is there a market?

[Zjelani]

There's 4 things I look for in a campaign setting in no particular order:

1. Definitely make it an interesting concept. If you can't sell the setting in a couple sentences, you won't be able to sell it at all.

2. Portability - I want to be able to loot it right now for the campaign I'm in the middle of.

3. Also, see about getting artwork that really defines it. Personally, I'm more interested in fewer, but better pieces, than a lot of mediocre ones. And the artwork can really help sell the mood of the setting.

4. And, for me, probably what sells me the most is adventure ideas. If I read your setting and can't stop coming up with more adventure ideas than I could possibly use, I'll definitey use it.


Furthermore, if you want to take a risk and be counter-intuitive - release the setting for free and charge for the supplments. Or probably better yet, release a free, but substantial, "Player's Guide" and charge for the full DM Guide and supplments. You can get far deeper impact in the market with a free setting than one with a price. Without people picking up the setting, the supplements will never sell. Just make it clear that it's a professional endeavor and not just a fan boy releasing his setting. Free products can easily get an aura of low quality. However, this is a gamble and goes against the business model of nearly every RPG publisher before. They believe (wth decent evidence) that supplements are just there to boost sales of the core setting book. Which, if you are WotC that is definitely true. If you are Joe Random Publisher, I think the story is very different and pretty much no one (or very few) have caught onto that. But that's just my theory with little evidence behind it.

 

[TheLe]

Try to keep it under 150 pages, preferrably 100 pages.

Keep in mind that images should take up 10%-20% of your book, and is included in my page count numbers.

For PDFs, this is the way to go, as large pdfs do not work well in acrobat, and people hate printing that many pages.

Always save some for the sequal.

I am publishing Vidar's VIKINGS d20 book later this year, and I told him the same. I asked him to shave off 50 pages of his book to keep it under 150, because it will be much easier for us to sell that way. I think he is going to be happy with the sales numbers as I put the full weight of The Le Games behind this product.

~Le

 

[Morrus]

Campaign settings are a fairly hard sell. I'd be prepared for an uphill struggle with this.

 

[GMSkarka]

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.

Then find yourself a PDF publisher who is accepting submissions. There is a difference between being a publisher and being published...and it seems like you're looking for the latter, rather than the former.

I hope there is a market since there are SOO many rpg worlds out there now.

Blunt, wet-blanket realism: No, there is no market for additional settings, especially in PDF.

 

[jgbrowning]

Everytime I look around, Gareth's throwning a wet-blanket.

Don't do it if you want to make money, do it because you want to do it.

joe b.

 

[Ampolitor]

Free Campaign book

Im thinking about one of the suggestions of doing a campaign sourcebook that would have the basic details like the FR hardcover. This will have all the info needed so a DM can change whatever he wants. Then I plan on doing more detailed sourcebooks one for each kingdom that will have maps to all the cities, important places and key npc's. I dont plan on putting much stats though since that will always change due to the strength of a party, dms taste etc..
Then i plan on doing a sourcebook for the gods that will go into much more detail with myths, breakdowns of the church, extra spells, groups of the church etc... I also have material for a monster manual type book which will also have a mini adventure in it. So I might have the main guide free for a bit, then follow up with the sourcebooks and a bunch of modules. any other suggestions?

 

[Andre]

Then i plan on doing a sourcebook for the gods that will go into much more detail with myths, breakdowns of the church, extra spells, groups of the church etc...

Just a nitpick - you don't *have* to use the standard D&D version of religion. Religion is one of the most central elements in human history, but most RPG's and settings treat it as a set of statistics and mechanics for character builds. Try a few of these questions:

*Why do there have to be multiple gods? Why not one church?
*How does the church(es) fit into the world?
*How does the church(es) affect politics? What about a hundred years ago? A thousand?
*When did a particular religion begin? Is it relatively new? Did it replace a previous one?
*How do members of religious groups survive? If illiteracy is common, are they scribes? Do they own large estates, with serfs or monks farming? Do they have the right to tax? Does the government support them directly?
*What are some of the central conflicts within the church(es)? What are common heresies?
*Is spell use seen as miracles, divine intervention, or just mechanics that anyone can learn?
*Are most members of the church(es) clerics (spellcasters) or commoners, experts, and aristocrats?

There's so much more that can be done with religion in a well crafted setting than what we find in Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms. Granted this is a lot of work, but worth considering, IMO.

 

[Hart-Felt Production]

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?

I have to say you're wrong about this. I'm a freelance cartographer and use CC Pro for all my maps, and am doing so legally. Now, you cannot distribute the symbol catalogs and so on, but maps you create using the software can be used in published products.

 

[IanEHewitt]

I have heard the arguements that campaign settings don't sell, and I believe them. But I also see how many of the big publishers have fairly new ones out... Eberron of course, Oathbound, Ptolus (coming soon), Diamond Throne. I didn't think the big boys did anything unless there was a big payback?

Cheers
Llowellen
www.WestarchPress.com

 

[TheLe]

I have heard the arguements that campaign settings don't sell, and I believe them. But I also see how many of the big publishers have fairly new ones out... Eberron of course, Oathbound, Ptolus (coming soon), Diamond Throne. I didn't think the big boys did anything unless there was a big payback?

Cheers
Llowellen
www.WestarchPress.com

Personally, I would love to have my own campaign setting, but the problem is time, energy, and money. A solid campaign book tends to be 100+ pages. That's alot of resources you need to dedicate. Then there's the issue of balancing out. People are real finicky about their campaign settings and for every 10 people who likes it you will get 1 person who does not, and that 1 is always the most vocal.

Then there is the support issue. People don't want a campaign setting without supplements, so you need to get out 2 at the minimum.

It's expensive, it's time consuming, and the level of expectation is higher.

Still, I would love to do one.

`Le