Hi guys,

I don't know if it's still relevant, considering the recent events, but I just got a hold of Wizards of the Coast's 2006 product catalog. It looks like the lifting of the phyton ban seems like a good thing! I'm a bit embarassed to say it, but seeing their catalog, it looks like they really intend to sell the stuff, and promote it like never did (or was able to).

They've made the set much more complex... I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. There's now the 'Red Hand of Doom' mega-module and the 'Fantastic Locations' series, which fall under the normal D&D product list (as apart from FR, or Eberron, or DL). There are also books like 'Tome of Magic' and 'Tome of Battle' (available in March and in August, respectively).

For the Forgotten Realms setting, there's 'Mysteries of the Moonsea, which will be out in June. It's an in-depth sourcebook which detail Zhentil Keep and thereabouts. It looks exciting! I know we haven't bought anything recently for our adventures... and I don't know if you guys intend to anymore, but I want to say I'm really interested in gaming. Still. Also, here's something that might interest Baryon -- 'd20 Future Tech'!!! Do you know about this already? I'm writing at the risk of sounding redundant, because chances are you already know all this. Anyway, this boxed set is part of the 'd20 Modern' campaign setting (whatever that means), and looks just like the perfect thing for Baryon, who'd probably devour the set from the first word down to the last. Available in February, it's also complemented by an accessory, 'd20 Critical Locations' available in May, and maybe 'd20 Spectaculars', a superhero rulebook available in July. There's also a 'Power of Faerun' accessory for March, and 'Dragons of Faerun' (extension of the Draconomicon book) in August.

Ah, I got it. The Eberron campaign setting is further detailed in the 'Player's Guide to Eberron' rules companion, a book I don't think I've seen at the college. Then there's a whole load of monster books like Fiendish Codex I and Monster Manual IV, as well as a plethora of player's options books like Complete Psionic and Player's Handbook II. WoTC is going full blast as a complete gaming company, detailing all their Xiaolin Showdown TCG releases all the way to December. They've also finally begun to serialize the TCG, making them like comics which you buy every month to complete a story (as well as play a game). Some of the new TCG sets that they're releasing will come in monthly installments. It looks interesting (to me, at least).

It's good to know that a company with this much money has the intention of selling our beloved D&D. The fear we had that phyton would die turns out to be unfounded. Oh, and they have a new version of the board game called 'Axis & Allies'... I don't know anything about the game mechanics, but it looks like a good game. If the CNN game we had was any indication of having fun with a modern war setting (uh, World War II *does* fall under modern war, doesn't it?), then Axis & Allies might deserve some looking at. Besides, the products are available now, so this is one set that can actually be completed. I don't know. It starts with a 366-piece set, then additional sets for other campaigns. Anyway, that's that. The new stuff from WoTC.

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s a i n t

Boo.