make an artificial east/west division).

2)*The Farmer Boy's Guide to Giant-Killing*   This is a giant book, written from the perspective of a guy like Jack the Giant-Killer (for those who don't know, after Jack killed the giant from the top of the beanstalk, he went on to kill several more, and became one of the Knights of the Round Table). In other words, it is a guide to kiling giants through trickery and cuning, exploiting their pride and greed, rather than through brute power.

3)*The Young Hero's Guide to Dragon-slaying and Damsel-saving*   Like the above, except based on classic dragon-slaying fairy-tales, like Beowulf or the story of the slaying of Fafnir. Perhaps a reimagining of dragons in which a single warrior can actually fight one.

4-6 would probably be other books in the same series as the first three, re-imagining different ways to use old creatures, based on classic myths. Genies, magical beasts, and evil spell-casters, maybe?

7)*Tome of Magic 2*   More new ways of casting magic! This time, with better balance and less assumptions of and alterations to existing cosmology.

8)*Tome of Battle 2*   More new ways of fighting! This time, with a higher page count.


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## Raven Crowking (Aug 9, 2007)

One book on Worldbuilding (and it could draw heavily from the pages of Dragon magazine, going back for years), followed up by "focus" books that focus on building cities, dungeons, wilderness, particular types of cultures, and particular campaign styles.  I would actually say that only the Worldbuilding book should be hardcover; you'd get more mileage out of the others if they were softcover.

While all of these books would be fluff-centric, each would include both example crunch, and --most importantly -- a lot of information on how to develop your own crunch.  For an example of this approach, think of the Encounter Trap section in Dungeonscape.  Rather than merely providing crunch, that section gets you to think about what you want to do, why you want to do it, and then create appropriate crunch.  Similarly, a Focus book on jungles might include some templates for "junglifying" existing monsters, might include some ideas for creating lost civilizations, and might include some very real crunchy bits....with a lot of fluff suggesting how those bits could be used, why the DM might include them, and how they might be presented.

IOW, the fluffy bits exist to psych the DM up so that these things _*need to be used*_.  I'm sure we can all remember the feeling of cracking a book and reading something that drips so much flavour that we had to do something with it *right now*, and chuckled happily while we did that work.  Then grinned big goofy grins while using it in an actual game.

Preferably, each Focus book would contain 16 pages or so describing an iconic-type location that used the material in the book, with all maps and keys, so that the DM could see how the material was to be used.  The iconic locations should, ideally, be site-based "adventures" adaptable to more than one game need.  They should possibly be things that can be fleshed out by the DM to create full campaigns, such as a cool large-scale map of a lost city in the jungle that could be worked into greater detail if the DM so desired.

(The idea here would be to not only increase the "cool" factor, but to create something to draw in people on the outskirts.....as in, "Dang, I don't really need a book on designing forests, but the ruined city in WBF: Jungles was so cool that I _have to_ see what they did in this one....."  )

I don't think that you want all fluff without crunch, but I do think that fluff should whet the appetite for crunch.  When you sell Worldbuilding Focus: Deserts, the book should not only generate its own profit, but should fuel sales of Sandstorm as well.


RC


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> The three settings I gave were mere examples. Insert favorite setting here________.



 Of course, sometimes we know our favourite setting isn't going to be the best seller, though.  For instance Spelljammer--I thought immediately of mentioning it, and I love Spelljammer to pieces (Spelljammer is the only line or D&D products I went to E-Bay to find used), but I know it is too niche for me to possibly choose it in my first year of products as Fluff Brand Manager.  My sneaky evil plan would be to release settings that will sell better, thus showing that the concept can sell well (I would imagine that Sigil or something else that is high-quality and Planescape-based would be wildly popular just based on how excited people seemed to get chasing at rumours that they thought could possibly be a revival of Planescape) and increasing my prestige and weight vis-a-vis Greg Nard.  Then, and only then, would I consider my pet Spelljammer setting book.


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## haakon1 (Aug 9, 2007)

Athenon said:
			
		

> *World of Greyhawk,* a multi-volume project updating the lands of Greyhawk.  This would be a massive relaunch with many potential sequel volumes.  Most importantly, I would hire Eric Mona to head the project.  I would also recruit Gary Gygax to write a great deal of the material, particularly expanding on unseen aspects of his original home campaign.  This is one seriously neglected area of the D&D IP.  Mona has proved he can do Greyhawk like nobody's business and Gary's involvement has been sadly lacking for decades.




Heck yeah to all that.

1) Mordenkainen's Return: The World of Greyhawk (a Mona/Gygax production).  Greyhawk reset to factory specs by the original author, with Troll Lords "Dunfalcon" IP thrown in.

2) Sea of Pearls (by Eric Mona): Fluff for WoG about the region of Cauldron, Isle of the Apes, the Amedio Jungle (Latin American RPG), Hepmonland (African RPG), and the Scarlet Brotherhood.  Yes, it's all been done, but it could be combined nicely and reworked.

3) The Icy Sea (by Wolfgang Baur): Fluff for WoG about the region of Greyhawk's  Blackmoor (possibly including Dave Arneson's material), the Rovers of the Barrens (American Indian RPG), Wolf/Tiger Nomads (Mongol/Hun RPG), Stonefist (Slavic RPG), and the Thilronian Peninsula Suel (Viking RPG).  Leaves the Land of Black Ice and the City of the Gods untouched and unexplained.

4) The Village.  Deeply detailed village or villages.  If you can do only one, make it Hommlett.

5) The Valley.  Slightly less detailed campaign setting in one small valley.

6) The Castle.  Deeply detailed castle or castles.  If you can do only one, make it the Keep on the Borderlands.

7) Fast Play D&D (by Gary Gygax).  Simplified beginners rules based on Castles & Crusades.  Not fluff, but needed.  It could include a short fluffy reference guide to the Known World if desired.

8) Throw a bone to Forgotten Realms or Eberron.


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## Draumr (Aug 9, 2007)

*Greyhawk Guide*
With fluff compared to the old boxed set and LGG together with crunch comparable to the FR book.​*Greyhawk Gods* 
All the various gods and pantheons (including demi-human & monstrous pantheons) covered in detail, core beliefs style.​
And yes, books on Fey & Giants would be good!


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## BigFreekinGoblinoid (Aug 9, 2007)

Sorry i'm late to the meeting! These are some terrific ideas. Before I share my list with you, I'd like to say two things:

Just because a 3rd party publisher has published a similarly themed book in the past doesn't mean we can't play in that sandbox. We have the time, money, resources, channel and brand awareness that will allow us to improve and expand on any worthwhile idea. 

Books that people 'want to read' WILL be commercially successful. Products that try and appeal to all segments of our customer base end up pleasing few, as the breadth of content has been stretched thin and focus is lost. 

Here are my recommendations for projects to greenlight for production assignments as requested. All of these books are fluff heavy, although a few require varying degrees of game statistics. 

1) Worldbuilding Guidebook. The 2E product was terrific, and is still used by gronard players today. This update will go beyond the primary physical geographic concerns of the original to  cover economic guidelines by low/medium/high magic prevalence. The Ebberon setting has done a great deal to add plausibility to the existence of magic in a fantasy world, but there are many other ideas to explore.

2) A Guide Book to Fey: Fey have been dissed big time by the D&D game; More beautiful than elves, more cunning than Kobolds, with some attention and the right treatment, they can become antagonists as popular as the Drow have been in the past. 

3) FC3: Loths, 'leths and Hordelings. Oh, and this idea is gold, don't share it outside this room: Is it true that the 'leths are disappearing and their creation stones are being used to birth an entirely new, more powerful, race of fiends some are calling "Wastelings"? Is it also true that Anthraxus has been rumored to be their progenitor, representing the culmination of a long scheming plan to regain power and serve up some cold vengeance?   

4) Tactics: Not a book teaching power gaming techniques based on rules bloat, but a book that helps characters best synergize party abilities and roles by composition, situation and level. A dual purpose book, DM's will also learn how to best pair monsters with complimentary abilities and use terrain, traps and more. 

5) Artifacts: It isn't even the item's abilities that are the most interesting aspect, it is the  history, how it was created, who used it and how, where it might be now, and how to destroy it, that fire the imagination into usefulness. 

I'm throwing the Steamtech idea back over the fence to Greg. I think this is a super idea, but this will end up being a very crunch heavy project. Also, I love the idea for releasing large one off Campaign guides for various settings, and agree that Planescape should definitely be the first one. 

The Law/Chaos/Nuetrality extraplanar series book idea also has some merit. What exactly motivates the Slaadi and what to they do with themselves? Are the Githzerai finally ready for that all out assault on the Astral plane? Does the new Primus have things under control? How do the Rilmani keep the multiverse so well balanced? 

Oh, and Scott, when you see Kelly next week, please tell her I said "hello", and that I had a great time hanging out together in the Hamptons last month...


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## diaglo (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> You guys are getting slow in your old age, that took 15 posts



bah, slow. that was practically warp speed for us greyhairs.


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## Terraism (Aug 9, 2007)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> The suggestions for Planes of Eberron and Rising Nations are actually very good.
> -blarg



Hey, thanks!  [Grins.]



			
				Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?



Yes.  We might _want_ more, but a well-done, one-off book to update older settings really _is_ enough.  Except for Ravenloft; frankly, I think Arhaus did well enough with that while they had it licensed to not be worth putting out a "WotC-version."  I feel the same way about Dragonlance and Ms. Weis's stuff.


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## GreatLemur (Aug 9, 2007)

Okay, I couldn't resist typing 'em up in more detail.  Here they are, in release schedule order.

*1 - Magic: The Great Art*

Outside of the Forgotten Realms, we've never really heard a lot about exactly _how_ magic works.  This book would offer information of the workings of the various types of magic in D&D, and seek to answer such questions as what material components are for, how Sorcerers know the words and gestures to unlock their inherited powers, and why Clerics have to pray for specific sets of miracles each day before they use them.  What is "preparing a spell", anyway?  Major sections would be devoted to arcane magic, divine magic, and psionics, with additional smaller sections for the various non-core magic systems.  Alternate explanations and few optional rules might also be offered to help DMs tweak the workings of magic according to their preferences.

In addition to this, the book would detail magic's place in the world, and its impact on both civilization and the environment.  This would include such issues as where all those magic items are coming from, who can be a Wizard and what it takes to get the necessary training, what kind of impact healing and resurrection magic might have on society (given different levels of availability), and how things like law enforcement, transportation, entertainment, and warfare might be changed by magic.

A section on different magical organizations (schools, unions, watchdog groups, military units, etc.) would also be cool, but such a topic could run long enough to be a book in its own right.

*2 - untitled Keith Thompson campaign setting*

One good look through his site will show that this man clearly has several good campaign worlds in him already, if only he could be given the publishing deal to get them out.  Paired with a good developer, and put in charge of a team of other artists with compatible styles, I have no doubt that he would produce a distinctive, flavorful, and playable campaign setting, as well as one of the most beautiful, coffee-table-friendly books WotC has ever published.  I'm imagining this as a slim, heavily-illustrated, crunch-light (or even crunch-free) book, with a distinctly different style of art direction than other D&D books.  It should be intended to inspire and awe, rather than serve as a campaign bible or world atlas.

*3 - Heroes of Intrigue*

A lot of people have been asking for this for a while, and it's a subject that can encompass a whole lot of material.  The "intrigue" the title refers to would include both mystery stories and political intrigue.  At its core, this book would be about non-combat, non-athletic challenges, focusing instead on the social and informational tasks that PCs might face.

It would include articles about (and new mechanics for) tracking, clue analysis, library use, NPC contacts, reputation-building and reputation-ruining, scrying, cryptography, and other ways of obtaining information or denying it to your enemies.

Additionally, there would be DM advice for running mystery-based adventures, engaging PCs as political pawns, and managing PCs who become political _powers_.  A lot of "How to make sure what's going on makes sense, and that your players have a handle on everything that's going one, without giving away the stuff you want them to find out on their own" advice, along with things like faction influence/relationship flowcharts and how they can relate to PCs during and between adventures.

Finally, the book would offer a sample city--one described more by a faction chart than by a map--with several of sample organizations including political parties, criminal gangs, religious groups, merchant cartels, trade guilds, and so on.  This might also include some NPCs, but full statblocks wouldn't be as necessary as lists of personal values, alliances and enmities, and short-term and long-term goals.

*4 - untitled Brom campaign setting*

I know he all but defined the look of Dark Sun, but Dark Sun is long out of print, and Brom's work clearly shows a greater array of ideas than ever made it into that setting's visuals.  I'd love to see what he'd come up with these days.

*5 - Tome of Alchemy: Fantastic Science*

Taking alchemy--which is a more popular concept these days than it's generally credited as--beyond a simple Craft skill, this book would expand it to a kind of non-magical "magic" with its own particular capabilities, limitations, and subsystems.  It would include the following:


Alchemist base class - Similar to the Artificer, but with a more specific focus.  Would learn and use "concoctions"--alchemical mixtures with a one-day shelf life--in a manner similar to a Wizard's spells, and create alchemical items, poisons, exotic materials, and non-magical potions using the Craft (alchemy) skill.

Refined base class - Warrior/hyrbid class focused on an internal, biological alchemy, referencing both the immortals of Chinese myth and the matter-into-spirit magnum opus sough by Western alchemy.  This class would focus on temporary self-buffs, such as stat boots and bodily transformations.

Catalog of rare materials - This section would detail hard-to-obtain (that is, impossible to simply _purchase_) animal, vegetable, mineral, and supernatural materials with useful magical and/or alchemical properties.  Primarily, these things could be used to decrease the GP costs and Craft DCs of certain alchemical projects (and possibly the XP costs of creating certain magic items), and might even be completely necessary for some recipes.  Further, some of these materials could be useful in their own right, either for their basic properties or as spell components (possibly using the metamagic components rules from Unearthed Arcana).  Recognizing and harvesting many of these materials (whether from plants, mines, or dead monsters) will generally require skill checks.

Catalog of alchemical items - The game's existing array of alchemical items would necessarily need to be greatly expanded, taking them from their current status as weaker magical items to a class of objects all their own.  Alchemy's status as non-magical--and thus essentially a kind of technology--would be played up, here.  Also included would be components of the well-equipped alchemist's lab, including the expected "+X to Craft (alchemy) checks" items, and odder things like protectives against lab accidents and detectors for specific classes of rare materials.

Expanded poison rules - Poison-making and -use hasn't gotten much attention in D&D 3.x, so far, and this would be the perfect place to address this.  Additionally, we could use a longer list of poisons with more varied and interesting effects than some ability damage, and then more ability damage exactly one minute later.
*6 - untitled Wayne Douglas Barlowe campaign setting*

While he's known primarily as a science fiction illustrator, if you've seen *Barlowe's Inferno* or his various Thype sketches, you know he has even more to offer fantasy.  For that matter, if you've read *Expedition*, you know he's got the capacity to develop and deliver whole worlds.  Getting this guy to head up a campaign setting book would be a tremendous coup, and pure gold.

*7 - Base Matter: The Book of Constructs*

There aren't many monster types in D&D with the infinite possibilities, cool visuals, and modern feel of constructs.  This book would discuss the whys, hows, similarities, and differences of familiar construct types such as golems, homunculi, and clockwork automatons, just how what kind of orders a "mindless" creature can follow, the morality of creating constructs, and their place in society in various types of settings.  It would also be cool to examine constructs in terms of the nature of their animating force: arcane, divine, psionic, alchemical, mechanical, and so on.

Naturally, this book would also include a moderate selection of new constructs, along with the requirements for their creation.  It would be particularly cool to include one or two new (non-Warforged, non-robot-like) playable "races" of constructs, and to explore the idea of a construct lich-equivalent: powerful spellcasters who have transferred their minds or brains into immortal, artificial bodies.  And I really like the idea of construct animation as a kind of magical disease, which some kind of "wild" construct spreads to inanimate objects of one type or another.

One of the most interesting things about constructs, though, is that they can be custom built.  They can be made from a wide variety of materials, can be constructed to look like almost anything, and can certainly be built with non-standard features and components.  These could be represented mechanically through templates and built-in magical items, and would add the same kind of mileage to the clay golem that class levels add to the orc. 

Furthermore, a lot of PC options could be included in a book like this: We definitely need new, low-level (even non-combatant) constructs for PCs to create, and I think there's room in the game for task-specific "constructs" which are statted up as magical items rather than monsters (think spider-like spy drones sent to infiltrate a fortress, and relay images back to a viewing device).  And, ever since I saw the half-golem template, I've been dying for a more viable way for PCs to have golem-like cyborg parts.

*8 - Worlds Without End*

The Great Wheel cosmology doesn't work for everyone.  Many D&D campaign settings offer alternate planar arrangements, but they're generally very strongly tied to those specific settings.  Therefore, I think there'd be a lot of use in offering a set of alternative cosmologies, including both new ways to organize the standard planes, and whole new sets of planes (along with different ways to organize them).  It would be nice if this was a somewhat art-heavy book, offering both illustrations and diagrams to make the natures of these planes clear to gamers.

It would also be nice to work details on the Far Realms, the Plane of Shadow, the Dreamlands (or similar), and possibly even Sigil into this book, but honestly, they all deserve their _own_ books.  On the other hand, giving each of them a short section in this one would be a good way to gauge people's interest in seeing more material on them.


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## jmucchiello (Aug 9, 2007)

Charwoman Gene said:
			
		

> _The Great Game_
> A book on intrigue and politics, presenting a political view of the default setting.  Create a sense of what higher level characters NOT in the dungeon can do.
> 
> _Cultures_
> ...





			
				der_kluge said:
			
		

> The Book of Speciality Priests - a bit heavier on the crunch - but with a large emphasis on ritual, holidays, dress, and philosophies.
> 
> The Big Book of Villages, Thorps and Hamlets - 100 cities detailed. Each with a rough sketch map, points of interest, background, brief statblocks on notable NPCs and plot hooks.
> 
> The Book of Villains - 40% crunch - villains and their organizations; personalities, motiviations, goals and desires. From levels 1 to 25.



These are the books I wanted to commission when I started TDG. I never was very good at finding reliable freelance help though. None were written but I'd still love to see them written, especially the priestly rituals, holidays, dress, etc. And the culture book.

The political book I wanted to see done as a "In the Court of King Somesuch". It would fully detail a small kingdom and its dukes and counts and barons and how they all squabble pettily in the King's court whether in person or by proxy.


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## Shemeska (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




For the first two certainly. 

Considering the extent that Planescape is/is entwined with the standard D&D cosmology, and considering how much material from the setting continually appears in Dragon and Dungeon, monsters in the various Monster Manuals, and comprises one of the major sources for the 3e Manual of the Planes, 3.5 Planar Handbook, the planar content in the BoVD, BoED, Fiendish Codex I, and Fiendish Codex II, and even the most recent Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (for the planar elements)... yes it would sell. There's not much distinction between Planescape and D&D cosmology, just Planescape proper would specifically delve into Sigil as a planar city, and involve itself more heavily with warring ideologies and philosophies of the planes, the Blood War, and the factions. 

Planescape is only fallow in the sense that it no longer has a distinct product/setting line, but has become incorporated into standard/core material as a planar default, minus any focus on its more quirky or elaborate aspects. Of any of the older 2e settings without a distinct product line at the moment, this one has retained the most support in 3.x D&D, and plausibly the most chance for success as a distinct book or line of books (see the almost universal praise for FC:I and FC:II, and the clamor for a FC:III).

Ravenloft had enough of a following to spawn a 3e setting line. That speaks for itself I think, and I suspect the new novels will sell handily.

Dark Sun hasn't had much support in material terms in 3e, but I gather that it's still pretty popular. I liked it certainly. It's different, but a good different.


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## Lonely Tylenol (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> My question was looking for clarification on what I quoted while providing a specific example.



That's perfectly clear.  Thank you, however, for this odd meta-analysis of your post.


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## RichGreen (Aug 9, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> Yea, but who needs a Rast mini?




I could have done with four of those the other day!

Lots of great suggestions from aspiring fluffy brand managers on this thread! I'd definitely go with:

1. World of Greyhawk
2. Cold Lands FR sourcebook
3. Beyond Faerun FR sourcebook
4. FCIII
5. Fey book
6. Giant book
7. indian Adventures
8. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

Cheers


Richard


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## Knight Otu (Aug 9, 2007)

*1. Terra Arcana/Where Magic Sleeps/The Tainted Lands:* In worlds touched by magic, there will be places and touched by magic, from simple fey rings to deserts of ash, from natural leylines over created zones of elemental dominance to places of catastrophe like the Mournlands. Example regions described in the main text should be grandiose in some fashion (perhaps up to Mournland scope), and interesting places to set adventures. Smaller and/or less hostile places can be described in sidebars or appendices. Ruleswise, provide a number of (flexible) building blocks a la planar traits and a few character options dealing with magical terrain.

*2. The Vast Above:* Tagline - Not even the sky is the limit. Explore the castles of cloud giants, see the magic of the skies, and find what lies beyond. This may deal with "just" the world of the clouds, which is at least as expansive as the depths of earth and sea, but preferably would go above, and provide cosmology options for what the significance of the stars, the sun(s), and the moon(s) is, and the darkness between. It should stay clear of sci-fi or lovecraftian themes where possible, though (that's what d20 Future is there for).

*3. Ages of Fantasy:* A common theme of fantasy worlds is that they undergo various ages - the Golden Age, the Age of Magic, the First Age, the Age of Insects and so on. What happens when the End of Times is about, when do ages turn? This book would cover a number of common ages and their impact on people and land alike, with ample material to flesh out other ages and small rules components to plug in.

