t.co/arhn0v5u
I don't even know if they're still following that one CS/year format anymore. They shift their design goals so much it's sort of moot.
Looks like next year is going to be a good year.
How much do you want to bet that despite most drow enemies being paragon tier, that this will be another "heroic tier only" setting?
My guess is the book will tie into an Encounters season. Which means heroic for sure.
I thought that this years setting was going to be a new way to play... what is so new here?
It's probably tying in with the new Book of Vile Dorkness. "In this setting, you have to play a drow and you're supposed to backstab your friends and be a general douche!"
How much do you want to bet that despite most drow enemies being paragon tier, that this will be another "heroic tier only" setting?
My guess is the book will tie into an Encounters season. Which means heroic for sure.
I have a new reason to dislike Encounters. It's a pretty decent guess since most other new class/setting books have tied into an Encounter's season.
And my group is hitting level 11 in the next week or 2.
I thought that this years setting was going to be a new way to play... what is so new here?
well you don't know what is in the book yet.
runing a drow house is a lot more then just combat.
it might have rules for political intregue.
house recource management.
loth favor rating.
a system to keep track of the reputation of your house, who are your allies and who are close to sticking a knife in your back.
at this point we don't know
Oh well. I guess I already purchased my Dark Sun campaign setting. Looks like it might be the last setting I am purchasing... and to think that for I time I had real hopes for a Ravenloft setting.
I bet this product will be of more use to people who haven't already made up their minds about it many months ahead of it's release.
Ugggh. I guess its back to the days of forgotten realms over and over again.
Oh well. I guess I already purchased my Dark Sun campaign setting. Looks like it might be the last setting I am purchasing... and to think that for I time I had real hopes for a Ravenloft setting.
I'd at least like to see more Dark Sun support. And I, too, miss Ravenloft, although I believe Ravenloft should be about SURVIVING horror, not BECOMING one (except for succumbing to the horror and then becoming an NPC).
EDIT: Who decided that Forgotten Realms was the most marketable setting anyways? I mean, I used to be into the Realms, I thought they were GREAT (liked Ravenloft, too, but for specific kinds of campaigns). That was before I discovered Dark Sun, and before Eberron came out. Between Eberron and DS, (and my own personal setting I run games in) I don't even CARE about the Realms anymore.
Hmm.
I bet this product will be of more use to people who haven't already made up their minds about it many months ahead of it's release.
I can see some of the disappointment. I'll probably look at the book, and swipe the relevant material for my own campaign, but I have little interest in running a Menzoberranzen campaign as it stands.
We were hyped at GenCon that the 2012 Setting would be a new way to play D&D. This, at first blush, does not appear to live up to the hype. Menzoberranzen and guidelines for all-Drow campaigns were published in both second and third edition, so there is precious little that is new about the setting itself. Nor is the idea of political intrigue as a game element new to D&D (Birthright, AD&D 2E). Sanctioned all-evil parties? Look no further than Book of Vile Darkness (3E & 4E).
It's not that Menzoberranzen will be bad, it simply won't be as new or innovative as it was hyped to be (or, at all).
Things may be revealed in the coming months that change this perception.
We were hyped at GenCon that the 2012 Setting would be a new way to play D&D. This, at first blush, does not appear to live up to the hype. Menzoberranzen and guidelines for all-Drow campaigns were published in both second and third edition, so there is precious little that is new about the setting itself. Nor is the idea of political intrigue as a game element new to D&D (Birthright, AD&D 2E). Sanctioned all-evil parties? Look no further than Book of Vile Darkness (3E & 4E).
It's not that Menzoberranzen will be bad, it simply won't be as new or innovative as it was hyped to be (or, at all).
Things may be revealed in the coming months that change this perception.
I know, when I first heard about the "new way to play D&D", I suddenly had hope for something wildly different.
Like Council of Wyrms. Could be done in 4e, where the Race/Class choice would each be tied up within certain dragon types (like all Golds are Controllers, all Silvers are Defenders, etc.), and a new way to go about class progression that involves gettign new ways to attack, improvements to breath weapons, and size increases as levels progress. It would still be D&D, but a different way to play.
