Birthright would be a nice option, if wizards are looking to expand the rule set in new directions.
If they are looking or more traditional fantasy.. well we could role a dice to choose between Greyhawk, Mystara or Dargonlance.. personally i would prefer Dragonlance, as it could have some slightly different systems to the ones presented already without wandering too far form the traditional fantasy route. I can;t really think of anything in Greyhawk or Mystara that would require their own Players Guide and Campaign Guide.
I'd like to see something new. I'm willing to accept that Dark Sun fits 4e pretty well, but I'd hate to see a 4e Greyhawk or Birthright or Maztica. It just wouldn't fit the 'flair' of 4e that well (imo)
I am pretty sure Maztica will not happen any time soon, Returned Abeir just lands right on top of its old real estate..
Further my earlier post - Kara-Tur and Zakhara (or both together?) could be an interesting option to expand the rule set as well.. although they would just be an extension to FR.
For a 4E UA player's guide, it can cover rules for things like firearms, explosives, vehicles, modern equipment, etc ... that is not covered in the 4E D&D PHBs and DMGs. The 4E UA campaign setting guide can cover the various worlds from d20 Modern.
Three is the magic number-we've got something traditional, something pulp, and something gritty. Now it's time for the designers to show us what they can do when they BUILD a world around 4th edition, not convert something from the past.
Something that sits down and thinks about rituals and reagents, paragons and power sources, the little nuances of this edition that make things all the more interesting. What is a world like where most magic is performed in ritual form, where Aid Another allows a group to participate in a casting, where residuum is a currency on par with gold itself? How do the great sources of power impact a world in ways we have never previously seen? And what sort of tone is evocative of the new era, something to translate into a world never before seen?
The old worlds have had a turn. Now let us get something new.
Erin Evans, who’s primary responsibility now is Eberron, but who also works on some Forgotten Realms titles, and will be working on some new stuff we’re cooking up for 2011.
How about, "life of a monster" where you have a bunch of monster races as pcs and your objective is to take down the various townsfolk, and adventurers etc.
Inspired somewhat by the current plotline of YAFGC, I'd like to see a 'Dungeon Keeper'/'Overlord'-themed campaign setting, where the PCs get to try and defend their labyrinth full of perfectly innocent (if smelly) goblins from the DM's ravening hordes of blood-and-gold-thirsty 'heroes' intent on slaughtering them for no very good reason. I think that'd be fun.
One can dream, eh?
New Setting.
Three is the magic number-we've got something traditional, something pulp, and something gritty. Now it's time for the designers to show us what they can do when they BUILD a world around 4th edition, not convert something from the past.
Something that sits down and thinks about rituals and reagents, paragons and power sources, the little nuances of this edition that make things all the more interesting. What is a world like where most magic is performed in ritual form, where Aid Another allows a group to participate in a casting, where residuum is a currency on par with gold itself? How do the great sources of power impact a world in ways we have never previously seen? And what sort of tone is evocative of the new era, something to translate into a world never before seen?
The old worlds have had a turn. Now let us get something new.
Awesome idea. Throw in an 'Age of Discovery' feel where the powerful kingdoms and empires go to new places (and even planes!) to steel Residuum from the more primitive peoples (like Gnolls, Orcs, Kobold, Shifters and Goliath etc) and you have an awesome setting. Stealling ancient tribal relics to turn them into residuum and use it to give the king back home a few more years of life or bolster the kingdom's magical defenses!
Planescape: Very Unlikely. Being mined for ideas for the Core setting. Look for related concepts and ideas in DMG2, Plane Below, Plane Above, Dragon, etc.
Greyhawk: Fairly Unlikely. Greyhawk embodies several of the things 4e tried to get away from: a human dominated world with nations that are analogues for real world nations.
And while there's enough material to make a sizable DM Guide the Player's Guide would be a little light, especially in the rules. No new classes or races unless you start dividing humans into sub-races.
There's the additional problem of Living Greyhawk, and whether it's content and changes should be kept or ignored.
Ravenloft: Very Unlikely. Being mined for ideas for the Core setting. Look for many more new domains (each inferior to the classic ones) in Dragon. And it is also a world made of real world analogues.
They might be avoiding publishing classic domains for a Ravenloft book, and given the lack of a Shadowfell book in the 2010 schedule it might be in 2011 and work well with this. However, there's precious little content for players for a Ravenloft game, as you have to stretch to find new classes.
