D20 Modern Spectaculars Canceled

[coyote6]

*EDIT* The last D20 Modern supplement I bought was D20 Past, and it so disappointed me that I have not looked at another D20 Modern book since.

I flipped through Critical Locations at the FLGS, and it looked good. Nice maps, and I don't think they're available free on the website. I'll probably pick it up sooner or later.

d20 Apocalypse made me want to run a post-apocalypse game. And I found the art in d20 Future & the tech supplement that came out recently (the name of which I forget) quite inspiring.

Of course, what they inspired was a desire to play GURPS 4e, or maybe try some version of M&M 2e & True20 -- but not d20 Modern. And with Critical Locations, I was thinking, "Hmm, looks useful for Shadowrun."

 

[hobgoblin]

heh, maybe ill grab that critical locations then

 

[JPL]

I think we should hold off on concluding that d20 Spectaculars has been permanently shelved (although I understand that the book is said to have been "cancelled" rather than "rescheduled").

As others have pointed out, a book this close to publication date must be mostly complete, so there's already a substantial investment.

Also, supers is popular enough as a gaming genre that it makes sense that WotC would want to have some sort of d20 supers game out there.

I'm actually not sure that d20 Modern would be the way to go if you really wanted to model something like the Marvel Universe, where Norse gods and guys who can talk to ants are on the same team and are all "starting characters". But the idea in d20 Spectaculars that characters follow the old-fashioned D&D power curve --- start with magic missle once per day and work your way up to fireball and then up to wish --- is perfectly gameable.

 

[Kenson]

I'm actually not sure that d20 Modern would be the way to go if you really wanted to model something like the Marvel Universe, where Norse gods and guys who can talk to ants are on the same team and are all "starting characters".

As you note, there's big difference between "can model Thor" and "can model Thor (Superman, etc.) as a starting character on an equal footing with other starting characters". Most superhero RPGs can do the former; few, if any, can do the latter.

I, too, am curious how Mearls and Stephens (both skilled d20 designers) tackled some mechanical issues in Spectaculars. Time will tell whether I get to find out for the price of a book or the price of a drink at a convention bar.

 

[PoppaGunch]

I went out to Alliance's website and checked their stock. They no longer even list the book, My pre-order has been removed, and my sales associate tells me it isn't happening. While that might not be enough for you guys, it certainly is plenty for me.

I would love to know the reason why though.

When I worked for WotC (retail, don't get all in a bunch), we were constantly hearing from on high how Hasborg was going to shut down various lines because of their performance. Then we were notified that we would be shut down because of our performance. I wouldn't be surprised if the elder gods didn't tell WotC to stop producing things that don't perform.

Anywho, I simply thought it would be nice to let people know. I know most need a letter from WotC signed in triplicate and done on Cthulhu's personal memo pad. That fine too. I will say I have never pumped false information into these boards, and would be the first to apologize if I saw evidence that I had posted in error.

 

[SWBaxter]

Anywho, I simply thought it would be nice to let people know. I know most need a letter from WotC signed in triplicate and done on Cthulhu's personal memo pad.

Nope. But some statement on their website other than "this product will be released in July 2006" would have a bit more weight with me. Not doubting it's cancelled or delayed or whatever, just saying it seems prudent to give the publisher the final word.

 

[Morgenstern]

I don't expect an anouncement from WotC on the topic for some time, and I think it's somewhat ignorant to expect that they would be quick to release such an announcement - doing so would be stupid on their part. Canceling a book stinks of "dead game" and would damage the sales of the entire line, even if it's only a single book they are backing away from. That impacts both their numbers leaving the warehouse and leaves stores with product on the shelves that "everybody knows" is for a dead game, perhaps damaging their relationship with those stores that are stuck holding the bag. They weren't terribly forthcomming about the Star Wars RPG - why would you expect them to be in this case?

This doesn't prove things one way or the other, but I think it may be a more useful framework for evaluating the significance of WotC's silence.

 

[Morgenstern]

Further, let's consider the reverse case: This rumor IS damaging their sales. If it is untrue I would hope/expect that they would take some action to defuse it before it does any more harm to them (assuming they are even aware of it).

Such announcements (both confirming or denying) are business decisions, not news updates for our convienience .

 

[jaerdaph]

Hey Poppa,

Let's just say I'm more than convinced it's a done deal, but as always, WotC needs to make some sort of announcement.

Same deal with the existence of d20 Modern Dark*Matter, where we have even less evidence for short of an amazon.com database placeholder.

Thanks for the info, though.

 

[SWBaxter]

They weren't terribly forthcomming about the Star Wars RPG - why would you expect them to be in this case?

Well, the rather obvious difference is that Star Wars had nothing scheduled for a very long time. d20 Spectaculars is an actual scheduled product, due for release relatively soon. In the past, when previously announced products have been delayed/dropped/whatever, WOTC has updated the release info on their website to reflect that. So... perhaps I'm naive, but it seems logical to conclude that WOTC will clarify the product's status, probably relatively soon (in real world time, not internet time). Add to that the fact that I can't see what advantage I derive from learning of the product's cancellation (or whatever) now vs. up to a month from now, and I guess I just don't see any reason to rush to judgement. It would of course be different for somebody who owned a game store and/or planned to build a huge sales campaign around d20 Spectaculars, but for me at least that's not the case.