Unless of course it come with the rules to make drizzt, I which case it's a first day buy! JK, of course.
What I want to say is that all the books and all the fluff in them is just a wooden box, full of ideas. Keep only the things that you like, use them in the order that you decide, and add things that maybe missing.
Said that, I really like the idea of a Menzoberanzzan setting and I can't wait for August to arrive!
Why whould anyone be pissed or even disapointed? Don't like it? Write your own, using only the parts that you prefer! You think of something as too... "generic"? Ban all the monsters, races, classes, items etc that you don't like... I don't like gods and I don't use them in my campaigns, nobody makes me design an encounter against Lolth, just because I bought the MM3... There are no devils nor demons in my campaigns... I can always use the mechanics of a succubus though, but with a different lore and with a new appearance, like a nymph in the forest or a sirene on an island...
So what you are saying is to think outside of the big wooden box? That frightens me.
Why whould anyone be pissed or even disapointed? Don't like it? Write your own, using only the parts that you prefer! You think of something as too... "generic"? Ban all the monsters, races, classes, items etc that you don't like... I don't like gods and I don't use them in my campaigns, nobody makes me design an encounter against Lolth, just because I bought the MM3... There are no devils nor demons in my campaigns... I can always use the mechanics of a succubus though, but with a different lore and with a new appearance, like a nymph in the forest or a sirene on an island...
What I want to say is that all the books and all the fluff in them is just a wooden box, full of ideas. Keep only the things that you like, use them in the order that you decide, and add things that maybe missing.
Said that, I really like the idea of a Menzoberanzzan setting and I can't wait for August to arrive!
Except... making your own campaign setting is a crazy amount of work. I made my own 4e campaign setting way back when they announced the new edition, slowly tweaking it as they added content and ideas (OP link is here). But even that was an update of a campaign world I first made late in 2e. And I had a crappy job in a call center that gave me lots of time to poke away at my computer, expanding and toying and brainstorming. And I even had a 4 month patch of unemployment when the books were released to polish away. And making the world still took well over eight months.
That's a heck of a lot of time. I think most people would rather buy a setting.
But WotC isn't really giving us good campaign settings. We get setting books that are half player information and stacks of new character options with the world information (i.e. the only reason to buy a campaign setting) tucked away wherever there's space. And we've gotten the FR three times now, which doesn't work for some people. WotC needs to give us a reason to give them our money.
WotC needs to give us a reason to give them our money.
I'm pretty sure the fact that they keep putting out FR books is because we (collectively) have given them a reason to keep putting out FR books. We (collectively) keep buying them.
Frankly, I didn't buy Neverwinter or the Forgotten Realms CG or PG. But I'm intrigued by Menzoberranzan. I've always wanted to run a campaign in a drow city. Heck, I think it would make for a fantastic strategy board game in which each player plays the leader of a drow house in a city.
What they need to do is release a full campaign setting for the PoL world, an entirely new world that becomes iconic for D&D, or do an Darksun style update to an older, unique campaign world like Kara-Tur or Ravenloft.
What they need to do is release a full campaign setting for the PoL world, an entirely new world that becomes iconic for D&D, or do an Darksun style update to an older, unique campaign world like Kara-Tur or Ravenloft.
They had one in the works and cancelled it. Which I agree with. The PoL setting is more generic than the Realms. There's literally nothing special about it. It was created as an open background, so DMs could make their own world and expand how they saw fit, with this unifing element in the middle.
They have the campaign settings for people who don't want to use the Nentir Vale or make their own world from the bottom up. But the Nentir Vale works beacause every DM can make it their own and use it in different ways.
Every time they publish an article on the Nentir Vale they're risking releasing an article that directly contradicts a homegame.
Here's a thought I had recently:
Paizo is kicking ass right now. Whether they're winning or a close second doesn't really matter, it just means Paizo is doing very well and likely costing WotC sales.
WotC needs to really focus on what they can do which Paizo cannot. In many ways they are, as WotC is a board game and CCG company, so they're producing board games and other products which Paizo cannot compete with. But in terms of the RPG, Paizo is winning on fluff. They have some great fluff writers that are putting out very readable material on a regular basis. And Paizo is good at adventures, which WotC has all but written off.