Birthright: Unlikely. The divine bloodlines mechanic would lend itself well to a new mechanic and if a future book (say PHB4) dealt with mass combat the rulership angle would be a nice synergy.
However, the setting breaks away from the standard 4e game a little much, and aside from the bloodline rules and orogs, there are no other races/classes that can be added to pad a player's guide.
Mystara: Possible. It has many of the same problems as Greyhawk (real world copies) but has the added benefit of the Red Curse/Red Steel, Hollow World, and Blackmoor sub-campaigns within the campaign.
The Red Curse would offer some interesting player material and the many new races of the Hollow World would likewise offer content.
Dragonlance: Quite Possible. Aside from the Forgotten Realms this is the most well-known setting (being known by gamers and non-gamers alike). It's a traditional fantasy but fits the 4e mold nicely (few real-world mirrors, points-of-light). And it offers much content for a players guide (kender, gully dwarves, draconians, knights, tinkerer gnomes, dragon mounts, etc).
Like Dark Sun is backing up to the first boxed set, I imagine they'd set this book in the well-worn territory of the War of the Lance.
Oriental Adventurers: Aka Kara-Tur. Unlikely. It's very much a real-world copy and would have fit better if they kept the Ki power source instead of changing the ninja into the shadow-powered assassin and the monk into a ki striker. And it might be viewed as a FR expansion.
Al-Qadim: aka Zakhara. Unlikely. Like the above, it's a real world cypher and might be viewed as a FR expansion. There'd also be the possible negative publicity if Wizbro was seen to be producing a book of Arabian stereotypes. However, it might tie-in nicely with the Elemental power source, likely a big part of PHB4.
Points of Light: Unlikely. They seem to want to leave it open for new DMs and players to develop how they want. If they are planning this, it would be the final world of 4e just prior 5e when they could amalgamate all the names and references from all the 4e books.
Something New: Fairly Unlikely. I imagine every member of the 4e team has their own world brewing that they'd like to publish, as does every fan. Another contest might be in order, in which case we'd know farther in advance. But with so many other viable settings, this doesn't seem as likely.
Spelljammer: Very Unlikely. Like Planescape and Ravenloft it's been folded into the Core. Expect more in Plane Above and related Dragon articles
Something New: Fairly Unlikely. I imagine every member of the 4e team has their own world brewing that they'd like to publish, as does every fan. Another contest might be in order, in which case we'd know farther in advance. But with so many other viable settings, this doesn't seem as likely.
I agree with all your assessments except that one; I think it's more likely than that. I'd perhaps rate DL and "some new setting" on equal likelihood.
I'm not up on 3.5 history, how much time elapsed between the previous contest's announcement and the release of Eberron?
Something New: Fairly Unlikely. I imagine every member of the 4e team has their own world brewing that they'd like to publish, as does every fan. Another contest might be in order, in which case we'd know farther in advance. But with so many other viable settings, this doesn't seem as likely.
They still own two unreleased settings from the last one. I don't think they'll be starting a new contest until they have at least gone through those two(incidently I'm expecting one of those worlds to be the 2011 setting).
Urban Arcana.
For a 4E UA player's guide, it can cover rules for things like firearms, explosives, vehicles, modern equipment, etc ... that is not covered in the 4E D&D PHBs and DMGs. The 4E UA campaign setting guide can cover the various worlds from d20 Modern.
+1 Vote
they also said that 2011 would be new.
I can't remember where exactly that was said, I remember that it was said.
Okay I don't believe it either, but i'm just saying.....
Awesome idea. Throw in an 'Age of Discovery' feel where the powerful kingdoms and empires go to new places (and even planes!) to steel Residuum from the more primitive peoples (like Gnolls, Orcs, Kobold, Shifters and Goliath etc) and you have an awesome setting. Stealling ancient tribal relics to turn them into residuum and use it to give the king back home a few more years of life or bolster the kingdom's magical defenses!
Aye, high seas adventure, rival trade guilds burning down the old world's magical items into dust to fuel their ritual warfare, old empires decaying under the weight of an old war, fleets of vessels armed with spell and steel exploring, seeking, trading, pillaging, plundering across the waves.
