So, we've had dragons, we've had elemental evil, and now we've got the double whammy of drow and demons.
What's next?
I think we're in for some giant action.
A maritime-themed campaign. Exploring archipelagos. Ship battles. Underwater kingdoms. Pirates, privateers and gnomish submarines. Epic-sized sea-monsters.
Nah who am I kidding it's gonna be about dwarves and orcs.
Time travel! :p
Make it time travel in Dragonlance. That setting had some time travel plots, right? If I recall correctly that was one of its saving graces.
Then again, something Eberron is probably next given the Unearthed Arcana material we've seen to date.
Whatever it is, I'm hoping that GR gets to write it again, this one is probably the most solid adventure I've seen so far for 5e.
Although, I wouldn't be averse to a Keep on The Borderlands ripoff or an Against The Giants retread...
Pretty sure 'Shakespearean Giants' was next on the list.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;858348an Against The Giants retread...
If I was a betting man? This.
Dare I hope some Kara-Tur or Al-Qadim-flavoured action, considering the "regional sourcebook" model they've been running with for detailing the 5E Forgotten Realms?
I think that Warthur has a good point with growing the FR through adventures. On the other hand, if they were going to retread something, why not The Isle of Dread?
Quote from: jadrax;858352Pretty sure 'Shakespearean Giants' was next on the list.
That or the Wonderland one that that apparently got dropped.
Quote from: Omega;858448That or the Wonderland one that that apparently got dropped.
The current one IS the Wonderland one.
Out of the Abyss is the Wonderland themed one. I've been running it at my FLGS for three weeks now.
There's quite a few references to the story and lore. A Derro whose terrified of being late, mushrooms that make you grow and shrink, madness being one of the biggest themes, twins named "Topys and Turvey", a Quagoth who swears he's actually a polymorphed high elven Prince. Dancing Mushroom men..
It's good stuff, my players are having a blast.
Quote from: jadrax;858352Pretty sure 'Shakespearean Giants' was next on the list.
yes. it will probably be macbeth/against the giants mash-up. i would love to know who will be tapped to do that one. we had kobolds, sasquatch and ronins. who's left of wizards ex-stuff? monte? i hope not.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;858450The current one IS the Wonderland one.
Not even remotely.
Quote from: Orphan81;858451Out of the Abyss is the Wonderland themed one. I've been running it at my FLGS for three weeks now.
There's quite a few references to the story and lore. A Derro whose terrified of being late, mushrooms that make you grow and shrink, madness being one of the biggest themes, twins named "Topys and Turvey", a Quagoth who swears he's actually a polymorphed high elven Prince. Dancing Mushroom men..
It's good stuff, my players are having a blast.
That is Wonderland refferences. Not a Wonderland theme.
Quote from: Omega;858479Not even remotely.
Um, it really is, they've said as much in interviews and everything.
Quote from: Omega;858480That is Wonderland refferences. Not a Wonderland theme.
Characters enter a world that is completely different from their own, and operates on it's own rules...Madness permeates everywhere, and to return home they'll have to engage in several bizarre activities and meet several very strange characters..
I dunno what else you want from an Alice in Wonderland theme man.
Edit: I mean this isn't Zak's "A red and pleasant land" which is Alice in Wonderland through the twisted lens of LTOFP..
It's still Dungeons and Dragons Faerun in the Underdark, but the Wonderland theme is very strong.
Quote from: Omega;858480That is Wonderland refferences. Not a Wonderland theme.
Wait what? Since when are references not part of a theme?
Man, what are you looking for???
Quote from: ostap bender;858456yes. it will probably be macbeth/against the giants mash-up. i would love to know who will be tapped to do that one. we had kobolds, sasquatch and ronins. who's left of wizards ex-stuff? monte? i hope not.
Good guesses as to the theme and I also hope it isn't Monte. More likely, they'll cycle back to Kobolds.
When's D&D in space.
Use spells to create spaceships.
