If this is indeed one of the main strategies WotC is pursuing for the 4E D&D settings, then this may possibly put settings like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Oriental Adventures, Gamma World, Spelljammer, and Ravenloft on the lower priority backburner for the possible following reasons:
- Dragonlance novels are still being published.
- A d20 version of Gamma World was published back in the 3E/3.5E era.
- A d20 version of Ravenloft was published back in the 3E/3.5E era, and an upcoming Ravenloft board game next year.
- A 3E Oriental Adventures book was done back in 2001.
- Spelljammer was mentioned in the 4E Manual of the Planes.
- "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" was released two years ago.
What's left are TSR settings which have not been published for many years since the 2E AD&D days. Here are some guesses as to possible ways of keeping these settings in print for 4E D&D
Kara-Tur, Mazitca, Zakhara (Al-Qadim)
- Write up several articles on each of these regions as Dungeon Magazine articles and compile them later into a 4E Dungeon Magazine Annual type book, or as a "Beyond Faerun" campaign setting book.
Jakandor
- Write up several Dungeon magazine articles on this setting.
Planescape, Spelljammer
- Incorporate Spelljammer and Planescape into the 4E planar books like Plane Below, Plane Above, Manual of the Planes, and maybe the DMG2 and DMG3.
Council of Wyrms
- This setting could be used for a 4E "Dragonomicon 3" book.
Mystara, Hollow World, Savage Coasts, Red Steel
- These settings based around Mystara could be viable for a unified treatment as a 4E Mystara campaign guide + player's guide + module.
Birthright
- This could be made into a viable setting, similar to the 4E Dark Sun treatment.
Kara-Tur, Mahasarpa
- These could be viable for a 4E Oriental Adventures setting book.
Rokugan, Lankhmar
- I understand that WotC does not have the rights anymore to these settings.
From these observations, perhaps Mystara and Birthright start to look like viable candidates for the 2011 or 2012 settings if WotC's strategy is to preserve their trademarks on their older settings. The last time these two settings published anything, was back in the mid-late 1990's.
In principle they could even do two settings per year for 2011 or 2012, where only a campaign setting book is done for each setting and no player's guides.
there's no need to put out stuff so that trademarks don't expire.
all the settings and their content are covered by copyright...
there's no need to put out stuff so that trademarks don't expire.
Allegedly WotC let the trademark for "DragonQuest" expire, and another company (Square Enix) registered the "DragonQuest" trademark in America back in 2003.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DragonQuest#History
Trademarks have to be re-registered to keep them alive. It works differently than copyright.
http://inventors.about.com/od/inventing101trademarks/f/expiration.htm
all the settings and their content are covered by copyright...
there's no need to put out stuff so that trademarks don't expire.
Well if you don't use a trademark for an extended period of time(apparently somewhere around 5 years), it is possible to lose the rights to it. As such other companies would be able to use the line names even if they can't use the actual product's content due to copyright. Honestly I'm not really sure how we didn't have a bunch of TSR setting names stolen during the late 3.X days. I can only assume that publishing Dragon articles and novel reprints managed to count as using the trademark. However the point remains that trademark use does factor into the equation.
Note: For an interesting case in a vein of owning trademarks vs copyrights look up the legal wranglings between Valiant Entertainment and Valiant Intellectual Properties.
(*) Last time I checked, the US was still driven by capitalism, but lately not all indicators point in that direction.
I'd say "highest predicted sales number" is the main question when deciding the next campaign setting (*).
Judging by past splatbooks + modules production, that would be Forgotten Realms during the 2E and 3E/3.5E eras, and Dragonlance during the 1E and 2E eras. I assume Eberron did well enough during the 3.5E era, that WotC thought it was still viable as a 4E setting. Though this time around for 4E, they don't seem to be interested in the splatbook treadmills for FR and Eberron.
After that it seems to be slim pickings.
At worse, if WotC is doing things minimally to keep the trademarks of their D&D settings alive, the easiest way would be to write several Dungeon Magazine articles for each individual setting.
Forgotten Realms is representative of traditional High Fantasy.
Eberron is a noir/swashbuckling setting.
Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic.
None of the 3 known settings so far really steps on the toes of what the others niche is.
I think their strategy for releasing settings so far has been to offer a bunch of different settings.
Forgotten Realms is representative of traditional High Fantasy.
Eberron is a noir/swashbuckling setting.
Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic.
None of the 3 known settings so far really steps on the toes of what the others niche is.
Yeah, I would say showing the diversity of D&D Fantasy is definitely a focus, especially given what they talked about in the Dark Sun article. Which is greatly appreciated by me.
None of the 3 known settings so far really steps on the toes of what the others niche is.
Too much overlap between different settings and/or too many settings in general, can start dividing gamers into factions. Allegedly something like this happened during the 2E AD&D era of numerous different settings.
I have yet to find a link or reference, but I wonder if WotC's strategy for 4E settings is based partially on maintaining the trademarks of their earlier settings such that they don't expire (ie. ones from the TSR era).
