Daggerheart Class Packs kickstarter is live.

[Thourne]

This is a sad case of everyone involved being married with kids. Finding the time to get everyone into is a high Tier challenge. I'm going to try, of course. I'm also giving the Kickstarter out to all of the players to perhaps make them think about the class they're going to play, so it's likely some of them will back it.

Back in the day when our table was doing the married having rugrats thing (Fark you we arent old! Ok maybe. Happy now!) we had success with some city based games. Worked out for people dropping in and out, in sorta the same way a Westmarches can.

Edit: On the plus side, them aint kids! Them are future players! Just gotta wait a tick.

 

[Parmandur]

Almost certainly. It seems probable that this one came as it did because there wasn't a ton of new work that needed completed to get it live. A setting, adventure or supplement is going to take some time.

I still think these things are probably significantly more realistically priced than the core set. I expect that when we do see a big new hardcover for DH, it will have a $60-$80 price tag.

The core sets probably benefited a lot from economies of scale: printing larger sets of cards at certain numbers is probavly cheaper than this smaller run of smaller card packs.

 

[Thourne]

The core sets probably benefited a lot from economies of scale: printing larger sets of cards at certain numbers is probavly cheaper than this smaller run of smaller card packs.

While true I also wonder if the tariffs have anything to do with the cost. I have no clue where they get the paper, etc. Logistics have been thrown into a mess with them as well.

 

[zedturtle]

While true I also wonder if the tariffs have anything to do with the cost. I have no clue where they get the paper, etc. Logistics have been thrown into a mess with them as well.

That's almost certainly part of it – I suspect they're printing in China, and pricing the worst possible situation into these class packs.

 

[Neonchameleon]

The costs are pretty high; I checked and a single (so no economies of scale) full custom 55 card deck is less than £14

 

[TheHand]

Since I wanted a second set of the cards, I decided to just get another Core set since it’s more economical. Then I’ll have a second book I can loan out or pass around the table.

 

[Neonchameleon]

To the surprise of no one it funded.

I'm in the "It's seriously overpriced for the packs" camp. On the other hand it's the cheapest current way of getting the PDF

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I agree with that, it is not purely a popularity gauge, this being an optional product already makes it less important. If they had kickstarted their first ‘of Everything’ book instead, that would give us a better approximation

We could also just ask why this validation chase matters in the first place. Do people at your table really stop to check Kickstarter numbers before committing to a campaign? Do you cross-reference Amazon rankings before scheduling your next session? Or worry that the game isn’t popular enough in other countries before deciding whether to enjoy it?

For most groups, the only metric that matters is whether the players around the table are having fun. Everything else—Kickstarters, rankings, convention counts—is noise.

 

[Morrus]

We could also just ask why this validation chase matters in the first place.

Yeah. You see it everywhere. Box office figures, mobile phone brands, D&D editions, etc. To be fair, it's not like I don't feed into it by maintaining a million dollar kickstarter club list, so I guess I can't really complain.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

While I do agree that a lot of people are just looking to confirm their biases, the Kickstarter is actually not just about the cards.

This Kickstarter is geared towards the fence-sitters like me. You get the game for free if you buy the cards (or free cards if you buy the PDF if you see it that way.)

You’re not wrong, but I think that’s an oversimplified way to frame it. This Kickstarter exists because fans (and retailers?) were asking for a new way to package and purchase cards—something Darrington hadn’t initially planned or wasn’t sure would have demand.

Right now, the only true core product for Daggerheart is the Core Rules Set, which comes with the full rulebook and a complete set of cards. That’s all you actually need to play. Everything else—Class Decks, dice, etc.—is cosmetic, collectible, or convenience-oriented. Even the cards themselves aren’t essential since all the same information is printed in the book, and the SRD already provides free rules plus a printer-friendly card file.

So the real audience here is anyone who values another way to buy cards—either as individual sets for their class, or as an extra table copy without buying a whole second core box. And since the Kickstarter doesn’t introduce new content, only a new format, it makes sense that the “incentive” had to be something already in the line: the physical book or the PDF. Adding the PDF was a no-brainer. But also, what else do they really have to offer?