Quote from: Saplatt;858626Good guesses as to the theme and I also hope it isn't Monte. More likely, they'll cycle back to Kobolds.
well, there are other 3pp out there. maybe goodman (they have a pretty strong 5e line).
although i think that insider knowledge of the wotc working is almost a must for handling d&d brand property out of the house. so you might be right.
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;858641When's D&D in space.
Use spells to create spaceships.
Not to be flippant (and really I'm not) but if you have access to the Spelljammer stuff, I don't think it would be too hard to do that at your home games... 5e is pretty backwards compatible friendly, I've seen.
I'm not really familiar with any of the old settings since I started with 5E. So pointing it out was good.
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;858676I'm not really familiar with any of the old settings since I started with 5E. So pointing it out was good.
Glad I could help. :)
On topic: The MacBeth/Against The Giants idea sounds awesome. Who do we talk to pitch that?
I am hoping for a Castle Ravenloft remake myself.
Quote from: Starglyte;858705I am hoping for a Castle Ravenloft remake myself.
Does WoTC have the rights to it back? I don't recall if they got the license back or not. I like to think I've heard 'yes', but given how my memory doesn't work...
Quote from: Christopher Brady;858707Does WoTC have the rights to it back? I don't recall if they got the license back or not. I like to think I've heard 'yes', but given how my memory doesn't work...
Yeah, they do. At the tail end of 3.5 they even released an updated version of it.
Personally, Ravenloft is my favorite D&D setting, but it's badly in need of a hard reboot. There's some really great ideas in there, and then some that have been added over time that just don't work, or made things confusing here and there.
I would love to see the Domains of Dread given a new life, without the whole "Grand Conjunction" and what ever the other earth shattering mega event was.
Whitewolf's take on Ravenloft was interesting....but since it was separated from the rest of D&D canon it really lost something. Part of Ravenloft's charm was seeing Dungeons and Dragons villains from other settings within it... Whitewolf couldn't use those, so many of the distinctive domains lost there flavor.
I expect another try at Gamma World at some point. Probably as much failures at being GW as the last two.
Spelljammer would be nice. But seems like its been forgotten for now. Who knows though. Maybe a Unearthed Arcanna article.
As was noted above though. Adapting Spelljammer to 5e would not be all that hard.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;858348Whatever it is, I'm hoping that GR gets to write it again, this one is probably the most solid adventure I've seen so far for 5e.
Although, I wouldn't be averse to a Keep on The Borderlands ripoff or an Against The Giants retread...
Quote from: The Butcher;858371If I was a betting man? This.
I don't want be all Negative Natty, but the only thing worse than a retread, for me, would be a retread with the new "organization." Let's move forward on both fronts.
Quote from: Natty Bodak;858811I don't want be all Negative Natty, but the only thing worse than a retread, for me, would be a retread with the new "organization." Let's move forward on both fronts.
I wish, but I suspect the leading brand of the hobby, like most of Hollywood, is under relatively risk-averse management. It woukd be terrific to see the, recruiting OSR talent and putting out oddball stuff, but apparently remaking old Greyhawk modules as new Forgotten Realms adventure paths pays the bills.
The way I see it, they gave us 5e and I'm glad to be back in the WotC fold. But like the saintly days of yore (1990s for me), I ain't buying their modules.
Quote from: The Butcher;858877I wish, but I suspect the leading brand of the hobby, like most of Hollywood, is under relatively risk-averse management. It woukd be terrific to see the, recruiting OSR talent and putting out oddball stuff, but apparently remaking old Greyhawk modules as new Forgotten Realms adventure paths pays the bills.
The way I see it, they gave us 5e and I'm glad to be back in the WotC fold. But like the saintly days of yore (1990s for me), I ain't buying their modules.
They're risk averse because the evidence has proven that people DO NOT WANT ANYTHING NEW. And will violently resist it, to the point of boycotts, or worse, just not even bothering to spend their money on it.
So personally, I've given up expecting anything new from anything, because no one really wants that. No matter what they may say.
