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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3740 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Apr 2012 : 22:03:55
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| -Not for nothing, but a group of unaffiliated fans having such a capacity is a horrible one, and a recipe for disaster. Firstly, if WotC said to the collective community "Here, pick a bunch amongst yourselves to coordinate stuff with us in an official-unofficial capacity", how do they go about doing so? Do they just target the official WotC message boards? Do they also target a place like Candlekeep? What about one of those tertiary, lesser trafficked Forgotten Realms websites? It then becomes a huge popularity contest once that is figured out. So and so is cool, so he's in. So and so is cool, so she's in. So and so isn't cool, so he's not in. So and so isn't cool, so she's not in. That in turn leads to hard feelings among everyone. Why was that website considered while mine wasn't!? Why was that person considered while I wasn't!? Do these selected people, in their unofficial-official capacity, become pseudo-official WotC people? Do they get to start creating official lore (in that designers/authors they are helping use their unofficial bits if they want to)? If so, does that make them any more or less 'official' sources than anyone else, on whatever topic? And so on, I could keep going. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2012 : 23:08:34
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Well, it's been happening for what, almost two decades on and off?
I think that speaks to the maturity of the people doing the behind the scenes work.
The potential for people to get upset is there, but I think the real danger (if we can use that word) is minimal.
I think not assembling some sort of council for fear of conflict is roughly the same as deciding not to drive for fear of getting in a car crash. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 03 Apr 2012 23:42:54 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2012 : 00:22:23
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I agree, popularity and celebrity always override rational thinking whenever groups of people are involved. I did concede that it's probably an impossible ideal.
Of course WotC is not required (and should not be expected) to officially communicate with their customers and fans through any vehicle other than their own official contact information and website. It's nice whenever they visit, say, Candlekeep of course, but like you say, people will then automatically and accusingly demand to know why another site like EN World was ignored. To be truthful, Wizbro's people have at times offered careless, knee-jerk, even delinquent responses - but the real faults in immaturity do fall largely on the fan base. A glance through all the endless arguments in Candlekeep - even in scrolls where scribes almost unanimously agree and aren't being annoyed by hungry trolls - is proof enough that some (many) of the fans really do need to see their hobby (or themselves) with a more mature perspective. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 04 Apr 2012 00:27:05 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 03:39:24
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Personally, I would like to see a re-print of the Old Grey Box...and I know they can do it because they are putting out a re-print of the 1st Edition Rules. 
This would allow them two divergent paths of sales that they could really benefit from. The 5e sales obviously...but it seems to me perhaps they had deeper reasons for taking down all the ability we had to freely download old products.  |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 05:00:35
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OGB with new Mike Shley maps? {drool}
I wouldn't mind a tad-bit of 'tweaking', either (taking into account things we know changed from the original, or typos, etc). A new intro by Ed, of course (and maybe Jeff Grubb? How cool would that be?)
As much as I loved the original presentation, maybe some crisp, white pages as well (with little embellishments around the edges) - I am getting too damn old to read those 'yellowed' manuscript-style pages. It was cool when I was 16, or 21, or 30... but now its just annoying.
A 'light-handed' treatment, like Lucas gave to the first three SW films when they were re-released. Just add some polish and we're good.
I want Dūd Onahorz back on the cover - maybe him and Allisa of the Mists both standing, looking over a grave (whos?) and holding their horses by the reins. I think Todd Lookwood could pull that off beautifully. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 06 Apr 2012 05:33:15 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 05:28:34
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It would be awesome...and you KNOW it would profit for little investment!
Made me happy that you mentione Allisa of the Mists!
Can you believe I never formatted the Ixinos project in a PDF yet?
As for 5e, I haven't been paying much attention to it; but I will be happy if they put out a solid product I can engage in again...I just couldn't connect to 4e (though I admit it is an easy game to play). |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 05:39:07
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There was nothing wrong with the rules - it was the treatment of FR that turned the fans against the system. Had 4e FR been better-received (conceived?), we'd probably all be playing with the 4e rules right now.
I never said the 4e rules were bad - i just said they didn't feel like D&D (to me). They did feel like an awesome set of 'supers' rules - shame they didn't bother to go that route.
Yeah, I'm really loving the Dūd + Ahllisa standing over an unmarked grave on the cover - it pays homage to two past (and beloved) editions, and also delivers a nice air of mystery (who's grave is that?)
Once again, mystery = buzz; and you just can't get enough of that when releasing a new product line. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 06 Apr 2012 05:39:57 |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2421 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2012 : 12:10:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
If you mean the advice in D&D articles about how to use D&D material in various D&D settings, I have no problem with that. The problem is when the recommendations ("here's how you use this thing that doesn't really fit in the Realms (i.e. goliaths) in the Realms, if your group really wants it") become mandates.
Well, not as such. And between planewalkers and 'jammers appearance of an odd foreign feature now and then is not a problem at all.
The root of the problem here, however, is the same as of the one you wrote under "D&D Is The Clothing, Not The Skeleton": the setting is treated as optional dressing for D&D Miniature Game, as opposed to xD&D rules treated as a way to model the setting - and developed with such purpose. Various "there's no X, but oooh, I know - Y had X-ses!", ranging from quite sensible to disneyifying, pile up. And someone fighting a writer's block will jump on this. Or they may "become mandates" because they get shoveled into sourcebooks supposed to be canon.
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
The art attached to the current art contest (see here) speaks to far more realistic, culturally-informed art--which is unequivocally a good thing.
So... "realistic" or "culturally-informed"? 
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
It doesn't hurt that the artwork samples for Test 3 whisper, very quietly, "Rashemen...."
It will be decided by the same people who promoted illustrations full of fluorescent puke, cowdrow and spiked chains everywhere...
I'd be surprised if what gets two steps past test phase will still manage to whisper anything but "Psst, cormorado? Un matryoshka of schtschti, eh?"... Which will end up where this segment of, uh, "culturally-informed" stuff always goes: the Cranberry Fields.
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
Not showing isn't the same as not knowing. The people working on 5E are smart folks, and they are not unopinionated when it comes to The Game. They have a good idea where they want to take the next edition. They don't know, for sure, how people feel about those ideas.
They are showing lack of conceptual clarity. These votes are very telltale. And the tale they tell is "oh, for D&D4 we were mocked so much... please anyone tell us what do we want to write?"
"X are smart folks" is what easy game usually says before "...surely they won't fleece cute/smart/hiveminded Me". Which is why so many people buy 419, political shell-games and Windows Vista. Hardly a good argument, that is.
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell
Diffan postulated a superb way to establish Warforged in the Realms.
The base techniques for making them were developed in Lantan (by the Gondsmen?)
Cool. But? Let me postulate a superb way to establish Bear Lore in the Realms:
Because of some bear-related spell cast at the start of Spellplague, most people lost basic knowledge of bears and have a trouble remembering anything related. Here.
...What? Yes, it is a smoking pile of bat guano. But it does the job. 
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Wizbro's people have at times offered careless, knee-jerk, even delinquent responses - but the real faults in immaturity do fall largely on the fan base.
The real faults in immaturity always do fall largely on the fan base. Agree to eat bat guano this one time, and that's what you will be fed from now on. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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The Ten "Commandments" of 5E FR Design
