I have never hidden the fact that I am not a huge fan of version 3.x or later of Dungeons & Dragons. That has not stopped me from accumulating a fair bit of material created for or based on the system. These are all items I will most likely never use as they were intended. The material that Wizards pumped out for the game was for the most part extremely well done. I know that in many cases it was a retread of the material released for earlier editions but it was still well done.
I am now going to go off on a tangent....
The trend that started with the fourth edition of reprinting the exact same books with the exact same names for the newer editions really was the last straw in my distaste for Wizards. I always saw it as an affect of the owner card game printing background. With cards they reprinted things over and over adding slight changes to cards or adding new features to the game. In the pen and pencil RPG world this was done by changing systems and then reprinting the same books. It was fully foul in my mind.
Now the OSR movement has given them a new pocket to stick their hands in by creating a class of gamers who have seen the joy of the older system. I bought into the premium first edition reprints under the guise that it was being done for Gygax Memorial Fund. What has become the geyser of reprints and sudden release of PDF files is my opinion them showing that they underlying game they have created is flawed and dying. They are becoming Hollywood in the only thing they create now are remakes but in this case even worse they are making exact repackaged duplicates.
The books and modules they are making re-releases for are in most cases still available in the secondary market (and before anyone claims I am crying foul because it is hurting a market I sell in ...I never sell and am a collector) and in some cases cheaper than the new products. For the 1e books all I have seen is that it has raised the cost of the originals being sold. So now not only are they not having to produce new items but they are selling the repackage items for more than the originals can be bought for...and do we really need a premium 3e reprint with about a billion copies of the original still in play? I am just afraid that they will in the end come to destroy the OSR movement by souring the market with a glut of product killing those who are trying to keep the old school alive but with fresh new product.
end of rant and tangent!
In the end I pick up books like this to mine for material I use in creating my own adventures and setting material. The book is full of great stuff and anyone looking to design a city should add this to their library to draw from. You can buy it now of course or wait for the limited edition foil embossed secret collectors reprint that they will charge you full price for next year....or the fourth edition version that was most likely released or the all but already printed D&D Next version. Yes the grapes I am selling might be sour today but they are real, new and my own creation. I sorta fibbed about being the end of the rant didn't I!
From the Back of the Book:
Waterdeep beckons! For centuries, this grand city has stood at the edge of the Sea of Swords, tempting heroes with its bustling port, thriving markets, hidden perils, and half-forgotten dungeons. Adventure waits on every street corner, behind every locked door, and below every cellar!
This supplement for the D&D game offers an in-depth examination of Waterdeep. It includes a rich history of the city, detailed city maps, descriptions of key locations, statics for important NPCs, information on local laws, and rules for running and playing in Waterdhavian adventures.
4 Prestige Classes
38 Magic Items
11 City Maps
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