If this is indeed one of the main strategies WotC is pursuing for the 4E D&D settings, then this may possibly put settings like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Oriental Adventures, Gamma World, Spelljammer, and Ravenloft on the lower priority backburner for the possible following reasons:
- Dragonlance novels are still being published.
- A d20 version of Gamma World was published back in the 3E/3.5E era.
- A d20 version of Ravenloft was published back in the 3E/3.5E era, and an upcoming Ravenloft board game next year.
- A 3E Oriental Adventures book was done back in 2001.
- Spelljammer was mentioned in the 4E Manual of the Planes.
- "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" was released two years ago.
What's left are TSR settings which have not been published for many years since the 2E AD&D days. Here are some guesses as to possible ways of keeping these settings in print for 4E D&D
Kara-Tur, Mazitca, Zakhara (Al-Qadim)
- Write up several articles on each of these regions as Dungeon Magazine articles and compile them later into a 4E Dungeon Magazine Annual type book, or as a "Beyond Faerun" campaign setting book.
Jakandor
- Write up several Dungeon magazine articles on this setting.
Planescape, Spelljammer
- Incorporate Spelljammer and Planescape into the 4E planar books like Plane Below, Plane Above, Manual of the Planes, and maybe the DMG2 and DMG3.
Council of Wyrms
- This setting could be used for a 4E "Dragonomicon 3" book.
Mystara, Hollow World, Savage Coasts, Red Steel
- These settings based around Mystara could be viable for a unified treatment as a 4E Mystara campaign guide + player's guide + module.
Birthright
- This could be made into a viable setting, similar to the 4E Dark Sun treatment.
Kara-Tur, Mahasarpa
- These could be viable for a 4E Oriental Adventures setting book.
Rokugan, Lankhmar
- I understand that WotC does not have the rights anymore to these settings.
From these observations, perhaps Mystara and Birthright start to look like viable candidates for the 2011 or 2012 settings if WotC's strategy is to preserve their trademarks on their older settings. The last time these two settings published anything, was back in the mid-late 1990's.
In principle they could even do two settings per year for 2011 or 2012, where only a campaign setting book is done for each setting and no player's guides.
I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head for a few of these.
Birthright
-This is a very plausible candidate for a Campaign Setting. It is traditional fantasy in most aspects, but strayed far enough afield that it could easily be fleshed out into a full campaign. With the Awnsheghlien and the changing dynamics of wars between neighboring domains the setting lends itself well to the Points of Light concept. Bloodlines could be done through feats and paragon paths very easily.
Council of Wyrms
-You may be right, Draconimicon 3 could very possibly cover a Council of Wyrms concept. I don't see this ever being a full blown campaign setting again though.
Dragonlance
-With 2010 being the 25th anniversary of Dragonlance I can see WotC taking a watch and wait stance on this. Dragonlance is high fantasy, it doesn't really stray too far into new territory for it to be an early setting for this edition where they have said that they are trying to expand the scope of D&D fantasy. I would assume that the conceptualization and early work is already underway for the 2011 setting I am willing to bet that Dragonlance is more likely to be the 2012 or 2013 setting.
Greyhawk
-Greyhawk is traditional fantasy, a niche already filled by Forgotten Realms. I can see it eventually being resurrected for nostalgia purposes, but with them stating; "one of the factors we've looked at in planning our settings is the degree to which a setting strays from the standard D&D medieval fantasy feel." (James Wyatt, Dragon #378, Aug. 2009) I don't think it is going to be anytime soon.
Spelljammer and Ravenloft
-Both of these settings are being folded into the core mechanics in one way or another. Continued articles in DDI will flesh their concepts out further. Of the two of them I think Spelljammer stands a better chance of seeing its own Campaign Setting Guide and Player's Guide. Ravenloft is a little too general and easily added into any setting than Spelljammer.
Other settings
-Zakhara (Al Qadim), Kar Tur, Maztica were all explained away as expansions of the Forgotten Realms world. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that a series of articles that went "Beyond the Realms" could expand upon hte key elements of the setting. Of the three of them I see a few concepts being brought into the broader spectrum fo the core rules. Sha'ir seems like a viable concept for either a Leader or Controller in the Elemental Power Source. Wu Jen could fill the Elemental Controller role as well. I honestly can't think of anything that Maztica could add to the 4e rules.
Mystara
-Mystara suffers from the same problem as Greyhawk, it is a traditional fantasy setting. With the exception of the Savage coast there is little to differentiate it from FR or GH, and even that is a pretty small exception. This setting is probably best left to the possibility of an article or 2 in DDI covering things like the Red Curse and cynabril and maybe showcasing a few areas. The airship in Adventurer's Vault is more of a homage to the Voyages of the Princess Ark than an interpretation of the Elemental Airships of house Lyrandar in Eberron.
