Game Bibles

A few years ago I ran across this idea, online naturally, that an individual or group could create a bible for a game. These bibles are the accumulated stories of the game organized into an easy to follow format that demystifies the story. 

The Fallout community helped create one of these bibles a few years ago with the help of one of the game's creators and the end result is breathtaking. The document spans the entirety of the game's early stories filling in many of the gaps that had been puzzling fans of the games for years while asking a great many new questions in the process. By no means is the document perfect, there are repetitions within the text and it's not always organized the best, but it stands as a testament to the game's power and lasting influence in the minds of its players. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly the Dungeons & Dragons game has many bibles that have been produced for the game that can be found online; ranging from the setting wikis to the exploration of various editions of the game (like the brilliant exploration of Holmes Manuscript being done by Zenopus Archives). While the exploration of the settings crosses editions the same cannot be said of the rules systems themselves. The edition explorations seem to focus exclusively on versions of Dungeons & Dragons prior to 2nd Edition. 

For a long time I've been puzzled about this emphasis on the oldest versions of the game. What drew people so into Basic or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that they would devote countless hours exploring the intricacies of the games? What made them so fascinating? Is it because the systems are closed and there aren't any more official changes to be brought home? Or is it because the systems are nebulous enough that there are multiple interpretations of the rules? Why don't we see it from 2nd on?

Where of Third Edition?

So I've mentioned before, somewhere in this blog, that I started playing with Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and that I had never even seen the 3.0 books. Well a few months ago I finally found a complete set of the core 3.0 books on Amazon for around $9 (including shipping). So I picked them up and have been kind of flipping through them when I'm bored just trying to see what the differences between them and the 3.5 books I know so well are - and good God are there a lot of differences!

I kind of love this 3.0 edition of the game. It's brutal and less refined. Less bulky and a bit more freeing. I'll be talking more about it I think.

Dyvers Q2, 2015 Report

By comparison to the Q1 2015 Q2 performed slightly behind my goal. While the overall number of posts was only slightly less than in Q1 there were significant gaps in between posts that limited the opportunities for posts to build on the momentum of previous successes. The inability to effectively maintain a regular schedule during the quarter - which will be shown even more significantly in the next quarter - directly impacted the overall performance of the blog.


Allow me to belabor this point for a moment.

On a daily page view metric my blog has continued to perform at a high level with an average view rate of around 1,400 page views per day regardless of whether I post new content or not; however, the majority of that traffic is from my archives as it is clear that people are actively exploring them.
When new content is produced for the blog on a regular update schedule there is a significant difference in the daily page views and in all other metrics I use to determine the performance of my blog. This difference is pronounced and will begin to show itself over in a reduction of daily views over gaps as small as three days. This quarter, and the early results from Q3 2015, have provided me with some invaluable data that I had not previously had confirmation of but had strongly suspected.

As always these numbers represent only the numbers from the post published during the month and do not reflect the views from the archives.

	Posts	Plus 1s	Comments	Page Views
Q1 2015	106	1,622	694	27,084
Q2 2015	99	1,216	410	25,787

[UPDATED] Was the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure League Event a Debacle at Gen Con 2015?

Gen Con 2015 is over and like many people who didn't have the opportunity to attend this year's convention I've been reading dozens of reports from the convention. Among many of the positive reports from the convention one glaring negative became apparent: the Adventure League games were a complete fiasco that left many players feeling as though they wasted their money and were taken advantage of by Wizards of the Coast and their proxy, Baldman Games.

From the start the event was maligned with poor communication issues, mismanagement on every level, and a complete failure to provide the feel of an epic adventure that previous years had accomplished. 

". . . There was absolutely no sense of "epicness" in tonight's (sp) epic. Last year there was a PA system with a master of ceremonies type guy who kept things exciting all night with status reports and count downs and the like. Tables were interacting with HQ and then HQ would (sp) interact with the players. There was a sense that each table really was contributing to something big going on . . . This year, it was just go to your table and play a D&D scenario. No PA, no big story setup, no fanfare, no nothing. Our DM didn't even really know when it officially started as there was no big announcement. He had ot wing it. I saw absolutely nothing to suggest that our table was working to any sort of larger goal. We just played our little scenario like Thu and Fri . . ." (Thu).