There's a difference between not wanting them to recycle adventure content, and not wanting them to throw away the basic precepts of the entire system as it had existed for three decades. Wait... what's that knocking? Did someone lock the Middle outside again, damnit?!
Quote from: Bobloblah;858921There's a difference between not wanting them to recycle adventure content, and not wanting them to throw away the basic precepts of the entire system as it had existed for three decades. Wait... what's that knocking? Did someone lock the Middle outside again, damnit?!
Welcome to the Internet. You new?
I like the middle road, but it's often very, very, very lonely to be here by myself.
In the end, though, I'll take whatever content I can get for D&D as long as it's as well written as Out of the Abyss is turning out to be.
The bigger problem is that it seems invariably the new version of the whatever ends up being in name only and it fails. Again as example. The last two editions of Gamma World.
And players have been asking for new stuff along with the old. Wether or not WOTC will is anyones guess. Tyranny of Dragons was fairly new for a module. Elemental Evil was a sort of continuation from the old it sounds. Like Return to Keep on the Borderlands was. Abyss sounds pretty new too.
Out of the Abyss is new.
I'm guessing by "new" you mean fully fledged, brand new campaign settings...and yeah, those are always risky because you have to get buy in from your obedience.
Why are there so many re-treads and reboots? It's not because people suck and always want the same...It's because genuinely coming up with a brand new idea that people are actually going to like is fucking hard.
There are lots of "new" ideas being peddled in the RPG industry, particularly among the indie crowd. The problem is, most of them appeal to a niche, of a niche market. Most of the big obvious holes in RPG settings and ideas have already been filled..
Forgotten Realms is the distinctly D&D meta setting,...Dark Sun is Conan and Dying Earth through D&D, Dragonlance is Middle Earth through D&D
Going further than that...there's a million different Superhero systems... Whitewolf has the "Play the Monster" market cornered, and Sci-Fi is covered depending on whether you want Hard, Soft, Humanism or Transhumanism from multiple angles...
Indie things like "Dogs in the vineyard" have a very limited appeal because playing Mormon Witch-Hunters in the 1800's is kind of a very very specific idea that doesn't lend itself to much variety.
Coming up with good brand new ideas is difficult....Hence it's safer to put a new spin on what's already known and trusted.
I would like something new myself, but I would rather it be something genuinely awesome rather than incomprehensible or just flat out lame...
New as in not a re-hash or "return to" of any older modules.
One reason to do retreads is that people want a version that is compatible with the latest edition since said edition tends to be different if not downright incompatible with older. They either dont know how, or dont want to do all the messy conversion work.
Or as one DM put it. "They went to all the trouble of making sure this edition was different. So they should have to also do the dirty work of converting modules. Not me."
Don't use modules? Then its a non-point.
Yeah, I've got no problem with conversions of classics, as, if you want to run them, it could save time (though based on peoples' actual reports of 5e, this amount of time saved is fairly trivial). But I certainly don't think that's what the majority of the player base is clamoring for. The notion that there's some mountain of proof that D&D players do not want anything new, on the other hand? That's just idiocy that presumably involves redefining the term "new" to the point of being useless. Forgive my presumption, but every other time I've seen that suggested online, it was based on 4e ending up as the red-headed step-child of the D&D family, as in, "See? See?! D&D players are hopeless nostalgics who want nothing new!" It's a garbage argument.
Quote from: Bobloblah;858957Forgive my presumption, but every other time I've seen that suggested online, it was based on 4e ending up as the red-headed step-child of the D&D family, as in, "See? See?! D&D players are hopeless nostalgics who want nothing new!" It's a garbage argument.
Verily.
The failure of 4e was it changed too much and in in the wrong ways. Not that players resisted new. They resisted the severity of the change. And yet many players still embraced 4e.
Quote from: Omega;858959Verily.
The failure of 4e was it changed too much and in in the wrong ways. Not that players resisted new. They resisted the severity of the change. And yet many players still embraced 4e.
And yet, 5e, which uses elements from the older versions of D&D are the hottest selling version for WoTC. That tells you nothing?