Imagine a world where you can literally find the Sacred Passage that leads you to the Astral Sea, where you will sail on forever. Where thundering hurricanes are not merely weather, they are literally tears in reality that pull you down into the swirling maelstrom to the Elemental Chaos. Where mist and fog may misdirect you, luring into the wyrd waters of the Feywild, where sinister and eldritch beings lurk. And imagine a world where lies at the very bottom of the ocean a terrible darkness, and those who drown in the Darkwater rise from the depths again in the throes of undeath.
A setting where sometimes the only light in the world is the single fog lamp of your ship, where ports are few and far between, and more often than not, the only marking on your map is Here There Be Dragons.
A land where the Old World is fighting back against the New Age, where the savage reaches hold unfathomable riches guarded by unknown forces, where skill and luck can yield a fortune for you and your patron, but should the winds change, horrors unmentionable await yea.
For king and country, for coin and company, for pillage and plunder, for daring and discovery, swash your decks and buckle your straps, for adventure awaits!
Oh, but mechanics?
-Vehicle combat. Ways to run more than one vehicle moving in a better, more elegant fashion.
-Cohorts. Can't sail a ship without a crew, now can yea? Ways to involve NPCs in combat and skill challenges, ranging from a squad of grunts to apprentices and full fledged sidekicks.
-Variable magic, maybe? They've talked about the boons in the DMG2 and the lair items, what if the world itself had very little in the way of magical equipment, where most loot took the form of plunder, and where training, skill, and special knowledge replaced gear?
-Small scale warfare, how to lead skirmishes, battles, and all manner of scenarios involving the PCs in the middle of a bigger conflict.
-Ritual warfare. Otherwise known as the clashing of two armies, what happens when two ritualists on either side of a field go up against each other?
-The Land Aquatic. A lot more detail into water, both on the monstrous angle, the environmental hazards, the navigation, the gear, the supernatural elements.
......Can you tell I like pirates? :D
Dragoncat, your idea has my vote, though I would still like a campaign where you play the monsters >.>.
...............................
...........Kobold Pirates?
Spelljammer is another nice idea. All the planes to visit, but also the idea of bringing dungeons and dragons into space is appealing. An asteroid shaped like a skull floats among an asteroid belt which could have a lich or beholder sleeping inside.
I agree with all your assessments except that one; I think it's more likely than that. I'd perhaps rate DL and "some new setting" on equal likelihood.
I'm not up on 3.5 history, how much time elapsed between the previous contest's announcement and the release of Eberron?
The contest started in June 2002 and Eberron was published in June 2004. With the Internet being more prevalent and e-submissions being the norm, this could probably be cut down to 18 months. It couldn't be any less with the 3-months needed to pre-print books and at least six months to write the books leaving 3-months for the initial submissions and 3 for the finals.
They still own two unreleased settings from the last one. I don't think they'll be starting a new contest until they have at least gone through those two(incidently I'm expecting one of those worlds to be the 2011 setting).
Two settings that were initially proposed and submitted for 3.0; I think any new 4e setting would have to be designed from the ground-up to accommodate all the key 4e races and encourage the use of power sources.
Given Dark Sun's ties to Psionics it's no surprise that it's preceded by the PHB3, so a 2011 setting should play off the PHB4 (elemental and/or shadow most likely).
Dragonlance's Age of Mortals has primal sorcerers that tie in nicely with elemental powers making that a nice synergy. So that'd be my bet if they don't Year One DL.
I just think it's too early to do something new. Anything new is a harder sell. People like the old and comfortable. As long as there's still the big nostalgia settings left it's unlikely we'll see something new; Dragonlance is guaranteed money while a new world is an expensive gamble.
If the release the world of Richbakerania before Greyhawk and Dragonlance the fans of the latter two will be upset. And the new setting will just pull people from Eberron, the current baby setting. Die hard 'lance and 'hawk fans aren't supporting Eberron products much anyway.
Given PHB4 will likely have the last of the power sources and 2011-12 will see books on all the planes, tiers, types of dragon, etc it seems likely that 2012 or 2013 will be when they bring in a Core reprint, jump to 4.5, or start the test books of 5e. That'd be the time for the "new" setting and/or a PoL setting.
The contest started in June 2002 and Eberron was published in June 2004. With the Internet being more prevalent and e-submissions being the norm, this could probably be cut down to 18 months. It couldn't be any less with the 3-months needed to pre-print books and at least six months to write the books leaving 3-months for the initial submissions and 3 for the finals.