". . . [T]here were two epic sessions, season 2 ending and season 3 launch. Neither made a player feel like he or she was involved in something that impacted or was impacted by anything else. In other words, we just blew through a module, hacked some demons and went home. At the end of the first epic, the lights went out in the hall at midnight before there were any announcements (GenCon and the convention center are at fault for this, I'm sure) so I guess I'll be kind and give them a bye for that. But at the end of the Saturday night Epic some BMG captain tried to shout over the noise of thousands of people to the 300 or so participants. Yes, I said shout. He didn't have a microphone. Nobody heard squat . . ." (Neptune0923)

While individuals who paid the modest $40 for the basic package experienced issues that stem directly from Baldman Games mismanagement of the event it was nothing compared to the experience of people who paid the $150 dollars for the VIP Experience with the D&D Adventurers League Epics game. Both tiers of players received the exact same reward for playing in the games. There was no benefit to paying the higher cost. ". . . The level of disappointment in the execution, value, and even appearance that was put forth for not just All Access . . . All access players paid $150/ea when just doing $40 in normal events would have netted the same gear, exp crawl, and entertainment. To be honest, i feel pretty cheated . . ." (Killian Tealeaf). Another commenter on the Gen Con forum stated  ". . . We did get a couple Cetrificates, but none were worth anything. No book, no souveniers, no 2015 commemorative dice, no coupons for future purchases, nothing! I got more swag for ordering a sandwich at Scotty's . . . I myself will never pay for all-access! I may not play D&D at GenCon ever again . . . This year was a complete amateurish operation . . ." (wmgccandless).

Baldman Games is taking a lot of abuse for their handling of the event with even people who knew the Baldman Games crew being unforgiving of their complete mishandling of the event. 

". . . I have many close friends in both DDAL admin and Baldman games. However I do not sympathize with the excuses being thrown out. If you set an expectation on an event and learn that the company that produces the game won't support you and determine that you will just go ahead, (because after all, you didn't actually 'promise' anything) instead of communicating the issue with those that paid for a premium event., you are in essence deciding to screw those people. All for the purpose of covering your expenses . . . So I'm feeling screwed mostly because I was screwed . . ." (joshua.oconnorrose).

As joshua.oconnorrose mentioned it was suggested to several people, who voiced their displeasure and who repeated the accusation in their forum posts, that Wizards of the Coast failed to donate any significant swag for the events so there was no opportunity for Baldman Games to provide a difference in what they did give: certificates for Adventurer's League games. One poster on Wizards of the Coast's forum stated things even more clearly saying ". . . The All-access pass which cost $150 was a complete swindle. It was, effectively, the combination of 4 events. If you purchased the 4 events separately, you paid $40. The difference between the two options last year was that players who signed up received the brand new Player's Handbook and an advanced copy of the Monster Manual (both retailed for $49.99 at the time). This year we received 4 certificates for adventure's league. That is 4 cardboard sheets which many people left on the table. Based on the math, each sheet of cardboard cost me $25 . . ." (Neptune0923)

Time and again the event's poor management has been brought up as a major source of frustration. One commenter on Gen Con's forum stated: ". . . I was so excited to do this event. It sounded like so much fun. Smaller group, one DM through out, one storyline and potential for cool swag. What a disappointment. Every single game started late. Thursday night I showed up at 7:30 for an 8 pm game that didn't start until 9:30 . . ." (IndyGator).

If there is a single complaint that continues to be brought time and again it's the lack of value that players felt they received for the $150 they paid for a VIP Experience:

"If you are going to charge $100 over the ticket price of events for a premium experience you had better provide that value to the customer.  In prior years there were books, autographs, a roped off dedicated area away from other games, a die roll for a magic item cert, etc.

This year?  I can't even identify what I paid an extra $100 for.  We could not even start play until mustering was over and lost close to an hour of play time each session.  The benefit of locking down a GM, players, and a table number is you should be OUTSIDE of the mustering process and have extra game time.

The fact that the company did not overtly share that this years All Access would be drastically reduced, reeks of false advertising.

