TSR, WotC and Electronic Support: a loveless marriage

[Aeolius]

I speculated and extrapolated about the role of technology and D&D over here .

Since that point, Apple has launched Game Center , an app that lets you find other game with. One could find a gaming group with Game Center, launch a VTT app, and be on your way. As soon as the iOS 4.2 software update is available for the iPad in November, you'd be able to run a VTT app, peruse PDF/ePub books in iBooks, and run other apps in a multitasking environment.

 

[Jhaelen]

at the same thing though, 'cause, meet effect'.

How does WoTC expect people to get into the upper tiers of game play when their own support for it is so sloppy?

Well, how many epic adventures have been written for 3e? And how many adventures for the higher levels (say 15+)?

Now, I haven't done a lot of research, but I only know of a single epic adventure.

I think it was in one of the GenCon podcasts that someone from WotC mentioned that DMG3 had originally been scheduled for release this year, but that they decided to postpone it since not enough groups had already reached the epic tier.

The way things are looking now it probably won't be released before 2012.

For every edition there have been a lot more low-level adventures than high level adventures. And it makes (business) sense, too. There are simply too many games and campaigns that fizzle long before they reach high levels.

And most groups tend to start from scratch (or at least in the low levels), so there is no large demand for epic adventures but a lot of demand for low level adventures.

Finally, it's very difficult to write good, challenging, and sufficiently generic epic adventures. Unless they're part of an adventure path, they're incredibly difficult to incorporate into an ongoing campaign since they tend to deal with things that have the potential to change the face of the world forever.

 

[Umbran]

How does WoTC expect people to get into the upper tiers of game play when their own support for it is so sloppy?

Look at all this cool stuff you might one day be able to do, but hey, we're not going to ever support that so you better hope your GM has some chops.

I would not be surprised if, on the whole, use of published adventures drops off as character levels go up. Campaigns have an average lifespan - they traditionally start at level one, and as you tick your way up through the tiers, there will be fewer and fewer campaigns as they die off for various and sundry reasons.

But, that still means every campaign needs lower-level adventures, so you load heavily with those.

I would also expect that by the time most campaigns reach higher levels, their DMs are, in fact, doing more of their own writing to fit their own groups needs, and the weight of their own backstory. Unless you're doing an AP, most published adventures won't match your group's backstory very well.

 

[Remathilis]

Well, how many epic adventures have been written for 3e? And how many adventures for the higher levels (say 15+)?

Darn few, that's what. Two in the original AP (Lord of the Iron Fortress and Bastion of Broken Souls), a couple freebie modules on WotC's site, and one Goodman Game's module (which was 21st level, but nothing 16-20).

I think its hard to write epic stuff because it assumes a great deal of customization. Its the endpoint of a campaign, it needs room to be epic and threaten kingdoms, blot out the sun, start wars, end wars, and liberally use the machinations of gods. That kinda stuff is hard to fit in a 32 page perfect-bound. At best, you can have the "dungeon that time forgot" or "lets go to the Abyss and kill demon lord X" type settings, but all those are is just high level dungeon crawls.

Kinda a no-win situation.

 

[nedjer]

As I said at a panel recently and in conversation with a publisher. the first company to provide an integrated RPG game and toolset -- including a map -- using an HTML5 framework that can be ported to mobile, tablet and traditional computer, will probably become hugely successful if they do it at all competently. But that willingness to take electronic support seriously seems to be minimal to nonexistant. Companies are instead directing people to some subset of their site, telling people to buy PDFs, or letting third parties bear the load with scattered tools that are annoying to use together. So WotC sucks and every other company sucks for this. The difference is that WotC made a promise they would not suck, and continue to suck.

Tablets'll be 'ten a penny' within a couple of years. teh India governemtn has put out a functional; device for itss schools at a cost of about £75/ unit including the govt subsidy. It's not for the retail market but it does show what a vast take is goign on worth the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy. Couple of years and the iPad'll still cost an arm and a leg but the Sony, Samsung, Dell, Google Pad. . . will be well under $200.

Otherwise, LET THE SUCKING COME TO AN END. A full fantasy RPG in HMTL, with autostyling, custom images, complete control over editing, displays on any browser device . . . going to have that available in about two minutes for me, as I'm off to apply some of the final touches to v1.45 of Treasure RPG, which I'll be posting sometime next week after more proofreading.

CSS3 and HTML 5 aren't sufficiently browser ready for this but there was a decision to leave out a lot of jQuery and Ajax extra options, because HTML5 is close to useable.

Forgot to add a couple of key considerations there. This particular HTML is completely local when you download. Don't need a connection on at all . . . and, with HTML, cost expectations should change. Treasure, will, as usual, be free.

 

[renau1g]

In your opinion, in the last five months, what have been the best four Epic tier adventuers Dungeon has put out.

Quality doesn't equal what level adventures are published. My comment is that all the adventures they have published are of a higher quality than their earlier efforts.

If you're really interested in a breakdown of adventures/level please see this thread where I've detailed the adventures/level. Just a note as well I added a quick Pivot Table to give a count of adventure levels. There's 16 level 1 adventures or nearly 20% of the published ones...and 37 of levels 1-4, or 42.5%.

www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/279776-d-d-4th-edition-dungeon-adventure-list.html