# Class Compendium: Gone?



## aurance (Dec 27, 2010)

So it appears as if the upcoming Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword & Spell has been pulled. No mention of it anymore in the product calendar, and previews have been removed. It's too bad, I was sort of looking forward to a consolidated update of the classes.


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

aurance said:


> So it appears as if the upcoming Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword & Spell has been pulled. No mention of it anymore in the product calendar, and previews have been removed. It's too bad, I was sort of looking forward to a consolidated update of the classes.




It is still listed on amazon.com

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Class-Compendium-Dungeons-Dragons-Accessory/dp/0786958588"]Amazon.com: Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell: A 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons Accessory (4th Edition D&D) (9780786958580): Wizards RPG Team: Books[/ame]


Though for how much longer, remains to be seen.


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

More telling, is that this "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book is not even mentioned at all in the recent "December and Beyond" previews article.  (This preview article lists upcoming 4E products for January -> March 2011).

The "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book originally had a February 2011 release date.


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## TarionzCousin (Dec 27, 2010)

For posterity, here is the description from amazon.com



> *Product Description*
> Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell provides new character options for Dungeons & Dragons® Essentials players who are ready to move beyond the two player-oriented D&D™ Essentials books, Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms.
> 
> This book gathers five classes from the Player’s Handbook—the cleric, the fighter, the rogue, the warlord, and the wizard—and presents them in the new D&D Essentials class format introduced in Heroes of the Fallen Lands, with rules updates and errata. It features rules that allow D&D Essentials characters to select non-D&D Essentials powers, and it grants non-D&D Essentials characters access to class features from Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms. In addition, this book presents feats, rituals, and rules for multiclassing.
> ...


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

Along with an older preview article from November 5, 2010.  (The weaponmaster build for the fighter).

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (The Next Wave in Digital Offerings)


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## Mercurius (Dec 27, 2010)

Maybe they're taking my psychic advice and just doing a revised Player's Handbook.


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

Mercurius said:


> Maybe they're taking my psychic advice and just doing a revised Player's Handbook.




Maybe.  

Can it also explain why the "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium" listing has also been deleted from WotC's own online product catalog?

Can it also explain why the "Player's Option:  Champions of the Heroic Tier" book has been removed from amazon.com's listings?


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## SteveC (Dec 27, 2010)

Wow. It seems to me that the D&D product line is seriously spinning out of control at the moment. Does anyone know what the plan to develop the product line actually is, this year? I'd kind of like to know...

I wonder who is running the show at the moment, because these developments don't seem like something that Mearls and company would be involved with. Color me extremely confused, and more than a little worried.


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

So far what's been confirmed and has not been "deleted" yet from the 2011 WotC release schedule:

- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Players-Option-Heroes-Shadow-Supplement/dp/078695745X"]Player's Options:  Heroes of Shadow[/ame] (March)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Shadowfell-Gloomwrought-Dungeons-Dragons-Supplement/dp/0786958480"]Shadowfell:  Gloomwrought and Beyond[/ame] (May)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Threats-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958383"]Monster Vault:  Threats to the Nentir Vale[/ame] (June)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Neverwinter-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958146"]Neverwinter Campaign Setting[/ame] (August)

Titles which have been "deleted" or possibly on the verge of being deleted:

- [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gazeteer-Nentir-Vale-4th-Supplement/dp/0786957662"]Nentir Vale Gazetteer[/ame] (February)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Class-Compendium-Dungeons-Dragons-Accessory/dp/0786958588"]Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell[/ame] (February)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mordenkainens-Magnificent-Emporium-4th-Supplement/dp/0786957441"]Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium[/ame] (April)
- [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Option-Champions-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958251"]Player's Option:  Champions of the Heroic Tier[/ame] (July)


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## Dice4Hire (Dec 27, 2010)

For me. the Champions of Heroic Tier is gone form Amazon Japan, though my order has not been deleted. (not sure what they do in this case)

Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium is still listed for April.

Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell is still listed for Feb.

Odd, and a major communication snafu.

This is quite annoying.


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## mach1.9pants (Dec 27, 2010)

Ah well, it will save me some money (rampant completionist speaking)


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## Mercurius (Dec 27, 2010)

ggroy said:


> Maybe.
> 
> Can it also explain why the "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium" listing has also been deleted from WotC's own online product catalog?
> 
> Can it also explain why the "Player's Option:  Champions of the Heroic Tier" book has been removed from amazon.com's listings?




True, true. One would think that WotC would offer some communication about this, but afaik they never said anything about the annihilation of the Nentir Vale Gazetteer so I don't have high hopes.



SteveC said:


> Wow. It seems to me that the D&D product line is seriously spinning out of control at the moment. Does anyone know what the plan to develop the product line actually is, this year? I'd kind of like to know...
> 
> I wonder who is running the show at the moment, because these developments don't seem like something that Mearls and company would be involved with. Color me extremely confused, and more than a little worried.




Bill Slaviscek is the current Evil Overlord, so let's blame him. But yeah, I agree - it seems that 4E is kind of a rudderless ship right now. Let's hope that these "snafus" are merely the harbingers of something _Cool! _and *Fun!!! *Or, at the least, 5th edition.


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## Derulbaskul (Dec 27, 2010)

Mercurius said:


> (snip)  One would think that WotC would offer some communication about this (snip) Bill Slaviscek (snip)




Bill Slavicsek does not do communication.

He really needs to study Matthew Sprange's responses to Mongoose stuff-ups.


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## SquareKnot (Dec 27, 2010)

This year, Wizards of the Coast decided to lay off *products*, instead of *employees*. It's an exciting change to their usual seasonal activities.

Actually, my bet is that this content is still coming, but is now pulled into a digital only form. We can only guess what that will be.

On the bright side, it's a great way to get Amazon Super Saver shipping. Just toss any item into your cart, then pad up to more than $25.00 by adding a now deleted item. Instant free shipping.


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## TarionzCousin (Dec 27, 2010)

SquareKnot said:


> On the bright side, it's a great way to get Amazon Super Saver shipping. Just toss any item into your cart, then pad up to more than $25.00 by adding a now deleted item. Instant free shipping.



But... what if I want that deleted item? Will it sit there on my order, mocking me? Forever taunting me with "what might have been"? Will this immortalize what I wanted but never got?


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## Aegeri (Dec 27, 2010)

I really have absolutely no idea what wizards are doing at the moment with DnD. Their release schedule has gone utterly to hell since essentials and DDI has slipped pretty badly in recent months.

