Idea: How to sell adventures...

[The Cardinal]

the discussion on "Why adventures sell/don't sell/should sell/etc" gave me an idea:
how about adventure books? This would be softcover books with 5-9 complete adventures in them, all with the following features:
- maximum plug-and-play, i.e. no setting specific stuff, no campaign-breaking events, no ultra-exotic locations, etc.
- a wide range of possible party levels (at least 3-5 levels) for each adventure and/or easy adaptability for different party levels
- small, generic maps, i.e. no new cities, mountain ranges, etc. (small or remote villages, caves, lost cities, small islands etc are allowed)
- each book could cover a range of 6 party levels (e.g. 2x(1-4), 3x(3-6), 2x(5-8)
- 16-32 pages per adventure, 64-144 pages (and $15-$28) per book

Would you buy that?

 

[The Cardinal]

apparently not...
- back to the drawing board...

 

[orbitalfreak]

Add to that the following:
- Interconnect the adventures, but don't make them inter-dependent. Sorta like the Adventure Path modules from WotC; they had things in them that could be used either as Easter Eggs, major plot points, or simply general background filler.

- Mixture of Dungeon Crawl and Roleplaying. Attracts a wider audience (some from each of these two "camps"), as well as being even more beneficial to those of us who do both DC and RP. Make each collection have this mix, not a DC book and an RP book.

- Pull-out maps. Player handouts. Maybe even a selection of cardstock counters for NPC's, major creatures, and movable props (chairs, tables, 28,000 lb statues (think:: dragon!) ). Generally, something physical to interact with.

- Web enhancements.
[1] Combat-sized maps of the dungeons / important buildings / special locations, drawn at 1" = 5'. Download, print and tape, or print on posterboard at Kinkos or something.
[2] Stat blocks, in varying formats. Bare-bones all the way up to fully-decked-out. Maybe even little bubbles or boxes that represent HPs that you fill in as the creature takes damage.
[3] Possibly "freebies," of course as a customer hook, as well as to provide extra options for DMs. Things like: "What if" scenarios, where something big in the module is changes, or "History of Ye Olde Local Ruined Temple" to add to what is in the module.

For this, I would say three adventures at $25, six at $45-50. That's what I would be willing to pay.

 

[Orcus]

Why should a kid buy those 3 adventures for $25 (or, god forbid, 6 for $45) instead of getting 4 for $6 from Dungeon? That is the question you have to answer.

Clark

 

[Darrin Drader]

Dang it Orcus, you beat me to the punch.

Bad demon!

 

[pogre]

Here is an idea I am batting around - shareware adventures. I have a bunch of inter-related, but not inter-dependent adventures that form a campaign from 1st to 12th level. I am trying to decide whether to publish them in a book of adventures spanning from 1st to 20th level (obviously, I have a bit of writing to do) OR

Putting all of the adventures up as shareware adventures. You download it, read it, maybe even play it - if you like it - you pay me. I would encourage people to put the thing in peer-to-peer networks so as many people as possible check it out. I would encourage students to use the adventures and enjoy them and pay them when they can afford to. The model is heavily dependent on the good will of consumers like ENWorld.

The disadvantages are obvious to me.

The advantages though are:

1. Hopefully, lots of exposure. I have two other adventures published or about to be published now, but they are minor efforts by comparison. These adventures would expose a lot more people to my body of work.

2. Lower overhead - the quality would be good, but I do not have to fork out big $ for printing and distribution. I will admit art will be sparse, but what art there is will be solid.

OK - What say you nay sayers - and even those who are foolish enough to say the idea has merit?

 

[Tidus4444]

I agree- this is just a more expensive dragon.
and I would love to see your adventures for free, though I'm not sure how many people would send you money if they liked them/

 

[Mystic Eye]

the discussion on "Why adventures sell/don't sell/should sell/etc" gave me an idea:
how about adventure books? This would be softcover books with 5-9 complete adventures in them, all with the following features:
- maximum plug-and-play, i.e. no setting specific stuff, no campaign-breaking events, no ultra-exotic locations, etc.
- a wide range of possible party levels (at least 3-5 levels) for each adventure and/or easy adaptability for different party levels
- small, generic maps, i.e. no new cities, mountain ranges, etc. (small or remote villages, caves, lost cities, small islands etc are allowed)
- each book could cover a range of 6 party levels (e.g. 2x(1-4), 3x(3-6), 2x(5-8)
- 16-32 pages per adventure, 64-144 pages (and $15-$28) per book

Would you buy that?

We did Dragonstar: Raw Recruits (4 adventures tied by a common thread but can be seperate) in a very similar format as well as Siege on Ebonring Keep (to a lesser extent) for Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed (of course, this was setting specific as it uses AU and is in the Diamond Throne).
We also did "Of Places Most Foul" which were a collection of short horror based adventures but they were not tied together.

What made all of these good sellers was the fact they ARE tied to a setting but can be pulled from the setting as well.

Our Foul Locale books are somewhat close as well, detailing specific locations. While not adventures in and of themselves they have lots of adventure hooks and back story. They average about 15-16 locations a book.

 

[pogre]

<snip>
and I would love to see your adventures for free, though I'm not sure how many people would send you money if they liked them/

Obviously, neither do I.

There are @ 13,000 handles at ENWorld and a fraction are signed up as community supporters. Everybody is cool with that and it keeps this great ball rolling. I would assume something along similar lines in terms of lots of downloads with drastically fewer payments.

However, I know if someone put up an adventure and said try it - if you like it pay - I would pay if I liked it. Plus, it gives those with a truly fixed budget a way to enjoy it now and pay later if they want.

Perhaps I could release the first few adventures and then release the next series as I received a certain level of support?

 

[WayneLigon]

Some things that would sell an adventure module or series of adventures in one book to me:

Lower to mid-level adventures. I probably won't buy anything for people over 10th level.

Good maps, especially of cities or buildings. For buildings, look to the Warhammer Fantasy RP adventure books for the level of detail that will sell me instantly.

Something I can use afterwards. A couple of 8.5x11 dungeon tiles. A set of Fiery Dragon counters by Claudio, especially if they depict unique creatures in the adventure. Spell templates. Those alone might not sell me (except probably for the counters, if there were more than one sheet of them) but if I have a choice between two adventures, I'll buy the one with the stuff I can use afterwards.