*4. Eyes of the Monster:* A close look at the evil humanoids, their cultures and societies, their differences and histories. What shaped their societies to become mostly evil? Are these reasons still relevant? How do Flinds and Gnolls differ from each other?

*5. Time and Othertide:* What happens when time and space unravel? Where do you go when you are nowhere? How close is the Far Realm? What are good ways to make prophecies work in-game? This book would deal with the impact of chronomancy, temporal chaos, alternate worlds, the astral, ethereal, and shadow planes, and strange places that are seemingly just outside the normal cosmology.

*6. Vow and Tradition:* A book that looks at several societies, orders, and guilds, some class-based and others open to everyone, some secret and others in plain sight. Provides examples of reworking the flavor of existing classes without (hardly) changing the mechanics, especially for monks.

*7. Homes of the Souls:* Building and expanding on the flavor of incarnum, this book looks at the Positive and Negative Energy planes both, providing interesting locations both within the planes and outside, also covering planar variants, such as a single yin-yang plane of positive and negative energy.

*8. Sciences of Magic:* Where does magic come from? How was it developed? Was there a first wizard, and did he or she live before or after the first sorcerer? What secrets of magic lie yet undiscovered? Who came first, deities or clerics? This book would provide a Progress Level-like breakup (but more flexible) of advances in magic and similar disciplines (such as psionics, truenaming), possible origins and destinations, limitations and interactions, and theories on magic.

I definitely second several of the suggestions in this thread, though.


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## Napftor (Aug 9, 2007)

Shawn Kehoe said:
			
		

> D&D Time Travel: This sounds like a crunchy book at first, but the REAL problems with time travel can't be resolved with skill checks - they are issues on how to resolve time paradoxes, how to define the power of time travel, what can and cannot be changed, etc. The author would present several different sets of "ground rules" for time travel, many of which would likely be inspired by pop culture - "The City on the Edge of Forever" model, the Marvel Universe model, etc. Most importantly, it's gotta be easy to understand - AD&D Chronomancer confused the hell out of me! Time travel has been a part of D&D for a long time (Dragonlance Legends!) and it should be addressed in a rules supplement.






			
				Razz said:
			
		

> *CHRONOMANCY:* A book on something you guys covered only once but should do so again. Time travel, the Demiplane of Time, time creatures and gods, how to run a time-traveling campaign, how time travel affects other campaign settings like Eberron, Greyhawk, and Forgotten Realms, etc. Very famous movies and TV shows have been based on time-traveling and it'd be cool if a DM could have rules to run either his own time-traveling campaign or incorporate a little of it into his current campaign.



And you other folks interested in temporally-oriented material...

Perhaps not _exactly_ what you folks are looking for, but _Temporality_ should appease you nonetheless: http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=20324&it=1

Or in print: http://www.amazon.com/Temporality-D...2007959?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186697927&sr=1-3


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## elijah snow (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




*A 300 page Dark Sun setting book would be a dream come true. *  

I'd buy the others as well, especially Planescape. The fallow settings from D&D's past were vibrant, unique settings that deserve updating. They don't need ongoing support, a la Eberron.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> I have just hired you as the Brand Manager of Story, Settings, Funny Names, and Bardic Song Lyrics. I've cut Greg's line in half and given it to you. Tell me what books you are going to put out. You have eight titles this year.




*The Fables of Burdock* - As mentioned in the 1E DMG, this is a book of legendary artifacts, heroes, villains, monsters, great magics and more. Round up all your most creative contributors -- including some who haven't been heard from in years -- and have them each come up with a one-page idea. The key is that half of it has to be told as a short adventure story, in a non-specific setting, long ago, and far away. Commission your favorite artists to do deluxe full-page paintings as well, and use these to help inspire the creators. Look at the great old childrens' fairy tale and myth collections from the early 20th century for examples of the lush, imaginative and even romantic imagery. Each fable would be supplemented by something crunchy. It could be a new spell talked about in the fable, it could be a strange monster, it could be a magic item (probably lots of artifacts), it could be something as simple as an alchemy recipe. This would work as a toolkit for DMs to add bits of fable and legend to any setting, with the caveat that none of this stuff would step on the toes of the setting creators. (No fables about how Shar is really just an angry black kitten. If you have a story like that, the goddess is unnamed.)

*Far Horizons of the Forgotten Realms* - Kara-Tur, Maztica, Zakhara and never-before-seen distant lands of Toril, each given a mini-setting treatment, along with crunch for new monsters, spells, prestige classes, and so on.

*Knights of the Silver Dragon* - The Mirrorstone books get the D&D treatment in a product intended to bridge the gap between the Basic game and the core books. A map of the city and surrounding areas, including the dungeons featured in the books, a write-up of all the NPCs, and Basic D&D-style removable character sheets for each of the characters, including new expansions to the basic set to let players adventure alongside (or as) the Knights of the Silver Dragon.

*Myths & Legends of Eberron* - Folk tales, legendary figures, urban myths and more of Eberron, along with (sometimes) the truth of such stories, crunch relating to things that come out of the legends (including mistaken beliefs or responses). Lots of fantastical urban legends and war stories from the Last War. Information about the Koranberg Chronicle and Morgrave University's history and archeology departments.

*Myths & Legends Realms* - Folk tales, legendary figures, urban myths and more of the Forgotten Realms. Given the epic nature of the realms, this will have more crunch, but it'll also have write-ups of events and characters from the novels in a format that makes them useful for DMs who have never read (and have no interest in the novels) and never-before-seen setting details about the more obscure corners of the Realms, with an eye toward ideas and areas that would make for compelling adventures.

*Sigil, City of Doors* - An update of the capital city of the planes, including a section on advice on how to run a planar campaign from level one, as well as appropriate crunch. No alignment for the Lady of Pain. This is a standalone setting product, not a series, and will be clearly marked as such.

*Skyscape* - Swashbuckling in the sky and magical space. One-volume update of Spelljammer and beyond, with Manual of the Planes-style options for changing the nature of magical space in an appendix. The book includes ideas for what's up there, including sample moons, worlds and stranger things. Obligatory supplemental crunch.

*World of Greyhawk* - An update of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, bringing it up to level of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This is a standalone setting product, not a series, and will be clearly marked as such.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Aug 9, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> The three settings I gave were mere examples. Insert favorite setting here________.




I'd buy a single-book campaign setting for:

- Greyhawk (A-frickin-men!)
- Mystara/Known World
- Planescape

I would be violently indifferent to:

- Ravenloft
- Dragonlance (exists already, I know)
- Spelljammer
- Dark Sun
- Birthright
- Blackmoor (exists, I know)

I'd buy this one only if they were bundled in one book:

- Maztica- Al-Qadim/Zakhara - Kara-tur ... i.e. the _Beyond Faerun_ book.


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## Faraer (Aug 9, 2007)

Fables of Burdock is a terrific idea. I'd set most of it, however loosely, in the World of Greyhawk, try very hard to get contributions from Gary Gygax, and find some way to pay tribute to Hugh E. Burdick, after whom, like Heward, the Fables are named.


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## Uzzy (Aug 10, 2007)

> Myths & Legends Realms - Folk tales, legendary figures, urban myths and more of the Forgotten Realms. Given the epic nature of the realms, this will have more crunch, but it'll also have write-ups of events and characters from the novels in a format that makes them useful for DMs who have never read (and have no interest in the novels) and never-before-seen setting details about the more obscure corners of the Realms, with an eye toward ideas and areas that would make for compelling adventures.




I was going to suggest just that! My suggestions are rather FR centric, seeing as that's my favourite setting. Don't know enough about the others to give good suggestions. 

A *Book of Intrigue* would be great. 160 pages of details on Harper plots, Zhentarim politics, how infiltration works when your enemy has lots of magical divination spells, stuff like that. 
*
Bardic Songbook. * What Songs are sung in the Realms? What is the Bard in the Inn going to be singing? Exactly what sort of rumours are going round the realms? Just chain Elaine Cunningham to a typewriter and have her pump out songs! 
*
Faiths of Faerún.* Long overdue. A sourcebook looking in depth at the various religions, their rituals, holy days, what the churchs look like, what they say. Things like that. Would need to be huge to fit everything in though.

Finally, a *Volo's Almanac. * 32 pages every December detailing the latest changes to the game world. 

Hope these suggestions help Scott!


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## Richards (Aug 10, 2007)

Well, as long as I'm dreaming, I'll throw this into the pot, since it's specifically fluff that Scott's looking for:

*The Complete Monster Hunters Association:* Each of the previously-published "Ecology" articles featuring the Monster Hunters (updated to 3.5, where necessary), plus their "Rogue's Gallery" article, plus as many more "Ecology" articles as are needed to fill up the book to whatever page count has been decided upon.  These would all be in the old "fiction and footnote" format that _Dragon_'s "Ecology" articles used to follow, where the majority of the article was "fluff" in the form of the short story, but it also included the appropriate "crunch" in the footnotes that provided the game mechanics.  Throw in artwork by Tony DiTerlizzi and/or Mike May, and we're good to go.

And dream or not, I've already got the next three such unpublished "Ecology" articles completed, with ideas for several more, should such a suggestion ever be seriously considered.  

Johnathan


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2007)

meomwt said:
			
		

> Hmm, let's ignore all that Marketing Stuff we've seen already and throw together some ideas no one would want to publish.
> 
> Until the dark months before a New Edition, that is.
> 
> *1 Angelic Codex* - details on Lawful Good extra-planar creatures for any DM to drop into a campaign when a _deus ex machina_ is required.



O RLY?


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I can't help but be amused by how many of the books suggested have already been done by 3rd party publishers.



I'm not sure "amused" is really the right word, but I noticed the same thing.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2007)

Tiberius said:
			
		

> True, but for many people (such as myself) if the book wasn't done by WotC, then it may as well not exist.



Any DM not picking up, say, A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe because it's not done by WotC is giving his game some serious self-inflicted wounds. This is especially true given the lavish praise heaped on it by WotC designers themselves.

Likewise, to not buy a third party product _created by past, present or future_ WotC designers (i.e. products they did before going there) because it doesn't say WotC on the cover doesn't make a lick of sense.

And then there's Year's Best D20, in which the author of the 3E DMG hand-picks the best third party stuff, sticks it all between two covers and offers it up for a ridiculously low price.

I offer to personally write "Wizards of the Coast" on any of these products, if that's the big hang-up.


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## Kobold Avenger (Aug 10, 2007)

*Sigl:* Yes without a question I definitely want a book on Sigil.  Bring the cage back to life again, with a well illustrated, surreal and high-quirky concept books.  Showcase the factions and guilds (I'm not advocating restoring Sigil to the way it was before Faction War, that would be uncreative).  Make the Hive, Lower Ward, Lady's Ward, Clerk Ward, Market Ward, Guildhall Wards and Undersigil each distinct settings all in own unique ways.  Offer plenty of hooks for more ideas...  Even make some small tie-ins to Planescape: Torment to possibly draw in others.  But emphasize the interesting ideas unique to planescape, and have plenty of stuff to use for all levels.  Even ways to make low-level adventuring ideas such as gang-warfare, walking in the bad part of town or magic shop madness in Sigil interesting.

*Campaign Setting (Limited Releases or One-shots):* Of course you can always bring back Planescape, or Dark Sun, or any number of older settings.  I'd certainly support them as a limited or oneshot release.

*FCIII:* Yeah I'm another voice that wants to see a book on the Yugoloths.  They're certainly my favourite fiends, and the book should find some very good niches for these fiends to fill.  Explain the lore about the ancient and mysterious Baernaloths, shine the spotlight on the General of Gehenna, the Oinoloth, Anthraxus, Charon, Bubonix, Apomps and more.  Also throw in Gehreleths/Demodands, Hordelings and Night Hags since they're neutral evil fiends.

*Celestial Codex:* I want a book on the residents of the upper planes too.  And I certainly want such a book to be more than just on the LG ones.  I like the CG celestials a lot better, Paizo publishing seems to like them a lot better too, as you should notice how recently Queen Morwel and Gwynharwyf have factored a lot into the background of the Demon Lords.  Such a book should be about all the celestial races (because I don't see there being enough support for this being a series) a celestial version of the Fiendish Codex, but parts of Book of Exalted Deeds II and Savage Species thrown in.  It should cover how to use them in campaigns, how to use them without overshadowing the PCs, and even how to play them as an option.

*Faeries & Folklore:* Basically my idea of of the Fey book, cover not only the Fey, but also faerie-tales and folk-lore from all around the world in a D&D campaign.  The book should cover faerie societies, the faerie world and what happens when they meet mortals, for good and ill.

*Heroes of Intrigue:* This needs to be a book, there needs to be a source for campaigns based more around roleplaying and character interaction.  A look into playing with politics, intrigue, trade, romance and other things that don't involve swinging a sword around.

*The Apocryphal Codex:* This book should be about the LN, CN and N outsiders, the ones that don't quite fit in.  It should be about the Modrons, Inevitables, Slaad, Rilmani and other LN, CN and TN outsiders.  Even ones undiscovered before such as the mentioned in passing Aphanacts, for all those who for example want CN outsiders being something else other than giant frogs.  This book should explain some of the ancient war of the Vaati, and the consequences it brought on all existence.  It should detail Primus, Ssendam, Ygorl, Renbuu, Chourst, Centre-Of-All and more...

*The Goblinoid Book:* A book on playing goblinoids and orcs as player characters.  I want this book to present many different goblinoid societies from the classic savage humanoids, to an enlightened parallel humanoid society, to social pariahs as goblinoids living in a ghetto in a human city.  This book should for example provide you with compelling ideas for example if you wanted to play something like a LG Hobgoblin Paladin, and other different ideas.

*Steamtech D&D:* I want a book on WotC's take on steam-punk settings, specifically steam punk in D&D.  It could be a D&D and D20 Modern bridge book, but I want there to be things for playing wizards and bards in a steam-punk world.  Emphasize different aspects and parts for a setting that's more technologically advanced with examples of Victorian London, the Wild West, and even old worlds like other parts of Europe or Asia or Africa colliding with technological progress.  Put tools in for a world with airships, strange wonders and inventions and new ideas and schools of thoughts coming out.


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## Klaus (Aug 10, 2007)

First, I'd check with Greg what he's cooking to see if any niches are left uncovered.

Then I'd consider what would make the game more appealing, specially to gamers used to CRPGs. The main advantage a CRPG has over the tabletops is the graphics side. So I'd tap the artist base WotC can access and have them do illustrations that would be useful when running a game set in one setting, the kind of stuff that used to be in the Dragonlance calendars. Which begets:

- A Visual Guide to Eberron

- A Visual Guide to the Forgotten Realms

- A Visual Guide to the Planes

Since Bardic Music is within my new purview:

- Complete Minstrel: A Guide to Music and Myth for All Classes

I'd also make sure every "generic" D&D book has at least two (preferrably three) fluff options for each major crunch addition (like classes).

- Book of Campaigns: much like the campaign models for d20 Modern, this would offer several "templates" to be applied to the baseline D&D world, making it more Howard/Lieber, Tolkien/Anderson, etc, adjusting treasure, deadliness and (guess it!) fluff.

Following the "creature book" line, which is fluff-intensive:

- Sidhe Libram: A Guide to Fey.

- Gigantonomicon: A Guide to Giants.

And to use an in-house property that is experiencing a resurgence in exposure and popularity:

- Transformers d20 (using Star Wars Saga as a baseline)

And as soon as the other movie comes out:

- G.I. Joe d20 (once again, Saga-ized).

As for my last product, I'd work specially hard to put together:

- Urban Arcana TV series. Increase the exposure of D&D with a reversal of the old D&D cartoon (instead of modern kids in fantasy world, fantasy creatures in modern world).

So that's 10 projects. You can help me pare them down to 8.


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## Oryan77 (Aug 10, 2007)

Klaus said:
			
		

> So I'd tap the artist base WotC can access and have them do illustrations that would be useful when running a game set in one setting
> 
> - A Visual Guide to Eberron
> 
> ...



That's a great idea. I would kill for a book of nothing but _brand new_ illustrations. Not simply of people, but of landscapes and towns/cities ect. 

I'm always searching the web for landscape artwork that I can use to show my players an example of what the environment looks like.

There's some really good illustrations in the new FR & Eberron books. I really like the style of those paintings.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2007)

Oryan77 said:
			
		

> That's a great idea. I would kill for a book of nothing but _brand new_ illustrations. Not simply of people, but of landscapes and towns/cities ect.



I suspect new art is a LOT more expensive per inch than new text. How few pages would you be willing to accept in a Visual Guide for the same price as a regular book? Because I suspect WotC would think such a product is a good idea, too, if enough people agreed with your page count/price point (and it fell within their standard expected guidelines).


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## 3catcircus (Aug 10, 2007)

Let's see:

1. *From Our Fields to Your Table*: a description of the trade routes of the Forgotten Realms. Details on carvans and merchant fleets, an expansion and clarification of the trade maps in FRCS, and typical caravan makeups. You could also do the same things for Greyhawk and Eberron all in the same book.

2. *Armies of Faerun*: a survey of the military forces of the Forgotten Realms. Orders of Battle, Tables of Organization and Equipment, specific military ranks, awards and insignia, biographies of key leaders.  Jerry Davis's "The Military Forces of Cormyr" on Candlekeep.com is a perfect example of the type of detail I would expect.

3. *Poor Wizards Almanac Redux*: I would love to see a treatment of Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms (and throw Eberron a bone) that is similar to the old Poor Wizard's Alamanac.  The stuff that is glaringly absent is the mundane stuff:  average height of a mountain range along with it's highest peak, weather patterns, average high/low by month, etc.

4.  *Atlas of the Universe*:  release an updated electronic atlas for Forgotten Realms, along with for Greyhawk and Eberron.  Make sure they include topographic maps and are scaleable to the 1/4-mile range (so you can print out battlemaps for wilderness encounters).

5. *Inscrutable Mysteries of the East*: Redo Kara-Tur and Zakhara.  Full treatment, maps, etc.

6. *What's Over There?*: a treatment of Greyhawk outside of the Flanaess.

7. *FCIII*: give the 'loths some love.

8. *Intrigue in Thyatis*: I loved the political intrigue aspects of the two old Thyatis adventure modules.  They gave some very practical advice for running a campaign revolving around political intrigue.

Do I get more than 8?


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## Dark Psion (Aug 10, 2007)

> Originally Posted by Scott_Rouse
> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




Truthfully, you need to do three books; Player’s Guide to..., DM’s Guide to... and Monster Manual to.... When you try to do it all in one book, it always feels rushed and too much is left out. The one book that is especially needed is the DM’s Guide to a specific setting. Don’t just say here are the Zhentarim and here are their stats, a new DM needs a “Here is how you use the Zhentarim”.


From previous posts:
Faerie Book
Planescape & Sigil
Ravenloft Revisited
Fiendish Codex III
Campaign Template books (See BiggusGeekus post#52)


* Tome of Psionics: * You know how the Tome of Magic was “three books in one”? Well so too would the Tome of Psionics. First third would be the Player Handbook II, or how to play the existing psionic classes and how to make them more unique. The second third is the DM’s guide to psionics. Let’s face it, the number one obstacle to psionic PCs is a DM who won’t allow it into his game. The last part would be a third magic item compendium, a third spell compendium and a third monster manual, but all raided from DARK SUN.

* Oriental Handbook: * Kara-Tur, Rokugan or something completely new, but I really want to see a new oriental book.

* Iconics: * Don’t just give me a snapshot of Lidda, show me her from 1st level to 20th. Show me an Iconic for every class, including psionics, incarnum, sword saints and factotums. Show me iconic prestige classes as well and even a few iconic monsters.

* Core Beliefs: Greyhawk/ Forgotten Realms/ Eberron:* We don’t want stats for deities, we want stats for their followers. Core Beliefs in Dragon magazine did this perfectly and needs to be followed up with a book for each setting.

* Complete Paragon: *Third edition is based upon multi-classing and this would be a guide to creating multi-class characters. It was also expand upon the Mystic Theurge -type Prestige classes, but for all combinations; Monk/Paladin, Thief/ Sorcerer, Bard/ Druid, etc...

And just three more books, but not just any books. I want three Ptolus sized, Ptolus quality books that are the Definitive Guides to....

* Greyhawk by Erik Mona
Forgotten Realms by  Ed Greenwood & Eric L Boyd
Eberron by Keith Baker *

Just think about it and try not to drool.......


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## Sundragon2012 (Aug 10, 2007)

What I would like from WoTC would be:

1.) More books that are about campaign style such as heroes of horror that are a combination of fluff and new OGL mechanics that make it easy to run different styles of D&D. *Heroes of the High Seas, Heroes of Intrigue, Heroes of High Station, Heroes of Literary Fantasy*, etc. You get the idea. I would like a book like *Heroes of Literary Fantasy* contain info on how to run a D&D game that is closer to fantasy found in literature (REH, Tolkien et al) and the mechanical changes necessary to do that easily (lower magic, less superhero antics ie falling 200 feet will kill you, integrating not having alignment into a campaign)

2.) More stylistic support for campaigns that are about much more than bashing in a dungeon door. Maybe a handbook called *In Character: A Guide to Immersive Role Playing in D&D*. I know this kind of thing is done in many campaigns like my own for instance, but to see WoTC officially back that up in print would help a lot of newer players see that the game can be deep and rich without being based solely on Magical Items, Cool Abilities, Leveling and Builds. One doesn't have to play White Wolf games to want a deeper role-playing experience. Old hands like myself might not need this book, but a lot of newer players and DMs could benefit from it. Of course all role playing games are about fun, but there are different kinds of fun.

