D&D 5E Why is WoTc still pushing AP's when the majority of gamers want something else?

[Arial Black]

According to a Wizards survey, most people run their games using homebrew. Now this can mean anything from using an established setting but giving it your own stamp, or using a completely made up world.

Now Wizards always claimed they were using the surveys to give people what they want but it seems what people want doesn't align with that Wizards wants. When people say they run most of their games using homebrew then you would think they would be jumping to make more regional books, non setting books, and more DM's aids. I think this has been a product of the surveys all along but that's another topic.

So Wizards, we have told you what we want and how we run our games and yet you still try and shove AP's down our throats.

Why?

What is this 'thing' that the collective 'we' allegedly want instead of APs?

 

[OB1]

APs are the gateway drug of 5e. If you are new to the game, you are likely going to pick an AP that interests you along with the core books. Having a wide variety of APs means Wizards is more likely to hook a new player. For those already hooked, the APs can provide inspiration for home brews or an easy way to play when you don't have time to create everything from scratch.

5e is designed with the casual, occasional, and life-busy player in mind and the release strategy reflects the goals of courting and converting those types of players. For the hard-core, frequent players who post on message boards, the game is designed to be hacked to fit our needs. I'm currently running a home brew campaign that began in the Next playtest as well as the CoS AP for the same group of players. If I have time to design for my home brew, we play that, if not, it's CoS. But I also purchase and read all of the APs and mine them for ideas for my home brew, sometimes lifting things whole cloth from them and plopping them down into Duotin.

It's just that simple, and seems to be working as intended to grow the hobby.

 

[ccs]

According to a Wizards survey, most people run their games using homebrew. Now this can mean anything from using an established setting but giving it your own stamp, or using a completely made up world.

Now Wizards always claimed they were using the surveys to give people what they want but it seems what people want doesn't align with that Wizards wants. When people say they run most of their games using homebrew then you would think they would be jumping to make more regional books, non setting books, and more DM's aids. I think this has been a product of the surveys all along but that's another topic.

So Wizards, we have told you what we want and how we run our games and yet you still try and shove AP's down our throats.

Why?

Seams like you've failed a DC:5 perception check....

Because despite whatever the surveys say, $ in hand still speaks louder.

Clearly WoTC is still making enough $ via APs to warrant not changing their current plan.

 

[Shiroiken]

Even if we accept the premise of the OP (which I don't), there is still a very good reason for WotC to keep publishing APs: they make money. Even if the majority of customers "wanted something else," APs have a high profit margin and sell very well. That "something else" is probably going to be different things, rather than a single item like APs, so the plurality of players appear to want APs. In business, you don't mess with what works.

 

[Blue]

I'll never purchase an AP - doesn't fit my DMing style. But I'm glad they are making them. My FLGS runs several tables of them and I have a fun time playing.

 

[Henry]

This is a forum dedicated to RPG's. This is not a forum that only acknowledges positive things about RPG's. It is called a discussion forum for a reason.

The amount of people who do run homebrew has everything to do with it. Most people who run homebrew also run homebrew adventures and not AP's. People want to make up their own stories whether it's trough an established setting or one they made up.

That assumption doesn't follow; if all respondents define "homebrew" as "a setting that is NOT an established setting such as Faerun, Keynn, etc." even then, just because they use a non-official setting doesn't mean that they will not want adventures/modules. Instead they could be filing off serial numbers and using the adventure largely as-is. It also doesn't preclude non-adventure material, but the fact that we are seeing primarily adventure paths means, most likely, that they are still selling very well. When they stop selling so well, then about a year after that point, we'll see a course correction. Until then, two AP style books a year means they are still doing well enough for them to consider that their best course.

OTOH, the fact that just recently they said UA was ramping to once a week may signify that very sea-change; time will tell.

 

[ccs]

Actually, when it's the only product out there people will buy it because it may have a few bits they want, or they collect D&D books. Most people would rather have something than nothing.

And thus the message is sent to WoTC that all is well.

Customers keep buying enough of x?
Company will continue making x.

You'd have better luck trying to persuade your fellow gamers not to buy APs, than wishing WotC will change 1st.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I'll never purchase an AP -doesn't fight my DMing style. But I'm glad they are making them. My FLGS runs several tables of them and I have a fun time playing.

See, I feel the APs DO fight my DM style, and it's a fight I will never win. So I just don't engage with them.

 

[Henry]

You'd have better luck trying to persuade your fellow gamers not to buy APs, than wishing WotC will change 1st.

I could be wrong, but is it possible that was the intent of the original post, [MENTION=6776548]Corpsetaker[/MENTION]?

 

[seebs]

Why is Corpsetaker still constantly making these obnoxious nerd-rage threads when the majority of forumites want something else?

On the one hand, I don't think it's super productive to criticize people personally. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen a thread from Corpsetaker since I got here that was not on the topic of "everything Wizards does is not what I want, they need to stop, here's why: I don't like it."

To answer the question: I don't run APs, but I will happily buy them, because they have lots of bits and pieces I can use or adapt. I would also be happy with individual modules. But I am fine with these, so even though they're not specifically in the format I'll use them, the entire point of liking homebrew is that I"m planning to adapt other things to my needs.