is there a market?

well im seriously thinking of taking the plunge and doing my rpg world in a digital published format. I'm not looking to make money, I just would like to have it out there. I hope there is a market since there are SOO many rpg worlds out there now. It will be for the people who just want a complete world of standard or old fashioned D&D without steam powered robots, dinosaurs and other sci fi stuff.I have even kicked around the idea for making it themed towards mature players. I have a good background for that since Ive been a cop for almost 10 years now. I have the material all done. I plan on having a main book which will briefly describe the world etc.. then
A book on the gods, detailing the churches and new spells for clerics
A book on the races, creatures and villains of the world
A small guide to each kingdom (maps, cities, places of interest)
I also have several modules done.
My question is, is there really a market for the standard D&D world, Ive seen a few independent game worlds and some had new ideas and some were really bad, as in boring.
I used to have a large fan base when it was in AD&D format and if anyone has seen it, it was called Lost Empires on the web.
Anyway I already have the material but to publish it I'm sure I'll have to get a layout program, what do you all recommend?
Second I have to do my maps other than my hand drawn ones, so what program can we use, since CC2 cant be used and sold for commercial since the art is someone elses. I want nice looking maps so what do you all use?

If you're not looking to make money, then I'd say "sure," put it out there. I can't really respond to your other questions but I feel compelled to admonish you on your punctuation (or lack thereof). Nope, not joking here. Speaking as a potential consumer, you lost credibility with that post.

Sorry to bash you for this but I suppose it's a pet peeve. Best of luck with your endeavor.

ouch

Ouch-HEY!,
lol J/K sorry about that, my writing of course would never see the light of day unless it was proof-read. I didnt think anyone cared on a post! I was trying to type with my 2 year old on my lap so I was being quick before he could play phantom of the opera again on the keys.
Anyway, Its a solid setting with a LOT of detail. I just do not want to go through all of the work if it wont get any downloads. There is just soo many other game worlds out there!
I'm a firm believer in game support and continued support for a game world, which in my opinion was the reason for many of TSR's old worlds to fail.
The details are all done I just have to format it all, edit it and make sure it will all conform to 3.5 rules. Anyway thanks for the constructive critisicm!

Ah, those 2-year-olds do so love the keys. As for worrying about putting a lot of work into it for nothing, how about instead working up a gazetteer of sorts offering a sampler of your world? That should cut down on your work and still see if folks are interested.

Well, every publisher I've ever heard state an opinion on the subject has agreed that Campaign Settings don't sell worth diddly. It's a good thing you aren't doing it to make money, because from everything I've heard, you won't. Period.

That said, I can only imagine how cool it would be to have your campaign setting out there as a (semi-) professionally published product. If that's your dream, go for it!

Cool

As long as your can support your world with supplements, there is always a good chance it can succeed. d20 would defnitely sell more though, as it has the biggest audience. But then again, your world may not work within a d20 ruleset, so it's up to you.

Let me know if you are looking for a pdf publisher (TheLeGames@yahoo.com). I'd be happy to talk to you about working something out. While I only have d20 books on my list at the moment, I am always looking for new areas to branch out into.

In the end it is about having fun in this industry. Do NOT do it for money. Do it for fun. As long as you are having fun, you will be a rich man.

Oh, and my advise to you is to have a friend read over your doc. It is hard to edit your own stuff, and much easier for others to find mistakes.



~Le

Great Hornytoads!

I agree with having a friend read over your stuff, It's a good point however. I'd love to make money off the setting but I have real expectations, game worlds are not doing well. There are so many out there, new players like the fantastic mix of sci-fi and D&D and some of the older players flock to the "safe" worlds like FR and Greyhawk. I know that one good way to advertise is to send out a few promo copies to dedicated and "trusted" gamers who can review it, send feedback and help you by word of mouth. It will be formated for D&D 3.5 so it has a lot of competition. I just always hated seeing a really cool world then finding out it had crazy stuff in it like robots and steam powered knights. I mean they are cool ideas and all, but they're just not for me. Thats not what I envisioned D&D as. I guess I always pictured it more like LOTR.
As for supplements I am a firm believer in supporting what you put out there. I have a bunch lined up for them. Believe it or not my favorite setting has always been the Birthright campaign setting. Sure the mass combat rules were terrible but the ideas were solid, the world was unique and it had TONS of support. I think it failed to corporate mismanagement and lack of advertising. I believe if we had the internet back then, it would of sold a lot more. It was a shame when they gave it the axe.