3.) A book that supports the idea of prestige classes being prestigious and not just sloppily added on ability tickets. I know that many DMs actually work PRCs into the campaign, but too often when reading RP boards I see the idea that somehow a DM is violating a sacred covenant with his players if he chooses to enforce setting specific limitations on PRCs. This kind of book could contain other support for the DM and could actually be added to the *In Character: A Guide to Immersive Role Playing in D&D* mentioned above.

Just a few ideas.


Starlion


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## WayneLigon (Aug 10, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




I would love one-shot campaign setting books. I think they would not only be good for teaching GMs how to create and manage their own worlds, but they would serve as a means to experiment some.

I'd be torn on the classic campaign settings. I think we need a Near East setting (especially after seeing the wonderful work done for True 20). I think we need another, different Far East setting, perhaps more focused on China than Japan (though a Japanese setting will pretty much outsell any other Asian-themed setting 5 to 1, I'm thinking). A water world. A world where everyone can use some magic. One where humanity retreated to the Underdark to escape even worse terrors from the stars.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2007)

Given the goodness that was Arabian Adventures, independent of setting stuff (some of which is very, very cool, especially the insertion of genies of all sorts into the lives of mortal races), I'm shocked that no one in D20 land has really picked up the gauntlet, although a few folks have created self-contained Arabian mini-settings.


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## Kaodi (Aug 10, 2007)

I think Whizbang's *Myths & Legends* series and Klaus's *Visual Guide* series are both superior ideas, and pure fluff to boot. Personally, I vote Komarck for Eberron. I think a book full of scenery in the vein of his two paintings in the current Edition Wars art debate thread could fly off of the shelves.

Sundragon --> Your idea is kind of what I meant by the *Complete Roleplayer*, however such a tome would have to focus on getting and giving the most out of your play style, to benefit both yourself and the group, instead of limiting it to just immersive play acting.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 10, 2007)

In an order to be determined later;

*Races of the Horde:* Goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, orcs and trolls. This book would be a good addition to the race book series.

*Expedition to the Prison of Unimaginable Suffering: * A totally new adventure, something quite nasty and vexing for the PCs.

*Shadowmen* (or some such title with sinister tones)*:* All about the secret (and not so secret) presence, influence, goals and operations of demons and devils in the campaign world. It is not about what they do in the Abyss or in Hell.

*Forgotten Realms - Some land beyond Faerun:* (Specific land to be determined) Al-Qadim, Mazteca and Kara-Tur, at least one of them deserves a revisit and people keep asking for it.

*Grayhawk:* Because everyone is asking for it, and really when was the default setting really visited?

*Forgotten Realms: * Heart Lands (Cormyr, Sembia, the Dalelands) Because people keep asking for it.

*Sigil:* Because everyone is asking for it.

An adaptation of *Spelljammer: * Because no one is asking for it.


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## GreatLemur (Aug 10, 2007)

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> *1. Terra Arcana/Where Magic Sleeps/The Tainted Lands:* In worlds touched by magic, there will be places and touched by magic, from simple fey rings to deserts of ash, from natural leylines over created zones of elemental dominance to places of catastrophe like the Mournlands. Example regions described in the main text should be grandiose in some fashion (perhaps up to Mournland scope), and interesting places to set adventures. Smaller and/or less hostile places can be described in sidebars or appendices. Ruleswise, provide a number of (flexible) building blocks a la planar traits and a few character options dealing with magical terrain.
> 
> *2. The Vast Above:* Tagline - Not even the sky is the limit. Explore the castles of cloud giants, see the magic of the skies, and find what lies beyond. This may deal with "just" the world of the clouds, which is at least as expansive as the depths of earth and sea, but preferably would go above, and provide cosmology options for what the significance of the stars, the sun(s), and the moon(s) is, and the darkness between. It should stay clear of sci-fi or lovecraftian themes where possible, though (that's what d20 Future is there for).



I dig the hell out of these.  In fact, I like almost all of your ideas (time travel doesn't really interest me), but these are especially cool.  Magic-polluted zones (I'm thinking along the lines of the Cacotopic Stain from the *Perdido Street Station* books) are a great bit, and could really stand to be described and statted up in a new D&D environment book.  And the sky as adventure environment is something that a lot of creatures and other things in D&D _suggest_, but I never considered how much it merited--and indeed _needed_--a more thorough examination.



			
				Klaus said:
			
		

> Then I'd consider what would make the game more appealing, specially to gamers used to CRPGs. The main advantage a CRPG has over the tabletops is the graphics side. So I'd tap the artist base WotC can access and have them do illustrations that would be useful when running a game set in one setting, the kind of stuff that used to be in the Dragonlance calendars. Which begets:
> 
> - A Visual Guide to Eberron
> 
> ...



_Very_ nice.  This kind of supplement should be standard for all campaign settings.  Expensive to produce, I have no doubt, but absolutely invaluable for getting people _into_ a setting.



			
				Klaus said:
			
		

> - Urban Arcana TV series. Increase the exposure of D&D with a reversal of the old D&D cartoon (instead of modern kids in fantasy world, fantasy creatures in modern world).



Also very freaking nice.  Those of us who were the right age at that time know how much of a draw the D&D cartoon was, and I don't doubt that it got a hell of a lot of us into RPGs in the first place.  I'm not sure if Urban Arcana is the right way to go, exactly--a straight-up D&D show might do the job best--but I'd sure like to see it.  And it should definitely be animated.  The audience for fantasy action cartoons ought to be bigger right now than it's ever been.


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## Maldin (Aug 10, 2007)

Many of these have already been suggested, but I add my own voice to the choir...

Fiendish Codex III: The Yugoloths (including the demodands, and other odds and ends)

The Big Book of Giants (non-setting specific, though with info on incorporating into FR, EB AND GH)

The Spelljammer Campaign Setting (without the silliness)

And lastly, but most importantly...
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: The Sheldomar Valley
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: The Central Flanaess
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: The Far West
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: The Lands of Iuz
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: The Barbarian North
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: Shattered Empires
Greyhawk Regional Gazetteer: Sea and Jungle (The Southernmost Flanaess)

...or somesuch multi-volume combination... one book is not enough! All other setting, past and present (FR, EB, RL, DS, Mystara, for example) have proven that, and Greyhawk has never received that treatment (with the exception of Sargent's few supplements). The wonderful Living Greyhawk Gazetteer was large, yet could only devote a few pages to even the largest nations. Merely combining the material from the LGG with the LGJournals is several volumes!

Ok, I'm already past 8 books, but the Gazetteer series  would be released over several years, and as editionless as possible (so it can span editions, of course... someone had to say it!)

Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk  http://melkot.com


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## A'koss (Aug 10, 2007)

I love the planes and the concept of fantasy realms “on the edge” but it many ways they are simply _too big_... too undefined. The impact a PC can make on such a campaign often feels miniscule and insignificant in such a grand arena or they accomplish things far too great for what they feel they should be able to accomplish. It is a very tricky balancing act. 

An idea has been rumbling around in the back of my head of a campaign set in the far-flung *future* of Planescape. The gods are long since dead and the outer planes have folded in upon themselves, fusing together create a single, irregular-shaped world. What remains of the planar races now dwell upon this world… but they have *evolved* from the creatures we knew. For example...

Ages ago the Yugoloths great gambit finally came to fruition and they won the Blood War, bringing together the Chaotic and Lawful fiends and created an entirely new, and unified, race of evil. But the pull of Law and Chaos is beginning to reassert itself and the ruling caste desperately tries to hold a race together that is slowly beginning to tear itself apart.

The modrons are no longer the crude and misshapen mechanical abominations, they are now wondrously complex machines of startlingly beauty and design. The compulsion to march is still strong though and they desire above all else to continue to improve themselves.

The PC Planetouched races find homes in all the varied realms, but their greatest city still endures (albeit much changed) – Sigil.

Anyway, I could go on, but you get the idea. The great planar drama now plays out on a single, finite world that takes the same-old, same-old and evolves in a natural way so that it remains familiar and yet is entire new at the same time. You'd really need a visionary artist who can take it to the limit here though.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> Legends and Lore - expanded (NO DEITY STATS!!!), updated to 3.5; include Greyhawk Gods.




Without deity stats, it ain't D&D. Perhaps the expanded fluff could explain that many, many myth cycles and legends contain tales of deities who can be challenged by mortals. Happened all the time in Norse and Greek mythology. D&D heroes should have their shot at the immortals, as well.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?




Make that Al-Qadim and Birthright, and I'm there.


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## jasin (Aug 10, 2007)

I'd like to see something like Oriental Adventures, but based on other eras/places: *Norse Adventures* (Vikings!), *Classical Adventures* (Ancient Greece), *Arabian Adventures* (already mentioned), *Celtic Adventures*... What classes to use, how the setting influences their flavour (Norse wizards might use rune stones rather than books), what sort of magic is common and what sort isn't, what sort of equipment is used (no full plates in Celtic Adventures!)...

Other books which focus on running a game with a flavour different than the default D&D melting pot: wuxia, low-magic, swashbuckling... while still keeping it D&D.

Also, another vote for a Greyhawk Campaign Setting.


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## Glyfair (Aug 10, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Without deity stats, it ain't D&D. Perhaps the expanded fluff could explain that many, many myth cycles and legends contain tales of deities who can be challenged by mortals. Happened all the time in Norse and Greek mythology. D&D heroes should have their shot at the immortals, as well.




I agree completely.  I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc.  in the early days (after all, why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it).

However, there are plenty of good campaign ideas that can be generated in a game where the player characters can challenge the gods.  I believe it's the Irish myths where there are several waves of gods destroying their predecessors with the last wave being mortal heroes.


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## the Jester (Aug 10, 2007)

I'd do a book on Law and a book on Chaos in the same vein as the BoVD and BoED (but balanced). Next year we'd get to the book of Neutrality.

I'd do a book on fey, and maybe one on oozes. 

One FR fluff book- prolly a regional sourcebook- and one Eberron fluff book of some kind.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

Glyfair said:
			
		

> I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc.  in the early days (after all, why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it).




I think it stems more from modern perceptions of deities as omnipotent beings. However, the Aesir or the inhabitants of Olympus (for two already used examples), both of which had an influence upon the formation of D&D, are far from omnipotent in their various myths and legends.


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## jasin (Aug 10, 2007)

Glyfair said:
			
		

> I agree completely.  I think much of this attitude originated when gamers started hearing the war stories about how this guy killed Thor to get Mjolnir, etc.  in the early days (after all, *why list all that cool stuff if I can't have it*).



Ah, but that's exactly my problem with the deity stats I know of (_Deities and Demigods_ and _Faiths and Pantheons_): between the insanely high numbers and abilities like "always gets a 20 on d20" the stats lose their purpose.

If Thor always hits any character I'm likely to use, I don't need to know if his attack bonus is +70 or +71.

Fiendish Codex II, with it's (relatively) low-powered demon lords was much more on the right track. As far as I'm concerned, they don't even have to be labeled as aspects. I'd be perfectly happy if the assumed upper power limit for creatures that get treated as creatures rather than concepts (like, for example, Eberron gods) was assumed to be CR/level ~30, even for deities and demon lords. I haven't seen or heard of many games progressing to the point where you can meaningfully interact with anything much past that, and in the end, interaction is what it's all about.


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## Shemeska (Aug 10, 2007)

jasin said:
			
		

> and in the end, interaction is what it's all about.




But interaction is in no way limited to fighting them and then looting their corpse. 

History, flavor text, and other details about such creatures are a whole hell of a lot more useful for most campaigns than pages upon pages of god/planar lord stats. Switch that around and give pages upon pages of usable details, mythology, follower information, etc and then an abbreviated block for avatar/aspect stats and I'd buy it. Give us something like the 2e FR god books or Monster Mythology rather than 3e D&DG.


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## Hellcow (Aug 10, 2007)

Personally, I want to sit in on the meeting where you tell Oprah all about _Fiendish Codex III_. Throw in _The Book of Erotic Fantasy II_ and _The Book of REALLY Vile Darkness_ too. (Not that I've got no love for the yugoloth - I'd just like to see how Oprah takes in the whole explanation of the Blood War.)

Needless to say, most of the ideas for things I'd like to see (and write) have already been suggested... some many times. I'd love to work with Nic Logue on a Heroes of Intrigue book, or to have something to do with a general book on Fey. However, since Eberron is my thing...

*Planes of Eberron.* As others have said, this is one of the big holes in the setting. We step away from the Great Wheel, but then we don't have a lot of information about what's out there. The Planes of Eberron affect the world in many ways - manifest zones, wild zones, planar convergences, and the constant threat of incursions, to name a few. People can end up on other plane just by walking through the wrong grove of trees when the stars are right... but this isn't much use if the DM doesn't know anything about the planes. I'd love to look at the culture and history of each planes, the nature and motivations of their inhabitants, and how the planes relate to each other. 

*Cabals and Conspiracies.* A closer look at the hidden powers that shape Eberron. The Lords of Dust, the Chamber, the Aurum, the Dreaming Dark, the Lord of Blades, the Undying Court, Vol, and their ilk. The history behind these organizations, their motives and goals, and lots of ways to use them in a campaign, either as enemies, allies, or even the basis for a party of adventurers. You _are_ Lords of Dust - do you have what it takes to outwit the Chamber and free your overlord? 

*Ages of War.* _Forge of War_ provided insight into the Last War, and helped people see how to run campaigns during the conflict. I'd like to look back at the great struggles of history, and let people step into each of these battles. In each of these cases, the goal would be to provide an alternate campaign path in the past of Eberron - but also to provide material that could be used in a modern campaign. 

The Lycanthropic Purge - do you play as templars struggling against a terrifying foe? Lycanthropes - either good 'thropes trying to undo the damage and prove their innocence, or evil 'thropes using cunning and supernatural might to destroy the forces of the Silver Flame? Or the shifters caught in the middle?
The War of the Mark. Whether you take the side of the dragonmarked houses or join Lord Tarkanan and the Lady of the Plague in their struggle for survival, you will learn more about the struggle between the aberrant and the pure. Beyond the potential for a historical campaign, the information about the power of the ancient aberrant marks and the weapons and focus items developed by Tarkanan and his allies could play a significant role in a modern-day game. 
The Fall of Dhakaan. The Dhakaani Empire during the height of the Daelkyr Incursion. Hobgoblin heroes and orc mystics struggle against a tied of madness and things that should not be. This would provide an opportunity to explore the Empire of Dhakaan, but also set the stage for what might happen if the Daelkyr are released in the present day. 
The Last Days of Xen'drik. The Valenar of the modern day worship their ancestors, the warriors and wizards who rose up and battled the mighty giants. As an elf in the darkest days of Xen'drik, do you have what it takes to become one of those heroes, to inspire your people and challenge the giant overlords? Beyond the war campaign, this would provide a great deal of insight into the modern Valenar and relics that could be found in Xen'drik.
These are just a few ideas. One could look at the Sundering in Sarlona, though it's really too broad. The first Quori Incursion (which would presumably involve playing either giant or quori PCs). Galifar's conquest of the Five Nations. In any case, the goal would be to look back at some of the major events in the history of Eberron, to offer an opportunity to play in these periods, and also to see how they can be used in a modern campaign. 

*The Rest of Khorvaire.* Yes, it would be nice to have _Five Nations_ - style books covering the rest of Khorvaire. While one book would be better than no book, it really wants to be two books - East and West, or Wild and Civilized. Either way, I'd love to see either of them. 

I'll stop there, but there's lots of other possibilities I'd love to see. The Khyber book suggested earlier would be fun. "The Secret of the Mourning: Revealed!" - a 160-page book containing 160 possible explanations for the Mourning. OK, maybe not...


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## Echohawk (Aug 10, 2007)

crazypixie said:
			
		

> You know, it probably wouldn't sell very well, but a collector's pack of Monster Manual Minis that included at least one mini for every critter in the Monster Manual would be super spiffy.




It would also have to be shipped in a 3' x 3' x 3' box!

The Colossal Red Dragon comes in a box approximately 41cm x 39cm x 25cm in size. The box for the Gargantuan Black Dragon is about 27cm x 24cm x 17cm. The Monster Manual includes eight Colossal creatures and thirty-seven Gargantuan creatures, which works out to about 0.73 cubic meters of space, assuming that the 102 Huge, 179 Large, 184 Medium, 58 Small, 24 Tiny and 7 Diminutive creatures can be packed into the empty spaces left by Colossal and Gargantuan figures not completely filling the volume of a box. Since this is good old imperial-measurement D&D, 0.73 cubic meters is 25.8 cubic feet, or a 3' x 3' x 3' box.  

The box would also weigh at least 35kg, or 77lb. If you have a Strength of less than 17, that'll be at least a medium load to lug home from your FLGS!


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## Kaodi (Aug 10, 2007)

Hey, Keith.

When you turn up plugging for Planes of Eberron along with the rest of us, I think we can say the future looks good, hehehe...


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## Mercule (Aug 10, 2007)

Interesting exercise.

*Heroes of Chivalry* -- The default D&D setting really isn't knights, it's psychos looting ruins.  This book shows how to run an Arthurian game or play Charlemagne's Peers.  How to build your setting so that it still makes sense to have castles and martial prowess rules the day, but the wizardly advisor/aide is still so very important.  Talk to Greg for rules on jousting and tourneys.

*Heroes of Intrigue* -- I'm not the first to suggest this title, so I'll let it go.

*Heroes of Antiquity* -- Advise for running a game based in a more mythic period, specifically Greece, but also Roman Imperial times or Persian times.

*Heroes of Exploration* -- Imagine Cortez landing in Central America and finding Aztecs with lightning bolts.  Show how to set up a "New World" or a "Marco Polo" type campaign.  Include information on how trade routes are formed, protected, and attacked.  Maybe talk to Greg about an Anamist base class to better represent the magic of the psuedo-American and pseudo-African "savages".

*Giant-nomicon* -- The big book of giants.  Culture, religion, etc.  You know what I'm talking about.

*Faerie-nomicon* -- The big book of little people.  This book would have to look at both a Seelie/Unseelie Court set up and a mode where people just want random pranksters.  Include a (multipage) sidebar for making elves more faerie-like.

*Races of Savagery* -- Orcs, hobgoblins, etc.  The major near-human races that haven't gotten touched, yet.

*Wild-scape* -- Sure, Frostburn and Sandstorm are interesting, but more people use forests, swamps, and other natural wildernessy areas in their game.  Why aren't we supporting this with some interesting ideas?


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## Swordsage (Aug 10, 2007)

As a mainly FR fan, my "fluff" suggestions are for that campaign setting. Some of them have already been mentioned by other posters:

- "The Demonlands": a regional sourcebook on Impiltur, Vaasa, Narfell and Damara;

- "Cormyr: The Forest Kingdom": a regional sourcebook on Cormyr and its environs (Tunlands, Stonelands, Vast Swamp, Dragonmere);

- "Adventurers of Faerûn": a sourcebook for players. How various classes and races differ in different parts of Faerûn. What is worn/eaten/drunk, languages spoken, favored weapons/armor, tactics, possible allies/enemies, forts/strongholds, regional affiliations and a look at various adventuring companies from different parts of the Realms.

- "The Howling Hordes": sourcebook on the goblinoids of Faerûn (goblins, orcs et. al.). A look at them in terms of region, organisation, language, favored weapons/armor, tactics etc.

- "The Wilds of Faerûn": sourcebook on the outdoors, reminiscent of the 'Elminster's Ecologies' series but with an emphasis on druids, druidic circles, flora, fauna and the ecology of the Realms (and the impact of civilization on it);

- "Folk of Stone": sourcebook on the dwarves of Faerûn. Regional and clan information, battle styles and unique war machines/weapons/armors, unique metals and smithcraft, language, culture, deities and religion, fallen and current realms/holdings; dwarf adventurers;

- "Ruins of Shoonach": adventure sourcebook on the now (given the reclamation of Myth Drannor) most deadly, ruined city on the face of Faerûn;

- "The Hidden City": sourcebook on the returned city of Rhymanthiin introduced in Steven Schend's 'Blackstaff' novel. A fully detailed and fleshed out Gondolin for the Realms, and a unique safe haven for adventurers.

The Swordsage


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## Kaodi (Aug 10, 2007)

While there are plenty of individually great ideas floating around, I have to agree with the notion that very few, if any of us, are in danger of actually becoming the D&D Brand Manager For Fluff, hypothetically speaking, given the original parameters of the challenge.


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## Razz (Aug 10, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Without deity stats, it ain't D&D. Perhaps the expanded fluff could explain that many, many myth cycles and legends contain tales of deities who can be challenged by mortals. Happened all the time in Norse and Greek mythology. D&D heroes should have their shot at the immortals, as well.




My point exactly. 

I use deity stats a lot because in my FR campaign, the deities interact a lot more thanks to the events of the Time of Troubles when Ao decreed the deities NEED to interact more often. As we all know from the novels, they do come down to intercede on a lot of things. Depending on the deity, that is.

When Cyric wants to foil my 15th-level or higher players, I need to know what he is capable of and what he isn't capable of along with his deific enemies. When the PCs find an artifact to weaken a deity and attack him/her/it (like in the case of the *Age of Worms* AP), I need to know the deity's original stats so I know how much to scale down. If I am running an epic campaign where the PCs are in the 30s+ in levels, I'm going to need deity stats to adjucate a deity's avatar stats.