The "Faire" was also so wide open that my "special time" access was completely irrelevant.  I walked up at a random time and was able to trade items like any con attendee could. We received 4 certificates that bordered on meaningless for most people.  If if I was not comparing this to the excellent job done in prior years, I am wondering exactly what $900 per table went to?  I got the same basic experience that others at Gen Con got for $40." (Bdbrutus)


". . . I thought for $150 I would get some sort of swag (any of the books, dice, dice bag, an exclusive miniature, anything). At this point I think my Gencon money could be spent better elsewhere. I feel like Baldman games stole money from me. . . ."(tserof)

This morning Baldman Games released the following statement in regards to the event:

This year at Gen Con we made some changes to the wildly popular All-Access program that we debuted at the show in 2013. Our goal was to bring it back to a more sustainable long term level while still providing a great value and experience to our players. From the feedback received by myself onsite, and on the message boards over the past few days, we missed that mark with some of you and for that I apologize.

Our goal was to provide a premium gaming experience and while I firmly believe we hit that on some marks, we obviously missed on others. We tried some new things that went over well for some and were viewed as worthless by others. Some valued their great DM’s highly and did not care about additional items while others rated them lower and wanted more ‘stuff’. Others ranked a separated play space with a barrier as the things they valued most and for many the noise of the hall was just too much for any amount of additional perks to overcome. At no point did we intend to deceive, trick, or pull a switch-a-roo. Every year the program has provided different things and the attendees have each valued them in their own fashion. Things change each year on what we can and cannot provide. Many want to know why we could not do this or that, or why something changed. At the end of the day those details do not matter. BMG thought we had a pretty good line-up this year within the framework we had to work in but once again we obviously need to relook at the program from the ground up.

Part of the program has always been the mystery of what you are getting. So players are putting their blind trust that the program is going to be worth it to them. Each year the items were better and better and that is just not a sustainable program. With that in mind I’ve spent most of the past two days brainstorming ways to make it better across the board for all those who choose to put their trust in the program. The one thing that is happened for sure right out of the gate is the mystery part is gone (for any type of event I run going forward). It is not worth it. Each person values their time and resources in their own fashion and should be able to make a 100% informed decision about what they spend their convention time and dollars on. The program will have its own website linked from the event description with all the details on it. Due to the fact I cannot contact those that buy tickets, the website will also contain a mailing list, to allow updates to go to all members if anything were to change. I want to be transparent and communicate as well as we can about exactly what the program is and the player it is aimed at.

Some other ideas we have been kicking around and want your feedback on are:

• A completely separate room away from our play area for the program (players would move back into main hall for Epic event). Could be in the ICC or attached hotel.
•  More of a concierge type service when checking in (small goodie bag, checking name off list, badge ribbon, name plate to claim your spot at a table, etc.)
•  A custom adventure track for the show (written especially for the program by a handpicked elite author for participants of the program only).
•  Snacks (maybe Pizza Day Saturday even) and water station.
•  Special Guests (maybe have Mearls or Crawford visit and hangout at each table for a while).
•  ?????

We have a lot of other cool ideas from our post show meetings but we also want to hear from you. I have received a lot of feedback already but I want to create a central place for those who want to provide it to do so. The form below drops directly into my inbox. I will be reading all the responses and going over them with my team over the next few weeks to formulate a plan that will hopefully bring this program back to where we want it to be.

David Christ
Baldman Games

Personally, I find it hard to imagine that Baldman Games felt that providing the same rewards to players at both the $40 and $150 price tag would be agreeable to anyone but that is their contention. Only time will tell if the trust in them as an organization will be healed or if they will ever be able to provide the sort of services that they've suggested bringing on board.

********** UPDATE 8/10/2015 **********

Baldman Games have released a new press release on August 6, 2015 that states the following:

I first want to thank everyone for the excellent feedback so far. We are gathering comments and discussing ways to improve all Baldman Games’ offerings going forward. We will have further posts this Fall asking for more specific feedback.

Baldman Games and Wizards of the Coast realize that we did not meet your expectations with our All-Access Program at Gen Con this year. The way production schedules lined up, it was difficult for us to provide the new products that had been offered in previous years. But have no fear! We want to make things right. We value your support of D&D and our programs at Gen Con and other shows. To that end, we have some stuff to offer to everyone who played in the All-Access program at Gen Con 2015.

Here’s what All Access Players will get:

• One hard copy of Out of the Abyss, the TRPG adventure in the Rage of Demons story, before it hits store shelves, mailed directly to you
• One code for a digital copy of Sword Coast Legends, the party-based RPG coming out on PC, Mac and Linux, on September 29^th, sent to the email you provide.