Overall I think we'll stand a better chance of seeing a new intellectual property in this edition than a rehash of some of the old campaigns settings. There is still a chance that a few of the old ones will see the light of day as full blown campaigns, but I think we are more likely to see them appear as articles in DDI than anywhere else.
I'm hoping for something like the Campaign Classics they did in a few print issues of Dragon where they took some of the major conceits from the old 2e campaign settings and brought them into 3-3.5e rules. I remember there being an article that brought the Birthright bloodlines system into 3.5 rules as a series of feats, and I know they created defiling rules from Dark Sun for 3.5 as well.
Create a spelljammer campaign that focuses on the rim (neutral zone like interface between the known worlds and the far realms). Make it a combination of interstellar swashbuckling piracy juxtaposed against invasive cthulu like horrors.
Alone, the spelljammer premise really is more of an add on for all campaign worlds, tying them together. But a setting that features the far realms and its inhabitants in a prominent role is intriguing, and using the spelljammer ships and ports as the PC base of exploring/guarding against it would just be too cool.
There could even be a hint of Dnd meets original Star Trek feel to it - the whole "boldly jamming where no man/elf/dwarf/halfling/etc has jammed before."
I think their strategy for releasing settings so far has been to offer a bunch of different settings.
Forgotten Realms is representative of traditional High Fantasy.
Eberron is a noir/swashbuckling setting.
Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic.
None of the 3 known settings so far really steps on the toes of what the others niche is.
This.
I think that to speculate on future settings, we should look into what archetypes of fantasy are NOT covered by the current settings. Right now, the only one that comes to mind is Urban Fantasy, which would take place in a quasi-modern or near future world.
I posted this in another thread but the more I think about it, the more intrigued I am.
Create a spelljammer campaign that focuses on the rim (neutral zone like interface between the known worlds and the far realms). Make it a combination of interstellar swashbuckling piracy juxtaposed against invasive cthulu like horrors.
Alone, the spelljammer premise really is more of an add on for all campaign worlds, tying them together. But a setting that features the far realms and its inhabitants in a prominent role is intriguing, and using the spelljammer ships and ports as the PC base of exploring/guarding against it would just be too cool.
There could even be a hint of Dnd meets original Star Trek feel to it - the whole "boldly jamming where no man/elf/dwarf/halfling/etc has jammed before."
I would love to see that! Cthulhu and Star Trek = love ;)
This.
I think that to speculate on future settings, we should look into what archetypes of fantasy are NOT covered by the current settings. Right now, the only one that comes to mind is Urban Fantasy, which would take place in a quasi-modern or near future world.
Sharn had it's own source book last edition, I know a lot of people go EWW warforged, but I think those are the same people that would go EWWWW my treehugging elven dancer has no place in this city (which is a lie).
I think that to speculate on future settings, we should look into what archetypes of fantasy are NOT covered by the current settings. Right now, the only one that comes to mind is Urban Fantasy, which would take place in a quasi-modern or near future world.
While it's important to show the breadth of what D&D can be, it's also important to stay true to what it already is. After shaking things up with Eberron in 2009 and then turning everything completely upside down with Dark Sun in 2010, I personally think a return to some kind of classical setting like Dragonlance or Mystara would be a welcome change of pace for 2011.
That said, I'd love to see an urban-fantasy setting, if only so I could cannibalize it to create a setting based on M:tG's Ravinca world.
What I really mean is something with pervasive fantasy elements set ostensibly in the modern world: Something like the Dresden Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, etc. Dark*Matter and Urban Arcana are examples from previous editions and could be revived. It does often take place in the big city, but it could just as easily take place in rural Kentucky, the middle of the Iraqi desert, or on the jungles of Africa.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UrbanFantasy
I think their strategy for releasing settings so far has been to offer a bunch of different settings.
Forgotten Realms is representative of traditional High Fantasy.
Eberron is a noir/swashbuckling setting.
Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic.
None of the 3 known settings so far really steps on the toes of what the others niche is.
This is exactly what they're doing.
I suspect that they will continue down this route for precisely this reason: because it sells better and they don't compete with themselves (as much). Greyhawk is a bad idea because it competes with FR, for example.
Some possible future themes:
1) The Age of Exploration.
2) The savage setting - a more primitive setting than standard D&D.
3) The twisted world setting - a world where you've got really bizzare terrain, a really messed up world, plausibly with NPC races as the dominant forces in it. Probably already covered in the far realm/elemental chaos/shadowfell, and thus will probably be covered by those plane-specific books.
I think we're far more likely to see new IP from here on out, as almost everything else has either been covered genre-wise, has been folded into the main cosmology, or is better off as just a book.
The only real exception is Council of Wyrms, which WOULD be a plausible campaign setting, but I don't think it is really very compatible with D&D - really, to make a cool "you're a dragon" game, I think you'd want an engine specifically designed around being a dragon. D&D makes assumptions about what PCs can do which dragons violate. Birthright is more likely to be a strongholds/running a kingdom type book they'll come out with eventually, if they make it at all (I'm not sure what the demand on such is).