3pp: what can they sell?

[CapnZapp]

I am not really unhappy with how WotC's business practices have meant far less 4E 3pp crunch than 3E 3pp crunch.

OTOH, I am unhappy with how WotC's business practices have meant far less 4E 3pp adventures than 3E 3pp adventures.

This is partly because WotC produces much more crunch than I'll ever need, partly because very little 3pp crunch is actually any good, partly because most WotC adventures suck hard, and partly because third party adventure writers generally create really interesting plot lines.

 

[Dausuul]

Besides, the larger company (Wizards in D&D's case, Mongoose in my own company's case) are doing a great job of fulfilling the demand for player oriented products. As a small publisher it is best to go where the demand is vastly underserved. Where is that in D&D? I don't know. I don't follow that market much. Wish I could help more.

IMO, the underserved market in D&D is for products that help DMs and players to go beyond the "kill monsters and take their stuff" paradigm, which WotC is focused on with laser intensity.

Some possibilities I can think of:

* A book with support for PCs leading armies and ruling domains.
* A book with support for managing a business enterprise.
* A book with support for wilderness adventuring (not the fighting-wild-animals part, but the not-getting-lost-or-dying-of-exposure part).
* Books describing various social settings (royal court full of intrigue, small border town, crime-ridden slums, et cetera), with a detailed array of skill challenges.