I have plenty to work with in terms of stuff, but I am feeling very unenthusiastic about 2011 so far as I have no idea what they are actually doing anymore. Considering I'm the sort who buys everything that is released in general, this is not good for Wizards.


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## UngeheuerLich (Dec 27, 2010)

Seriously concerned, as those were books i was looking forward to.


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## JoeGKushner (Dec 27, 2010)

Color me curious. Can't work up the energy to get annoyed at this sort of thing anymore. The whole DDI thing ate it up so now it's mild interest until WoTC decides which way their moving again.


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## Riley (Dec 27, 2010)

I'm looking forward to the Essential Player's Handbook!


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## UngeheuerLich (Dec 27, 2010)

It is the advanced players handbook


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## Riley (Dec 27, 2010)

UngeheuerLich said:


> It is the advanced players handbook




If so, would this mean that 4ee may henceforth be referred to as AD&D 4e?

That would be cool - especially if they put a new version of the old 'Demon Idol' painting on the front.


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## ggroy (Dec 27, 2010)

SquareKnot said:


> Actually, my bet is that this content is still coming, but is now pulled into a digital only form. We can only guess what that will be.




At best, hopefully some of the content of these "deleted" 2011 4E books will eventually appear as Dragon magazine articles and the crunch making it into the DDI character builder, such as an "Essentialized" version of the Warlord which purportedly was suppose to appear in the "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book.



SquareKnot said:


> On the bright side, it's a great way to get Amazon Super Saver shipping. Just toss any item into your cart, then pad up to more than $25.00 by adding a now deleted item. Instant free shipping.




This happened a few times before, with some of my amazon orders.


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## Zaran (Dec 27, 2010)

The funny thing is that I was planning to buy all those products removed while the ones still listed I probably will only buy the monster vault.


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## Cyronax (Dec 27, 2010)

Perhaps its just the effect of an over-saturated market. 

WotC released more hardcover titles in the first 2 years of 4e than 1-3.5 editions. It seems like it might just be an oversaturated market. Did 4e really need to blow its wad so quickly? 

I think paring down the releases for D&D products (essentials + normal books) while also releasing Gamma World, board games, novels, and minis is not a bad thing. 

So we get a new source book every 3-4 months. WotC then advertises their digital resources like hell too. 

Awesome. Quality could increase for published and digitial products, the game's lifespan increases. 

C.I.D.


Edit: Forgot to add in the obligatory swipe at evil corporations.


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## Echohawk (Dec 27, 2010)

Cyronax said:


> WotC released more hardcover titles in the first 2 years of 4e than 1-3.5 editions.



This is not true. The number of hardcover releases dropped with the advent of 4e. Here is a graph of D&D hardcover releases since 1976, colour-coded by edition.


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## Scribble (Dec 27, 2010)

Maybe too many people indicated that this book would somehow invalidate their already purchased PHBs leaving them no choice but to quit DnD forever- so they scrapped it in favor of just letting people buy more PHBs.


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## Mercurius (Dec 27, 2010)

Derulbaskul said:


> Bill Slavicsek does not do communication.
> 
> He really needs to study Matthew Sprange's responses to Mongoose stuff-ups.




Slaviscek is yet another in a long line of TSR/WotC guys that has the typical nerdy lack of social awareness. I don't know why TSR/WotC doesn't learn from its mistakes and hire a decent PR person/group, or at least a consultant.



Echohawk said:


> This is not true. The number of hardcover releases dropped with the advent of 4e. Here is a graph of D&D hardcover releases since 1976, colour-coded by edition.




Of course that 3.5 output was rather ridiculous - 20 in one year. Not that I mind, but I think they would be better off limiting it to about half that yet with more non-hardcover formats like digest books (works great for the _Rules Compendium _not-so-great for _Heroes Of _books) and box sets.


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## Rydac (Dec 27, 2010)

Since it is the Christmas break right now I don't think we'll get much out of 
Wizards until after new year's. There is a good chance this is just a mistake. 
The heroes of sword & spell compendium is tied with the next encounters season. To my understanding Wizards has been quite pleased with the encounters program and would seem a huge waste to have it running a new season with nothing new to promote. . .that and encounters seasons are continuing to promote Essentials. 

Additionally, the November ampersand which had the weapon master preview in it was at that time going to typesetting. Since this did have a february 15 release that would've put it in premier level stores on february 4th. Unless there was a problem with the printing this product would almost have to start its way through the distribution change soon to hit the original dates. 

Let us not worry for a little bit.  That & the other worried about cancellation is the book of magic items...aren't those pretty much a core selling item too?


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## The Little Raven (Dec 27, 2010)

ggroy said:


> At best, hopefully some of the content of these "deleted" 2011 4E books will eventually appear as Dragon magazine articles and the crunch making it into the DDI character builder, such as an "Essentialized" version of the Warlord which purportedly was suppose to appear in the "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book.




There was not going to be an Essentials-style Warlord build in the Heroes of Spell and Sword. It was going to be the PHB1 Warlord just presented in the overly verbose Essentials class layout.


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## Zaukrie (Dec 27, 2010)

Someone above mentioned they are still making minis, I doubt that very much. They cancelled Heroscape, and there hasn't been a DDM page since the re-launch of the horrible website that doesn't do PR well at all....


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## bryanlo (Dec 28, 2010)

I hope not, I love minis. Any idea how well Lords of Madness sold?


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## zoroaster100 (Dec 28, 2010)

Disappointing news.  I was looking to the Class Compendium book and the Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium.  I have no interest in the shadow-related books.  The only thing left on the schedule that I'm potentially interested in is the Threats of Nentir Vale monster book, and I usually tend to buy every book.


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## Ahrimon (Dec 28, 2010)

Looking at that graph I see that the beginning of 4e had way more products than the beginning of any other edition.  Yes 3.5 did have higher years, but 4e came out of the gate at a sprint.  Maybe they've decided they need to back it off a bit or they'll be out of book options too soon.


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## Echohawk (Dec 28, 2010)

Ahrimon said:


> Looking at that graph I see that the beginning of 4e had way more products than the beginning of any other edition.



Alas, this is also not true. That graph only included *hardcovers*, not all products. Here's another one showing all products released per year. Unfortunately, I didn't split this one up by edition, so a direct comparison is a little harder. As it happens, 4e did have a higher average product release rate over its first three years than 3e, but certainly not "way more products than [...] any other edition". Nothing comes close to 2e in a edition-by-edition comparison".


