Extra Life Is Not Over - More Previews Still Coming If Thresholds Met

Although the 48-hour D&D game is over, Extra Life still continues -- and people can still pledge. WotC's Greg Bilsland dropped me a quick note to say "For folks wondering about the remaining Extra Life previews [of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide] — we will still release them if we get to our thresholds. Extra Life is through end of the year, so the map may still be released digitally if we get to $100k.... We may still have a few other smaller events before end of year." The remaining items on the list included the Duergar race entry, including subrace traits, and a full, updated, high res, labeled map of the northwest portion of Faerün, from Amn to Icewind Dale, and the Moonshae Isles to the Dalelands.

Here's where you can make your donation! Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide hits store shelves on November 3rd.

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[graves3141]

I feel the map should be released for free at some point no matter how much money is raised or not raised during the Extra Life thing.

We got some nice, digital setting maps for free during 3rd and 4th edition (although, I thought the 4E one was ugly compared to the 3E one). Why should 5E be any different?

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=84351]graves3141[/MENTION]: Entitled much? Just because you got something for free in the past doesn't mean you should keep getting it for free. WotC doesn't have to give us anything for free (and yet they already have given us quite a lot, including enough of the 5e rules that you can play the game without buying anything).

As a graphic artist myself, I feel no compunction about giving the cartographers WotC hires a few bucks to get high-res digital copies of their work.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I'm with [MENTION=54629]pukunui[/MENTION] on this: you want the fruit of many hours of an artist's labor, you pay for it.

These maps aren't just sketches the artist whipped out in one afternoon, and it is ridiculous to treat them as such by demanding them given to you free.

 

[timbannock]

I'm with [MENTION=54629]pukunui[/MENTION] on this: you want the fruit of many hours of an artist's labor, you pay for it.

These maps aren't just sketches the artist whipped out in one afternoon, and it is ridiculous to treat them as such by demanding them given to you free.

While I think it's awesome that Wizards is doing these previews as part of the charity, and fully support it, I will argue this point a little...

Once the charity event is over, and the book released, there is absolutely ZERO reason for them to not offer the map for free. Bold statement? Consider this:

1. RPGs are played at a table, handouts a given. A map of an area that might be used in the game is a tool that should be available to playing groups.

2. But why FREE? Well, consider that Wizards is the company that has stated unequivocally they have the resources to do (reasonably) whatever they want. That includes paying their artists and cartographers the right amount of money to...

3. ...they've offered these sorts of maps for free before. In every edition since the internet was a thing. Before then, "you can photocopy this for personal use" has always been a thing. Fan sites and messageboards and wiki articles tend to utilize these sorts of tools.

I'm not advocating for all art always to be given away for free after the release of a book. Not at all. But the tools that are immediately useful to a vast majority of tables should be. Character Sheets (already done!), maps (nope, you have to pay extra), and -- if they were using them -- cheap tokens that are adventure-specific should all be offered for free in case whatever hardcopy you own is damaged, or you don't want to write all over it, or if you don't have access to good scanner/photocopier (especially if you're disabled), etc.

It's definitely an opinion, but it's one a hold to strongly given past experiences with Wizards and many, many other game companies. This change to giving the artists more money is on the one hand fantastic for the artist and certainly great for special versions of maps and whatnot, but having an adventure or campaign packaged with materials which you are then given an additional (monetary) barrier to really make use of is, IMHO, a bad business practice.

Pay your artists properly and this won't even be an issue, if adopted.

 

[graves3141]

[MENTION=84351]graves3141[/MENTION]: Entitled much? Just because you got something for free in the past doesn't mean you should keep getting it for free. WotC doesn't have to give us anything for free (and yet they already have given us quite a lot, including enough of the 5e rules that you can play the game without buying anything).

As a graphic artist myself, I feel no compunction about giving the cartographers WotC hires a few bucks to get high-res digital copies of their work.

Entitled? Because I think a digital map should be free? Ok,then call me entitled baby... all the day long.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

...maps (nope, you have to pay extra)...

