Mercador
Adventurer
Really? Oh wow, that was been a while I haven't looked up their site. To be honest, my last Paizo book is Starfinder Pact Worlds. I'm tempted to complete my PF1 collection but it will be money wasted.
Mad at Paizo?
Markh3rd
Explorer
Depends. 20 years from now it may be worth a hefty amount. You never know.
LuisCarlos17f
Legend
My opinion is the strategy of Hasbro/WotC is strengthen the power of D&D as brand. They don't want D&D only to sell books TTRPGs but also other types of products like comics, novels, toys, media or videogames.
This last is changing the industry. I would bet WotC now is playtesting d20 version of different TTRPGs by other rival publishers to create a true universal d20 where you can use the same monster stats to play with superheroes, transformers, G.I.Joe or Conan (isn't this public domain yet?). And they want to create the ultimate D&D videogame, maybe the Warcraft-killer, not only other Diablo clone, but mixing RTS, skimishes wargame and standar action RPG, with option to create your own quests, machinima, or asymetric games with a player as DM.
Tablets will replace the character files by paper, and in some miniatures games the DM will be IA of an app in your mobile or tablet (you can play alone, even with your own house rules, but you will never know where is the trap or the monster in the other side of the door). Publishers will sell the books as "collector edition" but most of the sold products will be PDFs and something like a mixture of mod and DLC.
Paizo still can publish a new Pathfinder spin-off, maybe something between pulp fiction and gothic-punk horror.
This last is changing the industry. I would bet WotC now is playtesting d20 version of different TTRPGs by other rival publishers to create a true universal d20 where you can use the same monster stats to play with superheroes, transformers, G.I.Joe or Conan (isn't this public domain yet?). And they want to create the ultimate D&D videogame, maybe the Warcraft-killer, not only other Diablo clone, but mixing RTS, skimishes wargame and standar action RPG, with option to create your own quests, machinima, or asymetric games with a player as DM.
Tablets will replace the character files by paper, and in some miniatures games the DM will be IA of an app in your mobile or tablet (you can play alone, even with your own house rules, but you will never know where is the trap or the monster in the other side of the door). Publishers will sell the books as "collector edition" but most of the sold products will be PDFs and something like a mixture of mod and DLC.
Paizo still can publish a new Pathfinder spin-off, maybe something between pulp fiction and gothic-punk horror.
Plenty of Conan stories are public domain. Howard died in 1936, so in the EU and most countries all his works went Public Domain January 1st 2007 at the latest (life+70). In theory under US copyright law publisher-owned works created by him could have a 95 year term from creation, which in theory would be 2031 for anything he wrote shortly before death - I doubt there are any such copyrights, generally Weird Tales & co didn't purchase copyrights from authors then register & renew them as would have been required, but it's possible in theory.
Xenonnonex
Hero
Buy them on the cheap and then when they go out of print, sell them at a premium. It will be money gained.
CapnZapp
Legend
I absolutely agree this is what I think WotC dreams of doing.
I'm just not sure it is good news for us ttrpg:ers.
Every time in history a RPG publisher had "branched out" that has meant more money in that other sector, and the the inevitable decline in focus on the ttrpg.
I like my ttrpg publishers best when the RPG is their only source of income.
CapnZapp
Legend
I believe this is still under dispute. That is, there is a company holding the Conan license.
Well there is no dispute about the maximum duration of copyright.
But even when stuff is clearly in the Public Domain, like Edgar Rice Burroughs' works, companies will abuse Trade Mark law to try to keep control of popular characters. I gave a talk lamenting this to ALAI (Association of Literary Authors I think) about 20 years ago, and got the response from publishers' lawyers that using TM to create perpetual copyrights was a fine thing. grrr
On one hand yes, but on the other hand they also have more expenses (booth costs, sales staff, shipping all the books there, and so on). So I'm guessing it's a net win, but not as big as you'd think.
LuisCarlos17f
Legend
Maybe there is a trick for a d20 Conan by WotC. One option would be a settin in the post-Hyrboria age, practically a mash-up, with the same names of places or tribes but not the main and famous characters. The other option would be an agreement between Hasbro and Marvel for a cartoon show of Conan, a remake and with a different geography. WotC could publish a TTRPG about a spin-off, for example the hyrborian punk version of characters of public domain, also with the action figures, of course. But I warn this "neo-hyrboria" would be radically different, with races, magic and classes from D&D, almost a "jump the shark". Maybe Conan the king died time ago, and now he is the "conqueror" (or another generic name), a almost demigod, a legend or totem spirit, with followers like the binders with their vestige pact magic (and Red Sonya would be "the scarlett warmaiden" or the "saint blade").
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