Two quick points:

1 - I like campaign worlds, but I'm not a typical consumer.
2 - Don't overwhelm me, and don't bore me. I don't want to play in your world. I just like to read about it.

Now, I don't mean 5 pages is 4 pages too much (but 400 pages probably is). I mean have maps. Explore the areas on the map. Don't statblock every NPC in every country - Baron Wizzy (NE Ari9/Ftr3) is just fine.

For the love of humanity, use a decent layout!! I don't care about the program, just don't leave massive white space, don't enclose it in a constricting box, and if you must use lots of pretty pictures, give us a pretty picture-less version (maps OK).

Cheers
Nell.

what would you want out of a campaign world.

thanx for the tips,
I really like those posts, just because i like something doesn't mean that everyone else does, it's good to hear from someone that can tell me what they're looking for in a product.
MY world is detailed but not with stats since every PC party is at a different level, but like you said it would have a name and a level, thats why DM's prepare for sessions. I will have maps and not very much open space. I'm a big fan of side bars and little text boxes here and there. I think it helps break up the standard same page look. The main text would be free flowing in two columns with a decent and Readable font. (I hate when people use fancy fonts that give you a headache after 15 mins of reading). I do detail a lot of the world but I also make sure to leave enough so that someone can customize it to their liking. but again thanks for the comments, please anyone else tell me what you would like to see in a campaign world, likes dislikes?

Ampolitor said:

please anyone else tell me what you would like to see in a campaign world, likes dislikes?

Click to expand...

There was a thread on this topic (what do we want in a campaign world book) quite a while back - maybe someone can search the boards and find it for you.

In the meantime, I'll give you my own response - just keep in mind that I'm probably not your target audience. I always homebrew, so I use published settings only for ideas that I can steal.

1. Core concept. Define your world's hook in one or two sentences. What makes it cool? What makes it special? Even the most generic setting should have a hook of some sort. Don't assume you have to be original or over-the-top here, but (IMO) it really helps if the setting isn't just "everything and the kitchen sink".

2. Portability. As I said, I scavenge so I want stuff I can easily port into my own world. Interesting NPC's and locations work well. Same with villages, cities, and such. A list of rumors or myths can be useful. If you create your own pantheon, try to cover the basics - that way if you create an interesting monastery dedicated to the god Mzndafjafkja, the god of Balance, I may be able to use the monastery with few changes.

3. History/Myths/Major Players. I'm not typical, in that I don't really like much of this. I don't buy campaign settings to read someone's novella. I usually have these things already created for my own world. By all means, include these things. But don't take up half the book with them.

4. Repeat after me: "Not every book has to have prestige classes...Not every book has to have prestige classess..." Say that a few thousand times. Really, it's true. OTOH, feel free to create your own organizations that fit your world, your version of Harpers, or Rangers, or whatever. Just don't waste a ton of space on prestige classes which are constantly overused by publishers. If you must have them, consider including them as separate free web enhancements.

5. Also, you don't have to have your own races. One or two that fill specific roles can be good. A bunch of "elves by another name", "dwarves by another name", etc. is not.

6. A short, interesting sample adventure in the main book. An early 3.0 campaign setting had this and I really appreciated it. The adventure was very short (half a session, maybe) but it was focused on introducing the campaign's hook. Great for pointing the potential GM in the right direction for running the world.

7. Focused, free web enhancements. If your world changes skills, classes, races and such, a short guide on character creation with all the new material can be a good reference. A short intro adventure (see 6. above). A list of important npc's and their positions/occupations. A matrix of npc's in a town, showing who knows who. All the little things that you'll find you don't have room for in the main book, but can be helpful to those who use it.

8. Bears repeating: good, interesting portable stuff. NPC's. Evocative locations. Towns. A ferry. A tannery. An inn or three. Even if I never run your world as a campaign, these types of things will get a lot of use.

BTW, I'm not a big fan of a "Players" guide to a campaign world. The theory is that the GM can hand one book to the players that has everything they need, but I've found two problems with this. One, every GM is different, so I would have to go through the players guide and mark out everything that I've changed, decided not to include, don't want them to know about, etc. Two, it leaves the GM with at least two books to reference, instead of one, when running the campaign. "Let's see, which book describes the pantheon? Which one describes the temple hierarchies? Hmm?" In theory, players guides are a good idea. In practice, I've never found one I like.

As always, all just IMO. Good luck!