Thoughts?
Kyle
I'm trying to figure out what sort of content Open Grave will have for players. The one-liner description seems to suggest it'll have new monsters and a good deal of fluff, and I would suspect it'll have new magic items and feats for fighting undead, but I'm hoping for more.
The splat books seem to be evenly partitioned between player oriented crunch and DM oriented content. I think Open Grave will largely be a lot like the Draconomicon in terms of the types of content:
- Undead monsters
- Tombs for undead critters (like Dragon lairs)
- Loads of fluff
- Maybe some ritual magic.
A vampire multiclass would be nice, for example.
Thoughts?
Kyle
A vampire multiclass would be nice, for example.
Thoughts?
Kyle
I LOVE IT!
Paragon Paths can be crammed 2 to a page without even trying, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would be an awesome little cookie if they had a short 6 page 'chapter' of Templates (for the DM, stuff like the Death Knight) which had equivalent Paragon Paths (for Players in an off-beat Evil/Shades of Gray campaign, or in the DM's case for that one special BBEG who is a PC build). Like maybe along these lines? (blatant rip-off from Alucard of the PlayStation 1 classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)
Half-Vampire Fencer
Paragon Path requirements: Fighter class, maybe some [Origin] feats yet to be created
Form Mastery (level 11) Spend an action point to re-roll an attack roll or a saving throw instead of taking an extra action.
Unnerving Composure (level 11) - Combat Superiority attacks target the enemies' Will defense.
Mist Form (level 16) - once per day may gain the insubstantial and phasing qualities for a single Move action.
Unholy Skill (Encounter 11 attack) -- a teleporting melee attack.
Dark Metamorphosis (Daily 12 Utility) -- minor action after a successful melee attack vs. bloodied enemy gives you a flood of Temp/real HP. Or maybe it's a stance...
Tetra Spirit (Daily 19 attack) -- your choice of Cha/Int/Wis vs. Will in a close burst. combination of light damage + 1 turn attack penalty + mark 'em all (for the fighter multiclasses out there).
Hmm... yeah, kinda like that. slinks away to go write more
Who else is feeling Vampiric/Mummy/Lich/Lycanthrope (as in not shifter, though that could work) backgrounds as a series of Multi-class feats that could culminate in Paragon Paths and a few good Epic Destinies?
I LOVE IT!
Well I'm starting the design process for a vampire multiclass on a thread in the general discussion forum if you wanna help out. Some guy asked how to make a vamp character and I started to get inspired.
I imagine the material or content for undead slayers PCs will be in a future Ravenloft player´s guide.
We might also see player oriented undead material in the issue of Dragon that comes out in the same month. Sort of like how we got a slew of dragon related paragon paths in this month's issue of Dragon.
I imagine the material or content for undead slayers PCs will be in a future Ravenloft player´s guide.
I wouldn't hold your breath on Ravenloft being released as its own campaign setting, considering the fact that it looks like they're taking Ravenloft apart & spreading aspects of the setting around in other books, etc.
The Domains of Dread are popping up all over the Shadowfell via DDI content & Strahd apparently makes an appearance in Open Grave, & when it's a given that Eberron is gonna be the next setting to be released, I just don't get that "preview" vibe when all this Ravenloft material is coming to us this early. Instead, it seems like they're simply cannibalizing the really good parts of the setting & dropping that material here & there into the generic PoL setting.
Open Grave is a sourcebook targeted at DMs, much in the same vein as the newest Draconomicon.
good
I'd like to see an update of the old Von Richten's guides from second edition. I also think that Content for undead hunters would be in the Dragon Magazine, likely released a few days after the book itself.
As for Ravenloft, I'm hoping to see it in 2010, but I'm not holding my breath...
I would also be shocked if there wasn't some undead-themed player-oriented material in Dragon, like rituals or paragon paths. This is one huge advantage of having Dragon 'in-house' again...they can organize their printed books better along DM/Player lines, and still provide the extra material in the magazine.
Some cynics might think Dragon is just advertising for the book-of-the-month. I'd rather call is support.