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## bagger245 (Dec 28, 2010)

Is there a difference between these books being cancelled or just postponed? I can't understand the reason for it to be cancelled really..


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## Dice4Hire (Dec 28, 2010)

bagger245 said:


> Is there a difference between these books being cancelled or just postponed? I can't understand the reason for it to be cancelled really..




I wonder about that too. The products that were to be released in Q1 of 2011 should be nearly or totally done by now.

I know WOTC said they would take a look at sales of Essentials and such at about this tiem and maybe they are.

I am hoping for a good announcement around Jan 5th. I do not know anything of one coming though.


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## AbdulAlhazred (Dec 28, 2010)

Yeah, I find it highly unlikely they even could really cancel HoSS at this late date. Generally you're talking 8-12 weeks for a print run. So basically the product already exists. There ain't no canceling it at this point. The stuff due out later in the year, maybe. Somehow though I find it a bit difficult to believe that with the enthusiastic reception of Red Box they are all of a sudden in vast disarray and canceling things left and right. It is more likely someone pushed the wrong button on the CMS that runs the site and nuked some stuff before sailing off on their holiday break. Betcha we hear all about this around Monday the 3rd.


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## Aegeri (Dec 28, 2010)

Surely you cannot be implying that Wizards have been anything other than comprehensive and extremely accurate with their web based offerings. What possibly could have given you the idea they might be wrong!?!


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## Tuft (Dec 28, 2010)

bagger245 said:


> Is there a difference between these books being cancelled or just postponed? I can't understand the reason for it to be cancelled really..




Printing costs?


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## AbdulAlhazred (Dec 28, 2010)

Honestly, Aegeri, it amazes me how much people HANG on every bit that shows up on the WotC site. I'd bet anyone here good money if you were working over there you'd find that the web site and all the calendars and such are just absolutely an afterthought. They spend 10,000 hours working on a book and 3 hours on the web site. They know full well that whether people actually buy a book or not isn't really related to if it shows up on the site or not or whether people know all about it ahead of time. They're going to find it on Amazon and order it or see it on the shelf at their FLGS and buy it. Or they aren't going to buy it. D&D by-and-large is a captive audience. The people that play it are going to play it and buy it. So getting it out there and making the actual product good is all they really care about. The web site? Yeah, that's nice, we'll have someone look into that sometime before Friday, lol.


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## Echohawk (Dec 28, 2010)

AbdulAlhazred said:


> Honestly, Aegeri, it amazes me how much people HANG on every bit that shows up on the WotC site.



This is very true. There have been several products -- particularly novels, but also power cards, minis and an occasional game product -- that have been released without ever making it to the online catalog. I wouldn't read terribly much into the sudden disappearance of items from the WotC web site. My guess is that if anything, products have been delayed, not canceled.


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## Nemesis Destiny (Dec 28, 2010)

Echohawk said:


> This is very true. There have been several products -- particularly novels, but also power cards, minis and an occasional game product -- that have been released without ever making it to the online catalog. I wouldn't read terribly much into the sudden disappearance of items from the WotC web site. My guess is that if anything, products have been delayed, not canceled.



A patch of rough seas slowed the freighter coming from China with the books. Maybe it even sank and they had to reprint the whole run. Who knows. I agree that it's hardly worth panicking over.


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## Shroomy (Dec 28, 2010)

Were these books actually ever removed from Amazon?  Because the Amazon frontpage is telling me that I should preorder the _Class Compendium_ and _Mordenkainen's Magnificient Emporium_ right now as of a minute ago.


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## Doctor Futurity (Dec 28, 2010)

Seems to me that WotC really needs some better PR people involved in their product placement online. I mean, assuming that it was simply an error (say, the products are being revised with finals for the covers in place, and a web designer takes off the old listings then goes on holiday before putting the new listings up) that's still showing a lack of recognition that the hardcore thrive on their site details (crumbs). And, for better or worse, the hardcore are the ones on forums and blogs going nuts every time something weird happens without explanation.

Still, I think the fact that the preview articles for CC being absent is a sign that the product has been pulled. Just hoping its because they are delayed and not because they have been pulled. I'm not buying any Fortune Cards from them, only books.

Honestly, haven't seen D&D's product lineup in such a disarray since, oh, 1996 or so....


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## The Little Raven (Dec 28, 2010)

camazotz said:


> Honestly, haven't seen D&D's product lineup in such a disarray since, oh, 1996 or so....




Not even in the same ballpark. 1996's disarray led to TSR ceasing publication on anything, and employees worrying that the company could not pay them. WotC is nowhere near that point, or Hasbro would have mentioned it on their last phone call.

Right now, we have a change in a computer catalog that occurred while WotC offices are closed down for the holidays. We haven't heard from anyone because they're all spending time with their families instead of monitoring our nerdrage. Let's wait until people are back in the office and they realize what we're all buzzing about before we jump to any conclusions.


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## davethegame (Dec 28, 2010)

In '09, there ended up being some shuffling of products from what was announced at Gen Con to the announcements at DDXP (that ended up being the actual schedule.)

Gen Con '09:  GenCon 2009: 4e Extravaganza (with Photos) : Critical Hits
DDXP '10: Critical Bits for the week ending 2010-01-31 : Critical Hits

Gen Con had no mention of Essentials or Gamma World, and from what I understand, Essentials had a pretty short turnaround compared to other products. I wouldn't be surprised if they've decided to re-do the schedule for next year since they can produce products on a shorter time frame and have gotten reactions to Essentials. Further evidence of some shuffling is this: Arcane Springboard: New unannounced D&D 4e products coming?

For reference, Gen Con '10: Gen Con 2010: D&D New Products Seminar : Critical Hits

I'd be pretty sad if the Emporium book disappeared- magic items, especially taking into account the new rules, are an underdeveloped part of the system right now. Unless we're getting a bunch of updates digitally to classify old items (and more than just saying everything's uncommon), it's going to remain a weak point.


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## pedr (Dec 28, 2010)

The downloadable instructions for Season 4 of Encounters says that, while the printed adventure says that Class Compendium is available for character creation, it is actually not (going to be) available. 

So there is confirmation that WotC are not expecting the Class Compendium to be released in time for a Feb 9th event. 

