White Wolf's new Dungeons & Dragons Warcraft the Roleplaying Game is due to arrive at retail almost simultaneously with the three core Dungeons & Dragons Edition 3.5 rulebooks.  Warcraft, the RPG will be the first available campaign setting that is 100% compatible with the new 3.5 Edition of the basic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying system, which should make it especially valuable to retailers who can recommend it to gamers who want to start playing with the revised D&D rules right away.  Based on the Warcraft RTS (real-time strategy) computer game system, which has sold over 4.5 million units in its most recent incarnation, the new fully interactive pen-and-paper RPG from White Wolf is a complete campaign setting that offers nine character races (humans, night elves, orcs, tauren, goblins, etc.), three new core classes (healer, scout, and tinker), 12 new prestige classes (blademaster, elven ranger, shaman, warlock, etc.), complete rules for firearms, and all the details on the history and geography of the world of Warcraft.  The 248-page Warcraft, the RPG hardcover carries a cover price of $34.95 and requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook Edition 3.5 published by Wizards of the Coast.

The creators of the Warcraft computer games at Blizzard Entertainment were major contributors to the White Wolf RPG version, which benefits greatly from artwork by Blizzard standouts, Samwise Didier and Chris Metzen.  Retailers who like to cross-merchandise can create displays using the WotC D&D 3.5 hardcovers, the White Wolf Warcraft RPG, and the Warcraft Action Figures from Toycom (see 'Warcraft Figures Street In April').  Then do it all again at Christmas, adding the FFG Warcraft Board Game (see 'Fantasy Flight Gets Warcraft Board Game').