Two settings that were initially proposed and submitted for 3.0; I think any new 4e setting would have to be designed from the ground-up to accommodate all the key 4e races and encourage the use of power sources.
Given Dark Sun's ties to Psionics it's no surprise that it's preceded by the PHB3, so a 2011 setting should play off the PHB4 (elemental and/or shadow most likely).
Dragonlance's Age of Mortals has primal sorcerers that tie in nicely with elemental powers making that a nice synergy. So that'd be my bet if they don't Year One DL.
I just think it's too early to do something new. Anything new is a harder sell. People like the old and comfortable. As long as there's still the big nostalgia settings left it's unlikely we'll see something new; Dragonlance is guaranteed money while a new world is an expensive gamble.
If the release the world of Richbakerania before Greyhawk and Dragonlance the fans of the latter two will be upset. And the new setting will just pull people from Eberron, the current baby setting. Die hard 'lance and 'hawk fans aren't supporting Eberron products much anyway.
Given PHB4 will likely have the last of the power sources and 2011-12 will see books on all the planes, tiers, types of dragon, etc it seems likely that 2012 or 2013 will be when they bring in a Core reprint, jump to 4.5, or start the test books of 5e. That'd be the time for the "new" setting and/or a PoL setting.
I disagree I think there are enough people who want something new and unique that it would be profitable the earlier the better in my opinion. Why? Because most of the old ideas are used up. There is almost nothing new DL or Grey Hawk could truly offer, especially if they go back to the war of the lance and the basic box for greyhawk. 2011 will be something new 2012 dragonlance 2013 something new 2014 probably greyhawk.
Going onto Elemental. I could see a water based world here, though earth & fire would be somewhat lacking. I'm thinking of a world similar to the world of One Piece. Another world could be a "creation" world where the world is newly formed, ~1,000-5,000 years old. The war between the deities and primordials is still going on with the races in the middle. The war could change the landscape at any time, islands raise from the sea, landmasses being sunk. Think of it this way with Earth: take Pangea at Earth's creation and in 5,000 years it is presend day Earth (I'm talking geology-wise, not tech-wise).
If anybody else has ideas to the above two, please speculate.
I disagree I think there are enough people who want something new and unique that it would be profitable the earlier the better in my opinion. Why? Because most of the old ideas are used up. There is almost nothing new DL or Grey Hawk could truly offer, especially if they go back to the war of the lance and the basic box for greyhawk. 2011 will be something new 2012 dragonlance 2013 something new 2014 probably greyhawk.
It's only used-up if your group has done it. For new players or people who've never bought the books before it's all new.
And if they go with the 5th Age/ Age of Mortals then it's still open with lots of room for growth (and, again, the elemental power source jives well with primal sorcerery).
And, really, Dragonlance is arguably as well-known and popular as the Realms and far more popular than Eberron. Considering they couldn't create a new world as popular as DL five years ago with the entire fan community offering ideas how could they now?
Here's some trivia:
Last 6 Years
Last Year
And the new setting will just pull people from Eberron, the current baby setting.
I think a [Citation Needed] is appropriate.
I would NEVER bother to buy the DL Campaign setting.
WHY?
Answer: The core setting is too dynamic, it changes in crazy ways every two months when Weis's next book gets published.
THERE ARE NO GODS
THERE ARE GODS
THERE ARE NO GODS
OH WAIT, THEY'RE BACK AGAIN
OH SNAP! THE GODS DADDY DESTROYED THE WORLD
OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T, CAUSE A KENDER F'D IT UP
NOW THE GODS ARE GONE AGAIN
NOW GIANT DRAGONS RULE THE WORLD
NOW THE GODS ARE BACK
NOW PENGUINS HAVE DECENDED FROM THE HEAVENS AND EATEN THE ELVES
WAIT, THE GODS HAVE GONE ON HOLIDAY AGAIN!
NOW ALL THE HUMANS HAVE TURNED INTO SQUIRRELS
And so on...
Entertaining as hell to read, but the fact that from one week to the next, you can't count on the setting being the same. Oh, and yes, you don't have to stay with the continuity of the novels. Except that all the support material is written based on the most current continuity of the novels. So, from one month to the next, any caster class can loose all it's powers, as is dictated by the whims of narative causality.
So, I love the novels, I will keep buying them.
I will never pay money for the Game Book, since the material will be outdated within DAYS of it hitting the shelf. Unless the guys in Novels and Games aren't talking enough, then the material might just be out of date by the time it hits the shelves.