The instructions do mention the shadow-based products as part of Season 5 so they still seem to be planned. ("NEXT SEASON: THE DARK LEGACY OF EVARD Get ready to take a walk on the dark side in the next season of D&D Encounters, featuring material from Heroes of Shadow and The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond!")

(Now I have access to the PDF again, here's the exact quotation: "Note: The adventure lists Class Compendium as a player resource, but that product is unavailable during this season." The instructions also discuss the way that Fortune Cards will work, and explains that the Twitter buffs will enhance the use of fortune cards rather than being standalone boons for the players. Cards aren't required, but the suggestion is that players buy two booster packs for the first week, at least. The player rewards for the season are additional Fortune Cards)


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## AlioTheFool (Dec 28, 2010)

The Class Compendium book's promise of having multiclassing rules was the _only _reason I went and dumped money into all of the Essentials products (Lord knows my players want nothing to do with them). If that book doesn't come out, the only thing I'll buy from Wizards after that is minis. I really hope this is a mistake, but I also highly doubt it. I wrote a blog post a couple of months ago running down the list of things WotC has told us to wait patiently for and not delivered. Looks like they're going to add to that list.


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## AbdulAlhazred (Dec 28, 2010)

pedr said:


> The downloadable instructions for Season 4 of Encounters says that, while the printed adventure says that Class Compendium is available for character creation, it is actually not (going to be) available.
> 
> So there is confirmation that WotC are not expecting the Class Compendium to be released in time for a Feb 9th event.
> 
> The instructions do mention the shadow-based products as part of Season 5 so they still seem to be planned.



Wasn't the release date always Feb 15? I mean I guess that means it might have been available on a limited basis by the 4th, but not all stores that run Encounters are premier stores. Not really sure why, given that, it was ever listed as a resource that would be available for a Feb 9th event... Sounds more like they goofed on that to start with. Then again I haven't got anywhere to play in Encounters since my FLGS is staffed by 4e haters or something, so maybe I'm just not up to speed on how all that works.


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## Rydac (Dec 28, 2010)

pedr said:


> The downloadable instructions for Season 4 of Encounters says that, while the printed adventure says that Class Compendium is available for character creation, it is actually not (going to be) available.




Pedr any chance of link to the downloadable instructions for season 4?


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## pedr (Dec 28, 2010)

Rydac said:


> Pedr any chance of link to the downloadable instructions for season 4?



It's in the WPN ordering system, so I'm not comfortable making it more widely available - it's not mine to share. There's not much of interest to people who aren't involved in Encounters, apart from the bits I've mentioned, so you're not missing anything!

Anyone who plays Encounters can probably ask their organiser for the details - once a session of Season 4 is scheduled, the organiser will be able to download the instructions.


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## mudlock (Dec 29, 2010)

AlioTheFool said:


> The Class Compendium book's promise of having multiclassing rules was the _only _reason I went and dumped money into all of the Essentials products (Lord knows my players want nothing to do with them).




I do not understand the logic here. If you really don't like essentials, why would you buy them at all? How does having a book that makes it clear how to mix-and-match essentials bits (that you hate!) with initial 4e bits (that you love!) make it, in any way, more desirable to you? Why would you then NOT buy any new, non-essential (and therefore not part of this thing-you-hate, but part of this thing-you-love) books?

That seems completely up-side-down to me.

And regardless of that, how does this book effect, AT ALL, the convenience of the RC, or reduce the effectiveness of the MV, or the new tile sets, or have any bearing on the DMK?

I think a lot of people who say they "hate essentials" really just don't like the classes in HotF(K/L). Well, I've got news: essentials is more than just those classes. And if you don't like those classes, do what I do with shaman and seeker: don't play one.


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## AlioTheFool (Dec 29, 2010)

mudlock said:


> I do not understand the logic here. If you really don't like essentials, why would you buy them at all? How does having a book that makes it clear how to mix-and-match essentials bits (that you hate!) with initial 4e bits (that you love!) make it, in any way, more desirable to you? Why would you then NOT buy any new, non-essential (and therefore not part of this thing-you-hate, but part of this thing-you-love) books?
> 
> That seems completely up-side-down to me.
> 
> ...




I'm not sure I understand the logic of completely putting words in my mouth.

Where did I say anything about love and hate of products?

I don't have any problems with the Essentials classes, per se. I just wouldn't have bought those books without the future option for multi-classing rules. From what I recall of the original product announcement, this book was supposed to present a number of options to expand on the game, including cutting up classes, which is something I've always felt was sorely lacking in this edition.

For the record, I would have bought the Rules Compendium and Monster Vault either way, but had I not already bought the two player books I would have completely skipped the useless DM Kit that does nothing for me except repeat all of the Rules Compendium and throw in a bunch of cardboard circles that I'll never even pop out of the sheet.

As for "love" of anything 4e, my "love" is waning, and has been for months. If WotC (figuratively) stabs me in the back on this one, it'll be the last straw for me in terms of dumping money into their print products. I have more printed 4e materials than I'll ever use so I don't _need_ any more. If I feel like I've been mislead (yet again) I'm giving up on them (except for whatever minis are released).


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## bagger245 (Dec 29, 2010)

You are indeed, AlioTheFool. 
You are indeed, banned from the thread for a pointless drive by threadcrap. Email me if you don't understand the problem. Plane Sailing


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## AlioTheFool (Dec 29, 2010)

bagger245 said:


> You are indeed, AlioTheFool.




I'll bet you feel all witty and original, right?

Rather than get into an argument with no substance, I'll present you 3 choices, feel free to act on any of them.

1) Take 5 minutes to respond to the post if you disagree with it.
2) Feel free to head over to the blog post I wrote regarding WotC broken promises and comment there (with a more complete education regarding my point) Waiting On…line – RPG Musings
3) Completely ignore me from the cover of that bridge.

Either way, please feel free to not waste anymore time with inane and childish potshots.


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## Rydac (Dec 29, 2010)

pedr said:


> It's in the WPN ordering system, so I'm not comfortable making it more widely available - it's not mine to share. There's not much of interest to people who aren't involved in Encounters, apart from the bits I've mentioned, so you're not missing anything!
> 
> Anyone who plays Encounters can probably ask their organiser for the details - once a session of Season 4 is scheduled, the organiser will be able to download the instructions.




No problem Pedr thanks for explaining. I run encounters at my local FLGS and they'll give me a look. I knew season 4 was available to ordrer but didn't know instructions were up. 

