D&D 5E A Board Game style Release Schedule

[scruffygrognard]

You guys think another setting is likely given FR is the new default setting and there are only three non-core products currently out/announced?

It's wishful thinking more than anything else. At the same time, it does make sense on a few levels. First off Gail Gygax pulled the license from Troll Lord Games following Gary's passing. WotC would have the $$$ to purchase it and produce it as a quality product that's in keeping with their goal of appealing to D&D players past-and-present.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

You guys think another setting is likely given FR is the new default setting and there are only three non-core products currently out/announced?

Personally I think they'll give us a FRCS book first then do another setting in 2016, but they're definitely not shackled to the Realms for the lifespan of the edition - the copious references to non-Realms settings in the core books, Mearls' repeated admonitions that "5E's default setting is the multiverse" and Tweets like this one have me convinced we'll be seeing other settings eventually.

If they were smart they'd just approach Ed Greenwood and absorb his unauthorized Realms project and make THAT the campaign setting book. That's assuming Ed's project is an internal history, not an external look at the creation of the campaign setting - I've not really followed the project much myself as I'm not really a Realms devotee.

 

[Manchu]

WotC might also buy the license just so no one else can. :evil laugh + lightning strike:

But so long as we're wishfully thinking, maybe WotC would release something like this to bolster the faux nostalgia/"old school authenticity" that characterizes the D&D brand for many new players.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think this is how it works:

Book A Month: Sells 10,000 copies each
Book every 6 months: Sells 75,000 copies each

Why? Book a month discourages some from buying any books at the perceived glut. Book every 6 months feels special, and people who avoid glut will be more interested in it - same group who buy core books and nothing else, for many other games. Meanwhile, people who would have bought a book a month, will still buy the book.

Therefore it's more profitable to do a book every 6 months.

Which isn't the exact schedule. The actual schedule seems to be a book every 2-3 months, with an initial pause after the core books to assess what people like/dislike/want/don't want.

I think you might be missing the potential long-term issues with slow/rare release schedules there (too fast also has issues, ofc). Also the sales of player-books vs DM-books. You can sell DM-books more often, but they'll always have a smaller audience.

 

[delericho]

My guess (actually it's more like my hope) is that WotC has purchased Gary Gygax's Castle Greyhawk maps and campaign notes from his widow. With these materials they'll release a mega-adventure set in the Castle and its environs, including The City of Greyhawk. This, in turn, will tie into the release of a 5th edition Greyhawk campaign setting.

I'd be very surprised if they did a Greyhawk campaign setting (or, indeed, any setting), but I could well see them doing a "Castle Greyhawk" story of some sort. So you could be onto something there.

Of course, here's an evil thought: since all their stories to date have been in the Realms, if they did a CG story would that... no, they couldn't. Could they?

 

[Manchu]

the copious references to non-Realms settings in the core books

Oh man, I know! When the PHB first came out, I was bouncing off the walls seeing all the Dragonlance references. And then Lord Soth himself shows up in the MM.

 

[Manchu]

... no, they couldn't. Could they?

That also crossed my mind when I first read cperkins's post ... but I had the good sense not to post about it!

 

[scruffygrognard]

Of course, here's an evil thought: since all their stories to date have been in the Realms, if they did a CG story would that... no, they couldn't. Could they?

Having Elemental Evil set in Faerun is bad enough... setting Castle Greyhawk there would cause The Invoked Nerd Rage Devastation.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

I'd be very surprised if they did a Greyhawk campaign setting (or, indeed, any setting), but I could well see them doing a "Castle Greyhawk" story of some sort. So you could be onto something there.

Of course, here's an evil thought: since all their stories to date have been in the Realms, if they did a CG story would that... no, they couldn't. Could they?

Why would you unleash such an evil thought unto the world?

You've doomed us all!

 

[Manchu]

Having Elemental Evil set in Faerun is bad enough...

I have rationalized this already -- the Temple is a vortex through the multiverse. :rocking in the corner, muttering: