Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 21, 2007 13:31:09	My apologies if this has been answered in the past, but I could not find anything on the forums during a quick search. I noticed on the recent status update that Secrets of the Dead Lands is on hold. I know that athas.org is a community of volunteers and I am definitely appreciative of all the work that has been done, but I am definitely disappointed by this news. It was my understanding that Secrets of the Dead Lands was one of the two partially completed manuscripts turned over from TSR's handling of the line. Is the release of the book on indefinite hold? If so, could the 2e draft be released as an "alpha"? I have been looking forward to a treatment of the Dead Lands for a long time. Any news or comments on the situation would be greatly appreciated.
#2 Pennarin Aug 21, 2007 14:57:48	I've been told that Secrets makes so much heavy use of certains templates, classes, and epic rules that haven't yet been developped, or developped to satisfaction, that it's still put on hold untill all of those have been dealt with.
#3 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Aug 22, 2007 0:42:47	If so, could the 2e draft be released as an "alpha"? I believe the answer to this is "no". Not because of Athas.org, but because of the agreements made with Wizards of the Coast are tying our hands on this. secrets of the Deadlands is not on indefinite hold, there is a lot of projects being worked on all at once, and there is some significant movement I've seen as of late (unfortunately, real life prevents me from more than a cursory involvement any more), but I believe Penn is right, SotL is waiting on a few other rules to be fleshed out a bit first.
#4 redkank_dup Aug 22, 2007 4:56:00	Is there any point in doing it under 3.5 rules now that 4e is coming? Does Burnt World of Athas' license from WotC allow them to release stuff from defunct editions (or editions that will soon become defunct)? Surely you guys are gonna have to start all over again?
#5 brun01 Aug 22, 2007 5:51:17	Well, there's a lot of fluff that needs to be fleshed out first before all the rules are set, so this part could wait and everything be made into 4e rules. My personal opinion is that 4e is +/- 6 months away, and even so, I don't think it would be far or feasible to start releasing 4e material as soon as it comes out. People need time to adjust to the rules, both the fans as well as the authors. I would like for all material to be released under 3.5 for those who don't plan to go into 4e so soon (perhaps wait for the 4.5 rules in a few more years?), and then convert everything to 4e, but that's me.
#6 Pennarin Aug 22, 2007 8:55:45	Lord, 4e's hugly head again?! This thing's like a mad dog or something... It takes so much work to even release a 3.5 version of DS - ask anyone that did/does work for athas.org - and we've been at it for years, we ain't anytime soon going to convert, or switch, to 4e. And that is my personal opinion, in case some are wondering.
#7 redkank_dup Aug 22, 2007 9:10:59	Lord, 4e's hugly head again?! This thing's like a mad dog or something... Dude, what do you expect? It's only 6 months away, after all. Gonna be a lot more of this kinda thing from now on. It takes so much work to even release a 3.5 version of DS - ask anyone that did/does work for athas.org - and we've been at it for years, we ain't anytime soon going to convert, or switch, to 4e. And that is my personal opinion, in case some are wondering. Yeah, I'll bet it's just your personal opinion, coz it's not what the Flipster said yesterday. Sounds to me like Burnt World of Athas is going to switch to 4e, and I'd guess sooner rather than later. Simple fact: you have to. It's where the game is going, like it or not. Too much work, you say? Tough. That's what comes with being an official site, I say. If I were you guys, I'd be scoping the previews from the minute they appear and grabbing the 4e SRD/Core books/whatevah asap so that I could release DS4e as rapidlty as possible. But, ya know, that's just my personal opinion, in case some are wondering. :D
#8 Pennarin Aug 22, 2007 10:53:13	RedKank, the personal opinion thingny is for Jon, who doesn't like it when athas.org members or ex-members appear to speak for the organization. As for the rest of the post, haven't you ever heard a rant before? Too much work, you say? Tough. Please then, volunteer to convert DS3, Terrors of Athas, Terrors of the Dead Lands, Dregoth Ascending 1, 2, and 3, Prestige Class Appendix I and 2, City State of Draj, Trade Lords, Wisdom of the Drylanders, Tyrian Conspiracy, and Whispers of the Storm. ...or, just volunteer to convert DS3 to DS4. Maybe you'll even take me up on my goad and help Athas.org get it done. Ahh, another good action, my day is done :D
#9 redkank_dup Aug 22, 2007 11:16:47	RedKank, the personal opinion thingny is for Jon, who doesn't like it when athas.org members or ex-members appear to speak for the organization. Ya gotta toe the party line after all, eh? As for the rest of the post, haven't you ever heard a rant before? Sure man, but if you air your laundry in public, you gotta be prepared for someone to call you on it. This is teh intarwebs, after all :D Please then, volunteer to convert DS3, Terrors of Athas, Terrors of the Dead Lands, Dregoth Ascending 1, 2, and 3, Prestige Class Appendix I and 2, City State of Draj, Trade Lords, Wisdom of the Drylanders, Tyrian Conspiracy, and Whispers of the Storm. ...or, just volunteer to convert DS3 to DS4. Maybe you'll even take me up on my goad and help Athas.org get it done. Ahh, another good action, my day is done :D Bwahahaha. No thanks. I'm a fan, nothing more, and that has certain priviliges - like not having to get my hands dirty, lol. If you can't handle the serious work, then get back here into the playground with the rest of us kiddies. Otherwise knuckle down, bro'! You guys got a shitload of work ahead of ya!
