I know this has probably been asked a hundred times on these boards, but why hasn't a 3.5 Planescape book been published? Yeah yeah, you can say the Planar Handbook covers it, but come on, what about the Modrons(sp?), and many of the other things that AREN'T in the Planar Handbook? If DRAGONLANCE can get a 3.5 book, (which is a worse campaign setting IMO, although it's fine for novels) then why not Planescape?
Because the license to Dragonlance (also Ravenloft and OA) was purchased by a third party publisher. Find a third-party publisher with lots of dough and willing to gamble that Planescape will be profitable. I am sure part of any negotiations with WOTC, they will show said publisher what the actual sales for PS were in the past...
It's been five year since the initial release of 3.0 ruleset and still no Planescape (& Dark Sun, Birthright, etc.), makes you wonder if they were actually profitable lines even during TSR's days. Otherwise you would think some third-party publisher would have forked up the capital to acquire the license.
what about the Modrons(sp?)
Here they are.
I am sure part of any negotiations with WOTC, they will show said publisher what the actual sales for PS were in the past...
It's been five year since the initial release of 3.0 ruleset and still no Planescape (& Dark Sun, Birthright, etc.), makes you wonder if they were actually profitable lines even during TSR's days. Otherwise you would think some third-party publisher would have forked up the capital to acquire the license.
1) The PS line was indeed a good seller. However the products used more than the standard set of inks, and per unit they cost more, driving up costs and thus it was not as profitable despite good sales as some other lines.
2) There have been people who attempted to purchase the rights to Planescape. However given the metacampaign nature of PS, there likely would have been some sort of agreement in order to use references to other campaign settings, not all of which and held by WotC anymore, but by 3rd party publishers. I've heard ballpark numbers for what WotC was asking for the PS license, and it was exorbitant by all accounts.
3) Planescape has arguably gotten more exposure in 3e than has Grayhawk. Planescape and the DnD/Great Wheel cosmology are for all practical purposes the same exact thing. Planescape has carried over in the 3.5 DMG, all of the monster books, the Manual of the Planes, and the Planar Handbook, among others. It just isn't a seperate line, but than again of the entire swath of campaign settings from 2e, only FR is still a seperate product line by WotC.
4) It's probably good that Planescape isn't a seperate product line right now because I dare say that WotC wouldn't be capable of filling the shoes of the original TSR Planescape design team. All of those people have since moved on, save for one or two freelance jobs for WotC (Monte Cook, Wolfgang Baur). The current 3e design philosophy would not do justice to the atmosphere and dynamic esposed by Planescape.
A book of feats and PrCs and LA+0 races, to generalize the content of too many pages in 3e books, would be a mockery of Planescape. Look at 'Faces of Evil: The Fiends' from Planescape. I don't recall a single stat block in that entire book. Do you honestly think that WotC would put out something like that now? The current design philosophy in 3.5 simply won't support that, and I'd rather not see anything than a halfhearted job.
5) Planewalker has done a very good job handling the conversion of material unique to Planescape, and in my opinion has stayed true to the flavor and atmosphere while incorporating the 3e mechanics. Check it out if you haven't already done so. The Planar Hanbook devotes a dozen pages or so to Sigil, we have around 100.
because Planescape (without the annoying Lady and the idiot factions) is prefectly replicated with DMG material. The factions are updated in Planar Handbook, if you want them (ick), and the lady, why that's just a DM railroad without statistics.
If you're using The Lady of Pain as a DM railroad, you're not using her right. The best use of The Lady is not at all, not actively anyway. She's flavor, not an NPC. 3 years of gaming, and Her Serenity has shown up all of twice in that time.
The factions provided a depth rarely seen in the game, and an exploration of philosophies that didn't neatly fit into the cardinal alignment framework, and considering that they all sat nestled above the point where all magic, all psionics, and even all alignment were nullified and made effectivel irrelevant, it made sense that they would surge to the forefront.
What about them didn't you like, I'm curious. Normally I find that people who don't like portions of Planescape are typically all people who played OD&D or 1e DnD and just approach the game from a completely different perspective from me. And FWIW, I never played before 3e, well after 2e was out of print.
So to answer your question: Wizards is a bunch of idiots, that's why.
...a sucky hodge-podge blatant rip-off of a setting like Eberron...
And what, pray, does Eberron "blatantly" rip off?
...No, seriously?
And what, pray, does Eberron "blatantly" rip off?
...No, seriously?
I second this.
And what, pray, does Eberron "blatantly" rip off?
...No, seriously?
yeah who do tehy rip off (and i dont know anything about Eberron, but i NEED TO KNOW!)