Another funny thing if class compendium is delayed is that the December 17th WPN newsletter with info for stores about season 4 specifically mentions the book and its involvement with the season


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## ristarr (Dec 29, 2010)

Nemesis Destiny said:


> A patch of rough seas slowed the freighter coming from China with the books. Maybe it even sank and they had to reprint the whole run. Who knows. I agree that it's hardly worth panicking over.




Is it possible the freighter got too close to R'yleh, awoke the Great Cthulhu and got eaten?  If this is what happened, then it is actually an event worth panicking over.


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## Mistwell (Dec 29, 2010)

AlioTheFool said:


> I'll bet you feel all witty and original, right?
> 
> Rather than get into an argument with no substance, I'll present you 3 choices, feel free to act on any of them.
> 
> ...




I enjoyed your blog post.  It's well written and thoughtful.  I disagree with a lot of your views, but that's secondary to my appreciation.  We just have different thresholds of patience


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## UngeheuerLich (Dec 29, 2010)

Actually we don´t need such a book. I would miss it if the contents of the book will go out of the window.

But lets think about those books. What is really in there?

- Rules for non essential classes. Check.
- Advanced backgrounds. Themes. Check.
- All those rules for non essential classes.

Why not merge those books into a single hardcover and by all means, give us a revised/advanced PHB 1.

They won´t go out and throw it all away... hopefully.


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## AlioTheFool (Dec 30, 2010)

Mistwell said:


> I enjoyed your blog post.  It's well written and thoughtful.  I disagree with a lot of your views, but that's secondary to my appreciation.  We just have different thresholds of patience




Disagreement is completely acceptable. I don't necessarily expect anyone to agree with me. I simply present my argument as clearly as I possibly can, and let the reader do with it what they will.

I just don't quietly suffer insults or straw man arguments. If someone disagrees with me, and chooses to present their side, we can debate. Otherwise, the best bet is to leave me be.

Thank you for your compliment. It is truly appreciated. As for your patience level, it's better to be like you. I spend far too much time being angry.


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## caudor (Dec 30, 2010)

Hum...I just saw Heroes of Sword & Spell on Amazon just a moment ago.  Release date of Feb 15, 2011.


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## Reaper Steve (Dec 30, 2010)

At first I was concerned when I noticed the Class Compendium gone. That increased when other products disappeared as well. But reading this thread and thinking more about it for the last few days has given me a new, more optimistic viewpoint:

With one exception*, the Essentials products have been very well executed. I can tell there was a guiding vision behind them all, making sure they each were super individual products that also had amazing synergy together.

_(*that exception being the Red Box Thief not matching the HotFL Thief)_

I've been excited about the announced followup products, but something's been nagging me about them, and this thread helped me figure it out. To some extent, the now-unlisted books (Class Compedium, Emporium, and Heroes of the Heroic Tier) looked to be cut from the same mold as pre-Essentials releases. If Essentials was an evolutionary step forward, those books were a half step back; back to a 'time to make the donuts' approach to splatbooks. Don't get me wrong, there appears to have been some gems of material in there, but the way the material was grouped and marketed struck me as going back to how it always was.

Maybe, just maybe, someone at WotC is continung to think outside the box. Maybe they have come up with a strategy and marketing plan that capitalizes on the innovations and successes of Essentials. maybe they have thought of a much better way to sell us the material that was going to be in those books.

Honestly, if I wasn't a completist, there'd be no reason to buy Class Compendium. Similarly, the material in Heroes of the Heroic Tier seems appealing, but it strikes me as a book that would have a little bit for everyone, but not enough to justify many purchases. A player that is only interested in being a Wood Elf may just get that info from CB rather than buy a book that only has a couple of pages he cares about. Maybe all that information can be broken up and repackaged with other stuff that goes together better.

Notice what survived the cut: Heroes of Shadow, a book with a very tight theme. Another post in this thread mentions a Monster Builder reference to Heroes of the Feywild, a parallel, tight theme (and a good place for Wood Elves.)

Also mentioned was the Advanced DMG. Maybe we will see the return of Advanced D&D, which will exist with Essentials. But unlike the old Basic D&D / AD&D incompatibility rift, they will be completely integrated. Start with Essentials, when ready for more, grab the Advanced Player's Handbook. I think the book originally solicited as the Class Compendium would be much better marketed as the APH.

So, maybe, just maybe... they have a plan, and maybe it's a damn good one. Maybe it will shake up the tired routine of splatbook of the month. Maybe it will further solidify Essentials as the entry point, with books aimed for advanced players clearly labeled and marketed, _while all books are all plug-and-play 4E._

Hopefully the January 'In the Works' article will shed some light, as will DDXP at the end of the month.

Fingers crossed,
RS


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## I'm A Banana (Dec 30, 2010)

AlioTheFool said:
			
		

> I spend far too much time being angry.




_"We cannot choose what we feel. We can, however, choose our actions. We can avoid that activity which brings us anger and sadness in outsize measure to the reward, and choose to indulge in that activity which brings us joy and pleasure with little risk. As long as we pursue the latter and flee the former, we can live our lives with hope, or at least benign optimism."_

tl;dr version: Life's too short to get angry about D&D.


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## Nikosandros (Dec 30, 2010)

caudor said:


> Hum...I just saw Heroes of Sword & Spell on Amazon just a moment ago.  Release date of Feb 15, 2011.



Yes, this is mentioned in the second post in the thread. However, the book has disappeared from WotC catalog and it isn't mentioned in the latest preview article. Another book, _Player's Option: Champions of the Heroic Tier_, has actually disappeared from Amazon's listings.


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## drothgery (Dec 30, 2010)

Nikosandros said:


> Yes, this is mentioned in the second post in the thread. However, the book has disappeared from WotC catalog and it isn't mentioned in the latest preview article.




Yes, but as mentioned up thread, unless there was some issue with the printer or a totally borked version actually got printed, a book with a February release date would have been far too far along to cancel by November.


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## ggroy (Dec 30, 2010)

Another possibility (though perhaps considerably less likely), would be if this "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book was never written in the first place.

The sudden appearance and quick subsequent disappearance of this title, could very well have been a marketing/PR scheme (with solicitations) to determine whether there was actually a future market for such books.


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## Nikosandros (Dec 30, 2010)

drothgery said:


> Yes, but as mentioned up thread, unless there was some issue with the printer or a totally borked version actually got printed, a book with a February release date would have been far too far along to cancel by November.



