D&D 5E 5e launches with two adventures - designed by Kobold Press

[Blackbrrd]

I use a lot of premade adventures, and the quality from WotC has in my opinion been very variable. Therefore, I am really happy that Kobold Press have been hired by WotC to do these adventures.

Looking at the price of the PHB/DMG/MM, I am starting to wonder if WotC will be focusing on getting their income from relatively highly priced rule books, and getting more third party adventure support for 5e than 4e to drive up the sales of said rulebooks. I really hope so.

Kobold Press states that this was a one-off, but I really hope WotC can partner up in the future as well. The question is: will it happen? Another option is that the license to produce 5e adventures are easier to work with than it was for 4e, and we might see adventure support for 5e on the same level as Pathfinder (which would be great).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Looking at the price of the PHB/DMG/MM, I am starting to wonder if WotC will be focusing on getting their income from relatively highly priced rule books, and getting more third party adventure support for 5e than 4e to drive up the sales of said rulebooks. I really hope so.

It was a good model for 3E.

An overly restrictive license for 4E was arguably a bigger problem for WotC than the radical break in rules and tone. There were lots of folks, like Necromancer/Frog God and Goodman Games who WANTED to produce material for 4E, but WotC just made it too hard.

 

[JVisgaitis]

I would absolutely love to come back to the RPG industry and support 5e with monster books and adventures. At this point I just have no idea how/if they are going to allow it. Waiting patiently...

 

[delericho]

I use a lot of premade adventures, and the quality from WotC has in my opinion been very variable. Therefore, I am really happy that Kobold Press have been hired by WotC to do these adventures.

Yep, it's a good decision.

Looking at the price of the PHB/DMG/MM, I am starting to wonder if WotC will be focusing on getting their income from relatively highly priced rule books

I actually wouldn't be at all surprised if the PHB/DMG/MM were pretty much 'it' as far as 5e was concerned, at least in print. Both because 960 pages is potentially a lot of material, and also because we know that profitability of RPG books drops off sharply beyond the core. So a strategy of a single, big, evergreen core followed by online rules support and the occasional printed setting/adventure book might seem attractive.

and getting more third party adventure support for 5e than 4e to drive up the sales of said rulebooks. I really hope so.

Kobold Press states that this was a one-off, but I really hope WotC can partner up in the future as well. The question is: will it happen?

It's perhaps worth noting that this isn't entirely new - back when WotC got back into doing adventures (in the late 3.5e era), most of the adventures they produced were actually written by freelance talent rather than their in-house guys. I'm not sure there's a huge difference between getting Wolfgang Baur to pen "Expedition to the Demonweb Pits" and gettings WB's Kobold Press to pen "Hoard of the Dragon Queen".

Another option is that the license to produce 5e adventures are easier to work with than it was for 4e, and we might see adventure support for 5e on the same level as Pathfinder (which would be great).

A less restrictive license would certainly be a good thing. But, even with that, I wouldn't expect to see the same level of adventure support as Pathfinder enjoys. That subscription model that Paizo uses is pretty key to what they do; it would be difficult for any other company (or, indeed, many other companies together) to match them on the consistency of both the quantity and the quality of the output.

 

[Blackbrrd]

A less restrictive license would certainly be a good thing. But, even with that, I wouldn't expect to see the same level of adventure support as Pathfinder enjoys. That subscription model that Paizo uses is pretty key to what they do; it would be difficult for any other company (or, indeed, many other companies together) to match them on the consistency of both the quantity and the quality of the output.

This is where our opinion (or hope) differs. I believe WotC have seen how successful Pathfinder has been with it's adventure-centric approach and wants to use it to increase their core book sales. Their willingness to use external companies to create the adventures, does in my opinion mean that there shouldn't be any problem getting talented people to create them - and in a steady stream. If Paizo can make good money using adventures to drive sales, why shouldn't WotC be able to do it, but on a larger scale?