Heck, the Age of Worms is a perfect example of what use you can get from *Deities&Demigods*. The freakin' BBEG was a demigod! Famous literature pits deities and mortals against one another, TV shows, and even video games and PC games do. From _God of War_ to _Xena the Warrior Princess_.

I tend to believe folks are just...overwhelmed by the aspect of having the stats of a deity in your hands and their brainstorming and imagination just seem to cease to exist when confronted with...I dunno...bigger numbers?


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## cignus_pfaccari (Aug 10, 2007)

Eberron:

"Threats":  Concerning the villains of Eberron, going in depth into the Emerald Claw, Dreaming Dark, Lords of Dust, the Lord of Blades, the Aurum, and other entities that bode ill for civilization.  Discusses each organization's history, plans and goals, and interaction between each other and the "good guys."  Includes ways to vary the lens of each organization for the appropriate campaign feel.  Full of adventure seeds, maps, NPCs and the like.

"The Glory of Dhakaan":  Concerning Khorvaire's homegrown Ancient Empire, where you can risk your neck in ancient ruins not far from the train station.  Discussing the rise and fall of the Dhakaani Empire with a focus towards its effect on play in the modern-day.  Includes information on sites and figures, as well as a discussion of modern Dhakaani society.

Forgotten Realms:

"Magic of Faerun":  A discussion of magic and related power in the Realms, a revision and expansion of the 3.0 book.  Includes the structure of magic, from the Weave down to the master-apprentice relationship.  Also describes how alternate casting systems work in Faerun, including some homegrown ones.

One region book, possibly Dalelands or Heartlands, something that hasn't been covered in 3.0.

D&D ("Greyhawk"):

"Races of the Horde":  All about the first enemy, orcs and goblinoids.  Discusses each race's society and habits, and presents subraces and supporting materials for the races.  Useful for DMs and players alike.

"The World Builder's Guidebook":  On the creation of gaming worlds, with plenty of examples and step-by-step guides.  Discusses the decision-making process, suspension of disbelief (i.e. the "physics slider"), top-down versus bottom-up creation, etc.

"Legends & Lore:"  An expansion of Deities and Demigods, with a focus more on the mortal's end of the divine relationship.  Who worships what, what happens in temple, how plural theistic societies work, etc.  Also can include real world mythologies converted into D&D religions.

"Heroes of the Orient":  A supplement detailing how to add oriental themes to your regular D&D campaign, in a variety of manners from subtle to overt.  (Could also be combined with setting detail to become Oriental Adventures 3.5)


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## GreatLemur (Aug 10, 2007)

I loved my OA hardcover back in the AD&D 1E days, but "Oriental Adventures" still sounds like a porn site to me.


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## Whisper72 (Aug 10, 2007)

Heard many a great title, but one that I have not heard enough is the Great Book of Constructs, or whatever title ye wanna give it. The treatment like lords of madness but then for all manner of constructs.


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## der_kluge (Aug 10, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Without deity stats, it ain't D&D. Perhaps the expanded fluff could explain that many, many myth cycles and legends contain tales of deities who can be challenged by mortals. Happened all the time in Norse and Greek mythology. D&D heroes should have their shot at the immortals, as well.




2nd edition never had published god stats.  I don't think Basic did, either.  It's sort of unique to 3rd and 1st edition.


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## der_kluge (Aug 10, 2007)

Whisper72 said:
			
		

> Heard many a great title, but one that I have not heard enough is the Great Book of Constructs, or whatever title ye wanna give it. The treatment like lords of madness but then for all manner of constructs.




If you're really wanting a constructs book, Mongoose put one out. It's title is, curiously enough, "Constructs".


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## Klaus (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> 2nd edition never had published god stats.  I don't think Basic did, either.  It's sort of unique to 3rd and 1st edition.



 2e had avatar stats.


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## diaglo (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> 2nd edition never had published god stats.  I don't think Basic did, either.  It's sort of unique to 3rd and 1st edition.



OD&D had them.
Supplement IV (1976)


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## Particle_Man (Aug 10, 2007)

So stats for gods/avatars are "unique" to OD&D, 1st ed AD&D, 2nd ed AD&D, and 3rd ed.  

And didn't BXCMI have Immortals rules?

Come to think of it, what version of D&D *doesn't* have stats for avatars and gods?


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## Shemeska (Aug 10, 2007)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Come to think of it, what version of D&D *doesn't* have stats for avatars and gods?




An abbreviated stat block for an avatar is a bit different then spending a page on telling us in exact game mechanics what Thor's jump skill bonus is, what Set's attack bonus is, and what Sung-Chiang's bluff skill happens to be including synergy bonuses from his other 500 odd skill points.

3.x god stats strike me as being a rose-colored, nostalgic look back to fighting Thor at the end of the extraplanar Norse dungeon back in the 70s. Outside of using deities as big monsters, which I'm sure some people do, I suspect you'll get a heck of a lot more use out of information that otherwise would get bumped in favor of a gigantic 3.x statblock.

Avatars/aspects (which I'm all for) on the other hand make for something of the best of both worlds. They provide monsters if you want to have PCs fight them, but they allow for there to be no true stat block for their namesakes, avoiding the issue of a false dichotomy between planar lords and gods, and they don't take up as much space.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

jasin said:
			
		

> Ah, but that's exactly my problem with the deity stats I know of (_Deities and Demigods_ and _Faiths and Pantheons_): between the insanely high numbers and abilities like "always gets a 20 on d20" the stats lose their purpose.
> 
> If Thor always hits any character I'm likely to use, I don't need to know if his attack bonus is +70 or +71.
> 
> Fiendish Codex II, with it's (relatively) low-powered demon lords was much more on the right track. As far as I'm concerned, they don't even have to be labeled as aspects. I'd be perfectly happy if the assumed upper power limit for creatures that get treated as creatures rather than concepts (like, for example, Eberron gods) was assumed to be CR/level ~30, even for deities and demon lords. I haven't seen or heard of many games progressing to the point where you can meaningfully interact with anything much past that, and in the end, interaction is what it's all about.




I think you make some excellent points. Besides the Fiendish Codexes, Dungeon has also led the way in presenting deity-strength opponents that, while extraordinarily powerful, can be dealt with by high-level characters with smart players. 



Spoiler



I think this is especially true in the climactic adventure for the Age of Worms Adventure Path. Kyuss is a very good example of a deity level opponent that the PCs can take on with a reasonable chance of victory, if they've played their cards right. Yes, some might balk at the huge stat block for Kyuss, but c'mon, he's a god, after all


.

Personally, I liked the 2e concept of avatars for deities, which has morphed into the aspect concept in 3e. I disappointed in the 3e version of Deities & Demigods like some were, but I will admit that I was disappointed that stats for avatars were not included for every deity. Even the ones that were included were probably beyond the power of epic level PCs, if they were done strictly by the rules as written.


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## Balesir (Aug 10, 2007)

Lots of very nice ideas, but I note a lack of love for one exceptionally different and innovative setting - Birthright.  It was by no means popular enough to justify a setting book, as I understand it, but it contained three highly interesting concepts that IMO deserve development for their own sakes.  These three would need to mix in a good pinch of crunch to make sense, but still would be quite 'fluffy'...

- *Book of Rulership*: Power blocks and ruling heirarchies - how do they work?  What are some examples? Systems for macro-economic play (a la Birthright, but for generic settings, so with 'Regency' removed) - countries, churches, merchant princedoms, thieves' guilds, law enforcement/ruling agencies etc., etc.  Complete with examples from history and some fleshing out of influence mechanics and relationship mapping, maybe?

- *Book of Legacies*: Dragonmarks in Eberron and Bloodlines in Birthright are just two examples of legacies that characters may have handed down to them.  Let's have lots more!  Mix with obvious crunch but also detail the backgrounds to the different types of 'mark' that a creature might have.  Possibilities for 'taint' as a price for such 'marks'.  How do such legacies relate to sorcery and such?

- *Deep Magic*: Birthright had the idea of Magical Sources and ley lines made by ritual to join them together.  What other 'deep magical secrets' might the world (any world!) hold, and how might these be interacted with by characters?  Worlds where spell recovery/preparation is limited or there is a price for magic.  How do magical power-politics work?  What matters more than gold to a mighty mage?  An alternative title might be 'Beyond Spells - A Supernatural Miscellany'.
For the other five?  Pick and mix from some excellent ideas above - I'm not too proud to steal!


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## Greg K (Aug 10, 2007)

My choices:
1. World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting: Eric Mona is in charge (and keep the rest of Design and Development away from this book)

2. Core Beliefs: collect Sean Reynold's articles from Dragon and then hire him to finish the other Greyhawk deities (and keep the rest of Design and Development away from this book)

3  a book on running low magic campaigns.

4. Heroes of Intrigue: a book on running espionage and mystery 

5. Complete Class variants
- collects class variants and variant class abiltities from UA, PHB2, Complete Champion, Cityscape Enhancement
- 2e Complete Fighter's Handbook  kits as class variants*. 
- 2e Complete Druid's handbook environmental kits done as class variants
- 2e Complete Thief's Handbook kits  as class variants*
- 2e Complete Wizard's Handbook  kits update as class variant .
- Reintroduces the missing 2e wizard specialist Wizards  (e.g.,  Alchemeist, Dimensionalist and Song Mage),specialists wizards gain unique abilities (as per UA specialist wizard variant abilities) gain own spell lists

* The treatment would be similar to the Fighter variant: Thug (PHB, UA) and Rogue variant: Wilderness Rogue (UA)

6. Priest's and Pantheons:  Reintroduces 2e specialty priests.  Each specialty priest has unique spell lists based upon . Guidelines for building one's own pantheon and specilaty priests.

7.  Faerie book: Unlike Monster Manuals 3 and 4 which I disliked (I haven't seen 5, but I don't like what I have heard), these themed books (e.g., Fiendish Codex and Lords of Madness) I do like.

8. Arabian Adventures

I would have put Dark Sun Campaign setting in there, but after what the design and development team did to the setting in Dragon, there is no way I want them touching it.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

Balesir said:
			
		

> Lots of very nice ideas, but I note a lack of love for one exceptionally different and innovative setting - Birthright.  It was by no means popular enough to justify a setting book,




Really? Well, I've noticed a pretty steady stream of love for it throughout the years on these boards (and others). It also inspired a pretty diligent fan movement on the web. So, while it may not have the following of some of the others, I think a setting book is justified. GURPS thrived for years on setting books for many, many obscure settings; I think one setting book for Birthright for D&D would do OK, at least make a little money.


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## der_kluge (Aug 10, 2007)

Klaus said:
			
		

> 2e had avatar stats.




True, but avatar stats aren't the same as god stats. In 2nd edition, the implication was that "gods were gods, and couldn't just be 'killed'".  You had to find other, more creative ways to destroy a god - like, destroy all their followers.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> 2nd edition never had published god stats.  I don't think Basic did, either.  It's sort of unique to 3rd and 1st edition.




As others have pointed out, 2e is unique in _not_ having god stats. And, as someone else pointed out, D&D isn't unique in having RPG stats for gods.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> True, but avatar stats aren't the same as god stats. In 2nd edition, the implication was that "gods were gods, and couldn't just be 'killed'".  You had to find other, more creative ways to destroy a god - like, destroy all their followers.




Myth and legend is the basis for D&D. Somehow it created its own mythology along the way. There are myths and legends of gods being defeated or even killed by mortals directly, sometimes in combat, sometimes in tests of skill. There's no reason D&D should have omnipotent, unassailable gods. PCs can aspire to be heroes of myth and legend; give 'em something to strive towards.


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## barsoomcore (Aug 10, 2007)

GreatLemur said:
			
		

> I loved my OA hardcover back in the AD&D 1E days, but "Oriental Adventures" still sounds like a porn site to me.



Good idea. Scott?


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## Faraer (Aug 10, 2007)

Whenever you describe aspects of a campaign world in any interrelated depth and detail -- as opposed to a collection of unconnected bits -- they can't help diverging from the assumptions of some home campaigns, just the same whether it's in the context of an existing, named setting or a brand-new set-up invented from scratch. This is why I'd favour using Greyhawk or the Realms for most of these books, contributing to their worldbuilding as well, rather than authors' brand-new conceptions, which will be largely forgotten come edition rollover. The only downside is the knee-jerk reaction of some against campaign setting logos, which is a long-term problem for Wizards unless they win this group over.







			
				Kae'Yoss said:
			
		

> *The Heartlands:* Forgotten Realms regional sourcebook, guess what region it covers.



The Heartlands isn't a single region; compressing the main campaign area of the Realms into one book would only allow a slightly more detailed overview than in the _FRCS_, defeating the purpose of a regional sourcebook.







			
				ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Without deity stats, it ain't D&D.



The printing of stats for gods in 1E does _not_ mean it's something for PCs to accomplish. _Deities & Demigods_ itself is perfectly clear about it:







> If any servant or minion of a deity (_or even the deity itself_) is slain on its home plane, that being is absolutely and irrevocably dead . . . All creatures are most powerful in their own territory, so it should be next to impossible for anything except another deity to slay a deity on its own plane . . Should mere characters be so brazen as to challenge a deity on its home plane, they should be dealt with severely, the god bringing to bear all the powers that the being has.



This evidently reflects Gary Gygax's approach (and that of the World of Greyhawk). For instance, asked on an online forum about PCs killing Tiamat, he discussed how impossible it would be to get past all the dragons surrounding her.

Some groups misunderstood this and went into god-slaying antics, so 2E was even more explicit that you could battle avatars, but not kill gods permanently that way. This matched the Forgotten Realms. The 3E ethos seems to be inconsistent on this point, with the 'treat everything equally' dogma mandating gods statted like NPCs and PCs, but not all designers actually believing this.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

Faraer said:
			
		

> The printing of stats for gods in 1E does _not_ mean it's something for PCs to accomplish. _Deities & Demigods_ itself is perfectly clear about it:This evidently reflects Gary Gygax's approach (and that of the World of Greyhawk). For instance, asked on an online forum about PCs killing Tiamat, he discussed how impossible it would be to get past all the dragons surrounding her.
> 
> Some groups misunderstood this and went into god-slaying antics, so 2E was even more explicit that you could battle avatars, but not kill gods permanently that way.




I know what Gygax has said. I have followed the debate for decades. Again, thousands of years of myth and legend should take precedence over 30 years or so of one RPG's tropes.


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## Faraer (Aug 10, 2007)

Then you know that you can find examples of 'both' conceptions in myth and legend (and the Homeric gods are a late, literary portrayal of Greek religion). But you said that killable gods was what D&D was, not what you'd like it to be.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

By the way, so-called "canon" for D&D (or any game, really) holds no water at all with me. It's an artificial construct made up on the fly, in many cases, to suit the campaigns of the original game designers. Just because this or that designer didn't want PCs challenging the gods in their campaign, despite myth, legend, and even more recent fiction dealing directly with such things, doesn't mean it should be forbidden in D&D. Give the raw material, let each DM decide to use it or not.


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## ColonelHardisson (Aug 10, 2007)

Faraer said:
			
		

> Then you know that you can find examples of 'both' conceptions in myth and legend (and the Homeric gods are a late, literary portrayal of Greek religion). But you said that killable gods was what D&D was, not what you'd like it to be.




Killable deities have been part and parcel of D&D since the beginning. That's why Gygax provided the caveat - players were indulging in it right from the start. So yeah, I'll stand by what I said. Players make D&D what it is, after all, not just the written rules and warnings by designers. It seems to be a time-honored desire, challenging the gods, given the instances found throughout myth and legend, so it seems natural for it to show up in D&D. Which it has, right from the start. Giving stats for gods and then saying "oh, but don't actually use them!" seems odd to me. Seems more like a "well, if you insist, here ya go, but I, as the designer, don't like the idea."


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## Faraer (Aug 10, 2007)

Well, yes. Same as the demands which led to statting Elminster of Shadowdale and spellfire, and similarly overexplaining or needlessly statting (in my opinion) a lot of other things in D&D.

Anyway, this thread is about non-game-mechanics material.


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## Oryan77 (Aug 10, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> I suspect new art is a LOT more expensive per inch than new text.



I wouldn't think it would cost that much more. I know printing would be a big cost but you wouldn't have to hire people to create a lot of fluff or crunch content. A book like this can also be used for future books. They are going to pay artists to do illustrations for other books anyway, so why not get a head start for those books and compile the pictures all into 1 book early on


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## Moggthegob (Aug 10, 2007)

I second book of giants
Book of fey
FCIII: daemons of the underdark
A new Rogues gallery. I know I used them.
Nature of magic: Include where it comes from why, what sorcerors of different heritages look like(without the stupid fat chains). Explain why vancian magic
Nature of combat: Explain AoOs, Mounted combat, expertise style. The why to go with the PHB crunch
Eberron book detailing Aerenal and Argonessen
Eberron Book detailng the savage nations
Eberron Goblins and orcs book, with expanded options making them playable especially for the setting. possibly make it generic?
FR book explaining...why i should waste my time and money on FR


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## Balesir (Aug 10, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Really? Well, I've noticed a pretty steady stream of love for it throughout the years on these boards (and others). It also inspired a pretty diligent fan movement on the web. So, while it may not have the following of some of the others, I think a setting book is justified. GURPS thrived for years on setting books for many, many obscure settings; I think one setting book for Birthright for D&D would do OK, at least make a little money.



Sorry, should have been clearer - the lack of love I meant was on this thread, rather than the boards (or Birthright.com) in general.  And I don't think 'a little money' would hack it in corporatesville, sadly...

But the _ideas_ in Birthright are applicable in any ('even' homebrew) games, so are worth expounding, IMO.


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## crazy_cat (Aug 10, 2007)

In no particular order, and without descriptions in most cases...

Forgotten Realms - The Moonshaes

Forgotten Realms - The Western Heartlands

Forgotten Realms - The Dales (also includes the ever present threat of the Zhantarim)

Sigil - Gateway to the Planes (a gentle reintroduction to Planescape)

Dark Sun - The Burnt World of Athas (self contained update to 3.5 for the campaign setting, with crunch)

Fiendish Codex III

Greyhawk Campaign Setting

Dungeonmasters Historical Toolkit (how to use D&D to recreate historical eras or particulars styles of game, campaign, atmosphere - suggested rules changes, ideas, and campaign models for perhaps Arthurian, Roman/Greek, Inca/Mayan/Aztec, or Indian or Asian games)


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## blargney the second (Aug 10, 2007)

Hellcow said:
			
		

> [awesomeness]



Okay, this thread just officially took a turn for the awesome.

Seriously, Planes of Eberron would be a lifesaver for me.  I've never played in a planehopping game before, so I have no idea what to do either as a player or a DM.  That goes double for Eberron because the material is so scant.


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## qstor (Aug 10, 2007)

Greg K said:
			
		

> My choices:
> 1. World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting: Eric Mona is in charge (and keep the rest of Design and Development away from this book)
> 
> 
> ...


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## Kaodi (Aug 10, 2007)

For Planes of Eberron ( I still kind of favour my name for it, _The Planewalker's Eberron_. Less prosaic, but that is neither here nor there. ) I think every chapter would have to have an Invasion sidebar. We already know what a Dal Quor invasion and a Xoriat invasion look like, but how about the others? This is not to say that there should be another invasion in the future, but I think it is kind of a required theme. 

In the mean time, I'd also like to sneak in a suggestion for Greg Nard, *Comple Monster* .

Other fluff though... *A Visual Guide to the Ethereal Plane*... That would be cool, but probably not a big seller... 

*Gardens of Eberron*: (bear with me) The all-in-one guide to the plants and fungi of Eberron, including chapters for mundane and magical species, plant-type monsters, alchemical and herbological uses for plants and fungi, as well as several famous gardens and their owners. Each plants description will include common names, native region, useful parts and extracts, predators as well as some unique adapatations to planar conjunctions. The purpose of this guide is to bring a whole new level of life and a unique feel to wilderness exploration in Eberron.


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 10, 2007)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Good idea. Scott?





Oriental Adventures is very iconic for D&D and has strong potential.


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## Razz (Aug 10, 2007)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> Okay, this thread just officially took a turn for the awesome.
> 
> Seriously, Planes of Eberron would be a lifesaver for me.  I've never played in a planehopping game before, so I have no idea what to do either as a player or a DM.  That goes double for Eberron because the material is so scant.




You'd figure they would have released both a *Planes of Eberron* and a *Planes of Faerun* by now, considering they've invested in both a *Manual of the Planes* and a *Planar Handbook*...both of which did well, I believe.

When your PCs have access to plane traveling magic by 9th-level, I think a DM should know as much about the planes of his cosmology as possible...just in case.

BTW, another book idea not on my current list:

*Planes of Faerun:* Details all of Abeir-Toril's cosmology, and goes more in depth into the history of the how the multiverse of Toril formed and information on the way the cosmology works in other parts of Toril.


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## Tinner (Aug 10, 2007)

Fluff books are great, but they still need to appeal to the iconic D&D activites of 1) killing things, and 2) taking stuff.

To that end, I propose the following titles:

*Iron Fist/Velvet Glove* - One of the fondest memories I have from my old school D&D days was reaching a high enough level to build a keep, attract followers, and really start making a name for my PC. This would be the expanded 3.5e version of that concept. How do PC's establish a Keep on the Borderlands, or a Tower of Inverness? What are the laws/customs that govern this behavior? How do I deal with these followers I have attracted? More importantly, how do I transition from a rootless wanderer looting tombs and ruins into a ruler of men? What does it mean for my character when he treads his sandals on the jewelled throne of a King?