(I also agree that Ravenloft is being dismantled and added to the Shadowfell.)
I generally agree about the good that results from a clear DM/Player divide in splatbooks... but I also like hold out hope for quirky character options that might not get any love anywhere else. The subject of Undead sourcebooks seems particularly susceptible because of the enjoyable weirdness that can come from an Undead campaign (who remembers that one sourcebook from 3.5... oh wait, there were like 5! Libris Mortis, Heroes of Horror, that one undead pseudo-city sourcebook, ummm Book of Vile Darkness [ick], others I'm forgetting?)
Paragon Paths can be crammed 2 to a page without even trying, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would be an awesome little cookie if they had a short 6 page 'chapter' of Templates (for the DM, stuff like the Death Knight) which had equivalent Paragon Paths (for Players in an off-beat Evil/Shades of Gray campaign, or in the DM's case for that one special BBEG who is a PC build).
Who else is feeling Vampiric/Mummy/Lich/Lycanthrope (as in not shifter, though that could work) backgrounds as a series of Multi-class feats that could culminate in Paragon Paths and a few good Epic Destinies?
I prefer PCs not having to buy every book for the one or two pages of PC tidbits in a DM book.
There should be DM books with DM-only information and there should be player books the DM only needs to look at when handing out treasure. DMs don't need Martial Powers and PCs don't need Open Grave.
IF there is some great idea for monster-PC content that gels nicely with a current DM work that is perfect for Dragon and D&DInsider (and something I'd much rather pay for than 2-3 playtests a month so I end up paying twice for the same content. But that's a personal grip...).
Like others have said I expect the PC side of the content related to Open Grave to be in Dragon like they did the Dragon Slayers PPs for Draconomicon.
As for Ravenloft and Planescape I don't think we'll see the CG/PG like FR and Eberron. Both of those settings were more 'metasettings' that crossed into other campaign worlds. Ravenloft after all had Domains of Dread that came from Greyhawk/Oerth, FR/Toril, and Krynn as well as other unnamed Primes. We've seen a reference to Sigil already in the first books and we know it's been brought up again in Manual of the Planes.
I like that both Planescape and Ravenloft have been incorporated into the PoL setting and made truly setting neutral, something putting them as their own featured campaign settings would detract from. Spelljammer would be another such case of a 'metasetting'.
I think after Eberron we'll likely see Krynn, Mystara, or Athas. Kara-Tur/OA, Al-Qadim, Maztica, Spelljammer, Planescape, and Ravenloft work better as just added into the PoL or another campaign setting since they're either more about a cultural flavor to any campaign or are metasettings that like the Astral Sea touch many Primes.
I think Open Grave will focus on DM content. We may get an MM-style writeup for monsters in Open Grave but as clarified recently these write-ups are more to help a DM make an NPC rather than for PCs to use as their race (hence why no racial feats).
Like others have said I expect the PC side of the content related to Open Grave to be in Dragon like they did the Dragon Slayers PPs for Draconomicon.
As for Ravenloft and Planescape I don't think we'll see the CG/PG like FR and Eberron. Both of those settings were more 'metasettings' that crossed into other campaign worlds. Ravenloft after all had Domains of Dread that came from Greyhawk/Oerth, FR/Toril, and Krynn as well as other unnamed Primes. We've seen a reference to Sigil already in the first books and we know it's been brought up again in Manual of the Planes.
I like that both Planescape and Ravenloft have been incorporated into the PoL setting and made truly setting neutral, something putting them as their own featured campaign settings would detract from. Spelljammer would be another such case of a 'metasetting'.
I think after Eberron we'll likely see Krynn, Mystara, or Athas. Kara-Tur/OA, Al-Qadim, Maztica, Spelljammer, Planescape, and Ravenloft work better as just added into the PoL or another campaign setting since they're either more about a cultural flavor to any campaign or are metasettings that like the Astral Sea touch many Primes.
I still say the most likely setting for 2010 is Dark Sun, based on the fact they are re-issuing Troy Denning's series in the next year