If you are an All-Access player from Gen Con, please make sure to fill in the form below completely. The information provided will only be used to ship the book to you, send the code, and/or contact you if we have a problem doing so. It will be destroyed once shipping is completed.

Once again, we apologize for not meeting the expectations of the program this year, and we will work hard in the coming months to build a bigger, stronger, and more transparent program in 2016 and beyond.

David Christ
Baldman Games

UPDATE (08/07/2015): This offer is valid through August 24th at Midnight EST. Please spread the word. Thanks

If you participated in the All Access program, or know someone who did be sure to let them know about this as soon as possible. Time is limited on this offer. 

What Must They Think of Us When They Read Such Things?

Oppenheimer (Now I Have Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds) by Yuri Leonov

This morning I was looking into an issue that had gotten my attention. Nothing very contentious; but it was, nevertheless, interesting when I noticed the conversation following a familiar route. Two individuals were discussing a rather innocuous rule variant that one of them had come up with when some self-important bastard came blundering along and began castigating them for not running the game as it was written. They were perverting the game and undermining the foundations of trust developed between the players and Game Master. What's worse, they were cheating.

Cheating? 

Over and over again he kept coming back to that word; almost as though he were chanting it before them and in doing so it would drive them back from the heresies of modifying the sacrosanct text of Tweet, Cook, and Williams. He was apocalyptic in his writing and soon his friends joined in the conversation. "Have you considered how this undermines the game," one demanded. "If we go down this route what's next? Guns? Would you bring guns in a fantasy game?"

I sat there reading it with a slacken jaw, openly gaping at my screen as I read this mind-numbing assault on two people who had dared to consider a change to the grappling rules of Third Edition. I was shocked by the fanatical devotion to . . . a game. A game that had a major revision in less than five years and that had errata published for it with such regularity that I have a whole notebook filled with the stuff. This game was perfect as it had been written? This game?

The two kids who had started the whole thing were taken aback - how could they not be? They had done nothing more than attempt to provide an alternative solution to a rule that has been the consternation of every Third Edition player I've ever met and yet here were these assholes frothing at the mouth over the idea that something might change in the game by the hands of a pair of Dungeon Masters. 

I swear to it was as though they used that word like an insult when they wrote it. It positively dripped with venom. "This," one of them railed, "is why I hate that D&D still uses a Dungeon Master. Any time that you have a game left up to Dungeon Master fiat it's just a matter of time before it goes down this route!" Now they positively chanted, "Down with the Dungeon Masters! What did they ever do for the game other than corrupt it's purity with their house rules, home spun adventures, and god forsaken settings?"

Someone spoke up, a beloved elder from the early days of the forum it seemed to me, "Well as you know such systems are fraught with these sort of opportunities for corruption and the malign influence of an individual's whim."

"You see," the positively jumped on top of each other to shout it at the two heretics, "not only are you going against the rules as written but you've proven the inferiority of Dungeons & Dragons as a role-playing system! It's not even role-play! It's roll play!" The laughed out loud and then filled the page with LOLs as they made jokes and questioned the faithfulness of mothers who couldn't remember to let God immaculately conceive their children for them as their own had. 

Then a new voice chimed in. It castigated them for making sexist jokes and rebuked them before new gods and codewords that sent them mewling off in the distance. The two kids thanked this new comer only to find themselves receiving the full brunt his wrath. "Don't you know that D&D is nothing more than a shadow play of colonial oppression where race wars are played out and misogyny is at the heart of every adventure? Haven't you ever thought deeply about anything in your god-damned lives?" The kids stopped responding as her friends joined in and began crowing about the superiority of playing games of self-discovery where everyone pretends that their parents touched them and that football was a sport but far behind more invigorating physical contests: like chess.  

I would have linked directly to one of these conversations so that I could say, "Look at the thrice damned, fedora-wearing, neck-beards," but it happens so often that to do so would be like pointing at the sky and telling you that round thing up there sure is bright. I am truly flabbergasted at the sheer volume of encounters that I have read like this over the past few days as I attempted to explore what's so exciting about the fabulous world of forums. Christ almighty why would anyone want that level of mind-numbing frustration? 

"Well I think you're just not understanding the issues that surround the integrity of the game if you modify it . . ."

"Clearly your male privilege is blinding you to the problems inherent in the game . . ."

God help me but if I had run into people like that when I first started playing I would never have picked up dice again. Instead I would have gone back to drinking heavily and playing poker for money like I had for the past fifteen years! What must people think of this hobby when they run across that? What must they think of those people who write such insipid ramblings? 

