Is there any market for rule-less Adventures and Settings?

[Vigilance]

I think system-less books are a bad idea in most situations, or at least an idea that will have a smaller audience.

The thing is, most people have an easy time coming up with ideas for adventures and campaigns.

That's the FUN part.

What they pay other people to do is the stuff that's not fun, such as rules.

Green Ronin's systemless books are a special case because A) Freeport has a built-in audience they've cultivated and grown for a decade or so and because B) as I recall they DID release books of rules for the setting as well, in PDF form.

 

[Psion]

I think system-less books are a bad idea in most situations, or at least an idea that will have a smaller audience.

The thing is, most people have an easy time coming up with ideas for adventures and campaigns.

That's the FUN part.

What they pay other people to do is the stuff that's not fun, such as rules.

I think there's a great degree of truth to that. In many cases, the rules (or setting implied by a certain set of rules) are exactly what customers are shopping for.

And while some note that Green Ronin made systemless books:
1) They also put out system-targeted pirates guide books.
2) (Personal perspective) As far as systemless books go, I don't find PGTF nearly as effective as the likes of Citybook, which provided a "pseudo system" framework that gave me a basis to adapt the characters to my system of choice.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Reported

 

[Bishop Odo]

Most people need a familiar touchstone rules wise, and that is whatever most popular system, with an OGL. Personally I don’t care, over the years I have converted so many modules to off or little used systems, D6, Fantasy Hero, Rolemaster, and Skills and Powers, that I do not fear the conversion factor, in fact it’s quite liberating. However, we are talking marketing and making a profit, hey if it’s a good product, people should buy it and you should be rewarded.


I simple truth is, I look for a product that does what I can not do. Art work, maps and cultural details that I find unique draw me to a product. I can and always adapt a little, I hate to say, but I reject many products just because of the poor art and maps.

 

[El Mahdi]

I'm not very good with plot and story when it comes to making my own adventures. And, for the most part, I really don't care about system when it comes to an adventure. I look for a good plot and story, with interesting locations and well thought out npc's/monsters. I want monsters and npc's motives and actions to be consistent with the plot, and the setting (locations, etc.) to be consistent with the story and the npc's. I simply convert mechanics to what I need anyways. So...

Personally, I'd be very interested in rules-less adventures. However, I wouldn't be willing to spend the same amount as I would for an adventure that already has the mechanics laid out in my preferred system. If, for example, someone made rules-less adventures similiar to the pocket adventures that AEG made (Alderac Entertainment Group), I'd buy them up en-masse.

I really can't comment on whether it would be a successful product. If you have marketing data that tells you it might work, then I'd say go for it. But, I can say that I'd be interested.

 

[Desert Hare]

If, for example, someone made rules-less adventures similiar to the pocket adventures that AEG made (Alderac Entertainment Group), I'd buy them up en-masse.

I really can't comment on whether it would be a successful product. If you have marketing data that tells you it might work, then I'd say go for it. But, I can say that I'd be interested.

Maybe the thing to do would be to for each adventure to have web support, putting the mechanics for each system into a web enhancement. Now that, I'd definitely be interested in.

 

[Sigurd]

The problem I see with a systemless publication is that its not more useful to me the buyer than a publication for another system.

So a person not using the OGL wants to buy a pdf. She can choose a systemless pdf or an OGL product (a system she doesn't use). Whats going to compel her to buy the systemless version? Empty pages for writing in her own stuff?

Maybe better story or description of story goals and backgrounds? Unlike a rules system what do you point to as your selling features?

Systemless pdfs will compete with every other PDF from every system out there.


Sigurd