*City of Intrigue/Village of Plot Hooks* - Take one city, village, urban environment, and completely depict it in fluff. Give the reader a solid sketch of every character that can be encounters. More importantly, give that character's background and motivation. Every NPC a player encounters in this city should be a potential source of encounters. This is essentially an update of the Village of Hommlet. Make every villager, every merchant, every drunken bum a treasure trove of plotlines. Maybe that shabby drunk is actually a minor noble in hiding for some secret shame? Maybe the local druid is engaged in a secret war against the lumber mill? Go the deluxe route with this, give every NPC/group a picture, and at least a one page write up of their plots and agendas.

*Chaos & Order* - Something along the lines of Lords of Madness, take a look at the iconic races of Law and Chaos and flesh them out in full detail. WotC kept the Slaad as IP, here's the book to finally use them. Let's see the Modrons, the Inevitables, the Bralani, Chaos Beasts, etc.

*Big Book of Intellectual Property* - WotC kept a handful of iconic monsters as IP when they released the SRD. Some of these (Beholders, Mind Flayers) have received a lot of love. Others, like the Slaad, Displacer Beasts, etc. could use some more action. If these critters were important enough, and iconic enough to be instantly recognizable as "definately D&D" then they should be getting a lot of attention. Give these underserved IP monsters some attention, flesh out the habits, plots and schemes of the Kuo-Toa. Where do Displacer Beasts come from and what do they want? Does the Carrion Crawler just represent the larval form of a more terrible foe? If these critters scream D&D, then put their boots in the fire and make them SCREAM it!

*The Far Realms* - There's been some great work done in Dragon in the recent past with the Far Realms, and Heroes of Horror touched on it as well, but this is an environment that has a literally limitless potential. Players dig the Lovecraft connection. Flesh out the common types of encounters with these madness inducing intrusions into the material plane. Give us more information on what drives alienists to reach out to the tentacular horrors from beyond. Page after page of flesh and mind warping madness, and ways to combat the same.

*The Art of the Deal* - One activity that players like almost as much as "Killing Things" is "Getting Stuff". Take the old Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog, mix in the Mercane, and produce an entire book about buying and selling goods, and becoming a wealthy capitalist pig. What types of trade goods are welcome throughout the D&D worlds? How are these goods moved? Aurora's catalog mentioned Ring Gates, Teleporting couriers, and all sorts of other great plot hooks for adventurers. Recent books have covered how to simulate a PC owned business, let's expand upon that. Give the players more than a random profession roll to simulate their bar making a few GP. Let's have details on how to become a shipping magnate, monopolize a trade route, and corner the market on a commodity. Let's have some details on war profiteering, arms dealing and smuggling. Let's have a list of literally hundreds of dangerous to procure, but always in demand luxury goods. Let's talk about financing colonies to take advantage of the natural flora and fauna (ie. The New World). Getting rich is a popular PC goal. Let 'em have it in spades with this book.

If there's still room in the schedule once those are done, I guess we can fit in a Giant book, a Fey book, and a Yugololth book too.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Aug 10, 2007)

Tinner said:
			
		

> *The Art of the Deal* -




By Don'aldy Trumpet, gnome bard.


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## sniffles (Aug 10, 2007)

I can't think of anything someone else hasn't already suggested, so I'll just vote for things that I would probably buy if they were produced.

*Greyhawk Campaign Setting*.  For crying out loud, how can you not have a hardcover setting book for your default setting?!

*Player's Guide to Greyhawk*. 

*Faiths of Faerun*. With a pantheon as huge as that of the Forgotten Realms, you need more than one book to describe it all. In addition to info such as rituals, common prayers, holidays, and important NPCs, I'd like to see some explanation of how it works when you've got multiple gods handling very similar portfolios. 

*Oriental Adventures 3.5*. Let's have an Oriental Adventures that's really about the Orient, not just fantasy Japan. The 3.0 book included a couple of tidbits of material related to adventures in fantasy India and China. I'd like to see more of that. 

*Dark Sun Campaign Setting*. I've never played in it myself, but it's always appealed to me. 

I like Mercule's idea for *Heroes of Antiquity*, too. I've always wanted to have a D&D campaign with a Bronze Age or Imperial Roman type of setting. It would be nice to have some D&D-specific material on how to run a campaign for something that's not pseudo-medieval Europe. 

*D&D Steampunk*. Let's mix it up and have some rules for firearms and steam engines!


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## 3catcircus (Aug 11, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Oriental Adventures is very iconic for D&D and has strong potential.




Just stick with Kara-Tur as the default setting for this and avoid the Rokugan suckage...


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## 3catcircus (Aug 11, 2007)

Tinner said:
			
		

> *The Art of the Deal* - One activity that players like almost as much as "Killing Things" is "Getting Stuff". Take the old Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog, mix in the Mercane, and produce an entire book about buying and selling goods, and becoming a wealthy capitalist pig. What types of trade goods are welcome throughout the D&D worlds? How are these goods moved? Aurora's catalog mentioned Ring Gates, Teleporting couriers, and all sorts of other great plot hooks for adventurers. Recent books have covered how to simulate a PC owned business, let's expand upon that. Give the players more than a random profession roll to simulate their bar making a few GP. Let's have details on how to become a shipping magnate, monopolize a trade route, and corner the market on a commodity. Let's have some details on war profiteering, arms dealing and smuggling. Let's have a list of literally hundreds of dangerous to procure, but always in demand luxury goods. Let's talk about financing colonies to take advantage of the natural flora and fauna (ie. The New World). Getting rich is a popular PC goal. Let 'em have it in spades with this book.




Hmm - I wonder - MMS:WE pretty much everything you need to know mechanics-wise about buying and selling items. Power of Faerun has a lot of stuff on merchant-princes and things like that. Perhaps this book could adapt these concepts for use with determining business loss/profit?  I'd also like to see stuff in here about avoiding the "Magic-Mart" syndrome that some people complain about, when talking about luxury goods, arms dealing, etc.


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## Razz (Aug 11, 2007)

3catcircus said:
			
		

> Just stick with Kara-Tur as the default setting for this and avoid the Rokugan suckage...




I second that motion!


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Oriental Adventures is very iconic for D&D and has strong potential.



Well, that's a response suggestive of a possible announcement for later in 2008 ...


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## Moggthegob (Aug 11, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Oriental Adventures is very iconic for D&D and has strong potential.



 If this does happen do everyone a favor and DO NOT MAKE IT ROKUGAN.
 Set it in the original Greyhawk, elsewhere on Oerth thing or else set it in the other part of Toril(ugh oh how I hate FR)


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## joshhg (Aug 11, 2007)

Jumping on the bandwagon:

Cities of the Planes: While I love Sigil to death, there are a lot of big planar cities out there that could use some loving. There is a big list put together by Boz somewhere around here, but I would insist on the City of Glass, Sigil, and a chapter on each of the gate-towns, then add three to five more chapters on that many cities.

Fiendish Codex III: What everyone else said. Plus some.

Mysterium Manual: Book on how to pull off mysteries in a campaign. Something along the same lines as Heroes of Horror.

Elemental Enemies: Something focused on the elemental planes and their lords, good, evil, and neutral.

Fey/Giant book: Again, as before.

Swamp based book along the lines of Frostburn, ect.

Maure Castle adventure book: Yes, crunch I know, but I want it. Almost as good would be a compiled Savage Tide AP.

Celestial Codex: For the goodie-goodies out there.


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 11, 2007)

*Faiths of Faerun:*   You know of the gods, their plans, their hopes and dreams.  But what do you know about their churches, followers, rituals, and myths.  This sourcebook focuses on the various churches of Faerun, the separate orders of the churches, the most infamous heresies, and presents initiate feats and prestige classes for all of the major churches of Faerun  (many adapted for the first time from the specialty priests of _Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities._ _160 pages; 29.95_ 

*Giantcraft:*   Adventurers come to fear the dreaded thundering footsteps of the Joten, and the tile of Giantslayer is a great honor, but is there more to giant society?  This sourcebook deals with the societies of the giants, their gods, their magic, and the secrets of antiquity.  From the Titan's War to the All Father's Exile, from frost giant jarls to fire giant khans, learn the secrets of _Giantcraft._ _224 pages; 34.95_ 

*The Codex of Vecna:  Secrets of the Planes:*   Ancient mysteries of the worlds of D&D revealed!  How can travelers from Faerun find the Abyss, but not enter portals to Limbo?  Why did the mysterious Mercane seek refuge from the Sea of Night they once called home?  What is the Demiplane of Dread, and how can it reach into dispartiate realities to spread its nightmares?  And were the legendary worlds of Krynn or Athas ever really connected to the multiverse?  Answers to questions about the very multiverse of D&D, some of these issues have yet to have been clarified, but all the secrets will be revealed, thanks to the hand of the god that nearly unraveled them all.  _224 pages; 34.95_

*Beyond Faerun--Kara-Tur, Zhakara, Maztica, and Beyond:*  Take a whirlwind tour of the _rest_ of the world of Toril, from the sands of Zhakara, to the jungles of Maztica, to the isle of Kara-Tur, and with stops on continents not yet explored in any Forgotten Realms product.  With details on the explorers, trading companies, and portals that connect Faerun to the rest of Toril, and with an emphasis on supporting campaigning in Faerun while exploring the vast reaches of the world, this sourcebook is your guide to what has transpired _Beyond Faerun.  160 pages, 29.95_ 

*Wind and Fury, A Guide to the Fey:*  From the plane of Faerie to the old back woods, from the Crossroads and Backroads to the Fey Mounds, the Seelie, the Unseelie, and the fey in between.  This is a guide to the wild, passionate, primal beings known as the fey, from the court intriges of the Queen of Air and Darkness to the primal guardians of the world.  The the mysterious sidhe and all of their cousins reveal there secrets to you in this sourcebook.  _160 pages; 29.95_ 

*Heartlands of Fearun:*  Cormyr, Sembia, and the Dalelands . . . these are the nations that spring to mind when adventurers think of the Heartlands.  They seem so familiar, but in recent years, all of them have known war, strife, and great change.  And never have they yielded up all of their secrets.  Not only does this sourcebook bring recent events in adventures and novels up to date in this sourcebook, but there are also detailed sections on the nobility of Cormyr, the merchant houses of Sembia, and the trading coasters of the Dalelands, and this sourcbook also presents this information in two parts . . . the general knowledge that adventurers would know, and the secrets that will challenge them.  _224 pages; 34.95_ 

*Volo's Guide to Neverwinter:*  The first in an exciting new series of guides to the independant and infamous cities of the Realms, Volo's Guide to Neverwinter presents information that the fearless traveling sage presents to the masses of Fearun, with a second section with the "real story" from the Sage of Shadowdale, Elminster.  This first guide looks at Neverwinter, and details and updates the famous city of the North, from its waterclocks and intricate glasswork, to its deadly catacombs and the nearby Neverwinter Woods.  _Softcover, 32 pages; 9.95_ 

*Elements of the Eternal:  A Guide to the Elemental Planes:* Adventurers hear tales of the City of Brass and the war between the Efreet and the Djinn.  Legends of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa survive to the present day.  But how much do they know about the Elemental Princes of Good and Evil?  Cities within the Great Dismal Delve and the vast Skysea await adventurers bold enough to travel to the planes that the gods themselves used to create reality.  _160 pages; 29.95_


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

It'd be interesting to see count up to see how many times fey, giant, Zakhara/Kara-Tur/Maztica and some of these other books were suggested/requested.


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## Greg K (Aug 11, 2007)

KnightErrantJR said:
			
		

> *Faiths of Faerun:*   You know of the gods, their plans, their hopes and dreams.  But what do you know about their churches, followers, rituals, and myths.  This sourcebook focuses on the various churches of Faerun, the separate orders of the churches, the most infamous heresies, and presents initiate feats and prestige classes for all of the major churches of Faerun  (many adapted for the first time from the specialty priests of _Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities._ _160 pages; 29.95_




I wouldn't want prcs for specialty priests.  I'd want class variants done in the manner of the cloistered cleric to show more distinction at the start among priests of various deities.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

Greg K said:
			
		

> I wouldn't want prcs for specialty priests.  I'd want class variants done in the manner of the cloistered cleric to show more distinction at the start among priests of various deities.



I think you'd be hard-pressed to do that for all the gods of Toril, I think. A low level priest who conducts community rituals and the like isn't going to be that much different beyond another priest, beyond what god he worships.

One might be baptizing children in forest streams and the other in the blood of slain enemies, but at the end of the day, they're mostly the face of ritual and scripture for their community.


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## Moggthegob (Aug 11, 2007)

tihnk it would be interesting for domains to determine your spell list. I do not know if I would ultimately want to live with that for every cleric i play(being a cleric-only guy for the most part). But certainly very interesting. Like nature cleric to be a non-broken to hell druid class and a social cleric having aocial skills, higher skill ponts and less hp/spells per day or a thief cleric who gets sneak skills and skill points in exchange for spells and hp. I think it would be fun. 


I remember playign with one industrious DM  who orchestrated an entirely cat themed spell list for our cleric to Bast.


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## Greg K (Aug 11, 2007)

Moggthegob said:
			
		

> tihnk it would be interesting for domains to determine your spell list. I do not know if I would ultimately want to live with that for every cleric i play(being a cleric-only guy for the most part). But certainly very interesting. Like nature cleric to be a non-broken to hell druid class and a social cleric having aocial skills, higher skill ponts and less hp/spells per day or a thief cleric who gets sneak skills and skill points in exchange for spells and hp. I think it would be fun. .




That's pretty much what I do in my games. I made Divine casters spontaneous casters. They get their  deity's (campaign predetermined) three domains, an alignment domain (good, evil or neutral as I don't use chaos or law domains or spells in terms of alignment), and then a handful of spells shared by all clerics (e.g., spells to atone, spells to bless alliesfaithul and curse spells to punish deity's enemies/ unfaithful, spells to communicate with deity, and planar allies tied to creature's associated with the deity). Good clerics can  cure spells  of fifth level or less (unless deity has healing domain), Evil clerics can cast  inflict spells of fifth level or les (unless associated with deity's domain). Neutral clerics can cast cast either cure or inflict spells of level five or less based on deity's association with appropriate deity.


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## Glyfair (Aug 11, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> I think it stems more from modern perceptions of deities as omnipotent beings. However, the Aesir or the inhabitants of Olympus (for two already used examples), both of which had an influence upon the formation of D&D, are far from omnipotent in their various myths and legends.




We could spend hours discussing how much what lead to it, I think we'd both agree that both ideas did in the long run.  However, it is pretty clear than in many (most) mythologies gods were far from omnipotent beings.


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## johnnype (Aug 11, 2007)

*Fiendish Codex III* is a no brainer. 
*Cabals and Conspiracies* - Keith Baker's idea upthread (post # 158)
*The Rest of Khorvaire* - Again, post #158

I also love the "*one-shot setting*" idea. I'd prefer it if they were all new settings as there already is much more than 300 pages on any one of the old ones. 300 pages would not be enough to please all the fanboys anyway.

Hell, if all eight fluff books were one-shots I'd actually buy the whole series. Just make sure at least one is heavily psionic. You owe us at least that much. 

The other option is to publish one new setting and put out seven new books on it. I'd buy that as well. 

Books on giants and fey? I'm nonplussed. I can't even begin to understand how either topic could be interesting. Different strokes I guess.


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## jasin (Aug 11, 2007)

Shemeska said:
			
		

> But interaction is in no way limited to fighting them and then looting their corpse.



OK, I misspoke: you can meaningfully interact with CR >30 entities... but seldom in a way which requires knowing their Fort save modifier.

I want either CR up to about 30-ish gods, with complete stat blocks, which I'll then kill and take their stuff and the end of the campaign; or CR n/a gods, statted up with other info, which I'll use in roles other than bigass monsters. Or CR n/a gods with CR up to about 30-ish aspects/avatars.

CR n/a, almost omnipotent gods statted up as if they were just bigass monsters is mostly a waste of space IMO, since I'm extremely unlikely to use them in that role.

IOW, I think we mostly agree.


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## jasin (Aug 11, 2007)

This is sort of drifting away from the original topic, but is it just me or has "would also include some crunch", "this is actually crunch, but I want it" been heard many times so far?

Is this an indication that people don't really want fluff-only books?

There has definitely been a trend from crunch towards fluff over the years, both in (IME) player interest and the books published, but at this point, most people would seem to prefer books where there's crunch in the service of fluff, like Drow of the Underdark or Five Nations, to pure fluff books like, say, The Forge of War.

Agree, disagree?


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## Snotlord (Aug 11, 2007)

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: A revision of the the classic D&D high fantasy setting for any edition of the game. No rules, just realmslore and maps. By Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb, Sean K Reynolds and Rich Baker. 320 pages.

Greyhawk Campaign Setting: A revision of the the classic D&D fantasy setting for any edition of the game.  By Erik Mona and Sean K Reynolds. 224 pages.

Mystara Campaign Setting: A revision of the the classic D&D High Fantasy setting for any edition of the game. By Aaron Allston & Bruce Heard (?). 224 pages.

Revised Manual of the Planes. A comprehensive guide to the planes for any edition of the game. By Wolfgang Baur, James Jacobs and Jeff Grubb. 224 pages.

Beyond Faerûn: The lands beyond Faerûn. By Ed Greenwood, Wolfgang Baur, Sean K Reynolds and Jeff Grubb. 224 pages.

Faith of Faerûn: A comprehensive look on the churches of Faerûn. By Ed Greenwood and Eric Boyd. 160 pages.

Cities of the Heartlands: Chapter 4 from Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990) updated and expanded. By Ed Greenwood, George Krashos, Jeff Grubb and Eric Boyd. 1648 pages.

Epic Adventures:  Plot hooks and advice on running epic level adventures, with 3.5 conversion of the remaining epic character rules and fast monster advancement rules. By Wolfgang Baur and James Jacobs, with Bruce Cordell. 160 pages.


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## Razz (Aug 11, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> It'd be interesting to see count up to see how many times fey, giant, Zakhara/Kara-Tur/Maztica and some of these other books were suggested/requested.




You also forgot FC3: Yugloths being mentioned just as many times.   

I hope WotC pays attention to that count, cause over the years since 3E's release it's just been rising higher.


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## Obrysii (Aug 11, 2007)

Not sure if this has been mentioned (I'm sure it has) ... but...

*Draconomicon II* would be my first choice for a fluff-centric book. The first one had a perfect mix of fluff and crunch. The second in the line would focus less on dragons as a whole and more on individual species. Gem dragons, oriental dragons, and others.


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## Gold Roger (Aug 11, 2007)

In addition to my first three suggestions:

*Powers of the Wild*: This book Focuses on the conflict between civilisation and wilderness. A book that highlights plants, fey and various magical beasts Draconomicon style as well as giving advice for campaigns that focus on this theme.

*Oriental Adventures 2:* The first one was a disapointing bunch of boring crunch and attempt at shoehorning a very specific setting into D&D that doesn't even have much to do with D&D. I'd love to see a book that actually focuses on channeling the influence of various oriental cultures to D&D.

*The Non-Fiendish Codex: * This book focuses on all creatures that populate the various Outer Planes of the Great Weel, but aren't Fiends. Should Bring back Modrons!

*Fiendish Codex III:* A book that focuses on the remaining fiends, notably Barghests, Night Hags, Rakshasa, Demondands and, of course, Yougloths.

*Planes of Eberron:* Eberron is the best published setting out there, but its planes are terribly underdeveloped.

*Khyber: The Dragon Below:* The underdark of Eberron is as underdeveloped as its planes. This has to change.

And with those, I'm at eight.


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## Aus_Snow (Aug 11, 2007)

*Fiendish Codex III*

Oh, and sure, some other stuff. Whatever.


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 11, 2007)

Greg K said:
			
		

> I wouldn't want prcs for specialty priests.  I'd want class variants done in the manner of the cloistered cleric to show more distinction at the start among priests of various deities.




I understand that, but part of the point is that only the major deities would be given these, and that the main emphasis would be on providing options to more closely model the old specialty priests.  Some of them can be done fairly easily with a domain and some feats, or as you mention, alternate class features, but some had some very divergent abilities that can't really be modeled with the tools at hand, and some can be, but not in an efficient manner.

But I get what you are saying.  Having a PrC for a Ilbrandlin cleric that doesn't know he worships Shar is probably going a bit too far, for example.


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## stonehill_troll (Aug 11, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> It'd be interesting to see count up to see how many times fey, giant, Zakhara/Kara-Tur/Maztica and some of these other books were suggested/requested.




Quite often, but does it provide a valid guessimate that said popularity translates into sufficient sales that WOTC should invest in the cost of developing, designing and printing said books.  I believe it is very difficult to judge if a specific theme/topic has the potential sales for development based on internet feedback.  

Take a look at Magic of Incarnum over on WOTC's board, from a poster's poll it would appear to be very popular. Yet Chris Perkins and other WOTC employees have stated at last year's GENCON and in recent threads a month or so ago, that Magic of Incarnum was the worst seller, something along the lines of "...this book was too niche and we do not want to repeat this again..."  Compared this to MMIV which got many complaints (here and on WOTC's own boards) and yet was described as one of the best sellers and despite the many complaints the same general theme/outline was repeated in MMV. They did do some tweaking that probably will make it another best seller for them.

The same can describe Epic, Savage Species, and Psionics, niche theme topics, popular with a vocal group of posters, but did not translate into large number of sales.  People that "really" want (or dislike) something are usually very vocal about it, but IME the great majority of potential customers are not quite so interested in themes/topics that vary too far from the baseline game (at least in my view).  Also you would think since Epic and Psionics are in the SRD and not getting support from WOTC, 3rd party publishers would be flooding the market with adventures, monsters, feats, etc., yes early on there was 3rd party support for psionics, but it seemed to have died out and epic has seen little support 3rd party publishers.  I believe there is less than a dozen PDF products for epic. 