But what WotC has is the archtypal monsters of D&D and campaign settings. No one else can do Mind Flayers or Beholders. And no one else can print two campaign settings a year for three years with no repeats.
Paizo has Golarion, which is a fairly generic kitchen sink world. It's okay. It's their Realms and has many of the same strengths and weaknesses. Every book they have is set on Golarion and mentions Golarion.
But WotC has Spelljammer, and Dragonlance, and Greyhawk, and Red Steel, and Council of Wyrms, and Ghostwalk, and Planescape, and Mystara, and Kara Tur, and Al Qadim, and Ravenloft. That's a strength. They can put out a world regularly and give something for everyone. WotC has a tonne of IP which they're not using.
Going back to the Realms over and over is a bad idea. It seems like a cheap cash grab to exploit the FR fans or a "safe bet" book.
If they strip away or de-emphasise the Realms and try to make Menzoberranzen a city you can add to any campaign setting, then they're losing the flavour and missing the entire point of a campaign setting, which is to give you an entire world to use. That's what all the other products are for. And it runs the risk of trying to beat Paizo at their own game, the one monolithic giant world.
But what do I know? I'm just some wannabee who blogs.
Also Menz doesn't have to be all Drow, from the novels Menz is actually pretty diverse, slaves, traders, spies, mercanaries, summoned creatures, Drow house Mascots, ambassadors nearby underdark cities and thier entourages, slum dwellers. Its just that if your not Drow or powerful enough to be the next best thing, you fall somewhere lower on the food chain. Think of aparitied South Africa, if your a dwarf or half orc its to the back of the cart. If your an elf or elderin, well you'd better have Lolth's favour, like Kimmel or a good disguise Otherwise yikes!
I guess Doppelgangers could have thier own house, but they'd pass themselves off as Drow.
I do believe Menz will have tips on how to take your characters from thier heroic tier adventures in Neverwinter to Menz. And if they continue the line to epic with say Brightwater or Shade then I imagine it will have tips on moving from the previous two to it.
I would like to see Svirfneblin addressed properly (or have they already?).
No, it has not even been addressed as a monster. Svirfneblin was one of the numerous subraces that were decided to be axed from the game at the start of 4e, or at the very most (for Wood, Wild, Moon, and Sun elves in FR) become a mutually exclusive feat for the standard race.
HOWEVER, subraces are back, as of Neverwinter, as well as that article on Dusk Elves, the article on Winterkin Eladrin, the article on Human Homelands, Shadar-kai subraces, etc… Dragon has long since been providing small steps back, until the full-jump with Neverwinter, so much so we're seeing more full-way subraces (which offer racial feature trade-offs in) in Dragon, such as the Llewyrr Elf for Eladrin in the Heroes of the Moonshaes article last month.
So we MIGHT see svirfneblin again. MIGHT. As I recall, they never had much popularity (the same cursing doom that has made it so my beloved Dromites haven't appeared in 4e at all yet either). You can only hope, or else get an article pitch ready for April!
As to subraces, no race has more then the reverants, every other race is a reverants, although genasi come close with all their manifestations.
I'm not terribly keen on this trend of campaign settings centering only on a single large city. I think it's mostly because the critical response to products like the Shadowfell boxed set has been good, but I don't think it's a terribly good general trend.
Personally, I like the regional settings because theyre easy to pick-and-choose and plug-and-play into any campaign setting.
Its literally “a point of light” to put anywhere you want in the swath of darkness. (Well, not literally ... well, maybe literally.)
Personally, I like the regional settings because theyre easy to pick-and-choose and plug-and-play into any campaign setting.
Its literally “a point of light” to put anywhere you want in the swath of darkness. (Well, not literally ... well, maybe literally.)
It may be a cool idea to publish those, but the thing is, those take away from us actual potential settings - and some really cool, flavourful, unique settings - Ravenloft, Dragonlance, my personal favourite, Spelljammer... If they could publish both those little tidbits AND proper settings, I would have nothing against Menzoberenzozenzogonzo... (I won't even try remembering that), but as it stands, it's taking away actual, creative entries.