I don't disagree with this, I was merely stating the known facts...


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## AbdulAlhazred (Dec 30, 2010)

ggroy said:


> Another possibility (though perhaps considerably less likely), would be if this "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell" book was never written in the first place.
> 
> The sudden appearance and quick subsequent disappearance of this title, could very well have been a marketing/PR scheme (with solicitations) to determine whether there was actually a future market for such books.




LOL, I'd find it hard to believe that a company would create a bogus product. They aren't that stupid.


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## Korgoth (Dec 31, 2010)

One of the execs at coporate found out that a D&D product at a retailer had been shoplifted at one point, and so made the decision that they were not going to sell any more products. That'll fix those shoplifters!


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## TarionzCousin (Dec 31, 2010)

What everyone has failed to mention so far is the existence of D&D shoes. The shoes refudiate all anti-WotC arguments through their mere shoeliness.


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## Echohawk (Dec 31, 2010)

Shoes *and* soda!


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## Scribble (Dec 31, 2010)

My guess is they changed the date of release. New date just wasn't added into the list before someone went home for the holidays.


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## ShadesOfGrey (Jan 2, 2011)

Scribble said:


> My guess is they changed the date of release. New date just wasn't added into the list before someone went home for the holidays.




That would make sense, werent it that even (past) mentionings of those products are gone.

Either way, I dont dislike WotC or anythink, but boy do they lack adequate PR & communications. Wether they pulled product without explanation, or due to some oversight just give the (wrong) impression, it's not very conductive to, you know, gaining/keeping goodwill and trust in the company & it's product.

The cynical side of me says that some higher up decided to pull the plug on physical product to push DDI, but that's just wild guessing on my part.


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## OpsKT (Jan 3, 2011)

Well, all I have to say on this is that Essentials was the first D&D product I had purchased since DMG2 in November 2009. I got the RC, both 'Heroes of ...' books, and the MV and DMK. 

I was interested in this book and the Nentir Vale book. If they are not published, I will instead spend that money on more Savage Worlds stuff, but I am very picky about what I buy for D&D books.


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## Scribble (Jan 3, 2011)

ShadesOfGrey said:


> Either way, I dont dislike WotC or anythink, but boy do they lack adequate PR & communications. Wether they pulled product without explanation, or due to some oversight just give the (wrong) impression, it's not very conductive to, you know, gaining/keeping goodwill and trust in the company & it's product.




Eh... I think right now no matter what they do, someone will find a way to turn it negative- so I can kind of see why they say nothing.  

People harp on every word, and spend all day everyday looking for the most negative way to read it possible then broadcast that message far and wide everywhere they can find on the interwebs. There's just no way they have the manpower to keep up with that kind of insanity, so after a while truthiness takes over...

If they say nothing, there's nothing to spin, and everything people say is at least just conjecture.


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## Zaran (Jan 3, 2011)

Scribble said:


> Eh... I think right now no matter what they do, someone will find a way to turn it negative- so I can kind of see why they say nothing.
> 
> People harp on every word, and spend all day everyday looking for the most negative way to read it possible then broadcast that message far and wide everywhere they can find on the interwebs. There's just no way they have the manpower to keep up with that kind of insanity, so after a while truthiness takes over...
> 
> If they say nothing, there's nothing to spin, and everything people say is at least just conjecture.




I disagree.  They could easily come out and say "We have not ceased production of these products.  They are just being delayed."  I don't think people would have such a hard time accepting that over not hearing anything.

I think people have reason to complain.  They told us over and over that Essentials is not 4.5 and that they will continue to support the whole game and so far all we have gotten is Essentials based content.  Removing those products enforces the idea that Essentials is the only way they are supporting DnD.  Stepping forward and talking about this issue would make me at least feel better about WotC's future.


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## Scribble (Jan 3, 2011)

Zaran said:


> I disagree.  They could easily come out and say "We have not ceased production of these products.  They are just being delayed."  I don't think people would have such a hard time accepting that over not hearing anything.




Guess we'll just disagree on that... I mean.. see your own comments below...  They make a statement, and before they even have time to act on said statement you're already turning it into a false statement on their part. 




> I think people have reason to complain.  They told us over and over that Essentials is not 4.5 and that they will continue to support the whole game and so far all we have gotten is Essentials based content.  Removing those products enforces the idea that Essentials is the only way they are supporting DnD.  Stepping forward and talking about this issue would make me at least feel better about WotC's future.




It's not 4.5 so in effect they ARE supporting the game as a whole... (IE everything they release works with the game you already have.)  

Either way, what are you looking for as far as support?

Also if they do release the book people will complain despite the facts that it's 4.5... if they don't, they'll complain despite the facts that it's 4.5... 

So again... If they say nothing, at least the net crowd can't twist something they said into a "fact."


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## ShadesOfGrey (Jan 3, 2011)

Scribble said:


> Eh... I think right now no matter what they do, someone will find a way to turn it negative- so I can kind of see why they say nothing.
> 
> People harp on every word, and spend all day everyday looking for the most negative way to read it possible then broadcast that message far and wide everywhere they can find on the interwebs. There's just no way they have the manpower to keep up with that kind of insanity, so after a while truthiness takes over...
> 
> If they say nothing, there's nothing to spin, and everything people say is at least just conjecture.




Sure, you'll always have pessimists and complainars, just as much as that you have optimists and people who'll buy *anything* they'll publish. That's not even something specific to D&D or WotC.

Even so, wheter or not D&D is going strong or it's in good hands at WotC, it'll be an everlasting debate, it's been a bumpy ride and WotC, or indeed any company that survives on niche product and binding small but loyal amounts of customers needs to recognise that you cant thrive by just milling out product and expecting people to just pay for it.

That never works very well, and even moreso today, when neither the community is dependent on them, nor are they the only publisher on the tabletop market.

Keeping your market means you need to engage people, give people a reason to support you because you personalise the hobby, not just a reason to buy a couple of books because you are a no-face publisher who happends to sell something you want..for the time being.

To engage people, you need to have a dialoge, communicate *both* ways. Refusing to communicate in more than one direction or communicate at all is just a sign of a company culture that is increasingly focused inwards.

Ehh.. I dont think WotC is a bad company. But it just looks like a company run without focus.. like it's run by gamers with no bussiness sense, or bussiness men with no idea about gaming.
Or maybe both? With both groups / culture struggling to give direction? It would explain the see-saw kind of way WotC has been doing bussiness.


