D&D 5E MtG D&D Commander Legends: Battle For Baldur's Gate Announce!

[Parmandur]

They weren't planning on killing it, they assumed a third party publisher would snap up a licensing deal, they didn't, yet. Companies try and externalities costs all the time like this, it's just this time it blew up in their face this time.

They didn't just assume that, third parties did step up even if nor at absurd TSR output: WotC assumes no risk from novels now, but get paid anyways while they focus on their core competency.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I was researching the original Commanders Legends, just to try and figure out what to expect from this set.

For regular cards it had 361 cards, of which 165 were new cards. They also reprinted 32 Legendary Creatures as Foil Edge only. That's 393, a dang big set. 72 new Legendary Creatures + the 32 reprinted Legendary Creature + 2 New Planeswalkers that could serve as Commanders is 104 Legendary Creatures & Planeswalkers Commanders.

But alot of those were reprints, so how will that work with this set, when there is only 1 recent printed D&D Forgotten Realms set?

I figure they will have some reprints, like any card that shares a name with a D&D spell like Fireball and Wall of Stone. They might add in the more setting neutral cards like Dockside Extortionist with D&D card and flavour text. They might add in Etch Foils of the AFR Legendaries. Still I think CL: BfBG will have alot more new cards then CL did.

At minimum that 72 new Legendary Creature cards + at least 2 Planeswalkers that can serve as your Commander.

So the question is who do you want to see in the set?

Should I make that question a new thread so it's not bogged down with all the other stuff discussed in this thread bogging it down?

 

[Parmandur]

I'm sorry, "they were hoping a third-party publisher would snap up a licensing deal"? That's not how this works, you don't do business on hope. If WotC wanted someone to publish novels, they would go out and negotiate with a bunch of publishers, and eventually they would come to an agreement with someone.

It's been 5 years. If WotC really wanted someone publishing their novels this bad, it would have happened by now. And they are publishing some books and comics, so it's not like this is some impossible thing. Nothing has "blown up in their face," if WotC was desperate to get novels published, they would. They clearly don't care much about resurrecting the old novel paradigm (and if the novels had been super profitable, they would be).

I mean, they did and they have. The Drizz't books, the comics, the Endless Quest books, the children's story books, the art books, the cookbook...none of that is from WotC. That's outside publishers paying WotC for the privilege of making the books.

 

[Bolares]

So the question is who do you want to see in the set?

Anyone but Elminster

 

[MiraMels]

So the question is who do you want to see in the set?

I'd like to see Farideh's sister Havilar, and some way for the two of them to team up. Either them as separate cards, each with Partner, or one card that features both of them.

 

[Ibrandul]

The Drizz't books, the comics, the Endless Quest books, the children's story books, the art books, the cookbook...none of that is from WotC. That's outside publishers paying WotC for the privilege of making the books.

Don't forget the comic books and the upcoming "middle-grade" novel series (both also set at least partly in the Realms).

I've seen various people insisting that FR novels were quite profitable even at the end of the 4e era. I find this unlikely. But I also strongly suspect that the situation would be very different nowadays, and FR novels would sell much better. It's true that novel reading has continued to decline in the past decade, but on the other hand, the player base is much, much larger now, and FR is now the default setting for official adventures, which wasn't true in the 4e era.

 

[Parmandur]

Don't forget the comic books and the upcoming "middle-grade" novel series (both also set at least partly in the Realms).

I've seen various people insisting that FR novels were quite profitable even at the end of the 4e era. I find this unlikely. But I also strongly suspect that the situation would be very different nowadays, and FR novels would sell much better. It's true that novel reading has continued to decline in the past decade, but on the other hand, the player base is much, much larger now, and FR is now the default setting for official adventures, which wasn't true in the 4e era.

Oh, I have no doubt they continued making a profit...but at a certain, a profit isn't sufficient if the return on investment doesn't make sense. They decided that full-time Twitch personnel made more sense than internal fiction editors. But HarperCollins and Penguin wouldn't be doing stuff if there wasn't a profit to be made, and the ROI for established fiction publishers who already have professional editors and such anyways make more sense business wise.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I'd like to see Farideh's sister Havilar, and some way for the two of them to team up. Either them as separate cards, each with Partner, or one card that features both of them.

I love that idea!

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Don't forget the comic books and the upcoming "middle-grade" novel series (both also set at least partly in the Realms).

I've seen various people insisting that FR novels were quite profitable even at the end of the 4e era. I find this unlikely. But I also strongly suspect that the situation would be very different nowadays, and FR novels would sell much better. It's true that novel reading has continued to decline in the past decade, but on the other hand, the player base is much, much larger now, and FR is now the default setting for official adventures, which wasn't true in the 4e era.

Novel reading is starting to make come back.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I want Mehen, Sune, Sharess (unlikely), the Seven Sisters, Mirt, Amarune Lyone Armala Whitewave, Halivar/Farideh, Szazz Tam, the Queen of Cormyr, Nazram the World Walker, Everis Cale, Jarlaxle and his twin Copper Dragon Sisters, Yvonne the Younger, Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, Elminster, Lariel, Dragonbait, Shadowheart, Gale, the Lich Queen of the Githyanki, Malcanthet, Demigorgon, an Elder Brain, and more.