WOTC will focus on: Adventures, DM Tools, Player Aids, Miniatures, Accessories. "producst that enhance play"

Ok, that was the marketing guy. next up is Chris Perkins.

2007 RPG Lineup:

* Complete Scoundrel:
   * Ambush and Luck feats
   * An excuse to 'respec' your character

* Complete Champion
   * quests and crusades
   * divine causes, but not directed at a specific class.

* Magic Item Compendium
   * Same concept as Spell Compendium
   * "Magic item sets"
   * 1000 items.

* Dungeonscape
   * aimed at players and DMs
   * Written by Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick!)

* Drow of the Underdark
   * The definitive Drow sourcebook

* Eberron: The Forge of War
   * detailed look at the last war.
   * Run campaigns that have to do witht he last war.

* Exemplars of Evil
   * Cr 5 to CR 21 villians compensium with plots, lairs, and adventure hooks.
   * Includes a Villiany how-to guide.

* Monster Manual V
  * New monsters! (duh)
  * new variations of some classic D&D monsters in encounter format
  * Less maps than MM IV, but very detailed encounters
  * July 17th

* Dragons of Eberron
  * includes a look at Argonessen
 
* Rules Compendium
  * All the important rules.
  * Comprehensive easy to reference format
  * Sidebars on the rules from the designers
 
* Adventure Hardbacks (Like Expedition to Ravenloft)
   * Undermountain
   * The Demonweb Pits
   * Ruins of Castle Greyhawk

Forgottten Realms:
  * Anauroch, Shadowdale, Cormyr: 3 hardback volumes that can be put together to form a 1-20 campaign arc, or played individually. Adventure Path.

Some more Adventure Paths connected to Fortress of the Yuan Ti (but I missed it)

* Dungeon Tiles
   * Ruins of the Wild
   * Cavern Set
   * some very cool stuff

* Inn-Fighting
   * The D&D Tavern Brawl Dice Game (like 3 dragon ante)
   * It could be a drinking game! haha.

* Dungeon Survival Guide:
   * Aimed at NON-D&D players who enjoy the fantasy genre.
   * Explores the classic dunegons graphically.
   * A visual guide, gift item, cofee table book.    

* Grand History of the Realms
   * The complete timeline history of the Forgotten Realms
   * Appeals to fans of both the novels and useful reference to FR campaigners.
   * Essays from FR dudes like Greenwood and Salvatore.  

* Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress
   * aimed at introducing women to the hobby.
   * "A girls guide to the D&D game"

back to Drizzt
* I missed the name)
    * New RA Salvatore novel about Drizzt.

* A Practical Guide to Monsters
  * in the same vein as Practical Guide to Dragons
    (Practical Guide to Dragons spent 13 weeks on NYT Bestseller list- its a childrens book)

* Unhallowed
   * latest D&D miniatures set
   * several legendary characters featured. (Strahd mentioned)
   * Undead featured, but not all undead.

* Night Below
   * Return to the Underdark
   * features many iconic monsters

* Desert of Desolation
   * named after the classic D&D adventure
   * DDM Mount riders

Some art is shown from Expedition to the demonweb pits. It looks pretty good.

Lots of maps. Nearly every encounter seems to have it's own tactical map (the new format)

Some art is shown from MM5

(This is probably the best monster art I've seen yet. )

Chris Perkins unveils the gargantuan White Dragon model proof (painted) and brings it around. it looks great. Very delicate splayed wings-- almost translucent.

Ok, we're at Q&A.

Most of the questions are regarding miniatures.

The 4th Edition Question gets a lot of laughter.

"I'm surprised it took this long for someone to ask that"

"Its going to come at some point. It's a long ways away. You'll get an announcement when that happens, but it's a long ways away. We have a lot of good stuff coming out through 2008"

Great work, Maw. The '07 products sound like there's some gems in there...and I only wish that answer would shut up the "industry isniders for 3 seconds about 4e coming out "next week", "2006", or whatever their latest wildly incorrect "scoop" is.

Q&A Still:

E-Tools: Some kind of electronic tool is needed. The Code Monkey license expired. Theyre still looking for a next generation version.

He mentions a couple of 3rd party programs.

"If we could offer that kind of product, we'd love to." But they can't,..?

Lots of questions and suggestions for Dungeon Tiles.

...