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## Ahrimon (Jan 4, 2011)

They are engaging their customers.  They've got free games going in any store that is willing to sign up.  They're major players at numerous gaming conventions around the US if not the world.  And I'm sure they're doing a whole lot more.

What it appears they may have decided is to no longer engage a small portion of their customer base through the official forums.  Time will tell if that's true or not.  Personally, it's hard to blame them at this point.  There are always people on both sides any issue, but it cirtainly feels like the "can do no right" crowd have invested in one heck of a PA system.  It's hard to hear anything else at times.


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## Dice4Hire (Jan 4, 2011)

Ahrimon said:


> What it appears they may have decided is to no longer engage a small portion of their customer base through the official forums.  Time will tell if that's true or not.  Personally, it's hard to blame them at this point.  There are always people on both sides any issue, but it cirtainly feels like the "can do no right" crowd have invested in one heck of a PA system.  It's hard to hear anything else at times.




It is not just on the forums, it is customers who do anything more than buy what they see on the shelves and go play it.


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## ArcaneSpringboard (Jan 5, 2011)

Assuming that these products are, in fact, 'cancelled' I'm speculating that 

a) These products are actually going to be part of an expansion of DDI.  

or 

b) These products are being converted to softcover instead of the hardcover format.


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## On Puget Sound (Jan 5, 2011)

I just want to be able to make a Mage using DDI and exchange some of his spells for spells published in non-Essentials sources.  This is allowed in the rules but not supported in DDI, and the Class Compendium was supposed to be where this interface got officially resolved.  So I'm annoyed, and I'm not normally one of the annoyed folks.


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## Ahrimon (Jan 5, 2011)

On Puget Sound said:


> I just want to be able to make a Mage using DDI and exchange some of his spells for spells published in non-Essentials sources.  This is allowed in the rules but not supported in DDI, and the Class Compendium was supposed to be where this interface got officially resolved.  So I'm annoyed, and I'm not normally one of the annoyed folks.




Make sure you made a custom-home character.  If you make a quick essentials character or a custom-encounters character you'll be restricted to the essentials only products and those spells won't be available.

It's a common mistake.


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## Atlemar (Jan 5, 2011)

I haven't bought HotF* because I hate them. But there are things in there that are cool. Integrating those classes into regular 4e would be great. I'm thinking especially of the wizard -- the ability to have all the spell choices of the PHB and AP, plus a school! In addition to an implement or instead of, I don't know, that's why I want the Class Compendium. The ability to have an animal-companion druid without being confined to the HotFK list! I want that. Choices! Balance! These are the things that make 4e great, and HotF* failed on the first, but Class Compendium would make it better.

So I hope Wizards puts it out.


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## SkidAce (Jan 5, 2011)

You can do this now.  There is a check box to show additional sources, works for at wills, encounters, and dailys.

Dont start your character as a quick essentials though, start as a homebrew and choose mage as your class.


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## Atlemar (Jan 5, 2011)

That is awesome! I can't use the CB at home (my computer is too old to run the right Silverlight) so just tried it at work. This pleases me! It means the real difference between a mage and a wizard is a choice between school and implement.

I still want Class Compendium, because I like things in book form (and still like to build characters on paper), but am glad I can do this. Thank you for pointing it out.


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## Scribble (Jan 5, 2011)

Atlemar said:


> That is awesome! I can't use the CB at home (my computer is too old to run the right Silverlight) so just tried it at work. This pleases me! It means the real difference between a mage and a wizard is a choice between school and implement.
> 
> I still want Class Compendium, because I like things in book form (and still like to build characters on paper), but am glad I can do this. Thank you for pointing it out.




Huh? You can still do this without the class compendium... Just mentally check the check mark in your head I guess.. then Mages can select powers from wizards and vice versa.


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## Atlemar (Jan 5, 2011)

My first thought was, but I want it for the knight and slayer and hunter and ...

But I guess I can just check those boxes in my head too.


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## Osgood (Jan 5, 2011)

I couldn't care less about the Class Compendium, or any Essentials product for that matter, but I am disappointed to see the  Emporium and Nentir Vale books are gone.  

2011 is looking mighty thin right now.  I see one of three possibilities... The don't-announce-a-product-until-it-is-ready-for-the-public policy has extended past DDI software and into physical books; or there is some major new direction that will announced soon (DDXP?); or WotC is turning into Palladium Books.


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## korjik (Jan 5, 2011)

There should not be less product put out for D&D than for Rogue Trader


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## Jools (Jan 6, 2011)

Osgood said:


> 2011 is looking mighty thin right now.  I see one of three possibilities... The don't-announce-a-product-until-it-is-ready-for-the-public policy has extended past DDI software and into physical books; or there is some major new direction that will announced soon.




Actually, the newly ascended to management Mike Mearls indicated a new direction for D&D in the year in review podcast. Perhaps the "cut" books didn't fit in with his vision for post 2010 D&D.


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## Dungeoneer (Jan 6, 2011)

While we're making predictions, I predict that a new line of releases in 2011 will put an emphasis on live action play and that 5e will be LARPG.


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## Korgoth (Jan 6, 2011)

There is a thread that EN World's (new?) forum software will not actually allow me to link to... it is located on the WOTC D&D forum, 4e General Discussion... it is called "Class Compendium cancelled?". According to post #204, an unsourced report by some forum member, the Class Compendium and the Mordenkainen's yadda-yadda have been delayed until Summer 2011. This information is said to come from a WOTC employee.

Sadly, as I said, EN World isn't allowing the link, apparently.

It may or may not be the case, obviously. But there's at least a possibility that we'll be seeing these books this summer.


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## Dice4Hire (Jan 6, 2011)

Dungeoneer said:


> While we're making predictions, I predict that a new line of releases in 2011 will put an emphasis on live action play and that 5e will be LARPG.




Farmers better get busy building roofs over their pigpens, then.


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## jelmore (Jan 6, 2011)

Let me try...

Whoops! Browser Settings Incompatible



			
				Kedrith said:
			
		

> I spoke to a WotC employee and when I asked him about the Class Comp he  stated "Its being delayed till probobly early summerish" he also  volunteered that the Morkakain's guide was being delayed too.
> Thats all I got.


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## Chainsaw Mage (Jan 6, 2011)

Cyronax said:


> Perhaps its just the effect of an over-saturated market.
> 
> WotC released more hardcover titles in the first 2 years of 4e than 1-3.5 editions. It seems like it might just be an oversaturated market. Did 4e really need to blow its wad so quickly?