It's only used-up if your group has done it. For new players or people who've never bought the books before it's all new.
And if they go with the 5th Age/ Age of Mortals then it's still open with lots of room for growth (and, again, the elemental power source jives well with primal sorcerery).
And, really, Dragonlance is arguably as well-known and popular as the Realms and far more popular than Eberron. Considering they couldn't create a new world as popular as DL five years ago with the entire fan community offering ideas how could they now?
Here's some trivia:
Last 6 Years
Last Year
Id say Ebaron is selling well and I know people who would rather buy Ebaron books then DL. At least with Ebaron the novels do not effect the setting. The only way Id buy DL is if the timline was set forward gully dwarves and tinker gnomes removed and it explicitly stated that the novels do not effect the setting. Oh and gods ruling over magic would have to be removed. Its not really arcane magic if gods over see it in any way shape or form. DL is also way too closley tied to alignment.
Game material wise something new would give far more new options than DL ever could. What class would you release with DL?
Id say Ebaron is selling well and I know people who would rather buy Ebaron books then DL. At least with Ebaron the novels do not effect the setting. The only way Id buy DL is if the timline was set forward gully dwarves and tinker gnomes removed and it explicitly stated that the novels do not effect the setting. Oh and gods ruling over magic would have to be removed. Its not really arcane magic if gods over see it in any way shape or form. DL is also way too closley tied to alignment.
Game material wise something new would give far more new options than DL ever could. What class would you release with DL?
Eberron!
I doubt 2011 will be a new setting. A few vague comments about working on new stuff for 2011 does not automatically equal brand new setting.
And having a novel line for Dark Sun doesn't mean we will get Dark Sun in 2010 as we all know it is going to be Dragonlance.
:P Really you people need to learn to listen to me and take my statements as fact. You'll be wrong a whole lot less often.:D :P
And having a novel line for Dark Sun doesn't mean we will get Dark Sun in 2010 as we all know it is going to be Dragonlance.
Really you people need to learn to listen to me and take my statements as fact. You'll be wrong a whole lot less often.:D :P
Uh, you do know I was one of the more vocal Dark Sun in 2010 people, right?
I still doubt 2011 will be brand new.
Uh, you do know I was one of the more vocal Dark Sun in 2010 people, right?
I still doubt 2011 will be brand new.
I really wasn't targetting you for thinking it was going to be Dragonlance. I was trying to make a general statement about how people should listen to me(and pointing out that the source for my 2011 as a new setting was right before), but because of poor foresight it seems to have failed at its goal.
For DragonLance, if it would have any chance at all, the 5th Age needs to never have happened. The timeline can be in the future, or just after the Heroes of the Lance time, but the 5th Age, while a good story perhaps, is not a good setting backdrop for this campaign.
For DragonLance, if it would have any chance at all, the 5th Age needs to never have happened. The timeline can be in the future, or just after the Heroes of the Lance time, but the 5th Age, while a good story perhaps, is not a good setting backdrop for this campaign.
A good Dragonlance Campaign setting would have the world information as well as some rough adjustments to play in the three big eras: pre-War of the Lance, WotL, and Age of Mortals. Each nation should have a smaller side-bar or sub-section describing what it was like.
Just ignoring the 5th Age or retconning it will upset it's (very few) fans and those who are tired of the WotL and want something new.
A better way would be to gloss over the second loss and return of the gods and simply mention the devastation of the land by giant dragons. Or jump ahead a decade and reverse many of the land changes. Downplay much of it for simplicity's sake.
Dragonlance does lend itself to a nice, full Player's Guide. Five new races (irda, kender, gully dwarves, tinker gnomes, draconians), the option for many new sub-racial feats (two or three different types of elves, multiple dwarven clans, two types of kender and gnomes, Blood Sea minotaurs) as well as organizations to grant special powers (Knights of Solamnia and Neraka, Order of High Sorcerery, Legion of Steel, etc).
Instead of a new class, the DLPG could offer a wealth of new powers for existing classes, in addition to the possible primal sorcery of the 5th Age, which might be similar to Dragonmarks or Spellscars.
That's before you get into 12 or so new divine feats, new magic items (such as dragonlances), dragon mounts, etc.
Even if you're not a fan of the world itself or one or two of the races there's probably enough content to convince people to buy the books. PC mount dragons alone should sell a few copies.
