You've just taken over WotC, what do you do?

[Micah Sweet]

I haven't played it in over a decade, although I still do follow the game on streaming services. It was too expensive then, and it's even more too expensive now. The current set has twelve variants of a single card if you count the promos.

That said, proxies have never been more popular since the Magic 30th Anniversary debacle.

This is why I've never liked the blind purchase model. No rules element should be intrinsically more valuable out of game than any other.

 

[Cadence]

This is why I've never liked the blind purchase model. No rules element should be intrinsically more valuable out of game than any other.

Commander pre-constructed decks are fixed card lists, $40 or under when they come out and you advanced ordered them iirc, and have typically had good playability lately.

 

[edosan]

Make an actual Dungeon Master's Guide and not the - whatever - we got for 5e.

Assemble a team that can write an adventure that is playable at the table and not the coffee table books we seem to be getting now.

It's always been weird to me that 5e has made more inroads to the public than any previous version but they don't seem to want to work terribly hard to make DMing approachable for newcomers.

 

[Cadence]

I'd probably find people with actual business skills and connection to the hobby to run it.

But I can imagine two additional PhBs + setting book pairs (one steam-punk/weird west, and one post apocalyptic) and lots of regional based fantasy monster books based on different regions of the real world and its myths.

If I was burning money, a Dragon Magazine in the flavor of the first 100 issues would be awesome.

If I didn't have to care about the company staying afloat or tanking the brand, I'd like to see them try to make an edition that was e10 but spread over 20 levels.

In any case there would be an MtG secret lair with Mayael, Kaseto, and the OG Sigarda all getting new art.

And if I could get the rights some more Secret Lairs: one for each of the the three great Tolkien stories (Children of Hurin, Fall of Gondolin, and Beren and Luthien); one for the Voyage of the Dawn Treader; one for Earthsea; one for Percy Jackson (for my son); one of Gaiman's Endless; one with the work of Charles Vess; and a Marvel Thor one by Dautermann.

Finally, back to D&D if I could get the rights and didn't care about sales, a Glen Cook's Garrett Files setting book.

 

[Reynard]

Get development started on the following products/projects:

1) Advanced Player's Guide (for player character versatility, expanding different pillars and higher tiers of play)
2) Advanced DM Guide (for GM tools and expanding different pillars of play and the higher tiers)
3) Advanced Monster Manual (making core monsters not be boring)
4) A high level (13-20) campaign adventure for PCs that have finished any of the main ones.
5) A new Setting Search like the one that brought us Eberron.

 

[Cadence]

And I can't believe I've recovered enough not to mention the OGL. I'd want an OGL 1.0b that was irrevocable as possible that allowed 1.0a to use the quote in it already to jump to 1.0b.

I'd leave what to do with future editions up to the business people.

I might even be a big enough person to see if there was any reason not to put some of the 4e stuff out under it. (Maybe a kickstarter to justify the expense in going through it all?).

 

[Guest 7034872]

Sacrosanct

You've just taken over WotC, what do you do?​

Get on the horn with a buddy of mine who actually owns and runs a company and beg him to tell me what to do.

 

[CrashFiend82]

To start very little, go slow get 1dnd the best you can while being compatible. Once that is ready for release have a starter set ready, build off of the original. A Return to Phandalin set 10ish years in the future (along with FR). Let the team show us what it looks like if the characters were successful. Sandbox style but would love to level 10.

Then release 4 books a year:

- New Adventure (like they are currently)

- A republish (fine tuning) of previous adventure; add in more options from AL Seasons (the work is already done, add maps and streamline). Build these anthology style.

- One cross-promotion ie. Magic (but get weird) make them less medievalish fantasy like steam-punk, wild west (call them World's of D&D or something to signify they are different). Expand what D&D can look like in other genres and settings.

- One semi-tightly themed book that explores and expands core 3. Part for players (new subclass, spells, feats), for DMs new hazards, exploration ideas, random tables, possible modular systems. Last part monsters go fewer but deeper, include ecologies, a few encounter ideas, lairs with rules. Start with Rural (countryside), Urban, Forest, Desert, Swamp... Wildspace, Feywild, Ethereal (Astral Sea), Shadowfell... Then someday Outer and Inner Planes. Each book helps build a sandbox that is not-setting specific but with sidebars for further setting ideas.

Don't think this will happen but it would offer a number of tools and ideas for DMs new and old alike. Supports both homebrew settings and published modules. It also might expand the D&D reach in new ways. Lastly montenize D&D by expanding horizontally... Focus on new player growth with tools for Encounters, box sets in various styles that can be sold at major retailers but given out to Local Gaming Stores or School Clubs to increase new players.

 

[jasper]

Move it to Atlanta.
Bring on the Swedish Bikini Barbarians
Cross market every where
Bring on the Beach Bikini Barbarians
License deal with Jim Beam
Bring on the Beam Bikini Barbarians

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Funny, instead of implementing a bunch of changes when I suddenly take over, I would take the time to understand the inner workings of the company and listen to the people who work in the "trenches" before doing anything...

I wish you had bought Twitter.