4e to gamers everywhere: "Gee, sorry, baby.  I have no idea what happened."


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## AbdulAlhazred (Jan 6, 2011)

I find all the breast tearing and ullullations of fandom amusing actually. While WotC forges ahead and moves from strength to strength with perhaps a clumsy placement of a foot now and then people gnash their teeth and tear their hair out while wildly decrying the horror of it all. lol. 

Basically they've advanced D&D more in the last 2.5 years than it has advanced in the 20 years before that, created an online toolset, modernized their online community, created a mass market edition of the game that is actually rules compatible with what was in use already, put in place a whole DDE thing, and all the while churning out books at a rate almost unheard of except in a few brief periods of the heyday of the game, and quality books at that. 

Yeah, WotC are a whole ship of fools. Directionless, badly lead, unable to execute, hopeless really!


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## AlioTheFool (Jan 6, 2011)

jelmore said:


> Let me try...
> 
> Whoops! Browser Settings Incompatible




Thanks for posting that! That's good news to me. I don't mind a delay for the books as long as they _are_, in fact, coming. I wouldn't be happy if they were delayed for a year, but a quarter and a half isn't terrible. (Plus, it'll save me some money so soon after the holidays, so I really can't complain there!)


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## TarionzCousin (Jan 7, 2011)

jelmore said:


> Let me try...
> 
> Whoops! Browser Settings Incompatible






			
				Kedrith at the Link said:
			
		

> I spoke to a WotC employee and when I asked him about the Class Comp he stated "Its being delayed till probobly early summerish" he also volunteered that the *Morkakain*'s guide was being delayed too.
> Thats all I got.



I am skeptical as to how reliable the information is from someone who can't spell/doesn't know "Mordenkainen." 

--but hopeful nonetheless. Those two books are on my "Want" list.


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## Ourph (Jan 7, 2011)

ArcaneSpringboard said:


> b) These products are being converted to softcover instead of the hardcover format.




I really hope this is the case. I am loving the new digest-sized books and the lower price-tag. I hope they are taking time to convert the layout of some of their previously announced releases.


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## ggroy (Jan 10, 2011)

The amazon.com listings for

- "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell"
- "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium"

have just been recently removed.


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## Aegeri (Jan 10, 2011)

I so wish that Wizards had a website, where they could do _something_ where they could _somehow_ let people know what was going on with the release schedule at the moment. Honestly right now the release schedule for DnD post essentials is just amazingly barren. If the books have been canceled or delayed that is immeasurably disappointing to say the least - just means less stuff to buy once again (especially if you weren't a fan of Gamma World like I am). 

Really, what in the hell is going on at Wizards? More importantly why on earth have they started completely failing at basic communication ever since essentials was announced? I'm honestly starting to believe the conspiracy theorists by this point that essentials may have been the last nail in 4E bar the shouting.


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## M.L. Martin (Jan 10, 2011)

ggroy said:


> The amazon.com listings for
> 
> - "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell"
> - "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium"
> ...




   Also, _Heroes of Shadow_ has been delayed to April 19th and is now being listed as a hardcover on Amazon. Could be a mistake, could be an update.


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## jelmore (Jan 10, 2011)

Matthew L. Martin said:


> Also, _Heroes of Shadow_ has been delayed to April 19th and is now being listed as a hardcover on Amazon. Could be a mistake, could be an update.




What's weird about that is that the Preview article posted today has Heroes of Shadow under the February releases. No mention if it is a hardcover or softcover.

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (January and Beyond)


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## Dungeoneer (Jan 10, 2011)

WotC management's Christmas gift to their employees this year was apparently reshuffling the entire publishing schedule.  Fun!


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## jelmore (Jan 10, 2011)

Dungeoneer said:


> WotC management's Christmas gift to their employees this year was apparently reshuffling the entire publishing schedule.  Fun!




I was able to get someone affiliated with WotC to acknowledge the question about Class Compendium and MME on Twitter; hopefully someone will say something in an official capacity soon.


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## JoeGKushner (Jan 11, 2011)

I still think it's because they couldn't update the compendium with the info and decided to hold back on it until they could.


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## caudor (Jan 11, 2011)

ggroy said:


> The amazon.com listings for
> 
> - "Class Compendium:  Heroes of Sword and Spell"
> - "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium"
> ...




Yep, I've never had trouble finding these items before and now I can't find them.  There has obviously been some kind of shift in the release schedule, but they are not saying anything yet.

Of course we don't know the facts, but the evidence so far points to a pretty significant shift in the 2011 release schedule.

We can speculate:  what could have caused a delay of multiple products??  

Solid info has been shaky since Essentials was released.


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## Dice4Hire (Jan 11, 2011)

Matthew L. Martin said:


> Also, _Heroes of Shadow_ has been delayed to April 19th and is now being listed as a hardcover on Amazon. Could be a mistake, could be an update.




My head is starting to spin. 

One more change and it might just spin off.


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## Zaran (Jan 11, 2011)

It's really bad when you to their Products main page and the three items that are previewing are already out.


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## Oldtimer (Jan 12, 2011)

aurance said:


> So it appears as if the upcoming Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword & Spell has been pulled. No mention of it anymore in the product calendar, and previews have been removed. It's too bad, I was sort of looking forward to a consolidated update of the classes.



Yes, it's gone.
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Icy Winds of Fortune)


> Additionally, three D&D RPG products have been removed from the 2011 release schedule—_Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell_, _Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium_, and _Hero Builder’s Handbook_.


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## AegirDragonfire (Jan 15, 2011)

*Why Things Disappear from Amazon*

I have an answer for everyone about the disappearing products from Amazon. I experienced the same problem with my Wrath of Ashardalon pre-order and called them about it.

What they told me is that once Amazon's pre-order stock is sold out, they have two options: change the product listing to "not-released-yet" or "currently unavailable." They do the former if the manufacturer has guaranteed that Amazon can continue to carry the product after the release date. If the manufacturer hasn't given them the guarantee, it's switched to "currently unavailable," which pulls it from the website until they either get the guarantee or the manufacturer offers them a larger pre-order stock.

In other words, products on Amazon are doing a disappearing act because Wizards hasn't promised Amazon the product after the release date, but may be giving them more pre-order stock after they sell it all. 

Granted, this doesn't explain the Wizards website, but it's a start to explanations.


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