The 2nd Ed stuff is useful, but there's definitely room for expansion of some ideas.
also wizards says that if they have lots of worlds thier bucks in sales goes down
-you have to look at this with a money side to-this is one reason wht tsr died
just convert the 2nd to 3.0
also wizards says that if they have lots of worlds thier bucks in sales goes down
-you have to look at this with a money side to-this is one reason wht tsr died
While it's true that market dilution was one of the things that killed TSR, I still can't wrap my head around that being used as a reason by WotC to stop work on all but two of the TSR settings... right before they immediately pop up with Eberron. Boggles the mind it does.
*shrug*
In a nutshell, WotC thinks it's easier and more effective to give a new setting enough momentum to rival the existing ones than it is to take an older one and try to boost its élan.
Wishful thinking, I know.
If you're using The Lady of Pain as a DM railroad, you're not using her right. The best use of The Lady is not at all, not actively anyway. She's flavor, not an NPC. 3 years of gaming, and Her Serenity has shown up all of twice in that time.
The factions provided a depth rarely seen in the game, and an exploration of philosophies that didn't neatly fit into the cardinal alignment framework, and considering that they all sat nestled above the point where all magic, all psionics, and even all alignment were nullified and made effectivel irrelevant, it made sense that they would surge to the forefront.
What about them didn't you like, I'm curious. Normally I find that people who don't like portions of Planescape are typically all people who played OD&D or 1e DnD and just approach the game from a completely different perspective from me. And FWIW, I never played before 3e, well after 2e was out of print.
That's an awesome way to put it.
*boggle*
Anyone else confused why this thread got moved but not the other dozen or so speculative 'what's next' and 'why not make this' threads?
*boggle*
Perhaps.
Or rather, it is just something we are not supposed to *think* too much about...
.
The other idea is to make some new official planescape material but that might ruin it, maybe even worse then the new forgotten realms material :P. If they hired new people it would be like eg. someone introducing young writers to eric idle and then caling it "the new monty python".
As for the "WotC are all idiots" bit, i learned a few things in life:
- There's no point in going up to someone who earns tousands of milions of hundreds of gold pieces a day and telling him how to run his buisness
- All modern corporate material (dnd or other) is mostly targeted at 13 year olds. There's no fighting it because they're the ones spending all of their money on entertainment
- Nobody ever listens to old people. Hell, even I don't listen to old people :D
- Be open to new ideas. Some of it is great material to rip-off and combine with your own old-school material
As for eberron, it's a nice action-packed modernised setting with a lot of good ideas, cool NPC-s and a lot of acrophobia involved. It's better to have a new setting for post-medival machinery then trying to force trains and zeppelins into forgotten realms
because Planescape (without the annoying Lady and the idiot factions) is prefectly replicated with DMG material.
If under "perfectly" you mean "differently" then you are very right. The new cosmology is different, altough the difference is unnoticeable to the eyes of the clueless
Eberron is a very Final Fantasy typed world. Purely magical instead of the magi-tech FF usually does, but the feel is definately there.
But considering Final Fantasy's origins have to do with cloning D&D into a Video game I don't see the deal.
That and the world is a nice change away from everything being all powerful. I love PlaneScape to death (and I don't hate FR....) But with PlaneScape, you trace the lines of power and you get astronomically powerful beings at the end of the line. This isn't good or bad, but it's a nice change to know that the uber bad guys are around level 15-20. It's actually written without Epic in mind which is something I never truly felt with PlaneScape.
and I've tangented off. Oops.
Anyway, to stay on topic again, we don't need and shouldn't want an "official" 3.5 Planescape. Look at Darksun, they did a pseudo "official" telling in Dungeon and Dragon magazines.. The result is that it ingored and walked all over the athas.org stuff. When we have folks like those at PlaneWalker or Athas who are putting immense effort into stuff like this, the last thing I want is for WotC to do an "official" that ruins and destroys the hard work done by the fans.
someone should start a petition thread.
It's been done over and over with no effect. There was even one to get Swords and Sorcery to take it over but it didn't go anywhere either.
I would like to see it come back but if it doesn't sites like Planewalker will keep it going for some time.
Reviving planescape with new writers and (heavens forbid) new artwork would be like animating your deceased loved one and then having it around as a mindless walking corpse... Which sounds kind of fun but it starts to smell bad after a few weeks
That is one of the best ways I Have seen it put. If they tried to bring back Planescape (Which I have wanted along with many other people but oh well..) It wouldn't be the same as Shemeska said the current design team couldn't give planescape what it needs to have.
As for the P&P, I'll always stick with 2E rather than re-learn a whole new edition anyway. I love the setting more than any other, and I'm completely happy with this one.
It's too bad someone couldn't make an all-out Planescape MMORPG. I know they're working on that D&DO game, but Planescape would have been the best way to go, IMO. The world would be virtually endless in expansions.
Look at the City of Doors project for Neverwinter Nights