What artical had Shadar-Kai subraces? As to subraces, no race has more then the reverants, every other race is a reverants, although genasi come close with all their manifestations.
The Shadar-kai in the Forgotten Realms one. Included a Shade Bloodline for Shadar-kai (because the Shade race hadn't come out as of then; now you can be either a Shade using the race or using the Shadar-kai + Bloodline), and a Krinth Bloodline for Shadar-kai (basically, human mixed with a Shadow Demon in a magic laboratory to make a merciless killer). These two origins combined to make the Shadar-kai race as it is known in 4e's Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide's discussion on Netheril, and was followed up with this article.
Back to Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue, as the book-cover spoiler calls it, I doubt it's the year's setting. While I do have to admit that early cover reveals often lie (was it Neverwinter Campaign Guide or Neverwinter Campaign Setting… we didn't know until the on-shelf release!), there is no indication of the words "Campaign" or "Setting" on that cover. It looks like it has more in common with Hammerfast and Vor Rukoth, to be honest.
Personally, I like the regional settings because theyre easy to pick-and-choose and plug-and-play into any campaign setting.
Its literally “a point of light” to put anywhere you want in the swath of darkness. (Well, not literally ... well, maybe literally.)
It may be a cool idea to publish those, but the thing is, those take away from us actual potential settings - and some really cool, flavourful, unique settings - Ravenloft, Dragonlance, my personal favourite, Spelljammer... If they could publish both those little tidbits AND proper settings, I would have nothing against Menzoberenzozenzogonzo... (I won't even try remembering that), but as it stands, it's taking away actual, creative entries.
This. This is why I hate the idea of Menzobozotheclown being next years setting. I'm all for it as a normal book, but a setting?! WOTC I am disappoint.
Where, exactly, does it say that this is a campaign setting and not another Gloomwrought?
It doesn't. Lots of people are just assuming it is because of it's August release date, then having a gamer panic attack as a result. The best thing would probably be wait until we get more info ... but lots of people love speculating (myself included), and speculation often leads to the airing of one's hopes and fears, in this case more of the latter.
Not that it wasn't already covered in ECG but I'd like to see new Eberron player options that I haven't written myself.Where, exactly, does it say that this is a campaign setting and not another Gloomwrought?
It doesn't. Lots of people are just assuming it is because of it's August release date, then having a gamer panic attack as a result. The best thing would probably be wait until we get more info ... but lots of people love speculating (myself included), and speculation often leads to the airing of one's hopes and fears, in this case more of the latter.
Yeah, but every other campaign book has said "Campaign Guide" in the title. This one says no such thing.
Personally, I like the regional settings because theyre easy to pick-and-choose and plug-and-play into any campaign setting.
Its literally “a point of light” to put anywhere you want in the swath of darkness. (Well, not literally ... well, maybe literally.)
It may be a cool idea to publish those, but the thing is, those take away from us actual potential settings - and some really cool, flavourful, unique settings - Ravenloft, Dragonlance, my personal favourite, Spelljammer... If they could publish both those little tidbits AND proper settings, I would have nothing against Menzoberenzozenzogonzo... (I won't even try remembering that), but as it stands, it's taking away actual, creative entries.
This. This is why I hate the idea of Menzobozotheclown being next years setting. I'm all for it as a normal book, but a setting?! WOTC I am disappoint.
Like Menzober-ranzan, Ravenloft too is a regional setting. Ravenloft is a pocket dimension - “a point of light” in a swath of darkness - amid the wider Shadowfell. You can “plug it in” anywhere anytime, in any world you want.
A “planetary setting” seems less desirable - because one region can be so different from an other region. For example, the Asian-esque setting can feel unlike the Euro-esque setting. One city can be unlike an other city that isnt so far away. I like it when each region gets its own focus, exploration, inner diversity, and richness that it deserves.
Plus when regions are separate, I can pick and choose those regions that I like the best. And can drop them into my world map, while ignoring any regional settings whose themes and tropes I dont want a particular campaign to deal with.
Global options. Regional settings make customizing a campaign world easy.
