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Environmental sourcebooks?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Mist-Bound
Dec 01, 2008 19:32:53 I was just recalling the days of 3.5, and specifically I was recalling the line of 'environmental sourcebooks' that it put out to help DMs go for specific types of campaigns. Off the top of my head, there was Sandstorm, for desert campaigns, Frostburn, for artic and high mountain campaigns, Stormwrack, for sub-aquatic and oceanic campaigns (more the former than the latter) and I think Cityscape, for urban campaigns.

And after I recalled them, I began to wonder; do you think that Wizards will republish them for 4e? If not as their own books, then perhaps as material for extra DMGs?

EIther way, do you think any of the 3.5 races, or ways to convert PHB races to their "environmental strains" (seacliff dwarf, desert halfling, etc) will appear in 4e?
#2
Ragnar_Lodbrok
Dec 01, 2008 22:46:28 Subraces? NOOOOO! We'll be seeing 20 kinds of elf and eladrin again! But, more seriously, I doubt it. I think they'd just leave it to the DMs to houserule stuff like that. While Frostburn was useful at times, it turned out to be a waste of money in most cases. However, it's too early to tell if those things get republished, so, who knows?
#3
lady_ishtar
Dec 01, 2008 22:56:39 i think it would make a great DMG material. or maybe have an environmental book in general, just how to run games in various environments.

put in it some environment specific paragon paths if you must, but make it more like an environmental-dmg
#4
salla
Dec 01, 2008 23:06:55 The FR player's guide indicate (I hope) how subraces will be dealt with in the future; the presence of feats that you can only take one of, like the Wild elf/Wood elf feats. If you take one, you're a Wild Elf, if you take the other, a Wood.
#5
serphet
Dec 02, 2008 0:46:31 I've been thinking about doing a DDI article proposal, based on getting sandstorm style content into 4e.... but college is to time consuming.
#6
Elemental_Elf
Dec 02, 2008 14:38:02 DMGs are for variant and expanded rules as well as tips on how to run your games. What better place for the old environmental books than future DMGs? Of course I wouldn't expect all the environs to be covered in just 1 DMG, you'd probably get 3 per DMG (if that many).
#7
Alter_Boy
Dec 02, 2008 15:52:45 I fondly remember (and own) all four environmental books. They're great concepts that I'd like to work again, but as I recall, they were great books to read, but not as useful at the table as I would have liked.

The first time I used one was Sandstorm in 2005: my party happened upon a remote trading post run by a Duergar. He offered the sale of all of Sandstorm's exotic weapons to the PCs; emphasis on exotic, because they were ALL exotic weapons! I eventualy relented and made them normal weapons.

The biggest problem with the 3.5 environmental books is that they assumed the book would be used for a campaign focused around that one environment. The nature of 3.5 character building meant that PCs were (barring magic) locked into what kinds of environments they could operate in. Full-plate Fighter wouldn't do well in either deserts or underwater.

One thing I wanted more from those books were extraplanar versions of the environments. The frozen layers of Hell, the deserts of the Outer Planes, the River Styx, THESE are places I wish they had spent paper and ink on!

Hopefully, if they're done in 4ed, it will have quick-use monsters, terrains and NPCs, with just a little crunch for PCs.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mist-Bound Dec 01, 2008 19:32:53	I was just recalling the days of 3.5, and specifically I was recalling the line of 'environmental sourcebooks' that it put out to help DMs go for specific types of campaigns. Off the top of my head, there was Sandstorm, for desert campaigns, Frostburn, for artic and high mountain campaigns, Stormwrack, for sub-aquatic and oceanic campaigns (more the former than the latter) and I think Cityscape, for urban campaigns. And after I recalled them, I began to wonder; do you think that Wizards will republish them for 4e? If not as their own books, then perhaps as material for extra DMGs? EIther way, do you think any of the 3.5 races, or ways to convert PHB races to their "environmental strains" (seacliff dwarf, desert halfling, etc) will appear in 4e?
#2 Ragnar_Lodbrok Dec 01, 2008 22:46:28	Subraces? NOOOOO! We'll be seeing 20 kinds of elf and eladrin again! But, more seriously, I doubt it. I think they'd just leave it to the DMs to houserule stuff like that. While Frostburn was useful at times, it turned out to be a waste of money in most cases. However, it's too early to tell if those things get republished, so, who knows?
#3 lady_ishtar Dec 01, 2008 22:56:39	i think it would make a great DMG material. or maybe have an environmental book in general, just how to run games in various environments. put in it some environment specific paragon paths if you must, but make it more like an environmental-dmg
#4 salla Dec 01, 2008 23:06:55	The FR player's guide indicate (I hope) how subraces will be dealt with in the future; the presence of feats that you can only take one of, like the Wild elf/Wood elf feats. If you take one, you're a Wild Elf, if you take the other, a Wood.
#5 serphet Dec 02, 2008 0:46:31	I've been thinking about doing a DDI article proposal, based on getting sandstorm style content into 4e.... but college is to time consuming.
#6 Elemental_Elf Dec 02, 2008 14:38:02	DMGs are for variant and expanded rules as well as tips on how to run your games. What better place for the old environmental books than future DMGs? Of course I wouldn't expect all the environs to be covered in just 1 DMG, you'd probably get 3 per DMG (if that many).
#7 Alter_Boy Dec 02, 2008 15:52:45	I fondly remember (and own) all four environmental books. They're great concepts that I'd like to work again, but as I recall, they were great books to read, but not as useful at the table as I would have liked. The first time I used one was Sandstorm in 2005: my party happened upon a remote trading post run by a Duergar. He offered the sale of all of Sandstorm's exotic weapons to the PCs; emphasis on exotic, because they were ALL exotic weapons! I eventualy relented and made them normal weapons. The biggest problem with the 3.5 environmental books is that they assumed the book would be used for a campaign focused around that one environment. The nature of 3.5 character building meant that PCs were (barring magic) locked into what kinds of environments they could operate in. Full-plate Fighter wouldn't do well in either deserts or underwater. One thing I wanted more from those books were extraplanar versions of the environments. The frozen layers of Hell, the deserts of the Outer Planes, the River Styx, THESE are places I wish they had spent paper and ink on! Hopefully, if they're done in 4ed, it will have quick-use monsters, terrains and NPCs, with just a little crunch for PCs.