What must they think of us?

Luke Crane's D&D Hack, a Side Project, and Ennie Bad Behavior

Last night I found something that I was completely and totally outraged about: +Luke Crane has made a game based loosely on 1980 - 81 Dungeons & Dragons game. How did I miss that?

The game is called Miseries and Misfortunes and it is incredibly easy to pick up (not only because it's free). I've already made a character and now I'm really wanting to play this bad boy. I'm trying to talk my wife, who is a history savant, into running the game because I want to play it so damned badly! You guys have got to check this thing out!

*     *     *

Last night also found me working on editing together the Let's Forget the World and Be Friends PDF. The editing for this project has been more complex than the last one as I'm attempting a few different methods to what I did with the last one. Nothing major: a few spelling corrections here, a grammar error there. 

But let me tell you, what makes doing a project like this so rewarding is getting to really explore how these guys think because there's a difference between reading something someone writes online and then you move on and actively pouring over a document to make sure that it's what +Mark Van Vlack or +Sean Bircher actually wanted to say. I can't tell you how much my respect for everyone involved in this project has grown through this process (which is hard to fully express since I really like all the cats). I was really blessed that these guys agreed to write this project with me and I can't thank them enough for lending their talents to it. 

Awesome people all around.

*      *     *

On a more somber note there were some people behaving badly at last night's Ennie awards. By their own admission they began the ceremony heckling the event and then got up and walked out when +Zak Smith and +James Raggi won their first award for Red & Pleasant Land. This small group then went on twitter and attempted to create the impression that their decision was echoed by a majority of the attendees at the ceremony; however, after investigating into what happened it appears that roughly ten people left and that no one really noticed their leaving or poor behavior until they began posting on twitter later.

I want to tell you that their behavior offended me. Not the walking out, that part didn't bother because people leave things all the time - especially award ceremonies when they've got nothing at stake. What bothered me was the heckling of the awards themselves. Look, I get it, they don't mean anything to you; but this isn't about you. +Russ Morrissey organized this show, the judges narrowed down the categories after getting inundated with submissions, over 20,000 people voted, and a group of hard working volunteers put that ceremony together and got things running smoothly all night. By acting like a jackass in the back of the room you were being disrespectful to every person who helped in that process. What's worse though is that you showed your asses in that moment to every nominee in the room and told every single one of them what you really thought of their hard work. 

Without a doubt the behavior of these individuals was inexcusable and the fact that several of them I consider "good" people makes it cut even deeper for me. I hope that for the majority of this group that this was an isolated incident where poor judgement and exhaustion overtook common decency and a basic respect for their fellow gamers.

Time will tell.

Where Do We Go from Here?

"I'm leaving," he said as she walked in the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"When will you be back?"

He gave her the briefest look over his shoulder and said, "I can't believe you would ask me that with his dick still on your breath."

"John!"

"Don't yell my name in outrage, Suzan!" He practically spit her name when he said it. He'd rounded on her now and fire burned in his eyes. "You've been playing me for a fool for so god damned long that you think I am one."

"Oh," she said as she crossed her arms, "this again."

"This again? You killed my monk and played in Mike's campaign without me!"

"Jesus," she said as he smiled and leaned against the wall, "my Mother said I shouldn't marry you."

"She also told you that you should put a quarter between your knees and eat bananas from the side because that's how good girls do it."

Suzan smiled, "Yeah, Mom was dumb sometimes."

He walked over and pulled her tight to him, kissing her hard and taking her breath away in the process. "I'll be back in a couple of hours dear heart." His voice was soft and Suzan was tingly from the kiss that curled her toes and made her head swim.

"Not too long, okay?"

"I'll try not to be gone so long this time, but you know how hunting can be."

She bit her lip as she looked into his eyes. The hunts had been more frequent lately, more dangerous too. Last month John had gone into the south forest with Max Elmore, Jane's husband, only to come back alone and bleeding terribly from the hip. They still hadn't found Max's body. "Do you have to go?"

John smiled at her, his beard making the whites of his teeth stand out even more than usual, "You know that I do."

"But your leg isn't healed all the way yet."

"Suzan," he said as he looked towards the door, "you can't start this."

"But your leg," she whispered, "you still have a limp."