I'm going to say it's going to be the Water World, Mike Mearls talked about at one point.
Hopefully without Kevin Costner ...
Hopefully without Kevin Costner ...
Agreed.
Though you could do worse... like having Jean Claude Van Dam or Steven Seagal...
Aye, high seas adventure, rival trade guilds burning down the old world's magical items into dust to fuel their ritual warfare, old empires decaying under the weight of an old war, fleets of vessels armed with spell and steel exploring, seeking, trading, pillaging, plundering across the waves.
Imagine a world where you can literally find the Sacred Passage that leads you to the Astral Sea, where you will sail on forever. Where thundering hurricanes are not merely weather, they are literally tears in reality that pull you down into the swirling maelstrom to the Elemental Chaos. Where mist and fog may misdirect you, luring into the wyrd waters of the Feywild, where sinister and eldritch beings lurk. And imagine a world where lies at the very bottom of the ocean a terrible darkness, and those who drown in the Darkwater rise from the depths again in the throes of undeath.
A setting where sometimes the only light in the world is the single fog lamp of your ship, where ports are few and far between, and more often than not, the only marking on your map is Here There Be Dragons.
A land where the Old World is fighting back against the New Age, where the savage reaches hold unfathomable riches guarded by unknown forces, where skill and luck can yield a fortune for you and your patron, but should the winds change, horrors unmentionable await yea.
For king and country, for coin and company, for pillage and plunder, for daring and discovery, swash your decks and buckle your straps, for adventure awaits!
and that's not even mentionning the stuff you get when you actually hit land :D with all the primitive tribes (nomadic Orcs, Minotaur Aztecs, Gnolls Sioux, Kobold, Shifters, Goliath, and any new race you might want to include).
Oh and can you say 'darkwater pact'? A pact you made with an unknowable entity of the deep dark ocean!
Perhaps you were seeing power and found it on a moonless night at sea, perhaps you were mysteriously the only survivor to a devastating storm that wrecked you ship... whatever it is you have powers with a nautical and undeath theme
As for another type of class maybe something Primal or some sort of Swashbuckling Explorer who happens to have Disenchant Magic item as a class feature. A DEX-INT/CHA martial defender for exemple.
Given PHB4 will likely have the last of the power sources and 2011-12 will see books on all the planes, tiers, types of dragon, etc it seems likely that 2012 or 2013 will be when they bring in a Core reprint, jump to 4.5, or start the test books of 5e.
This is interesting.
You show little faith in Wizards. Just because they run out of the things they've outlined or planed, doesn't mean they'll just say "Well, we're out of conventional material, let's just reboot with a new edition!". There's always more room for ideas in a single edition of the game. I predict that once they finish the planes books, and the core races/classes, we'll see more modular story support, more softcover publications, more support for adventure paths, settings, etc...
Arcane's aready at 6, and it looks like Primal and Divine are about to reach 6 as well.
I'm pretty sure they'll stick to one new power source per PHB, which means we'll wait quite a while to see any Elemental Classes --
Yeah, I'm expecting Elemental in PHB5. Shadow will be the only new one in PHB4.
PHB4 = Shadow, Martial and Psionic Heroes 4/2/2
PHB5 = Elemental and Shadow Heroes 6/2
After that they will either come up with new Power Sources or perhaps themes like urban or aquatic.
Bel
This is interesting.
You show little faith in Wizards. Just because they run out of the things they've outlined or planed, doesn't mean they'll just say "Well, we're out of conventional material, let's just reboot with a new edition!". There's always more room for ideas in a single edition of the game. I predict that once they finish the planes books, and the core races/classes, we'll see more modular story support, more softcover publications, more support for adventure paths, settings, etc...
It's not a lack of faith, it's business sense. The core rules sell best, everything else is a poor substitute.
Editions are faster now. 3e came out in '99, 3.5 in '03, and 4e in '08.
If 4e makes it until 2013 before a reprint/revision it will have lasted as long as 3.5.
For other examples:
Vampire the Masquerade came out in '92, they revised in '98, and switched to Requiem in '04.
GURPS 3e was released 1997 and 4e was released 2004.
HERO system 5e was released in 2002 and 5e will be released in 2009.
7 years is the standard, which would put 5e being released in 2014 with the announcement and filler books on 2013, while the mechanic test books fill 2012.