Internet feedback is very difficult to data mine for what actual sales might be.  I look at my 2 groups of 15 players (30-40s, married people with good incomes, most have been playing for 20+ years) I can see that;

0 players are likely to purchase a Zakhara/Kara-Tur/Maztica (practically all games are homebrew, with homebrew adventures)
1 player will buy a Fey book
1 player is likely to buy a Psionic follow-on book
1 player is likely to buy FC3: Yugloths
3 players will buy the giant monster theme book (the 3 DMs, includes myself)
6 players will orc/hobgoblin monster theme book (the 3 DMs, and a few players to get the feats)
~8 players will buy Tome of Battle 2 (the more we play it the more we are finding it is a power boost...., we like the idea overall, but the game does not need any more power ups)
~10 players will buy Complete Warrior 2 (A year ago I could have said all 15, but the recent complete books have proven to be less than stellar, the feats that work from a baseline of encounter limitations versus a daily limit is one reason "I" chose not to purchase these books and don't allow in my campaign)
15 players will buy Feat Compendium
12 players will buy Class Compendium
10 players will buy Spell Compendium 2
....

It's pretty obvious in my view that the internet provides very conflicting feedback as to what people want, don't want, and what the masses will actually purchase and therefore  profitable to design, develop, and publish.

This is not to say that WOTC should not "experiment" with new ideas.  They mentioned at last year's GENCON that Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Magic, and Tome of Battle were experiments.  Magic of Incarnum stank, Tome of Magic was a best seller for the year, and Tome of Battle was a sell out, had to go back for a second or more reprints I believe.  I guess sometimes the consumer does't know they want something until they see it/play it.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

jasin said:
			
		

> This is sort of drifting away from the original topic, but is it just me or has "would also include some crunch", "this is actually crunch, but I want it" been heard many times so far?
> 
> Is this an indication that people don't really want fluff-only books?



It's an indication that WotC doesn't really put out fluff only books. Most people on this board have never even _heard_ of the company's Practical Guide to Dragons and Practical Guide to Monsters. The Grand History of the Realms might be the only 100 percent fluff D&D book coming out in the 3E era -- Forge of War certainly had crunch -- and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they snuck a little crunch in.


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## Sucros (Aug 11, 2007)

First of all, I'm going to echo the call for a FCIII.  The book will have to be slightly different than the previous two, covering three planes in less detail (although still nine layers), and will require republishing a number of the classic yugoloths yet again.  Ultraloth, arcanaloth, marreanoloth (perhaps with actual combat abilities beyond dumping the PCs in the styx), mezzoloth, nycaloth and cannoloth are all required, and should be stretched out over a 1-20 level range.  Other new daemons should expand on the mercenary aspect of the yugoloth culture.

Sons of Gith: Should be modeled off of drow of the underdark.  This book will go into the culture and society of the githzerai and githyanki to the greatest extent yet.  The first two chapters should spend ample time exploring the culture, society, history, and territory of each race.  Crunchy chapters should include some psionic content, including mind-flayer themed rules.

Lands of eras: This eberron location supplement will go into details about the nations of q'barra, the demon wastes, and the shadow marches, three relatively unknown locations on the eberron map.  Besides covering the society today and the powerful organizations involved, room will be given to delve into ancient pasts of all three nations, giving dms and pcs access to information from the earliest eras of eberron's history.

Sigil, city of doors: along the same lines as waterdeep and sharn, Sigil will be a city sourcebook intended for D&D core, but drawing fully on the history and lore of planescape.  To make this gripping and interesting, an ideal situation would be to reintroduce the absent factions and sects back to sigil, creating an open situation where the big fifteen and numerous upstarts vie for a fresh piece of the centre of the multiverse.

Planes of Eberron: This book should endeavor to make the planes more accessible to PCs in eberron.  Plots, adventure seeds, and locations should be the center focus of the book, with a large stress on "getting there".  By no means should this be a "manual of the eberron planes", encompassing everything, but rather a "secrets of xendrik" set on the planes.

Another campaign setting:  Perhaps somewhere in between the scope of eberron and the scope of ghostwalk, either a sourcebook on a dead setting, or a campaign setting for something radically different but still D&D, much in the way dark sun and spelljammer were massive diversions from existing D&D.

The remaining two are pending editing sir.


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## barsoomcore (Aug 11, 2007)

GreatLemur said:
			
		

> I loved my OA hardcover back in the AD&D 1E days, but "Oriental Adventures" still sounds like a porn site to me.





			
				barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Good idea. Scott?





			
				Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Oriental Adventures is very iconic for D&D and has strong potential.



Great news. But I meant the porn site. There's fluff with POTENTIAL.


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 11, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> Would these be new settings or current but fallow settings? For example would a 300 page Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun setting book be enough for everyone?





I understand that WOTC can't fully support a wide range of Campaign Settings, and my main interests lie in the Forgotten Realms, but a "Campaign Option" single shot book of Greyhawk, Planescape, Ravenloft, or Dark Sun would likely get some of my money as well.  But I wouldn't be likely to follow a "full line" of any of them.


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## marune (Aug 11, 2007)

The only products I get from WoTC is FR "fluff" so I'll give only FR suggestions :

Grand History of The Realms : oops ! You already did it ! That's great!

*1. Faiths of Faerûn* : Like many said previously, more details about each faith : the rituals, the orders, the holydays, etc. Also, at the end, an extended Temple/Shrine list of all faiths (start with the one available on Candlekeep).

*2. Beyond Faerûn* : Everyting you need to plan a trip for Faerunian adventurers to Kara-Tur, Zhakara, Maztica, Anachrome, Osse, etc.

*3. Cities of the Heartlands* : In FRA style.

*4. Life in Faerûn * : In PoF style, finally giving Ed Greenwood the space to talk about the common folks of the Realms and how they live. 

*5. Faces of Faerûn * : An NPC book featuring the tons of NPC that can be found in Ed's notes and past game material, or NPCs that got a minor role in his (or others) novels. In other words, no Chosen, Drizzt nor "just created" NPC by randomly chosen designer. For example, look at Ed's answers on Candlekeep for his "top ten money bags in Faerûn".

*6. Candlekeep's secrets * : Firstly, a chapter about Candlekeep itself than a collection of written lore : Stories, mysteries, bard's songs, everything you want. Some "out of game" sidebars could be added if usefull.

From a previous poster :

*7. The Howling Hordes* : sourcebook on the goblinoids of Faerûn (goblins, orcs et. al.). 

*8. The Hidden City* : sourcebook on the returned city of Rhymanthiin introduced in Steven Schend's 'Blackstaff' novel.


... and one I'm sure will never be done : A full art book that picture different landscape, cities & towns, famous NPCs (including monstrous ones), etc. Same kind of thing that was done for LoTR. Of course I know it wouldn't be cheap.


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 11, 2007)

Also, while I'm thinking about it, while I like the "Campaign Option" books, I think you would have to be careful how many you release in a given year.  You can easily glut the market and cut your own profit base if you threw a bunch of these into the same year, but if you slipped, say Planescape and Ravenloft into the same year, both of these can dovetail on a lot of other campaigns, and might not be as bad as if you released Dark Sun or Greyhawk as well at the same time.

I've really liked a lot of other ideas.  I was trying to "play along" and not throw everything I want out of Faerun in at one shot, but I will also admit my list isn't 100% "by the rules," since I wouldn't advocate abandoning Eberron, but I couldn't seriously come up with anything for it given what I know of the place.


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## 3catcircus (Aug 11, 2007)

Snotlord said:
			
		

> Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: A revision of the the classic D&D high fantasy setting for any edition of the game. No rules, just realmslore and maps. By Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb, Sean K Reynolds and Rich Baker. 320 pages.
> 
> Greyhawk Campaign Setting: A revision of the the classic D&D fantasy setting for any edition of the game.  By Erik Mona and Sean K Reynolds. 224 pages.
> 
> ...




Remove SKR from the list of authors, and I'll buy every single title here.  Sorry, I just find his seemingly-arbitrary not-good changes to some of the Forgotten Realms stuff to be unpalatable, especially the cosmology debacle.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Great news. But I meant the porn site. There's fluff with POTENTIAL.



And a whole different meaning for the word "fluff."


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## blargney the second (Aug 11, 2007)

3catcircus said:
			
		

> Remove SKR from the list of authors, and I'll buy every single title here.  Sorry, I just find his seemingly-arbitrary not-good changes to some of the Forgotten Realms stuff to be unpalatable, especially the cosmology debacle.



Would they be more palatable if there were designer's sidebar's explaining why the changes were there?


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2007)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> Would they be more palatable if there were designer's sidebar's explaining why the changes were there?



I have to imagine that the cosmology changes were dictated to him.


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## Jakar (Aug 11, 2007)

I just want two books:

*Age of Worms Hardcover* 
*Savage Tide Hardcover*


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## Kae'Yoss (Aug 11, 2007)

Jakar said:
			
		

> I just want two books:
> 
> *Age of Worms Hardcover*
> *Savage Tide Hardcover*




Hear, hear! I'll take back the talk about the 3 Eberron Books and replace them with a couple of HQAPs.


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## Kaodi (Aug 11, 2007)

Where can you find the sales figures for D&D? I'd certainly be interested in taking a look at how 3e/v3.5 has sold, since the beginning.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 12, 2007)

Rethought, somewhat;

*Races of the Horde: * 
Goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, orcs and trolls. This book would be as crunch-lite as is possible for this kind of book. It would aos include the options for playing these evil races as evil PCs, and as honestly good heroes. 
Length: 180 pages or so. 
Why? Because _many people_ are asking for it.

*Sinister Shadows: * 
All about the secret (and not so secret) presence, influence, goals and operations of demons and devils in the campaign world. It is not about what they do in the Abyss or in Hell. 
Length: 120 pages or so.
Why? Because it is _evil and cool_.

*Eberron – the Unexplored: * 
Detailing and exploring several regions of the Eberron setting that have to date received only nominal attention, most likely the planes around the setting.
Length: 180 pages or so. 
Why? Because _everyone_ is asking for it.

*Grayhawk: * 
This would update the setting and make it clear – it would also be carefully worked out so it supported what the RPGA is doing and does not create conflict.
Length: 220 pages (it deserves that much space).
Why? Because _everyone_ is asking for it, and really when was the default setting really visited?

*Forgotten Realms – The Heartlands: * 
This book would cover the Heart Lands, both central and western (i.e. Cormyr, Sembia, the Dalelands, Elturel, Baldur’s Gate, etc.) More attention would be given to Cormyr, Sembia and Dalelands. 
Length: 220 pages (it deserves that much space).
Why? Because _many people_ are asking for it. 

*Sigil: * 
This would make the city at the heart of the multi-verse updated and made as compatible as possible with DnD 3.5 in general and all the published settings. It would not re-launch Planescape.
Length: 180 pages 
Why? Because _everyone_ is asking for it.

*Forgotten Realms - Beyond Faerun: * 
Al-Qadim, Mazteca and Kara-Tur, would be covered, updated and made as compatible as possible with at least one of them deserves a revisit and people keep asking for it. 
Length: 220 pages or so. (about 70 pages for each setting). 
Why? Because _everyone_ is asking for it.

*Expedition to Spelljammer: * 
An adventure that takes the PCs from their world to intra-planetary travel, dealing with all the best of the Spelljammer setting. It would draw much from the Polyhedron article from a few years back (including the fact there is only one crystal sphere that matters – the one home to the PCs world). It would be designed to fit into any campaign setting and would not re-launch the setting.
Length: 180 pages or so.
Why? Because _no one_ is asking for it.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 12, 2007)

The Grumpy Celt said:
			
		

> *Expedition to Spelljammer: *
> An adventure that takes the PCs from their world to intra-planetary travel, dealing with all the best of the Spelljammer setting. It would draw much from the Polyhedron article from a few years back (including the fact there is only one crystal sphere that matters – the one home to the PCs world). It would be designed to fit into any campaign setting and would not re-launch the setting.
> Length: 180 pages or so.



That's a pretty good solution to how to give 3E some Spelljammer tools. You'd invariably have a chapter of rules, a chapter of monsters, a chapter of races and prestige classes, and the rest would be the Rock of Bral (presumably) and other best-of spots in the phlogiston.

If the default lunar and other locations were sufficiently weird -- and not, you know, just another prime material, essentially -- I'd be interested in this.


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## Aeric (Aug 12, 2007)

I apologize if this has been said already, but I just don't have the time to browse through six pages of posts. 

*A Visual Guide to [insert world name here]:*

More of a coffe-table book than an actual rulebook, the Visual Guide to [World] is the definitive source for how things look in [World].  From armor and weapons to fashion and architecture, monsters and races unique to [World], and notable landmarks and locations, the Visual Guide to [World] caters to the visually-minded among us and helps DMs and players to imagine what the people, places, and things of [World] look like.

In order to sell these books to the more rules-conscious players, there could be stats interspersed within the illustrations and descriptive text.  "Ooh, that's an awesome-looking sword!  Oh, hey, here are its stats!"


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## 3catcircus (Aug 12, 2007)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> Would they be more palatable if there were designer's sidebar's explaining why the changes were there?




Maybe - if the sidebar explained *how* to change things, rather than just changing them and throwing in the sidebar to justify the changes - i.e. - "We thought of changing 'this,' and even though we didn't, here is how we would do it."

Heck - you could even have this as part of the digital initiative rather than as designer's sidebar.


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## Monkey King (Aug 12, 2007)

Kaodi said:
			
		

> Where can you find the sales figures for D&D? I'd certainly be interested in taking a look at how 3e/v3.5 has sold, since the beginning.




First, you get hired as the D&D brand manager. Then, you can look at the sales figures. 

Or if you're really a glutton for punishment, first you get hired as a Hasbro accountant.


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## Archon of Light (Aug 12, 2007)

- Since we're being hypothetical...

Mr. Rouse,

As you requested, here are the eight titles I will be putting out this year.

The first four supplements I'd like to present to you are actually the beginning of a new line of supplemental booklets called, *Campaign Components*. This series is intended to provide gamers with a fully developed campaign model which can be drop into almost any fantasy setting. Each 96-page, softcover booklet can be used individually to add the particular elements described to a campaign, but they can also build on one another to create fully detailed campaign areas ready for play. Ideally, they should coincide with the planned series of adventures to create an entire adventure path which can be used with or without the *Campaign Component* line. The first four working titles (pending) are as follows:

*Kingdom of Adventure*: The first in the *Campaign Components* series presents a campaign-ready area for gamers, and lays the groundwork for all other components in the current line. The booklet contains important information for both players and DMs who wish to place their next adventure campaign in the described region. The detailed area is large enough to support a number of campaigns on its own, but it can also be altered easily to fit into an existing campaign setting. A major focus of this starting point will be the large town that dominates the region and will likely serve as the home base for adventurers. It comes complete with maps, personalities, adventure hooks, and advice on how to incorporate elements from other products and sourcebooks.

*Guilds and Orders*: The next installment of the *Campaign Components* series describes more than a dozen organizations and guilds commonly sought-after by adventurers. These include a City Watch, a Wizard's Cabal, three distinct temples or churches, a Thieves' Guild, and more. Each of these groups is fully detailed and allows for individual inclusion into any standard campaign, but also has specific tie-ins that can be utilized with the first of the Components series.

*Dangerous Denizens*: The third installment in the series takes a different approach by providing details on some of the more adventurous, and dangerous sites that adventurers often seek. These mini-scenarios describe the lairs of various monsters, or strange and unusual sites that can typically played out in a single session. The entries can be used independently and individually to spice up a campaign, or give DMs a quick and easy session when players decide to go in a different direction. Of course, the areas will have specific tie-ins that can be used with the current campaign series, as well as the campaign arc.

*The Dwarf Halls*: The fourth installment introduces a dwarven city that can be used in any standard fantasy campaign. The booklet details the history and culture of the dwarves, complete with personalities and adventure hooks. It should coincide with the events of the current campaign arc and provides extra material that could be used in collaboration, or on its own.

In truth, I would like to see six of these put out in a year, but let's see how well they are recieved first and if the demand is there. For the final four products this year, I will offer the following titles:

*A Guide to Better Roleplaying*: At last, a definitive guide for roleplaying. This book covers a lot of the gray areas that are not specifically covered in the rulebooks, and gives advice on how to encourage players at your table to think about character, plot, and storylines. It also provides a very important look at alignments, which is arguably the most debated topic anywhere.

*Campaign Options: Low Fantasy*: A new series that introduces a complete ruleset to change the overall flavor or style of your DnD campaigns. The first book, Low Fantasy, allows for low-level, low-magic campaigns for Dungeons and Dragons.

*Campaign Options: Spelljammer*: The second in the Campaign Options series harkens back to the classic AD&D setting that takes fantasy into outer space! Easy to include into any existing setting, Spelljammer introduces ships powered by magic for adventures beyond the stars themselves.

And the fourth title, I will actually be working in collaboration with the Brand Manager of Software and Digital Initiatives (and a few other Brand Managers) to produce the _premier_ online roleplaying system specifically for the Dungeons and Dragons game. It's not an MMO, or an imitation game (like Neverwinter Nights), but a fully functional, expandable, and customizeable table-top simulation tool that allows players to play a pen-and-paper game of DnD with full graphics, voice chat, etc. Players will be able to create their own 3-D maps using tilesets and fully animated figures to represent their characters and monsters on the battle map. (Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't get the memo already.)

Best regards,

Your new minion.


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## Razz (Aug 12, 2007)

Archon of Light said:
			
		

> -
> And the fourth title, I will actually be working in collaboration with the Brand Manager of Software and Digital Initiatives (and a few other Brand Managers) to produce the _premier_ online roleplaying system specifically for the Dungeons and Dragons game. It's not an MMO, or an imitation game (like Neverwinter Nights), but a fully functional, expandable, and customizeable table-top simulation tool that allows players to play a pen-and-paper game of DnD with full graphics, voice chat, etc. Players will be able to create their own 3-D maps using tilesets and fully animated figures to represent their characters and monsters on the battle map. (Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't get the memo already.)
> 
> Best regards,
> ...




This one I would be all for. I live in MO...but my gaming group is in NY (can't find any group that I'm more familiar or comfortable with than my NY buddies)


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## haakon1 (Aug 12, 2007)

3catcircus said:
			
		

> Let's see:
> 
> 1. *From Our Fields to Your Table*: a description of the trade routes of the Forgotten Realms. Details on carvans and merchant fleets, an expansion and clarification of the trade maps in FRCS, and typical caravan makeups. You could also do the same things for Greyhawk and Eberron all in the same book.
> 
> 2. *Armies of Faerun*: a survey of the military forces of the Forgotten Realms. Orders of Battle, Tables of Organization and Equipment, specific military ranks, awards and insignia, biographies of key leaders.  Jerry Davis's "The Military Forces of Cormyr" on Candlekeep.com is a perfect example of the type of detail I would expect.




I'd very much like to read both of these, if Greyhawk were covered and it was written well, a la Magical Medieval Society or whatever it's called, and not all high magic and gold mines for the trade book, or info about levels and magic equipment for the armies book.

That is, I'm looking for "realistic" low fantasy stuff by people who know some medieval history and some Tolkien, not another crunch book.  "Powers of Faerun" I bought (even though I never played FR and know little about it), but I found it disappointing since it's a bit too simple minded . . .


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 12, 2007)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> I'd very much like to read both of these, if Greyhawk were covered and it was written well, a la Magical Medieval Society or whatever it's called, and not all high magic and gold mines for the trade book, or info about levels and magic equipment for the armies book.
> 
> That is, I'm looking for "realistic" low fantasy stuff by people who know some medieval history and some Tolkien, not another crunch book.  "Powers of Faerun" I bought (even though I never played FR and know little about it), but I found it disappointing since it's a bit too simple minded . . .



The makers of a Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe (and most people on this thread are pretty much the target market for that book) also have a book called Silk Road that describes trade routes, both in the real world and in a more magical one, with rules on how much they make, what items they carry and so on.

You'd have to flesh out Greyhawk for yourself -- although I suspect Canonfire may have a head start on the routes themselves -- but it'd give you everything else you needed.


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## 00Machado (Aug 12, 2007)

I prefer concept fluff over storyline or canon fluff. Matierial that is confining, not that which implicitly or explicitly steers me in a certain direction.

1. Coin and Commerce (a book on D&D mercantalism) - generic D&D book, or Mercantalism of the Realms. A book Ed Greenwood has long wanted to do as he indicated here.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ps/20060307a
Power of Faerun was awesome, and useful both to Realms GMs and those who run in other settings as well. Let's build on that. This could touch on how communities run and support themselves, in addition to more traditional mercantalism, banking, etc. Basically, the D&D economy sourcebook.

2. Heroes of Intrigue - the companion book to Heroes of Battle and Heroes of Horror that addresses political, diplomacy, and other spy/espionage/mystery/political campaigns themes and story arcs. Spies, traitors, diplomats, cold wars (as distinct from the battle heavy ones discussed in Heroes of Battler). The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, and A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin are both big hits with readers, and no RPG book really educates a GM on how to design and maintain these types of campaigns. In addition, lots of fans have been asking for it on the message boards. If the book is longer than Heroes of Battle, it can also support realm management rules (running a manor, fort, barony, kingdom, etc) that customers have long asked for, and that would be integrated seemlessly into the rest of the politics and diplomacy game mechanics. They might be reminiscent of Birthright, without the bloodlines, or totally new if the newest idea is best. Don't limit the focus to only "high level". Characters of all levels can be rank and file, leaders, and pawns of others.