"I'll be fine, dear."

"Isn't there anyone else that can go this time?"

He smiled, kissed her cheek, and whispered, "Not this time, no." 

He was out the door before she could stop him. She ran to the door and watched him grab his rifle and head towards the forest. She wanted to scream they still haven't found Max's body. She wanted to cry out and race from their home to his side. She wanted to tackle him and drag him kicking and screaming back inside their home. She wanted to rip her clothes off and bare herself before him, pulling him into her bed and keeping him there but she stopped herself. He was already at the top of the hill before she could tear her gaze away from him. I can't watch him go or he'll never make it back. She ran into their room and fell on the bed, her eyes wet from tears that were already streaming, and cried out, "THEY STILL HAVEN'T FOUND THE BODY!"

They never found John's either. 

Happy Day! Happy Day! Dyvers Enters Year 3!

On July 21, 2013 I started the Dyvers Campaign blog. At first I found myself emulating the writing style of bloggers that I liked and read all the time and looking back at the early entries I can see hallmarks of blogs liked cluttering and befuddling my own writing. I created stupid, self-imposed rules for my writing about role-playing games that make me cringe looking back on the earliest posts from back in 2013.

Yet in spite of the fact that I would attempt to write about Dungeons & Dragons like it was a research paper for college that I had no interest in reading myself, let alone writing, I was lucky enough to have +Jens D. start commenting on my blog. Without question his comments kept me going early in the run of this blog and reading his excellent Disoriented Ranger blog taught me that if I really wanted to do this thing for the long haul that I needed to stop emulating other people and start writing with my own voice, expressing my own ideas. Anything less wouldn't find an audience because anything less didn't deserve one.

Since that realization hit me I've kind of done my own thing. I write short stories, title my post things that make me laugh, and talk about anything that catches my interest whether it involves role-playing games or not. And somewhere along the way I was fortunate enough to develop an audience that reads my posts and has continued to help me become not only a better writer but a better player. So for that I want to thank you, all of you. Without your comments, encouragements, shares, and readership I know this blog wouldn't have become anything like it is today. 

Thank you.

An Evolving World Theory of Dungeons & Dragons

The Uncertainty Principle cover by Richard M. Powers.

This morning I was reading the Gamma World introduction when an idea struck me: what if all the settings that TSR produced settings were simply points along the same timeline of a world that was repeatedly rising to the heights of space faring civilizations only to be consumed in a globe-spanning holocaust that sent it back to its prehistoric beginnings. In this way Gamma World, Greyhawk, Boot Hill, the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and the rest would all be a glimpse into the long line of a single world.

Imagine for a moment how this affects something as ubiquitous as ruins in the desert. These long lost cities that appear like the skeletal remains of some poor cock-sucker who couldn't remember where the next watering hole was now have a history built into them. They're Greyhawk, Waterdeep, Chicago, and Dyvers. Then there are the artifacts and magic items that were once tied to a setting, like the Lucky Ring of the Wild Coast (Greyhawk Adventures pg. 73), which now can be dropped in without any changes to the name or lore surrounding the item. Instead they're items that have survived the destruction of the world like the treasures of pharaohs hidden deep in their tombs beneath the Egyptian deserts.  

As someone who has no trouble blowing up a world because that's what the players want to do I really like the idea that these sort of world shattering events can happen and that the world still manages to survive and that the scattered remnants of the world can come back from the brink of extinction time and time again. Also, since I've been on a massive post-apocalyptic literature binge of late this runs right along with my personal tastes. 

 What do you think?

A Wild Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide Has Appeared!

On Wednesday, July 22, 2015 Wizards of the Coast announced that they would be releasing the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAG). This guidebook is designed to provide players with things such as character options, expanded information on local deities, and mysterious locations to explore. In essence what we're looking at here is a new school Gazetteer similar to what they did with the Neverwinter supplement from Fourth Edition - which was a damned fine book and well worth picking up if you missed out on it because it "wasn't D&D."

The description for the SCAG reminds me of the old Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast book that came out in 1994. This will be the first fully fledged book we're going to be getting for the modern realms that will be addressing all of the changes that have been brought about by the Sundering, Rise of Tiamat, and Princes of the Apocalypse story lines so I'm interested in seeing how they will connect all of those events together and if they'll be bringing in any of the Adventurer's League events.

A lot to think about here and I'll be posting more in the coming days.