And there you go again, excluding the poor, neglected middle. The options aren't limited to EITHER redoing what came thirty years before OR abandoning everything for a completely different game. Moreover, people can want entirely novel adventure and setting material without wanting to replace their core books every few years. Is this really that hard to understand?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;858969And yet, 5e, which uses elements from the older versions of D&D are the hottest selling version for WoTC. That tells you nothing?
5e caught on because it harkens back to the ease of play of O/A/2e/BX/BECMI. While doing some new things that for once were overall not intrusive to play.
5e is about as close to the happy median you can get between change and not change for the general player public.
Exactly. As I said ages ago on this site while 5e was still a gleam in Mike Mearls' eye: D&D5e doesn't need to be everybody's favorite system to be a raging success, just everyone's second favorite. It's not for me, but it's already well on its way to becoming the lingua franca of the world's most popular RPG flavour.
I would like an adventure in the Shining South or Vilhon Reach personally. Or around the Old Empires, but those have been nuked already...
Quote from: Bobloblah;859020Exactly. As I said ages ago on this site while 5e was still a gleam in Mike Mearls' eye: D&D5e doesn't need to be everybody's favorite system to be a raging success, just everyone's second favorite. It's not for me, but it's already well on its way to becoming the lingua franca of the world's most popular RPG flavour.
It's turning out to be 'everyone's' favourite though. As in there's a lot of people who never played the more recent editions, but played in the past, are coming back to it. People who started with 3 or 4e are enjoying it, for the 'old school' feel (whatever that crap means.)
It's a smash hit, there's no high, middle or low road about it. It's a success, a bigger success that WoTC had expected. It may not be for everyone, but it is for more than enough people.
Ease of play is a huge factor. I have had pre-3-4e players totally baulk at the respective systems which they found way too clunky or overwrought. Whereas they eased into 5e without much hassle.
Aside from one player bitching about how "broken" Hoard of the Dragon Queen was (and lets be honest. It does have some issues,) my players have been enjoying it. No one is too keen on the Abyss module though as they are about drowed-out. But there is some interest in trying the Elemental Evil themed one. I think with a little re-theme even Abyss might get a pass.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;859053It's turning out to be 'everyone's' favourite though.
Meh. All I can say is that that isn't my impression thus far. It's certainly well received, and I don't mean to imply otherwise, but many, if not most, of the people I currently know are playing it would rate some other edition or version above 5e. Yet they can still agree on playing 5e. Kudos to Mearls for managing such a design feat.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;859053It's a smash hit, there's no high, middle or low road about it. It's a success, a bigger success that WoTC had expected. It may not be for everyone, but it is for more than enough people.
Sure, it has worked out well. But the point I was making was that it doesn't need to be everyone's favorite for anything in your above quote to be true. Everyone's second favorite system accomplishes these things nicely, and I haven't seen enough of a drop off in other games to make me think it's anything but.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;859053As in there's a lot of people who never played the more recent editions, but played in the past, are coming back to it. People who started with 3 or 4e are enjoying it, for the 'old school' feel (whatever that crap means.)
I think Omega's response pretty much nails the answer to this.
I'm not denying what Omega claims, I'm just saying, that so far, reports indicate that 5e is doing better than expected.
Back on topic: Personally, I've realized I don't care what we get for the next series of adventures, as long as they're well written and realized as Out of the Abyss.
Although something based on Jack and The Bean Stalk sounds kinda cool, now that I think about it... Just to D&D-ize it...
Y'know, I'd dig it if they did something in FR Ama Basin, where all the humanoids (orcs, goblins, ogres, etc.) meet as a bunch of tribal lands with pseudo-Siberia and pseudo-Korea undertones. Gotta throw in something East Asian to flip the bird to Exalted and L5R. (With love, of course, flip the bird with love.)
Better way to do that would be to do a Kara-Tur Adventurer's Guide to give OA the 5E treatment, though if they do that they probably would have a big storyline leading into it to whet people's appetites and drive sales.