Even more suggestions and questions about dungeon tiles and D&D maps. People want maps online in PDF format or other formats. They are lookign for a way to make it profitable.

"maps aren't cheap to print".

D&D R&D wonders if they should start including a Dungeon tiles "suggested" parts list with encounters. People around the room seem enthusiastic.

Web Enhancements aren't going away. Maybe a flash-based tile-mapper.

More Q&A coming up

"How will the Rules Compendium be used?"

Rules Compendium:

* Incorporates the most current and problematic rules and situations and breaks them out into easy to handle chunks. Encyclopedic format.
* "One rule per page"
* Also incorporates stuff from the FAQ and the Sage
* Sidebars from the designers on some of the rules.

Suggestions for miniatures again. Man. Miniatures fans are crazed.

"please re-release all of the old miniatures, because the old ones are sold out, and we need some of those figures for typical D&D adventures".

Ah, ok. He's actually a D&D fan who needs the D&D miniatures.

Q&A:

More miniatures:

"Are the miniatures for the adventures going to be available?"

They are consciously trying not to go back as far as the most recent D&D miniatures lines to populate the dungeon adventures they put out. All of the stuff is supposed to work together. They avoid encounters that would require minis from the Dragoneye and Harbinger set.

Q&A: "here's my crazy suggestion"

A: "we won't make anything that won't be profitable"

(fair enough!)

More Q&A: "My minis suffer when I travel. Is there any plan on doing counters?"

A: (paraphrased from a long explanation) Nope.

---

Some guy makes a criticism of Slaughtergarde: Ok, after thinking about it, it's a fair crit. The encounters aren't very cohernet since they were designed by using "what miniatures are available"

This guy was kinda annoying. He is also annoyed because there isn't enough Greyhawk. Gah.

A: "duly noted"

--

Ok, I hate to make a spectacle, but these guys will make themselves available to questions. Any Questions from theRPGsite users? I'll pass them on to whoever I think might be able to answer them if they don't seem too stupid to me.  

I'll be editing this together and making a blog entry later, but I'm going to be playing and judging throughout the con.

Hi there!

I have a few questions:

1. Are the titular Elder Evils from the book of the same name Epic?

2. Are there plans for a revised or new Epic book in 2008?

3. Can we have a Tarrasque (colossal) miniature...and a Hecatonchiere (Huge)

Yeah--if you don't mind, ask them about the state of the RPGA.  What are their most common complaints, do they have any big plans for the future of it, how do they feel it's working, what about the criticism that it's geared towards playing stat blocks and mechanics and not PCs (ok, maybe don't ask that last part)...

Almost forgot.

4. Fiendish Codex III: Daemons/Yugoloth for 2008?

5. Venger miniature, or how about miniatures of some of the old D&D Action figures like Strongheart, Ringlerun, Grimsword, Melf etc.

Some D&D Miniatures were "reprinted": But this is not common.

Q: What are thoughts about a fiend compendium:
A: "It's on the invisible table"

Q: Any chance of printing the little trade paperback PHB?
A: It's in a product call the Players Kit. They won't otherwise do that, because once a trade paperback version of a book comes out, the hardbacks are returned to the manufacturer by the bookstores.

Q: repeat of previous gripe aout lack of an electronic tool.
A: Exploratory stage of the Digital Gaming Initiative.

Q:  From an HR and marketing stance: is there going to be a continuing education and training program for GMs to deliver continuity of the D&D experience?

A: (I like this guy, by the way- he makes sense)
"That may be the future of D&D- training and maintaining our DMs. We have 5 customer profiles. DMS are the most important- theyre the glue that holds the game together. Wizards will be working with meetup.com...."

(I lost track here from typing)

"Right now our data shows that there are 70,000 people on Meetup.com looking for D&D games."

(whoa)

"Barnes and Noble has an online learning program called "Barnes and Noble University" and James Wyatt ran a "D&D how-to" that got 1600 users. "

If it's not too much to ask(and assuming nobody else has asked it), could you ask about the status of a Huge Aboleth miniature (it's considered one of the top 3 huge miniature wants)?

I'm serious about the tea-towels

Commemorative mugs as well

Edit: this is probably a UK thing that you colonials won't get, but significant anniversaries involving the Royal Family are marked with commemorative mugs and tea towels (among other tat - I have a Royal Wedding box of boiled sweets in a safe place waiting for the price to rise on ebay)