If the map is included in the book, you aren't paying "extra" for it, and you can go ahead and show it to your players or even make a copy just like you do for character sheets (even if express permission isn't given, you are likely not going to be chased down by WotC or the artist for showing a copy around your table).

The high res, independent digital map file is an entirely different thing, and that you may have been given such a thing for free in the past is entirely irrelevant to whether it is still a thing within the bounds of what WotC can do.

Demanding free independent maps in high resolution digital format, instead of being willing to give the artist a few dollars for one, is like insisting that McDonald's not be able to put a price higher than $0.50 on a cheeseburger because that is what the price used to be, even though it doesn't at all match to the current power of the dollar.

 

[Juomari Veren]

Is this book going to have a WPN advanced release? Do ALL D&D books have an advanced release? I want to know if I can get this at my FLGS in two weeks or if I should order it off of Amazon to get it cheaper.

 

[timbannock]

Demanding free independent maps in high resolution digital format, instead of being willing to give the artist a few dollars for one, is like insisting that McDonald's not be able to put a price higher than $0.50 on a cheeseburger because that is what the price used to be, even though it doesn't at all match to the current power of the dollar.

No it's not.

The person making the burger and the person handing it to me are, theoretically, being paid enough money such that if I ask them to give me a cup for water, I'm not charged extra for the cup (or the water).

A precedent was set that digital files are not just given out by WOTC in the past, but also that the fanbase has a pretty good reasoning for the want and use of digital versions of maps included in adventures and campaign settings, in addition to the maps included in the books they buy.

Moreover, RPGs being what they are, there is a very real call by a huge population of gamers for the maps independent of whether they buy the books or not.

Which, I'm happy to admit, is a perfectly good reason for us to indeed pay the artists for maps outside of buying the book. In point of fact, that's not my issue (paying artists for their work). My issue is that the people who do buy the book, gaining access to the art (a more "gameable" piece of art such as a map, specifically), then have to pay EXTRA to get the digital version.

I'm not asking for freely available maps in all cases. I'm asking for freely available maps ONCE I buy the product.

Notably, I didn't point that out in my earlier argument, so that's on me. Apologies.

 

[Mistwell]

Entitled? Because I think a digital map should be free? Ok,then call me entitled baby... all the day long.

Yes, entitled. What's not entitled about your statement? Someone started a charity for sick kids with this map as an incentive for people to give, and the first and only thing you want to talk about is how you demand it for free instead and don't know why people would call you entitled over it. If you think it's not entitlement you're expressing, then tell us why what you're saying is different from a sense of entitlement. Because right now you look like THAT guy at the party to me, but I am open to hearing why I might be wrong. Do you feel you deserve the map for free more than sick kids deserve the donations it might generate, or am I missing something from your perspective?

 

[Mistwell]

No it's not.

The person making the burger and the person handing it to me are, theoretically, being paid enough money such that if I ask them to give me a cup for water, I'm not charged extra for the cup (or the water).

A precedent was set that digital files are not just given out by WOTC in the past, but also that the fanbase has a pretty good reasoning for the want and use of digital versions of maps included in adventures and campaign settings, in addition to the maps included in the books they buy.

Moreover, RPGs being what they are, there is a very real call by a huge population of gamers for the maps independent of whether they buy the books or not.

Which, I'm happy to admit, is a perfectly good reason for us to indeed pay the artists for maps outside of buying the book. In point of fact, that's not my issue (paying artists for their work). My issue is that the people who do buy the book, gaining access to the art (a more "gameable" piece of art such as a map, specifically), then have to pay EXTRA to get the digital version.

I'm not asking for freely available maps in all cases. I'm asking for freely available maps ONCE I buy the product.

Notably, I didn't point that out in my earlier argument, so that's on me. Apologies.

Do you think a charity event for sick kids is the appropriate time to be making that argument, even if your argument has merit? You see no issue with making this the focus of your commentary concerning this charity event during the event?

For me, I think any of this should have perhaps best been left to after the charity event has run its course, and any monies that could have been generated for sick kids with this map as incentive had been gathered, prior to arguing why it should instead be given for free to those who buy the books. But that's me.