Like Menzober-ranzan, Ravenloft too is a regional setting. Ravenloft is a pocket dimension - “a point of light” in a swath of darkness - amid the wider Shadowfell. You can “plug it in” anywhere anytime, in any world you want.
A “planetary setting” seems less desirable - because one region can be so different from an other region. For example, the Asian-esque setting can feel unlike the Euro-esque setting. One city can be unlike an other city that isnt so far away. I like it when each region gets its own focus, exploration, inner diversity, and richness that it deserves.
Plus when regions are separate, I can pick and choose those regions that I like the best. And can drop them into my world map, while ignoring any regional settings whose themes and tropes I dont want a particular campaign to deal with.
Global options. Regional settings make customizing a campaign world easy.
You don't get the point. Gonzo the Clown City of Intrigue is just another piece of Forgotten Realms, while the more creative, and often very popular, settings are still awaiting update to 4e. It's just wasteful.
As I said, I have nothing against it being there, I just won't use it, but if it has to be there, I want an actual setting as well. As it stands, it strips me of official update to Spelljammer, or other people of Ravenloft, etc. - one done better than my doubtable homebrewing skills.
You don't get the point. Gonzo the Clown City of Intrigue is just another piece of Forgotten Realms, while the more creative, and often very popular, settings are still awaiting update to 4e. It's just wasteful.
That depends. Obvioulsy FR books are doing best at sales and that's why WotC chosed to discard their "no more than two books per setting" approach in favor of Neverwinter and Menzobersomething.
Sure, the other settings might also be very popular, but if FR is the most popular and they have limited publication slots, it would be wasteful to publish a setting that "only sells a lot" instead of a setting that "sells even more than a lot".
You don't get the point. Gonzo the Clown City of Intrigue is just another piece of Forgotten Realms, while the more creative, and often very popular, settings are still awaiting update to 4e. It's just wasteful.
That depends. Obvioulsy FR books are doing best at sales and that's why WotC chosed to discard their "no more than two books per setting" approach in favor of Neverwinter and Menzobersomething.
Sure, the other settings might also be very popular, but if FR is the most popular and they have limited publication slots, it would be wasteful to publish a setting that "only sells a lot" instead of a setting that "sells even more than a lot".
FR proves to be a solid setting. Its viable to continue to detail points of light from it as separate settings.
Im open to future settings based on other traditional campaign settings, but I feel they too should be done as separate per-region settings too.
FR proves to be a solid setting. Its viable to continue to detail points of light from it as separate settings.
Im open to future settings based on other traditional campaign settings, but I feel they too should be done as separate per-region settings too.
You know what is even more viable? Not trying to sell the same setting over and over again (which pissess off more people than just me, as this thread proves), and selling new settings as new settings.
You know what is even more viable? Not trying to sell the same setting over and over again (which pissess off more people than just me, as this thread proves), and selling new settings as new settings.
Pissed off though you may be, the fact that Wizards (and TSR before it) keeps trying to sell stuff other than FR, but ends up going back to FR over and over again indicates that it is a viable strategy, as much as many would wish otherwise.
I think people (at least me) wouldn't mind if the yactually published new material. Menzo and Drows have been done in FR. Same for Undermountain (an adventure is coming in 2012).
Time for a new region. What about Abeir? Time for some new NPCs to replace all those who died.
Abeir is actually pretty bad. It should have just been the continent of Osse instead of that dreadful twin worlds planar collision replacing Maztica nonsense. I was actually (mostly) fine with the spellplague but that Abeir-Toril story really, deeply bothered me, for a myriad of reasons. Chief among them would be the fact that it reeked of typical, cliche sci-fi-ish convoluted Deus-ex-Machina to explain and justify countless changes and retcons, and secondly the fact that Toril was itself originally conceived as a "twin" of sorts, to Earth, which is now an obsolete concept.
With 4e, the "forgotten realms" flavor of the Forgotten Realms setting has been almost completely erased, which is highly unfortunate for long-time fans of it. The 100 year jump and spellplague would have been sufficient to renew the setting for a PoL-esque baseline.
Regardless (back on topic), I think they intentionally left Abeir light on lore so you could fill in the gaps.