3. Greyhawk or Mystara one shot campaign setting product. Something the length of FR campaign setting, or Oriental Adventures. There are a lot of fans of the original settings and material. People would love prestige classes and mechanics that were anchored to and enriched the play experience of a favorite setting instead of just being free standing in a crunch book. Another option are Dark Sun and Al' Qadim. Dark Sun is more distinct from our current product lines. Al Qadim has a lot of flexibility, and any 

4. A multi-level adventure that showcases the ideas in Heroes of Intrigue as Red Hand of Doom did for Heroes of Battle. Something that took characters through 4 or 5 experience levels, as that adventure did. There would not be an absence of fighting per se, so much as an emphasis on situations that encouraged use of sneakier tactics and social interation, as well as politically charged storylines. There are rarely products that encourae this type of play, and the one here could be a real showcase for our company in that regard. We are also questioned by the fan base in terms of how are we relevant still, are we still innovative, and this gives us a chance to let a product answer that question by letting our creativity and quality speak for iteself. One last thing, it would allow us to compete in the market for the customers that will be interested in Green Ronin's Song of Ice and Fire RPG. Without this and Heroes of Intrigue, we have little to offer that group of customers.

5. Another 'Expedition to' adventure ...Possible choices, Expedition to The Black Eagle Barony, Expedition to the Forbidden City, Expedition Against the Reptile God, Expedition to the Desert of Desolation, Expedition to the Bloodstone Lands, Expedition Against the Slavelords, and Expedition to the Night Below.

6. The Savage Wilderness - environmental book on the outdoors. The companion book to Cityscape and Dungeonscape. I'd call it Wildscape, but I think there's a book out there with the name already. It opens up the wilderness into a place of awesome encounters. Forests, fields, swamps, etc. Ideally it would cover the rest of the terrain tyles not covered in other books (except for perhaps mountains and hills - which might have enough material for a second book). If you need to narrow the focus, then stick to forests and fields (farmland - basically, rural communities in D&D).

7. Advanced GM handbook - cram this full of every brilliant, innovative idea for running a game you can find. Ones invented in house at WoTC, used by others, and so on. I'm talking about Aaron Allston's blue booking idea. Robin Laws' article on TV-series structure in campaigns from Dragon 293, a section on how to streamline D&D so that it runs like Star Wars Sage Edition, and the idea from the GM on ENworld that just blows people away.

8. The Hand of Vecna - a combination mini campaign (stretching over 4 or 5 levels) against Vecna, as well as information on how his cult works, etc, so that the product can be used exclusively as source material, or can see continued use after the adventure has been run.


Other ideas
Let Paizo release a compilation of the Core Beliefs series, adding any deities that couldn't make it into the Dragon run (like Iuz). Alternatively, complete the series as part of Dragon online.

Heroes of Myth - Like Heroes of Intrigue, only tales like Norse Gods fighting against trolls, the Argonauts, etc.

d20 Fantasy - D&D brought to d20 modern

Forgotten Realms Redux - call this a one shot ret con of the Realms, or just an opportunity for Ed to pontificate on how his home campaign is different and how the FR line would be different in tone and focus if he's written everything himself. I think his version would be darker, more ominous, and more challenging to players. Give the idea a try and see where Ed takes it.

Complete Ally (or Complete Cohort) - fluff and crunch that make cohorts, followers, henchmen, hirelings, allies, and other NPCs enriching parts of the game.


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## 00Machado (Aug 12, 2007)

I second these nominations. All would catch my eye and I'd probably buy them

The Last Battle - especially the part about discovering part of the mythological origin of Greyhawk
Forgotten Realms: Beyond Faerun Gazetteer
FR Lords of Light
Faiths of Faerûn
revive the Poor Wizards Almanac
'field guides' to monsters - though I think side bars of stats would be important parts of these products. Make them usable for your game, in addition to inspiration for your game.
The Low Magic Companion:
Nightmare & Dream
Politics of Faerun
Monster book on Giants, Fey, or the Fiendish Codex III
Sinister Schemes
The Wizard's Guild - I'd imagine this as one part Harry Potter and one part seven secret crafts of Glantri, and throw in plenty of adventure themes, politics, rivalries, and secret agendas among members.
work with the author of an ENWorld Story Hour 
Complete Guide to Decompression - maybe call it sub plots, or maybe include the ideas here in the advanced GM guide I suggest above
Mightier than the Sword
Catalogue of Libraries - good for the digital initiative, I think...
Fetes and Fairs - same as above
The Code - same as above
Myth and Mystery
A Magical Medieval Society - illustrated!
Arcane Arts
Dark Woods, Distant Peaks
Campaign Guide - The Grand Tour
Known World/Glantri 3.5
Campaign Template Books - Plague and Famine would be my first choice here, followed by Bad Weather
1001 Tales - An adventures designer's treasure chest  
One-Shot Campaign Settings
Frontier Justice
The High and the Low
Life in Faerûn
Adventurers of Faerûn
Low Magic


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## Ry (Aug 12, 2007)

Eight products, eh?

Core Unleashed 1, 2, and 3: Fluff for any campaign, focusing on each part of the PHB, DMG, and MM.  For example, ranger organizations, dwarven religion, schisms within the elven college of wizardry, the machinations of deities, dungeon features galore, monster ecologies, and so on.  100% Open Game Content so that WotC's "mark" would be in numerous places, and be expanded on and enriched by (rather than outdone by and in competition with) third parties like Paizo.  These are the products that I wish existed more than anything else - codify the default non-rules part of core, get other companies enriching that.  Only a big guns product can do that.  

Villainy: Not rules.  Just how to design villains.

The last four are obvious.  FCIII, Giant book, Fey book, Woods book.


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## Kaodi (Aug 12, 2007)

Monkey King said:
			
		

> First, you get hired as the D&D brand manager. Then, you can look at the sales figures.
> 
> Or if you're really a glutton for punishment, first you get hired as a Hasbro accountant.




Seems kind of like a circular argument. If I can determine which products are going to sell, I can be the D&D Brand Manager of Fluff. However, I have to be the D&D Brand Manager of Fluff to have half a chance at figuring out what is going to sell. On second thought, I suppose it is the insiders just cleverly rigging in the system in their favour. Well done,   .

Not to sure about being an accountant though. I have the ability, if I had the training, but bean counting is not exactly high on my list of priorities.

However, all of that aside, I know I would be perfect as the D&D Brand Manager of Fluff. Here is a summary of my relevant experience:


...


....


.....


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 12, 2007)

The following is Purple Dragon Knight's List, from Candlekeep, as he is unable to attend the "board meeting:"



 Faiths of Faerun: as Knight Errant described

Stout Folk of Faerun: a 90-pages Realms book on dwarves... long overdue.

Forgotten Folk of Faerun: a 90-pages Realms book on gnomes... long overdue.

Tel'Quessir of Faerun: a 90-pages Realms book on elves... long overdue.

Hin of Faerun: a 90-pages Realms book on halflings... long overdue.

Depths of Faerun: inhabitants of the underwater worlds of Faerun, from the Sea of Fallen Stars to the underwater guardians surrounding the island of Evermeet. Explore their cities, uncover their treasures and take a ride on the Leviathan express that leaves daily from Waterdeep harbor...

Heartlands of Faerun: as Knight Errant described

Sword Coast: Baldur's Gate, Amn, Tethyr, Calimshan and the all the island nations found offshore... Explore the Moonshaes and uncover the technological wonders of Lantan. Sign up for the next anti-pirate sailing patrol to keep your waters free of tyranny, or head to Mintarn to join the pirates instead. 224 pages; 34.95


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## Lalato (Aug 12, 2007)

I went through and catalogued the first 25 or so posts.  Environment/Settings books dominated the list.  That was followed by Monster books with Class and Adventure books struggling to hold onto 3rd and 4th place.

Of the Environment/Settings books...  Forgotten Realms had the most requests followed by the Planes with Eberron close behind in 3rd.  That's interesting to me because in all my 25+ years of playing D&D I've only ever played in FR once in a very short campaign... and that was even in the hinterlands somewhere that isn't detailed very well.  The Planes saw a lot of attention being paid to Sigil, but there were also several requests for more general info on the planes.  As for Eberron, there were several requests for finishing off Khorvaire with supplements, though there was also an interesting request for The Dragon Below.  One other thing that came up a couple of times was how Magic affected the environment also books on villages (whether it be a single village or a general village resource).

Of the Monster books it was pretty much tied between Yugoloths, Fey and Giants.  It seems that people are really hungry for more info about these and other creatures.  Besides these, there seemed to be a general call for more ecology type books.

In my Class category, the big winners were books on the Alignments.  I guess a lot of people want more about how alignments work and how to use alignments in game.  I wouldn't have guessed that, but there you go.  Beyond that, there were also a couple of requests for books dealing with what characters do when they're not adventuring.

I don't have much to say... just a recap of sorts.  Sounds like the people that say that there is nothing left in 3.5e gas tank might be a little bit wrong.  Based on a lot of these suggestions, I think 3.5e could have several years worth of product.  Very cool.

--sam


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## der_kluge (Aug 12, 2007)

I was thinking about this thread a bit in bed last night (ok, yes; I am a geek).

It seems to me that what some people might be clamboring for is a return to a more "mythological" feel to the game - The Fey, Giants, Demons, Devils, Angels - these are all mythological things rooted in our culture and legend. I can't find myself being excited about a splat book on unusual races, but would find myself drawn to a book on Fey or Giants.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 12, 2007)

00Machado said:
			
		

> I second these nominations. All would catch my eye and I'd probably buy them
> 
> 'field guides' to monsters - though I think side bars of stats would be important parts of these products. Make them usable for your game, in addition to inspiration for your game.



The second one of these is coming out _this month_ and is listed on the front page of the official D&D site.

If you don't buy it, they won't believe you actually want it.


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## crazy_cat (Aug 12, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> The second one of these is coming out _this month_ and is listed on the front page of the official D&D site.
> 
> If you don't buy it, they won't believe you actually want it.



These struck me as being aimed very much at a kiddie demographic rather than the core gamer market. I'm using The Practical Guide to Dragons to help my daughter (age 7) improve her reading.


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## Razz (Aug 12, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I was thinking about this thread a bit in bed last night (ok, yes; I am a geek).
> 
> It seems to me that what some people might be clamboring for is a return to a more "mythological" feel to the game - The Fey, Giants, Demons, Devils, Angels - these are all mythological things rooted in our culture and legend. I can't find myself being excited about a splat book on unusual races, but would find myself drawn to a book on Fey or Giants.




Now that you mention that, I agree fully with that assessment. I believe that's the core of what we want to see, it seems.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 12, 2007)

crazy_cat said:
			
		

> These struck me as being aimed very much at a kiddie demographic rather than the core gamer market. I'm using The Practical Guide to Dragons to help my daughter (age 7) improve her reading.



Still full of brand-new D&D fluff, and at a bargain price.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 12, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I was thinking about this thread a bit in bed last night (ok, yes; I am a geek).
> 
> It seems to me that what some people might be clamboring for is a return to a more "mythological" feel to the game - The Fey, Giants, Demons, Devils, Angels - these are all mythological things rooted in our culture and legend. I can't find myself being excited about a splat book on unusual races, but would find myself drawn to a book on Fey or Giants.



I think this is true except for a few select exceptions. Drow are one, obviously, as are the mind flayers. I suspect the gith* are on that list, too.


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## haakon1 (Aug 12, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> The makers of a Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe (and most people on this thread are pretty much the target market for that book) also have a book called Silk Road that describes trade routes, both in the real world and in a more magical one, with rules on how much they make, what items they carry and so on.




Nod.  I need to talk my FLGS into getting that, assuming it's a print book, not PDF?



			
				Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> You'd have to flesh out Greyhawk for yourself -- although I suspect Canonfire may have a head start on the routes themselves -- but it'd give you everything else you needed.




Years ago, I did my own work on that, listing out the trade goods coming from a number of nations in western Greyhawk, where I run my campaign.  It always struck me as a good investment of my DMing time, to know what comes from where.  My inspiration, more than anything, is the discovery of Southfarthing pipeweed in the ruins of Orthanc in the Two Towers -- a little minor dungeon dressing detail with a lot of portent built into it.


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## 3catcircus (Aug 13, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> The makers of a Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe (and most people on this thread are pretty much the target market for that book) also have a book called Silk Road that describes trade routes, both in the real world and in a more magical one, with rules on how much they make, what items they carry and so on.




Don't get me wrong - I have MMS:SR and MMS:WE and I love both of them.  I'm looking more for *specifics* of the FR campaign world - a large portion of what makes that world operate is merchant caravans and it would be nice to have some details.


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## 00Machado (Aug 13, 2007)

crazy_cat said:
			
		

> These struck me as being aimed very much at a kiddie demographic rather than the core gamer market. I'm using The Practical Guide to Dragons to help my daughter (age 7) improve her reading.




I agree. Those products are aimed at young readers, and not necessarily gamers (more like those WoTC hopes to bring into the hobby). I was thinking more along the lines of combining Dragon Ecologies with the Monster Manual (II, III, etc)...into a hybrid product.


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## 00Machado (Aug 13, 2007)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> Nod.  I need to talk my FLGS into getting that, assuming it's a print book, not PDF?




It is available as both a print and PDF product, last time I checked. You can also order it direct from here, if your FLGS can't get a copy.

http://www.xrpshop.citymax.com/page/page/2561954.htm


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 13, 2007)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> Years ago, I did my own work on that, listing out the trade goods coming from a number of nations in western Greyhawk, where I run my campaign.  It always struck me as a good investment of my DMing time, to know what comes from where.  My inspiration, more than anything, is the discovery of Southfarthing pipeweed in the ruins of Orthanc in the Two Towers -- a little minor dungeon dressing detail with a lot of portent built into it.



You know, this is the kind of thing that would go great on Wizards' site. Have there been Eberron and Forgotten Realms articles like this at all?

Because you're right: Knowing what's coming where -- and what's valuable where -- seems like an idea gold mine for a DM (and enterprising players).


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## der_kluge (Aug 13, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> You know, this is the kind of thing that would go great on Wizards' site. Have there been Eberron and Forgotten Realms articles like this at all?
> 
> Because you're right: Knowing what's coming where -- and what's valuable where -- seems like an idea gold mine for a DM (and enterprising players).





I know there's at least one campaign setting (Hârn, perhaps?) which has a detailed trade route map as part of its campaign map.  I'd love to see someone put something like this together for the Wilderlands.  That'd be awesome.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 13, 2007)

Sight unseen, I will predict that Kalamar has trade routes detailed.


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## Razz (Aug 13, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> You know, this is the kind of thing that would go great on Wizards' site. Have there been Eberron and Forgotten Realms articles like this at all?
> 
> Because you're right: Knowing what's coming where -- and what's valuable where -- seems like an idea gold mine for a DM (and enterprising players).




The FRCS has a map (note sure which page, but it's in the "Life in Faerun" chapter) with trade routes and what areas trade what to where and what type of commodities they import and export. It's not definitive, but it's a really good trade route map.


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## cignus_pfaccari (Aug 13, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Sight unseen, I will predict that Kalamar has trade routes detailed.




You're probably remembering the ads for their trade routes supplement that were in Dragon a few years ago.

Brad


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## 3catcircus (Aug 14, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Sight unseen, I will predict that Kalamar has trade routes detailed.




Correct, sir!  Well - to a degree.  The Kalamar Atlas is more explicit than FRCS on where the trade routes are, but there isn't any information in the KoK Campaign Setting, nor in the Atlas, regarding imports/exports in great detail for each region.  In the KoK Atlas, a trade route might have "wheat and livestock" going in one direction and "slaves" going in the other, but no details beyond that.

FRCS and KoKCS take two different, but mostly equivalent, approaches to providing trade route information.


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## blargney the second (Aug 14, 2007)

Razz said:
			
		

> The FRCS has a map with trade routes and what areas trade what to where and what type of commodities they import and export.



Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!  I wish Eberron had something similar, because I really enjoyed that feature.


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## haakon1 (Aug 14, 2007)

3catcircus said:
			
		

> Correct, sir!  Well - to a degree.  The Kalamar Atlas is more explicit than FRCS on where the trade routes are, but there isn't any information in the KoK Campaign Setting, nor in the Atlas, regarding imports/exports in great detail for each region.  In the KoK Atlas, a trade route might have "wheat and livestock" going in one direction and "slaves" going in the other, but no details beyond that.
> 
> FRCS and KoKCS take two different, but mostly equivalent, approaches to providing trade route information.




Wheat over an overland route, or a sea route?

I'd like stuff like this written by someone with a feel for economics and medieval history.  As in, wheat will only be exported by water, otherwise going no more than about 40 miles, if we're being historical.  So river valleys like the Nile, yes.  Northern Canadian prairies without an outlet to the sea?  No, not until railroads came along.

Most of the trade stuff I'd like to see would deal not with bulk commodity trading, but with the sort of stuff that ancient and medieval societies actually traded.  I'd like to see stuff like this, from my own campaign:
-- Perrenland exports "Perrenland" cheese, famous for its holes, mercenary bands, and high-quality dwarven-designed crossbows.
-- Highfolk exports leather, leather armor, boots, and gloves.  It uses cowhides from Perrenland and the Wolf Nomads and deerskins from the Vesve, while making the tannic acid from the oaks of the Vale and the Vesve, and the local halflings are expert leather workers.
-- Bissel is famous for exporting blackberry preserves from the eponymous "Bramble"wood Forest.  There are also many builders of small river craft, barrels, and wagons for the trade across the Bramblewood Road, linking Eastern and Western civilizations.  Most peasants, however, subsistance on hearty upland oats and pigs raised in the forest.
-- Rel Astra is famous for exporting orange liquor (like Grand Mariner), made by a secret family recipe.  This high-value liquor is used for toasting and in cooking.
-- Hardby is the regional center for the spice trade.  While spices from East and West can be found here, Hardby's mages have also created magical self-heating vats, from which sea salt is extracted.  And the Gynarch's plantations grow hemp, which is used for rope making and medical herb that is prohibited in many lands outside the Wild Coast region.

Much more interesting, useful, and "real seeming" than "slaves for wheat".


----------



## pawsplay (Aug 14, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I can't help but be amused by how many of the books suggested have already been done by 3rd party publishers.




That's not the point, really. If they were official WotC products, other WotC writers would be beholden to them as guidelines. the books themselves could function as throwing weapons, in the event a writer misbehaved.


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## Shade (Aug 15, 2007)

Many of these have been said before upthread and in numerous threads, but I'll lend my support.

*Fiendish Codex III: *   FC1 is IMHO, the best book released in 3rd Edition.  FCII isn't bad, either.  I'd love to see a continuation of this line to give the yugoloths the full treatment, and include some of the other fiendish races.   Basically, combine the best elements of FCI and Lords of Madness.   Leave out the new spells and prestige classes this time (unless they are geared towards the fiends themselves, not fighting them), and devote more space to the monsters, their histories, and environments.

*Planetscape/Manual of the Worlds/etc.:*   Plane-hopping has been given a very thorough treatment in various D&D resources, but world-hopping between different Material Plane planets has been given very little.   Follow the toolkit approach of Manual of the Planes, and offer various ways for getting from world to world, including (but not limited to) spelljamming, travel via gates (Stargate anyone?), and spells.  Differentiate between alternate Material Planes and different worlds on the same Material Plane.   Describe some of the legendary worlds from D&D's rich history.

*Campaign Classics: Mystara/Dark Sun/etc.:*   Give each of the old campaign settings a single hardcover treatment, being as exhaustive as possible on maps, prominent locales and NPCs, unique monsters, etc.   Summarize which elements from different books are appropriate for the setting in question without using the valuable limited space with reprints or reinventing the wheel.   DO NOT INCLUDE ADVENTURES!

*Inner Planes Book:*  I can't think of a clever title for this book, but it would give the Fiendish Codex/Lords of Madness treatment to the elementals and the elemental planes.  It would also bring back the paraelemental and quasielemental planes as options, along with some of the best of the paraelemental and quasielemental creatures from past editions.  And of course, the archomentals would be included.  (BOZ and I already did the work for you in Dragon Magazine   ).

*Order & Anarchy:*   Good vs. evil is well-developed, but how about giving Law vs. Chaos a go?   Include information on the legendary battle between the armies of the vaati and the Queen of Chaos.   Explain how to get away from the law=good and chaos=evil mindset.   Include the slaad lords and the revised modrons.   Describe the planes of law and chaos in greater detail.  The book could be expanded to include neutrality as well, fleshing out the societies of the rilmani and other beings of neutrality.

*Complete Epic:*  Overhaul or replace the epic spellcasting system to be easier to use and less easy to break, expand the advice on running epic-level campaigns, gather up all the updated rules from the various books and the excellent Epic Insights column on WotC's website, and don't mention Union.   Include better synergy with Deities and Demigods and revise the rules for ascencion to better fit with the epic ruleset.

*Forgotten Realms: Lands of Mystery:*  Delve into the other continents of Toril, such as Maztica and flesh out the rest of the world.

And for the eight, the demiplanes idea described upthread sounds great.


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## Shade (Aug 15, 2007)

I didn't include this one as it seemed more cruch-heavy, but while I've got your ear...

*Creature Components:*   Get more mileage out of your Monster Manuals.  This book is chock full of templates, modifications, and advice on advancing and modifying existing creatures.   Included are expanded guidelines for eyeballing CR and LA, guidelines for retconning existing monsters to take advantage of things introduced in later books (like adding unholy toughness to vampires and death knights), and ways to swap out spell-like and supernatural abilities to quickly give a different theme to a creature.