My guesses:
2011 - Dragonlance
2012 - Greyhawk or Mystara. (wildcard year)
2013 - Points of Light/ New
It adds more strength to the fact that the next campaign setting might be a new one for 4e. Or if they are re-releasing an old campaign setting, then it would mean that Planescape, Spelljammer or Ravenloft have a better chance, since they do bring new stuff to the table, even if they've been "folded into the core".
I think they may hold off on a new setting till they release more of the power sources, imagine a setting with strong shadow, psionic and elemental themes.
Bel
I think they may hold off on a new setting till they release more of the power sources, imagine a setting with strong shadow, psionic and elemental themes.Bel
Do you think it will be a world like Dark Sun that has to have psioinic power source?
Shadow and Ravenloft go together.
Astral/phlogistion power source needed for spelljammer. 
The Curse/Red Steel power source for mutation. 
I think that this current edition was made with a longer shelf line in mind. Keep in mind that 3.5 was an attempt to keep the last edition viable, fixing some very broken things like balence issues and sucky classes (The Bard was still lacking) Any side boot like that in this current edition would have to give some way to choose from more than a couple of powers for every level, like checking a box. I think that will wait for the next edition. One that won't come for a while.
2018, at the earliest.
-- as an aside, it sucks that I can't see the previous posts below the reply box in this cheaper forum.
@ The Jester: I liked your list and thoughts. However, i disagree with 2 of them.
New Setting: I think this is highly likely. As i believe someone else pointe dout, they retain the rights to the other 2 settings that were runner up to Eberron. It is highly likely that, like Eberron, they are a bit of a departure from the "standard setting." Considering the number of entries they received for the contest, the top three would have to have somethign to make them stand out from being just another Greyhawk/DL/Mystara/FR.
Dragonlance: I disagree that it's "quite likely." Only because the devs, when they announced Dark Sun, stated that they were looking to concentrate on settings that were different than the "standard fantasy setting." They specifically called out Greyhawk, Mystara, and Dragonlance as too generic to fit the bill, so these settings will likely come later if at all.
I'd like o see Red Steel. swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. They said they wouldn't do another "tradional" fantasy setting for awhile, but I think something Red Steel could a fun break from just putting the same dungeons in different locations.
I think the setting that was in second place in the contest that Eberron won would be a good contender. For DragonLance, if it would have any chance at all, the 5th Age needs to never have happened. The timeline can be in the future, or just after the Heroes of the Lance time, but the 5th Age, while a good story perhaps, is not a good setting backdrop for this campaign.
The Age of Mortals offers more options in terms of adventures than any other era of the setting and offers more races and classes to choose from. As someone who has played in just about every single age of dragonlance, I know for a fact you are completely mistaken about the age of mortals not being a good "backdrop" for future DL gaming. The single biggest mistake Wotc could make is trying to erase a decade of progression in the setting. I think your personal experience in the 5th age has not been very fun, if you've played in the age of mortals at all. Thats your DM's fault, not the settings.
I invite you , if ever in san diego, to join our group and play in the age of mortals. I'll bet you will have a blast.
If WotC is looking to continue with "something different", how about retreading Gamma World? I never got to play it, but I thought the crossing of sci-fi with fantasy had potential. Gotta love an orc with a plasma cannon. or maybe creepy little cyber-ninja kobolds. I highly doubt this will ever happen, but it might be fun to see.
If WotC is looking to continue with "something different", how about retreading Gamma World? I never got to play it, but I thought the crossing of sci-fi with fantasy had potential. Gotta love an orc with a plasma cannon. or maybe creepy little cyber-ninja kobolds. I highly doubt this will ever happen, but it might be fun to see.
As a warhammer 40k fan, I wouldn't mind something similar for a D&D setting. It would be great to have a futuristic setting thats as dark as darksun and eberron, but still D&D. I will be happy when we get more books on the core settings like spelljammer.
Gamma world sounds interesting. I'm gonna have to look into it more.
The problem with the 5th age, whether or not it is a good story in the books, it took everything that the setting had built and wiped it away, and the new "5th Age" Dragon Lance took over. FR still has the history about it, and the main areas are still there, even if some of the more known cities have been changed/destroyed (Neverwinter Nights 3?). DragonLance was just a new setting with a couple of blips about the past game wise. I think it was the main reason it was demoted to 3pp after the inital run.