Amethyst - New campaign setting

[Crothian]

I really think the choice to go 4.0 or stay 3.5 really cannot be properly answered until rules and everything publishers need to do for 4.0 are released. Until then I'd just sit back and promote your game. It looks good.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

I posted on your board, but keep in mind that I don't own the book, and I think I will not do it, until I know it will later go 4E. I feel that is somewhat... unfair of me, but I just own to many books already that I probably will never use, and I am getting a bad conscience about it. :/
So, I think either way can work out, at least in the short run. Unless 4E fails though, I can't see an OGL version working long. You're "late" to the party, so to speak. People either already have found their favorite OGL game (Pathfinder, Spycraft, True20, M&M, etc - or just 3.5 as it is), or are going 4E.
Maybe wait for the GSL, wait for the sales report on 4E, the general feedback, and then decide.

I think we all know that 4.0 will sell very well. That is not the issue. We are balancing what is best for the setting in comparison to what is best for the product.

To quote the post on our page...

By choosing D&D 4.0, we believe we are opting for a "shotgun" approach by jumping on the back of a very big train which could expand our circle of distribution. There is no refuting that a lot of people will be playing 4.0 very quickly and releasing Amethyst as 4.0 could net us higher sales, which would be translated to further books, quicker releases, and glossier final products. Alas 4.0 is more combat orientated with a special skew towards unrealistic heroic roles (given enough levels). The final result may involve more than a few sacrifices of the setting's feel as Amethyst has a story-based gaming foundation and D&D 4.0 appears more designed for continuous grinding combat. Amethyst was trying to be a more realistic fantasy and our real climb would be to attempt that within the 4.0 GSL's guidelines.

...and thanks for the comment and no, don't feel bad about not picking up the 3.5 version. We knew it was coming. Words cannot describe the feelings through our camp half-way through development when 4.0 got announced. With so little information on it, we decided to continue with the 3.5 edition and see how it ran. We had hoped to garner enough interest (and funds) to continue on with a new edition (regardless of which one that would be). Suffice to say, we were not expecting 4.0 to divide the community so much. Suddenly, moving onto 4.0 didn't appear like an obvious choice. When the rules began to be posted, a chill ran down our spines as we realized we may not be able to work with it. Like I said, it will depend a lot on the freedom the GSL.

On that, I WILL say that the 3.5 current version has certain attributes a future version (like 4.0) will lack. The story segments (amounting to nearly 20 pages of the 3.5 book) will be gone and some of our proudest achievments like our Paladin and Ranger prestige classes and our Focus Paths may not carry over.

Oh, and I can't wait to hear what you think of the book, Crothian.

 

[elijah snow]

I'm actually disappointed you won't be providing support for the 3.5e core book since that's the game system I'm sticking with. I purchased Amethyst based on the premise and art previews and am enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

It's not like we have much of a choice on the issue. Go to our site and post your opinion. Remember, the 3.5 D20 license expires in two weeks. We must take a different direction as we cannot release 3.5 D20 products past the end of the year. If we go OGL, we will be making changes to it if we are going to bother reprinting the whole thing.

Besides, one thing everyone has been saying is that the setting defines a game, not its rules. Despite the huge differences in rules between 3.5 and 4.0, our setting will not change and will continually expand with future books. We hope to still keep you as a reader...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It's not like we have much of a choice on the issue. Go to our site and post your opinion. Remember, the 3.5 D20 license expires in two weeks. We must take a different direction as we cannot release 3.5 D20 products past the end of the year. If we go OGL, we will be making changes to it if we are going to bother reprinting the whole thing.

Besides, one thing everyone has been saying is that the setting defines a game, not its rules. Despite the huge differences in rules between 3.5 and 4.0, our setting will not change and will continually expand with future books. We hope to still keep you as a reader...

All these pretty pictures...