I know I am extrapolating when it comes to what their business strategy is, but they have mentioned that they won't go the splat-book route this time. To me, that says they will have to do something else, and good adventure support sounds like a good way to do it in my opinion.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I use a lot of premade adventures, and the quality from WotC has in my opinion been very variable. Therefore, I am really happy that Kobold Press have been hired by WotC to do these adventures.

I feel the same way. I've seen very few WotC adventures that were even "okay", let alone good, so this seems like a smart move.

 

[delericho]

This is where our opinion (or hope) differs.

Nitpick: our hope doesn't differ. I would be delighted to have WotC produce a top-notch D&D supported by plentiful good adventures.

I believe WotC have seen how successful Pathfinder has been with it's adventure-centric approach and wants to use it to increase their core book sales. Their willingness to use external companies to create the adventures, does in my opinion mean that there shouldn't be any problem getting talented people to create them - and in a steady stream. If Paizo can make good money using adventures to drive sales, why shouldn't WotC be able to do it, but on a larger scale?

Because it's not adventures that are the key to Paizo's success, it's subscriptions to adventures. But WotC are not set up for direct sales at all, never mind subscriptions to print products, and besides, they have their own subscription mechanism - the DDI.

I know I am extrapolating when it comes to what their business strategy is, but they have mentioned that they won't go the splat-book route this time. To me, that says they will have to do something else, and good adventure support sounds like a good way to do it in my opinion.

I'm more inclined to put greater weight on their multi-media strategy - they want to leverage the D&D brand in movies, TV, video games, MMOs, board games, card games... The D&D RPG is a vital part of that strategy (since D&D is, first and foremost, an RPG), but it's also the smallest part of that. There just isn't much money in RPGs, at least as seen by a company like Hasbro.

That says to me that the way to go is to do a really good set of core rulebooks, but a set that will mostly stand on their own, then support that with just enough product (settings/adventures) to keep it active, provide monthly support using the DDI/eMagazines, and then focus on all the other things.

(And bear in mind that the two announced adventures are coming out three months apart. That's equivalent to one of Paizo's likes (Pathfinder Adventures, I think), but obviously not as in-depth as their monthly Adventure Path line.)

I may, of course, be completely wrong. And I have no problem with being wrong - what I want is a good, strong D&D; I care rather less how they achieve that goal. But that's my current best guess.

 

[Blackbrrd]

[MENTION=22424]delericho[/MENTION] WotC does do something very close to direct sales on http://www.dndclassics.com/ and they do have a digital subscription service (DDI), so I don't quite see how they couldn't make some adjustments to one of those two services to make adventure subscriptions a possibility.

 

[delericho]

[MENTION=22424]delericho[/MENTION] WotC does do something very close to direct sales on http://www.dndclassics.com/ and they do have a digital subscription service (DDI), so I don't quite see how they couldn't make some adjustments to one of those two services to make adventure subscriptions a possibility.

Two things:

- In neither case do WotC actually handle the sales themselves. D&D Classics is, of course, handled by DriveThru RPG, and they outsource the subscriptions of the DDI also.

- Perhaps more importantly, these are both electronic products rather than physical ones.

Now, WotC absolutely could, of course, offer subscriptions to adventures in electronic format. Indeed, for most of the lifespan of 4e they did exactly that - eDungeon was, after all, part of the DDI.

But if they're hoping to match Paizo, that means physical product, and they're just not currently set up for that. There is, of course, absolutely no reason they should become equipped to do that or, more likely, subcontract someone else to do it for them. But given the likely margins on adventure products, and given their lack of both a built-in audience (specifically for subscriptions to a physical product) and a good reputation for adventures, I would be very surprised to see it.

 

[Blackbrrd]

[MENTION=22424]delericho[/MENTION] I do see the points you are making, but as they have already said they weren't going to go the splat-book route, and if you are correct, they won't be going the adventure route either. It does make me wonder what their business strategy actually is.