#10 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 13:24:54	Quintuple
#11 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 13:26:00	Post
#12 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 13:19:43	Stupid
#13 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 13:17:25	Please then, volunteer to convert DS3, Terrors of Athas, Terrors of the Dead Lands, Dregoth Ascending 1, 2, and 3, Prestige Class Appendix I and 2, City State of Draj, Trade Lords, Wisdom of the Drylanders, Tyrian Conspiracy, and Whispers of the Storm. ...or, just volunteer to convert DS3 to DS4. Maybe you'll even take me up on my goad and help Athas.org get it done. Ahh, another good action, my day is done :D And don't forget the stuff in process that we want to get out before 4th ed. (LoA, AE, FFN, LSH) Ya gotta toe the party line after all, eh? Ain't so much a party line as making sure that you know who is talking about what. I could say that I hate anything after the first box and that I think the PP screwed up the setting (this is not my view, but others on the forum have it), but I need to make sure you know that this is not the view of athas.org, so you don't confuse my view for our view Bwahahaha. No thanks. I'm a fan, nothing more, and that has certain priviliges - like not having to get my hands dirty, lol. If you can't handle the serious work, then get back here into the playground with the rest of us kiddies. Otherwise knuckle down, bro'! You guys got a s******d of work ahead of ya! We are all fans at athas.org. That is why we bother doing what we do. it's not about playgrounds either. One of the problems that will happen with 4e is that psionics might not be in the core, but it is core for athas. We need to find a way to make it work. That said, there should be easy conversions similar to the change from 2ed to 3ed, so even the 3.5 stuff will be playable. But doing 4e will be HUGE. because we need to update the races (based on what has been said so far), and the classes and everything else. And we can't plan to much right now cause no one has any clue what 4e really is. At this point, it is all speculation.
#14 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 13:35:35	AHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#15 elonarc Aug 22, 2007 15:07:44	Wow...mad props for that, cnahumck. Half a Poké-Point.
#16 jon_oracle_of_athas Aug 22, 2007 16:11:40	Again with the poke-points...
#17 cnahumck Aug 22, 2007 16:14:05	Wow...mad props for that, cnahumck. Half a Poké-Point. If I get points for making mistakes...
#18 jon_oracle_of_athas Aug 22, 2007 16:16:52	RedKank, the personal opinion thingny is for Jon, who doesn't like it when athas.org members or ex-members appear to speak for the organization. Athas.org suffers when there is confusion between what are individual member opinions and official statements, the latter which are usually handled by overcouncil members - or in some instances senators. Being responsible for HR functions at athas.org, the duty falls upon me to inform you that we need clear communication with the rest of the community.
#19 flip Aug 30, 2007 14:34:15	If I were you guys, I'd be scoping the previews from the minute they appear and grabbing the 4e SRD/Core books/whatevah asap so that I could release DS4e as rapidlty as possible. But, ya know, that's just my personal opinion, in case some are wondering. Believe me, I for one am watching the threads over on the other side of the boards, reading the articles on the main site as they come out, and whatever other back channel sources of information I can get to. Also working on getting in on the beta, which hasn't been started yet, publically. All in addition to working on a complete site reimplementation, which should be more-or-less. I'm optimistic about 4e. From what I'm seeing, it's monsters and it's characters are going to be much less gear dependent than in 3e. Which says that it translates much more cleanly for Dark Sun, at least at the core.