Chief among them would be the fact that it reeked of typical, cliche sci-fi-ish convoluted Deus-ex-Machina to explain and justify countless changes and retcons.
I figure you already know this but that doesn't seem much of a change from Forgotten Realms as normal. I mean cliche sci-fi-ish Deus-ex-Machina is business as usual there.
Ravenloft and Spelljammer and Planescape are a bit more limited. I see many passionate fans, but also others that can't stand those settings. Space hamsters aren't for everyone. I have often changed my guesses as to whether each would end up being settings with specific support or perhaps as DDI issues.
I don't think we've heard anything that tells us how deep the drow and Menzoberranzan offering will be, but I've always borrowed from Menzoberranzan to make that content part of the Greyhawk underdark canon. Drow are in many worlds and are popular threats. I see this as a win regardless... and FR is indeed an incredibly popular setting. It is likely the most beloved setting of all time. You have a lot of organized play gamers that are adventuring regularly in the Forgotten Realms through LFR and it has been the setting for several Encounters seasons. Nearly every gamer will admire the story of Ed Greenwood starting to create the campaign setting when he was 6, and still working on it with deep passion today.
FR proves to be a solid setting. Its viable to continue to detail points of light from it as separate settings.
Im open to future settings based on other traditional campaign settings, but I feel they too should be done as separate per-region settings too.
You know what is even more viable? Not trying to sell the same setting over and over again (which pissess off more people than just me, as this thread proves), and selling new settings as new settings.
Yeah, but how many people are pissed off in this thread? 10, 15, 30........ Unless this thread could be said to be a good sample of the DnD BOOK BUYING population, then it doesn't mean something.
Most of what a company decides to sell is based on wanting to sell and make money. Some companies will take a hit to sales on the front end if it leads to more future growth.
For that reason it might be better to do a setting like Spelljammer or Kara-Tur, if you believe a new setting might bring in new players who are avoiding 4e, but it's probably unlikely.
As someone who didn't play any meaningful amount of DnD before 3.5e, from the forums and talking to gaming friends, all these settings that are remembered so fondly seem like so much cult classics to me.
No different than Community or Arrested Development. Acclaimed by "all," watched by too few.
I've really liked what I have seen recently: a diversity of offerings in terms of what a DM might use as a campaign setting. While I absolutely love Dark Sun, it isn't for everyone (though I try to make it so!!!). Dark Sun is unique in many ways and deserves a full treatment. Gloomwrought worked well as a more concise offering, as did Neverwinter (a really excellent product) and Gardmore Abbey. While Neverwinter is a Realms city, it can be transported elsewhere and the plaguechanged aspect traded for some other threat (any other magical plague being an easy one). I'm also a really huge fan of the Kara-Tur month and of the recent Moonshae Isles articles, which are full of campaign ideas for a DM that wants to do a bit of work but to start with a ton of good ideas.
Ravenloft and Spelljammer and Planescape are a bit more limited. I see many passionate fans, but also others that can't stand those settings. Space hamsters aren't for everyone. I have often changed my guesses as to whether each would end up being settings with specific support or perhaps as DDI issues.
I don't think we've heard anything that tells us how deep the drow and Menzoberranzan offering will be, but I've always borrowed from Menzoberranzan to make that content part of the Greyhawk underdark canon. Drow are in many worlds and are popular threats. I see this as a win regardless... and FR is indeed an incredibly popular setting. It is likely the most beloved setting of all time. You have a lot of organized play gamers that are adventuring regularly in the Forgotten Realms through LFR and it has been the setting for several Encounters seasons. Nearly every gamer will admire the story of Ed Greenwood starting to create the campaign setting when he was 6, and still working on it with deep passion today.
I agree with you Teos on all count.
Was Menzo reproduced under 3.x ? I know it was originally created under AD&D 2nd Edition Rules but have played less of 3E than any other Editions and don't know all the splatbooks WoTC produced for it during the years 2000's.
Also I agree that people are jumping to conclusions that it is the campaign setting without enough info.