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## sniffles (Aug 15, 2007)

Moggthegob said:
			
		

> If this does happen do everyone a favor and DO NOT MAKE IT ROKUGAN.
> Set it in the original Greyhawk, elsewhere on Oerth thing or else set it in the other part of Toril(ugh oh how I hate FR)



Don't set it anywhere specific - don't tie it to just one setting. Just give info about Oriental cultures and how they might fit into the different settings. 

For Kara-Tur, do a dadgummed FR book!! (grumble grumble - it should be in _Unapproachable East_ - grumbe grumble).


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## Jared Rascher (Aug 15, 2007)

sniffles said:
			
		

> Don't set it anywhere specific - don't tie it to just one setting. Just give info about Oriental cultures and how they might fit into the different settings.
> 
> For Kara-Tur, do a dadgummed FR book!! (grumble grumble - it should be in _Unapproachable East_ - grumbe grumble).





I agree . . . if 3.5 Oriental Adventures book ever gets made, don't worry about setting it anywhere, just like the PH and the other core books.  If you want to give sample religions and the like, if you have to used "Generified" Kara-Tur religions, but don't go into setting information at all if you can help it.

This way, it seems equally usable for a homebrew, Kara-Tur, or even that region of Greyhawk that they started to develop in Dungeon that had an Asian feel to it.


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## Kae'Yoss (Aug 16, 2007)

sniffles said:
			
		

> Don't set it anywhere specific - don't tie it to just one setting.




I think the 3e Rokugan stuff was very well done. I liked he Rokugan parts - not least because I wouldn't know L5R, one of the greatest RPGs out there, otherwise.

I don't know if UE would have had enough space for the whole continent...


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## Grymar (Aug 16, 2007)

I'm seeing this thread in a new light, considering the news.  Rather than starting a humorous thread or maybe even seeing if there is any consensus on what new books to put out, it seems that Mr. Rouse was building a PR case for a new edition.  The books mentioned are nice, but would not have wide appeal or could easily be done under 4e.


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## BOZ (Aug 16, 2007)

OK, here are my eight OTOH, in no particular order.  i don't care how feasable they would be, because you told me i'm in charge.  

Nostalgia Monster Book: Yeah, this one is pure fan-service.  Granted, yeah, we have the Tome of Horrors, but I think a lot of people want to see a full color book from WotC.  I know I'm not the only one who's sad to see MMIII move farther from the idea of using monster conversions, and MMIV and MMV totally abandon the concept - the well is not as dry as some people would have you believe.  What I'm saying is, let's see a monster book updating the best ideas from the 1E hardcovers, the Monstrous Compendium series, Dragon and Dungeon, old modules, etc.  Come on, of the thousands of unconverted monsters (just ask Echohawk - he counted them all!), there have to be at least a few dozen that are worth revisiting!    Even if that's a challenge, just cull some from the hardcovers and Paizo mags of the last few years to supplement what's converted from the older materials.

Fiendish Codex III: Let's get the yugoloths, and put Todd Stewart in charge of it.    There's a lot going on with these guys than what the 3E designers have bothered to reveal!  The baernaloths have their hands in everything, and the mighty altraloths have plans that affect everything from the other fiends to the celestials and beyond.  Of course, maybe the yugos just don't want their secrets revealed...

Fey Book: Similar in focus to Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, Draconomicon, and the Fiendish Codices, let's get a book about fey going.  We can show the light, whimsical side, as well as the dark and sinister side of the Queen of Air and Darnkess and her kin.  Let's give DMs who would never consider using fey as an encounter a reason to change their minds.  We would include monster conversions of Leprechauns, Quicklings, and a bunch of other old and new fey.

Elemental Planes book:  This book would follow in the same grain, except focusing on elementals and creatures of the elemental planes.  I'm pretty much just echoing Shade on this one.  

Spawn of Chaos: This would be Limbo's answer to the Fiendish Codexes.    Let's get some details going about the slaadi and what makes them tick, as well as reintroducing the powerful slaad lords: there are of course the famous Ygorl and Ssendam, whose names have been bandied about since nearly the beginning of 3E but never really detailed, and the less well known Rennbuu and Chourst from Dragon #221, and hell why couldn't there be a dozen more.    The slaadi may not fill a whole book, but of course Limbo is also home to the githzerai, so they would get a full treatment as well.

Legions of the Holy: There may not be a demand to have an FC-style book for each of the angels, archons, eladrins, and guardinals, but why not do a single book for all of them?  This book would have a similar detail level to the FC's, but would focus more on how celestials help other creatures (and what they can do when you get on their bad side).

Monster Mythology:  This book would be something like an update of the old 2E book about monster gods, and would be in the vein of the "Complete Devine" section about gods.  The difference is, I would cut out the PC races gods (and dragons, they got the Draconomicon) and any demon lords, and focus on the drow, orc, etc monster pantheons and assorted miscellaneous gods of non-humanoids which haven't gotten much attention elsewhere in 3E.  You could toss in the gods from books like Libris Mortis and Lords of Madness, plus other interesting things like the neogi gods from Dragon #214, and the elemental gods (Kossuth, Istishia, Grumbar, Akadi).

Book of Artifacts: This book would be another update of a 2E book.  This would collect a number of artifacts from the DMG and other books, and really expand on what they are and what they can do.  It would also feature a system for creating new artifacts and governing how their powers work.  Variant rules could include making artifacts work similarly to Legacy items, or the "random power" idea from the 1E DMG, or the system used in the 2E BoA, or all of the above.

I would be more than happy to work on any or all of these books, even if I don't have the time for it.


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## BOZ (Aug 16, 2007)

hmm!  i'll be honest and say that i came up with each of my ideas before skimming through the thread, but wow, looks like most of them reflects what others are thinking... that can't be a bad sign.


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## Knight Otu (Aug 16, 2007)

Grymar said:
			
		

> I'm seeing this thread in a new light, considering the news.  Rather than starting a humorous thread or maybe even seeing if there is any consensus on what new books to put out, it seems that Mr. Rouse was building a PR case for a new edition.  The books mentioned are nice, but would not have wide appeal or could easily be done under 4e.



I'm... uncertain. I mean, it is possible that Scott Rouse intended for that (maybe he can state his intentions when he is back?), but I feel that a number of the proposed books would not only be printable, but also be well received and sold. I tend to think that there is also some space left to explore ruleswise that would be interesting, so I do feel the release is a bit premature, but it may be a case of quitting while you're ahead.

And BOZmaster, aren't you a tad late for the party?


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## GreatLemur (Aug 16, 2007)

Grymar said:
			
		

> I'm seeing this thread in a new light, considering the news.  Rather than starting a humorous thread or maybe even seeing if there is any consensus on what new books to put out, it seems that Mr. Rouse was building a PR case for a new edition.  The books mentioned are nice, but would not have wide appeal or could easily be done under 4e.



I think the question might have been meant more honestly than that.  After all, fluff-focused 4E books would have a reasonable chance of still being of interest to the 3.x holdouts.

But, man, the effect it had was kind of hilarious: This thread is a major reason that today's announcement came as a complete and utter shock to me.  I'd taken it as a sign that WotC was intending to produce another year's worth of (as yet unplanned) 3.5 books.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 18, 2007)

To bring this thread back from a coma, if not quite death, now that you know about 4E what would you do?


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## Nifft (Aug 18, 2007)

The Grumpy Celt said:
			
		

> To bring this thread back from a coma, if not quite death, now that you know about 4E what would you do?



 Four books of Elf porn, three books of Tiefling porn, and one very special aluminum covered book of Warforged porn.

Cheers, -- N


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## Mark (Aug 18, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> (. . .) and one very special aluminum covered book (. . .)





Likely to be water resistant and reflective.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 18, 2007)

The Grumpy Celt said:
			
		

> To bring this thread back from a coma, if not quite death, now that you know about 4E what would you do?



Visual guides, the Fables of Burdock, systemless culture books for each of the races, myths/legends books for each of the settings, Poor Wizard's Almanacs for FR and Eberron.


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## Nifft (Aug 18, 2007)

Mark said:
			
		

> Likely to be water resistant and reflective.



 Tentative title: *Up All Night*.

Cheers, -- N


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## Ry (Aug 19, 2007)

Thinking seriously about this, I think there needs to be more work done on the design characteristics of fluff.  For some, playing an elf to get a +2 bonus to dexterity runs counter to the vibe they want for the game - they want playing an elf to be "having a different perspective on mortality and time."  But it's very rare that that kind of thing can come up in game - even if the player is trying to introduce it.


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## Mark (Aug 19, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> Tentative title: *Up All Night*.
> 
> Cheers, -- N





Well, aren't you the mecha?


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## Kae'Yoss (Aug 19, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> Four books of Elf porn, three books of Tiefling porn, and one very special aluminum covered book of Warforged porn.




What about Fey Porn? Succubus Porn? Would fey'ri porn be considered some weird fetish?


----------



## Atlatl Jones (Aug 19, 2007)

A new Legends and Lore book, without god stats. A big book about the various gods, religions, legends, and beliefs, focusing on the priesthoods and the followers.  The 3 religion books from 2nd edition were fantastic for this, and a 3rd edition one, with details on various earthly gods (Thor, etc), as well as the D&D/greyhawk gods, would be fantastic.  Essentially the recent Dragon magazine gods of greyhawk series in book form.  I'd also work hand in hand with Mr. Nard to create evocative and useful spells, feats, and talents (or whatever distinguishes between different types of clerics in 4e) for each of the priesthoods.

A new planescale setting book.  Don't just focus on Sigil - reintroduce the entire planescape setting for 4th edition.  Open it up a bit - don't just focus on the great wheel.  Create a greater emphasis on demiplanes and planar pockets, so DMs can introduce any planar content they want.  A book with the size and level of detail of the 3e Forgotten Realms book, devoted to the planescape setting, and planar adventuring in general.  Use a combination of old-style planescape art with evocative new art.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 19, 2007)

Forgotten Realms - Beyond Faerun (Mazteca, Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur) will have to wait for a year or two, as will Oriental Adventures.


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## Scott_Rouse (Aug 20, 2007)

Grymar said:
			
		

> I'm seeing this thread in a new light, considering the news.  Rather than starting a humorous thread or maybe even seeing if there is any consensus on what new books to put out, it seems that Mr. Rouse was building a PR case for a new edition.  The books mentioned are nice, but would not have wide appeal or could easily be done under 4e.




Not really. I just read a lot of crunch vs fluff wars on the boards and hear it from fans at the cons so I was interested to see what the fluffy side would want to see us put out in terms of books (and yes w/the amount of 3.5 rules out the fluff side screams loudly). When I wrote the thread I was not so much thinking of a particular edition as much as I was thinking about content DMs could use in their campaigns. 

BTW we'll be announcing products for our Summer catalog soon and there are some non-rules fluff books in there under the survival guide series. 

So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?


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## blargney the second (Aug 20, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?



That's an incredibly tough question to answer at this point.  Whether there's an actual setting included in the core manuals, there's always an implied setting that arises from the rules and the way they make the game play.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 20, 2007)

I've been playing long enough that I can fill in any fluff gap that WotC leaves open, so I'm not looking for anything in particular.

Personally, I'd like to see this in 4Ed: a better melding of fluff & crunch.  For example:

*1)* It has always bugged me that Elves have fluff text: "Wizardry comes naturally to elves" and yet have no stat bonus linked to that natural talent for wizardry.

If you have a race that has fluff that says members of the race are good "innate casters" or have a "natural link" to magic (like the 3.5 Sorc or WarMage) as opposed to being good at researching magic like a Wizard, they should have bonuses in the relevant stats and Favored Classes (or their 4Ed equivalent) that reflect that link.

Simply and generally put, dont give me _fluff _that says race/class/whatever X is good or bad at some aspect of the game linked to _*zero *crunch_ that backs up the fluff.

*2)*  Class fluff should be generalized.  Again, with Sorcerers, there is the mention of the "blood of dragons." That's great, but logically, it could just as easily been "blood of djin" or "blood of demons," and _better_ would have been something like "blood of powerful mystical beings."

Paizo's DCv1's version of Bloodline feats for spontaneous casters were, IMHO, better than WotC's (though WotC's Feats like Lord of the Uttercold, Spell Hand, and reserve feats delivered similar effects).  Each added something to the class that distinguished PCs _based on their mysterious heritage_, almost like the Sorcerer's equivalent to Specialist Wizards.

In my campaigns, I'm even making taking such feats a neccessary prereq for taking level in spontaneous caster classes.  The fluff- the PC gets an explanation as to why they can do what they do.  The crunch- one of the spells/lvl they get to know innately MUST come from that Bloodline list. (This doesn't increase their spells known- since the Feats add 1 spell and I'm using them like Alternative Class Features, I remove 1 spell known/lvl from the chart and _replace_ it with the one from the Feat/ACF.)


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## Ruin Explorer (Aug 20, 2007)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> Aurora's Whole Realm's Catalogue - expanded, and ported to 3.5 - not FR specific.




Yes. Bring it back, dammit. I never got more use out of a sourcebook for any setting in any game, my players were constantly flicking through it, and it really brought the world to life on a very "low" but important level.

Otoh, I'm ok with it being FR-specific, because if it wasn't, it'd make a lot less sense and not be able to be as "real".

*Scott Rouse * - THAT is the fluff I want to see: _Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue _ reborn. Or something very very like it. Something that contains all the food, clothing (especially clothing!), random little items and so on that one might expect in a typical D&D fantasy world (i.e. very late medieval/early Renaissence with some magical stuff), replete with prices.

If you expanded it to cover the prices and so on of stuff in general it'd be even better. How much does a wedding cost in the Forgotten Realms? How a about building a temple? What if it's a really FANCY temple? And so on.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 20, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?



The Very Big Book of Gnomes.


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## Matt Black (Aug 20, 2007)

For something completely different (for D&D), I think with the coming of 4e it's time for D&D Earth.

A book that helps the DM create fantasy variants of the real world. It would describe how to weave D&D tropes into historical settings: where the races might fit in (barbaric Irish elves, orcs invading Rome, gypsie halflings), how the presence of magic might change the real world, and how it might replace real world technologies. Guidance on running games in different cultures and tech levels. 

Mostly, it would lead by example, with a couple of short sample settings. Perhaps: a swashbuckling 15th century Venice with duels in gondolas, alchemical firearms, magical printing presses; an empire run by the guile of merchant-rogues and enchantments of its wizard council. Or: chivalric Britain, its knights holding out against the Gaelic elves and dwarfs, with bards and druids (if either still exist!) in their traditional roles in the Celtic world. The mythic Aegean, Jerusalem of the Crusades, 16th century Prague, etc., etc.


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## Kaodi (Aug 20, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?




If you go back through all the posts in this thread and mark down any idea and title that involves Eberron you will have a pretty good idea of what fluff I want to see for 4e.


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## szilard (Aug 20, 2007)

_*A World of Monsters*_ - Taking a look at the ecology of a world filled with monsters.

_*The Book of Conflicts*_ - A book filled with adventure hooks and NPC (humanoid or otherwise) that center around conflicts that are best resolved through something other than combat.

_*A World of Magic*_ - Taking a look at how the presence of magic can alter societies - if an otherwise dirt-poor village has a few Adepts (and maybe a low-level Wizard) in it, is it likely to be dirt-poor? How would common magics change a city? How would it change travel? A lot of this is covered in various Eberron books, but much of that is fairly setting-specific (and spread out).

A jungle/swamp book - to go along with Stormwrack, Frostburn, and the like.

A Fae book - Fae in D&D are ill-defined and not nearly as evocative as they could be...

A book about arcana - A look at spell research, magic item creation, and flavor to add to your arcane caster... mix up some magical theory and history/evolution of some common spells. What do verbal components sound like? What do somatic components look like? What are some alternate material components? There is a lot that could be done here.... and players of arcane casters would eat it up.

The Gamers' Guide - A book about how to find (and keep) a gaming group, how to take part in (and make the most of) the DI, how to make the most out of gaming conventions. Provide some background on the larger gaming community (both online and off) and its history. Include some discussion of social contracts for gaming groups and things like that.

That's seven off the top of my head. I had an eighth, but it has slipped my mind for the moment.

-Stuart


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## szilard (Aug 20, 2007)

Ah, yes....

*The Book of Legends* - Feature a number of legends that can be dropped into a variety of campaigns- say 20-30. Each of them gets a bardic song and a few variations on the story. Each legend gets a number of adventure hooks... maybe a map or two... and possibly a couple write-ups of unique NPCs/monsters/magic items.

Think of it a bit like the Weapons of Legacy book, but broader and not tied to unique crunch that a lot of games won't use.

-Stuart


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## Nifft (Aug 20, 2007)

*Six Nations* -- Give six nations, each with a unique power base, culture, relationship to magic, legal system, and relationship to several religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings. Perhaps just take nations from established settings and expand on them here.

No maps.


*Twelve Cities* -- Give twelve city-states, each with a unique power base, culture, relationship to magic, legal system, political situation regarding nearby nations, and relationship to several religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings. Perhaps just take cities from established settings and expand on them here.

No maps.


*Twenty Cults* -- Give twenty insidious cults, each with a unique agenda, power base, method of infiltration / concealment, magical arsenal, code of honor, method of action (assassination, etc.), and relationship to various types of nations / groups / religions. Present them with notes on how to adapt them to other settings.

This is a good place for some new DM-centric crunch, too.


- - -

No more new monster books. Only *Expedition* style adventures with large sections written by Greg's team. I'd push this philosophy on the SW Saga team, too -- they should only be releasing Era-specific crunch in Expedition format.

Cheers, -- N


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## Kae'Yoss (Aug 20, 2007)

Scott_Rouse said:
			
		

> So what fluff do you want to see in 4e?




A lot of the stuff I already mentioned will work for 4e, perhaps even better.

I like the idea of a book about the Races (and Classes) in the Realms, which I heard will be one of the 08 FR books.

*Faiths of Faerûn:* I read that the 4e Realms will focus more on fluff, so this makes even more sense than before: A book containing a detailed description of every single deity used in the Realms: Their history, their outlook, their relationships with other deities. Their churches and worshippers, and how they are worshipped. Big book with plenty of information for each deity.

*FR regional books.* 

*Organisations of Faerûn: * The biggest organisations for good, evil, order, chaos, balance, freedom, money and the Worship of Fluffy Bunnies as Incarnations of Cute Destructions.


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## dmccoy1693 (Aug 20, 2007)

*And Now for Something Completely Different...*

I'm going to propose an idea seldom heard before, *an OGL Setting*.  (A what?!? How would that work?  Glad you asked.)  A generic fantasy setting where the first book is canon and everyone else can produce supplements designed for that specific setting.  This way, an adventure can be written about how the players encounter the "Blood Hammer Tribe of Orcs" instead of "a tribe of orcs."  Also, another company can produce another supplement about that same orc tribe.  This will present a series of alternate futures/specifics about the setting/signature characters/etc for DMs to choose from.  

More detail:  Say the core settings book described the Blood Hammer Tribe as being rather difficult for the local army to track down.  Goodman could describe them as being nomads with no clear pattern of attack.  But say Necromancer doesn't really like that idea and instead wants the orcs to have an arcanist who teleports their raiding party to and from the location.  Two choices for the DM to choose from and the players can't recite the book back to the DM on how he's "wrong."  

And yes I know that the DM is always right, except whenever the players badger the DM into giving in just so they can move on, but I'd like to see the DM empowered some, in this respect.


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## howandwhy99 (Aug 20, 2007)

Ruin Explorer said:
			
		

> der_kluge said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have to agree with these guys.  Fluff books are not rules oriented, but are still immediately useful to DMs.  Wizards' new Grand History of the Realms is a perfect example.  Take a look at the Book of Ebon Bindings too.  Perhaps the most successful line of "fluff" books in RPGs are GURPS supplements.  They can be hit or miss, but when you want to run a game, they provide a very clear and comprehensive overview on a variety of common RPG options.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 21, 2007)

I personally own 2 copies of Aurora's- very very handy fluff.

Other fluff ideas:

Location books: a wizard or alchemist's lab, abandoned tower, sewer systems, etc., with the maps & such...but without being populated.  You know, like some of the old 1Ed modules used to be- remember B1?  Plenty of room for a GM to customize without having to do _ALL_ the work.

Organization books: like the location books, organizations complete with goals, secret agendas, hidden techniques, etc., including scaling info, but without statted-out personnel.  Handy ones might be the Chapter house of a city's Thieve's Guild, or the Adventurer's Guild

Obviously, some of these could be combined.

One AD&D product I loved that has no current parallel was The Rogue's Gallery, containing Lassviren the Dark.  Essentially a Monster Manual of NPCs, it could contain info on the classic example of the NPC, plus scaling hints.


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## Malcor Sylverwood (Aug 21, 2007)

szilard said:
			
		

> *The Book of Legends* - Feature a number of legends that can be dropped into a variety of campaigns- say 20-30. Each of them gets a bardic song and a few variations on the story. Each legend gets a number of adventure hooks... maybe a map or two... and possibly a couple write-ups of unique NPCs/monsters/magic items.
> 
> -Stuart



That's a really good one.  I also agree with everyone saying Aurora's Whole Realm's Catalogue...


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## thorian (Aug 22, 2007)

Scott,

Why did you start this thread when you knew 4E was coming out in 9 months?


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## Ry (Aug 22, 2007)

Because fluff transcends edition, silly!


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