Am I to late for this? Anyway, here's my "counter-point:
Since when I am not in 100 % fanboy mode, I always try to keep things balanced, here is another view point:

Use the system you and the rest of the design team end up feeling the most comfortable. It is of little use going to 4E if your "heart" is not in it, and you're either trying to shoehorn your own ideas into 4E concepts, or trying to shoehorn 4E to do something it is not made to be.

Really, 4E compatibility might make you bucks (possbly from me), if in the end the game just didn't feel right because the designers didn't feel right with it, that will halt any success you hope to achieve. Negative reviews or feedback will hurt sales soon, and people will not come back for more.

(It's not that different from Paizo saying something to the effect "We don't feel that 4E will allow us to tell the stories we want to tell".
(Even if I think they're wrong about the facts, I am pretty sure their feelings are true, and we'll get a nice, self-fulfilling prophecy. )

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

All these pretty pictures...

Use the system you and the rest of the design team end up feeling the most comfortable. It is of little use going to 4E if your "heart" is not in it, and you're either trying to shoehorn your own ideas into 4E concepts, or trying to shoehorn 4E to do something it is not made to be.

Really, 4E compatibility might make you bucks (possbly from me), if in the end the game just didn't feel right because the designers didn't feel right with it, that will halt any success you hope to achieve. Negative reviews or feedback will hurt sales soon, and people will not come back for more.

Oh, don't you worry. As I am writing a novel of Amethyst, trust me when I say that I will not sacrifice the integrity of the setting to accommodate the D&D 4.0. I am reading through the preview rules. It all depends on the restrictions of the new GSL. As stated, we would need to replace all races, most classes, and re-write the magical system. This is pretty much in stone. If we cannot, we will not be adopting 4.0. Still, we don't want to change 4.0 to become some bastard cousin of 3.5, but our elves won't be bouncing around with short-range teleports.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

but our elves won't be bouncing around with short-range teleports.

Mine neither. That would be the Eladrin.

I suspect you hate it even more then I that the GSL is not public yet?

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I'm actually disappointed you won't be providing support for the 3.5e core book since that's the game system I'm sticking with. I purchased Amethyst based on the premise and art previews and am enjoying it quite a bit.

What he said. (I'll cross-post this on your forums, too.)

Well, my copy of the softback (ordered through Lulu, with a REALLY speedy turnaround time!!) arrived yesterday, and I'm pretty impressed overall.

I got the same chills leafing through it that I got when I first picked up the "Midnight" campaign setting... (And that's high praise indeed!!)

I feel for you guys; it's tough to balance the needs of a business with the desire for creative freedom.

Personally, I will say that I'm hoping you opt not to go the 4E route. I realize it would likely mean guaranteed new sales, but if your heart's not in it, then still it's a losing proposition.

For me, I'd defintiely be in for an OGL version, including buying an updated version of the corebook. (Besides, I could then give the D20 version to the group as a whole for reference and background material!) 8)

If you go 4E, I'd likely be less inclined to pick up future titles until and unless I switch over. (While I'm curious what plans you have for the setting, the books aren't as useful to me if the "crunch" doesn't support the system I'm using.)

Though I did hear something about novels??? Tell us more!!

 

[Aus_Snow]

The international shipping costs at lulu is the only thing putting off my purchase, currently. They're even worse than Amazon's, which is well, not a good thing.

I suppose I could just get the PDF, but I like books, damn it. :\ If only there was a lulu branch in the Pacific. . .

Regarding the OGL vs. GSL thing, it seems to me that there will still be quite a solid market for 3e-based and other OGL products, for years to come. On that note, True20 might be worth your while looking at, too - their license just recently became fully free as well as open, and a number of very promising things are coming out for it, this year and onward. Mind you, some crunch might be a bit tricky to translate to anything much resembling its original form.

And how much hassle would it really be to re-badge the book as OGL (or even 'OGL 3.5 system', or whatever) when the time comes? Would that really impact sales much?

 

[Kaladhan]

This looks like an interesting setting... but why would somebody choose technology over magic? From what you said, Magic pwns Tech.