Yep, 4th Edition is coming out....

[darrius_adler]

Ravenloft still lives really. The PDFs are still available for purchase and recently I have seen an influx of new players recently on Levkarest (my Ravenloft Chat Game similar in set up to the Rookhausen one at the WW site). While I would never update the chat to 4e (the thought of trying to update the characters on hundreds of accounts makes me ill) I would love to see the setting reborn. If indeed it is a re-write from the ground up keeping only a few of the most famous Darklords I am fine with that as long as they keep the feel of the setting true to the old stuff. The novels could be the introductions to the new domains that will be in the setting's core.

[Scipio]

Heck, we had a new member sign up on my old boards not incredibly long ago. Granted, there's been no new traffic except for myself and Jinn spamming a couple threads but still....

[Joël of the FoS]

Ref the Dragon teaser link Sharon posted in the 4e Fact thread.

Is it me or is the new dragon's abilities a little over the top?

Joël

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Just a bit. OTOH, showing off dragons' ability to kick butt is kind of a D&D designers' tradition, when editions roll over, so we shouldn't hold it against them for having a little fun.

I suspect the new dragons are specifically built to take on a whole party at once, with enough combat moves per round so that every PC is fully engaged in the fighting. Other monsters that battle the heroes in groups will probably be allowed fewer actions; in fact, I saw a mention of an ettin getting two actions as a special benefit of being two-headed, implying that most giant-type brutes get just one.

[Pamela]

They're producing a podcast sometime today to answer a whole bunch of questions people have about 4e. I emailed them to ask if they plan on bringing Ravenloft back.

Hey, it was worth a shot, right?!

[Joël of the FoS]

They're producing a podcast sometime today to answer a whole bunch of questions people have about 4e. I emailed them to ask if they plan on bringing Ravenloft back.

Hey, it was worth a shot, right?!

Sure!

We'll see what they can say about it.

Joël

[Spiteful Crow]

They're producing a podcast sometime today to answer a whole bunch of questions people have about 4e. I emailed them to ask if they plan on bringing Ravenloft back.

Hey, it was worth a shot, right?!

"Bringing it back? It's gonna be the default setting! We're dropping Eberron, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, AND Star Wars Saga Edition!"

[Moral Machivelli]

Actually, they might as well "have" put RL down as defualt.

No, this isn't just wishfull thinking. I've seen two really good things, that make me hopeful for 4th Edition Ravenloft's chances.

1) Allignment is DEAD !!! come on, we'd taken the first steps on that rout in 2nd edition. This is a good sign (though, since it was quite a common request, not as good as number two)

2) The "Default Setting" mentioned? "Less mighty empires, more small sparks of light in the darkness," Remind anyone of somthing? Even though it (Probably) won't be Ravenloft, it's closer to it that greyhawk, FR or the other old worlds (Prety much all of whom have somthing similar). Conclusions?

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

I'll probably buy 4E when it comes out and then make my decisions about it like I did with 3.0 and 3.5. I still prefer AD&D 2E though, lol.

Man, 2nd Edition had it all, especially if you;re running a Forgotten Realms campaign, but 3e/3.5 works best for Ravenloft in my opinion.

Man, I say that a lot. Sorry, last time I swear.

I have to admit that I have never liked FR, I've never been much of a high fantasy person.

[Ail]

Hi all,

I also noticed the similarity to Ravenloft in that "lights in the darkness" passage, but comeon, Horror is just a small nich in fantasy, I don't think that the majority of people enjoy it as such. So, I'd never pick up RL as the default setting though I'm an RL fan.

What I guess we can take from here is something more akin to the historical middle ages, when Europe was a mish-mash of small kingdoms, some big powers and very little travel.

I'm not guessing at any specific setting as default, though.

Alex

[Moral Machivelli]

Oh no. I'm not saying it'll be default. Just that, between the two points, the odds are of us getting somthing on RL from WotC

[Jester of the FoS]

They've already said the default world would be generic. It'll probably be name-less and history-less.

[Bluebomber4evr]

Actually, they might as well "have" put RL down as defualt.

No, this isn't just wishfull thinking. I've seen two really good things, that make me hopeful for 4th Edition Ravenloft's chances.

1) Allignment is DEAD !!! come on, we'd taken the first steps on that rout in 2nd edition. This is a good sign (though, since it was quite a common request, not as good as number two)

2) The "Default Setting" mentioned? "Less mighty empires, more small sparks of light in the darkness," Remind anyone of somthing? Even though it (Probably) won't be Ravenloft, it's closer to it that greyhawk, FR or the other old worlds (Prety much all of whom have somthing similar). Conclusions?

You're reading way too much into things.

1. All they said about alignment was, "Alignment will not be as it is now. Andy Collins doesn't want it as a mechancial element, Bill backs him, so Andy's getting his way." That does not mean it is dead, only that the rules have changed. Besides, Ravenloft without at least the good/evil alignment would be drastically different, almost pointless.

2. Ravenloft will never be the default setting. It's a niche setting, albeit a popular one. If anything was a sign for its return as a supported setting, though, it'd be the new novels. If the novels do well they may bring it back in some form.

[WolfKook]

1. All they said about alignment was, "Alignment will not be as it is now. Andy Collins doesn't want it as a mechancial element, Bill backs him, so Andy's getting his way." That does not mean it is dead, only that the rules have changed. Besides, Ravenloft without at least the good/evil alignment would be drastically different, almost pointless.

Hey! That's not necessarily true. I've got ridden of alignment IMC, and replaced it (And Power's Check) with taint (Indeed, I integrated those three into one system), and so far things are going great. At least I have my players developing their characters instead of relying on the "I'm good / I'm evil" premise for doing things.

And, IMHO, Ravenloft becomes a more interesting and deep setting when you forget about good and evil and center on the motivations people have for acting in a certain way. When you have "good" people doing "evil" things just because that's in their best interest, you have a more encouraging roleplaying experience, again, IMHO.

2. Ravenloft will never be the default setting. It's a niche setting, albeit a popular one. If anything was a sign for its return as a supported setting, though, it'd be the new novels. If the novels do well they may bring it back in some form.

That I do agree with. However, nothing can stop us from dreaming...

...Let's hope the novels are a HIT.

[steveflam]

In all honesty would you guys and gals prefer to have WotC botch up Ravenloft or keep it's real spirit alive here, at the F.O.S?

I mean it would be nice to have Ravenloft in the 4th edition but let's be honest with ourselves: WotC would never ever do justice to the real Ravenloft fans. What do you all think?