Thirded. We all have our favorite settings or areas that we would like to see get the full treatment. No matter what Wizards choses to do, some people would rather see something else. I am not the biggest fan of the drow, and if I had a long list of choices, Menzoberranzan would probably not be the first. But I also like how the most recent products and articles have been handled, and I am excited to see what the Menzoberranzan designers and developers have come up with. If they can bring to it the unique flavor and cool design that I think they can, it is going to be on my must-have list.
The thing is, Ravenloft or Spelljammer or certain other settings I can't name right now have their own fans. How many fans (of it, specifically) has this Menzored thing? Neverwinter is famous, anyone who's got anything to do with gaming will know it, similarly to the Baldur's Gate place (spelling?). But this thing, most people have probably never heard of, and most of the people who did would be tabletop gaming geeks - and those would probably appreciate a new setting more than another piece of Forgotten Realms. In other words, the target audience for Menzonbonzo is very limited, almost niche, in an already niche market.
Thirded. We all have our favorite settings or areas that we would like to see get the full treatment. No matter what Wizards choses to do, some people would rather see something else. I am not the biggest fan of the drow, and if I had a long list of choices, Menzoberranzan would probably not be the first. But I also like how the most recent products and articles have been handled, and I am excited to see what the Menzoberranzan designers and developers have come up with. If they can bring to it the unique flavor and cool design that I think they can, it is going to be on my must-have list.
The thing is, Ravenloft or Spelljammer or certain other settings I can't name right now have their own fans. How many fans (of it, specifically) has this Menzored thing? Neverwinter is famous, anyone who's got anything to do with gaming will know it, similarly to the Baldur's Gate place (spelling?). But this thing, most people have probably never heard of, and most of the people who did would be tabletop gaming geeks - and those would probably appreciate a new setting more than another piece of Forgotten Realms. In other words, the target audience for Menzonbonzo is very limited, almost niche, in an already niche market.
You may be right. If WotC published a Spelljammer setting tomorrow, it might sell 10 times as many copies of Menzoberranzan. Then again, it might not. The only people who really have access to the information on what products sell more than other products are sitting at WotC helping decide the schedule for what products they plan to sell. As I said, if I got to choose what products or settings got made based on my own personal preferences, Menzoberranzan would not be in the top 10. But I also understand that my personal preferences are not what WotC is going to base their product schedule on, and I am not going to be upset or complain when products don't match my personal preferences. But Menzoberranzan is not exactly completely unknown in the RPG world. In fact, I would say that it is pretty famous based on my gaming experiences. But those are just my experiences, of course.
I'm going to wait and see what the product looks like, what the designers were able to put into the product, how it adds to the game, and then I will make my decision on what I think about it.
Much as some of us may be tired of the character, it's also likely to pick up sales due to crossover from the Drizzt novel line. (Even a small fraction of that market would outdo the number of diehard fans of Planescape, Spelljammer, etc.)
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The Neverwinter book is the only setting book I've acquired recently, mainly on the strength of the positive reviews. I haven't bothered with any of the rest since I'm largely uninterested in the areas they cover and I don't really have a need for more setting products in any case. I suppose this one might surprise me, but I don't currently have any interest in getting it either.
My only concern is that if it is a paragon tier setting and does poorly for other reasons (not interested in yet more drow-centric content, etc), it'll still be interpreted as "people don't want paragon tier content" even though that wasn't the actual cause.
Somehow I don't think poor sales will be an issue, though.
How many fans (of it, specifically) has this Menzored thing?
It's yet "another piece of Forgotten Realms" and WotC obviously thinks that alone is enough to outsell a Ravenloft or Spelljammer remake. Will they be right? Who knows, but that there internal analysis is valid enough for them to take the gambit of releasing that book speaks for how FR releases outsell their competition in their experience.
This does not imply that WOTC make bad products, just that somethings can be garbage and still do well (Transformers 2 & 3 for instance).
I learned this on Candle keep.
Menz has tons of novels around it, not just some of the drizzt novels. Thier also daughter of the drow, Spider War, Lady Pendent, ect...
I think that among D&D players who can only name a single official drow city, for 90% of them that city is Menzo.
It's wasn't D&D's first but has become the archetype of drow cities even amon people who don't even know that it's from the Forgotten Realms