Quote from: Warboss Squee;843768I've been led to believe that the WotC staff for D&D is tiny, but damn, that's...not the move I would have made.

I thought 5th made money on it's release, so why not, idk, do this sort of thing themselves?

According to Mearls and at least one WOTC staff back in the 4e era. They have a small staff and Hasbro has learned to keep them on a tight budget leash too.

As for why not have the staff on this? Who knows? Hasbro have been outsourcing the D&D stuff like crazy. WizKids, the various module makers, the vasious accessory makers.

At a guess. They are outsourcing the high risk items to someone else to handle and take the blame if it bombs. The umpteeth re-hash of the damn Forgotten Realms could be met with resistance. Thus a safer bet to let someone else handle it.

Quote from: Matt;843813Not sure why anyone gives a shit who produces the book/box/pamphlet/whatever. Isn't it the quality of the final product that matters?

Because some people like having nice things? And do you think people would have a different reaction if say - Mongoose was the company doing it? People like to know the products they care about are in good hands.

Quote from: Matt;843813Also not sure why anyone wants a retread of the Forgotten Realms. Sucked first time around.

Oh I see, you don't give a shit. Then why do you even care about this topic?

Quote from: Matt;843813Also not sure why anyone wants a retread of the Forgotten Realms. Sucked first time around.

WoTC knows they need to keep the D&D product train rolling and settings books sell well, but I'm sure they also know it's important to pace the release schedule to avoid a bubble-type effect. For better or for worse they've clearly chosen Forgotten Realms as the lead setting for 5th ed products, so they must think someone gives a shit. I don't know if they're still as gung-ho about market research as they were in the pre-Hasbro era but it's possible they have a good reason to believe this. Also, rehashing existing settings is a lot cheaper and less risky than introducing new ones.

Quote from: tenbones;843831Because some people like having nice things? And do you think people would have a different reaction if say - Mongoose was the company doing it? People like to know the products they care about are in good hands.

I could understand a fuss if the project were given to Mongoose, considering their recent troubles and how even at their prime they were always a hit and miss publisher. There's no good basis for being sceptical about Green Ronin, though, they're ace at this sort of thing.

Quote from: Juisarian;843838WoTC knows they need to keep the D&D product train rolling and settings books sell well, but I'm sure they also know it's important to pace the release schedule to avoid a bubble-type effect. For better or for worse they've clearly chosen Forgotten Realms as the lead setting for 5th ed products, so they must think someone gives a shit. I don't know if they're still as gung-ho about market research as they were in the pre-Hasbro era but it's possible they have a good reason to believe this. Also, rehashing existing settings is a lot cheaper and less risky than introducing new ones.

It's worth nothing that (at the moment, at least) the Adventurer's League stuff is set in the Forgotten Realms, so right there you've got a regular, broad, ongoing source of feedback. If the Adventurer's League guys were griping about Forgotten Realms en mass then I doubt this product would have seen the light of day.

Quote from: Warthur;843839I could understand a fuss if the project were given to Mongoose, considering their recent troubles and how even at their prime they were always a hit and miss publisher. There's no good basis for being sceptical about Green Ronin, though, they're ace at this sort of thing.

Precisely. Green Ronin is rock solid.

Now if they can give a license to someone for more Greyhawk product...

Quote from: tenbones;843831Because some people like having nice things? And do you think people would have a different reaction if say - Mongoose was the company doing it? People like to know the products they care about are in good hands.

Yes, I agree. I'd certainly have second thoughts about buying it if Mongoose was making it.
*shudder*

If there is a decent map of an updated WATERDEEP - then I'll be happy with it.


- Ed C.

I'm looking forward to it, and I don't like the Realms.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;843931I'm looking forward to it, and I don't like the Realms.

yeah, that's my issue as well, I want the book but I loath the forgotten realms setting.

Quote from: RPGPundit;843762Only, Wizards has licensed it out to Green Ronin.

Where does it say that "WotC isn't publishing"?

It has a product page on the WotC D&D site that totally looks like a regular WotC product.

Seems to me like a similar deal WotC did with Kobold and Sasquatch.


Some clarification over at ENWorld:

Quote from: ENWorldWotC Jeremy Crawford observes that "It's bizarre to see a few posters on ENWorld mistake our [D&D 5E] collaborations as outsourcing. Each book has been a team effort." The input from WotC isn't just greenlighting the book at various stages; as Jeremy tells us "Our reviews are deep. We create the story & the concept art. We write portions of the books. We design mechanics. Etc.!" As he also points out, the credits page of each book tells us who contributed to each.

So there we have it. These books aren't outsourced to third parties in any traditional sense of that word; the books are written as a collaborative effort with writing and more done by both companies.

Looks like the smaller companies are filling the same niche that reliable freelancers did in the 80s and 90s. Makes sense--with more distribution channels and broader licensing agreements, you can start up your own company and prove your design skills that way, rather than through Dragon, Dungeon or APAs.

Quote from: remial;843941yeah, that's my issue as well, I want the book but I loath the forgotten realms setting.

My biggest issue is the two major iconic characters, and that there was this loose metaplot that sometimes leaked from the novels into the setting.  But for me, I can stomach it if it's done well, and if nothing else, Green Ronin does do good work.

Onto the main topic at hand, the Sword Coast is a rather large area, it covers between Waterdeep and Neverwinter to the north, and I forget where to the south, sadly.

Quote from: One Horse Town;843786Well, it's in good hands, although i'm not too thrilled on the fine focus on one area of a massive setting. Whatever, i've still got all my other FR stuff from other editions. I'm not interested in 'canon' so it's no biggy.

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;843796'Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide'? That's a very focused kind of setting supplement, which I personally like. Have a smaller region well detailed and leave the rest vague for GMs and players to use as they see fit. This also allows for specialized books to be published on individual regions for the hard core fans.

Agree with BMR here, particularly with a setting as big as the Realms; if and only if they take advantage of the diminished scope to deliver more game-table-ready material (NPCs, adventure hooks, encounters, unique items, maybe even keyed maps).

If they're going to do a flyover of the region and pad the rest with new, power-creeped character classes, I'll pass; I already have the Gray Box for the bird's eye view, and more character options than we're likely to ever use. But like others said, GR has a solid record. I'm looking forward to it.