Splitting up your ttrpg into free vs $, pdf vs hardcover

[cavetroll]

So lets say you were creating your own mazes and monsters TTRPG.
You don't have a large internet following so kickstarter not an option and while you can do some marketing a lot is going to be dependent on word of mouth.

Your goals are

#1 get the rules into as many peoples hands as possible
#2 make money back on art to please your spouse
#3 make a profit

I am thinking

• give away the rules for free as a pdf while
• available on lulu print on demand as a hardback at $50 (since lulu is expensive per book, $10 profit each)
• have the starter adventure in the rulebook, but only the first 10 pages
• have the rest of the adventure + the rest of the setting as a free pdf
• sell additional adventures as pdf at $5 each

What do you think, what you would your plan be given the same circumstances?

One concern I have is if you give away the PDF for free do you think people will automatically think its cheap? Or am I over thinking that.

 

[Jd Smith1]

First, build up a Net following.

Secondly, come up with a truly innovative setting concept.

Third, develop an innovative rules system.

Fourth, accept that you will lose money on the undertaking.

 

[Morrus]

One concern I have is if you give away the PDF for free do you think people will automatically think its cheap? Or am I over thinking that.

One thing people have done in the past is give away a plain free version, and a nicer version with a price.

 

[cavetroll]

One thing people have done in the past is give away a plain free version, and a nicer version with a price.

I thought about that. The tricky part is I think any time you evaluate a RPG, the nice art is a huge impact on your first impression.
The other issue is the overhead of building two different PDFs, thats a lot of extra work.

Maybe the way to go is to have core rules + sample bestiary + sample adventure. Then sell a full blown bestiary and adventures as add on PDFs or add on books/modules.

 

[cavetroll]

Fourth, accept that you will lose money on the undertaking.

If enough people enjoy something, I'm ok with losing money. But if it blew up and you gave away everything for free it would be a little sad lol.

 

[payn]

Its pretty common to have a free quick start. Just enough for folks to dip their toes and see if it feels right.

 

[Jd Smith1]

If enough people enjoy something, I'm ok with losing money. But if it blew up and you gave away everything for free it would be a little sad lol.

True enough. There's countless threads here on the low pay or returns on RPG writing.

The key is, what sets your RPG apart? What about would make a GM think, 'yeah, I need to invest money and time into this product'? What is new and exciting about it? What makes your rules set better than more established publishers? Why is your setting superior to existing settings?

That's the key. DrivThru is full of D&D clones and settings gathering dust.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Kevin Crawford (Star Without Numbers, Worlds Without Numbers) does a spin on this.

You can get the books for free, but there's deluxe editions that have some additional stuff in it. For example, in Worlds Without Numbers you get all the stuff you'd expect from a core rulebook for free. The rules, the classes, the equipment, etc. But there's an additional chapter or two of very good DM tools in the deluxe editions that have somewhat became his trademark and it incentivizes people to get the deluxe edition. Always seemed like a very honest offer to me, and he seems to be having some success!

 

[Baron Opal II]

Yes, Kevin Crawford and Sine Nomine is a good blueprint for this kind of business. It is slow, but he figured out what he can make that others will pay for, and his setting / idea tables are great. He goes into his process in some detail, but I don't remember where he spells it out.

 

[cavetroll]

The key is, what sets your RPG apart? What about would make a GM think, 'yeah, I need to invest money and time into this product'? What is new and exciting about it?

Well thats not the point of the thread, and they are good questions, lets just say I know its new and exciting and there is nothing like it, but I am a little biased Whether there will be broad appeal, whether I can market it wide enough, that is a different question that will remain to be seen. But I'm not doing it "for the money" im doing it "cause its fun" and if I make just 1000 people happy for a few days, then its worth it.