Eric Noah's Info

[Kunimatyu]

I'll have a two sets of numbers for ability scores sandwich, with a side of hit point rings, please.

Can I supersize that and get a spellslot shake?

 

[Umbran]

The idea of trying to get nnnnn profits out of the game with nn resources is basically overhead.

No, it isn't. "Overhead" is your cost of doing business. Higher overhead means you need greater gross income to cover costs. Since profit is what you get after you cover your overhead, it doesn't need to be bigger.

They're a bigger company, and their cost to produce it is commensurately higher.

In a sense, you've got it backwards. In absolute terms, a larger company does have greater overhead, yes. But in relative terms, per product, a successful company can take advantage of economy of scale, and have less overhead per unit.

In general, companies are in the business of making money. If they aren't making use of their available economy of scale, they aren't making as much money as they could. There's no reason for them to do that. Rather than support poor earners, they'll seek larger earners.

Traditionally, RPGs have been a niche market - they don't sell enough units to take real advantage of the economy of scale Hasbro has available. So they are a poor fit for the company. They'd prefer to invest in something that can make real use of their massive production and distribution, like Pokemon and Magic cards could.

I don't agree with Wulf, insofar as I don't think matching a smaller product with a larger company will tend to be a winning proposition for either. For best results, the product line ought to seem big for the company that owns it, rather than small. That means the company will be more likely to have the good of the product foremost in it's mind. Our favorite thing really needs to be someone's favored baby, not the weakling stepchild that never measures up to it's siblings

 

[qstor]

On another note, all the talk about Hasbro making WotC do this or that is bunk. It's almost always the case that management decisions for WotC are made by WotC. I know it is convenient to blame a big faceless company like Hasbro when D&D goes in a direction you don't like, but I'd be willing to bet any strategic shifts coming down the pipe were conceived at WotC itself in response to problems in the RPG market at large.

I find it hard to believe that all of the decsions are made by WOTC alone. Kinda like making the RPGA the marketing arm of WOTC someone in Hasbro had to say...whats this group and WHAT are we getting out of it? Why run Shadow run games (like was done under TSR) lets kill that or anything that is fun....

Sorry...feeling a little jaded now.

Mike

 

[Xyanthon]

Wow, this thread has been growing faster than I can read it! Anyway, I think that I will probably pick up the core book and preuse them and see if I really like what is there. Really though, I've got more than enough gaming material to ever really use all of it so even if I don't like 4e whenever it eventually comes about, I can play OD&D, 1E, 2E, 3.x, C&C, OSRIC, etc... You know, OSRIC has respawned my interest in working on new material for an older system. So I guess even if all of the talk about 4e is true and the talk about the impending doom of the RPG industry is true, there are still plenty of gamers who love the game and will continue to create their own support for it not for any monetary gain, but because they have a passion for it.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'm really curious to see which sacred cows keep on mooing, and which ones become hamburger.

I want to make this clear:


The rust monster's rust attack should be permenant and not just a pansy 10 minutes!!!!

Thank you.

 

[Klaus]

The whole "smaller packages of rules" strike me as very reminiscent of the OD&D books-by-level.

So you'd play Basic D&D (levels 1-5), Expert D&D (levels 6-10), Master D&D (levels 11-15), Grand Master of Flowers D&D (levels 16-20) and Epic D&D (levels 21+).

That'd be a way to sell smaller packages of info. Plus, you gave a larger print-run on the Basic booklet, and decrease as you go up, adjusting by the demands of previous books.

And maybe the books also go paperback?

 

[BryonD]

I find it hard to believe that all of the decsions are made by WOTC alone. Kinda like making the RPGA the marketing arm of WOTC someone in Hasbro had to say...whats this group and WHAT are we getting out of it? Why run Shadow run games (like was done under TSR) lets kill that or anything that is fun....

Sorry...feeling a little jaded now.

Mike

I know zero about WotC, but am familiar with other multi-unit mega-corps and Chris' assessment is dead on with my experience.
The parent company's attitude is "If you are doing your job right, it'll show in the returns you send me. If you don't send me the returns I expect I'll replace you or sell your unit outright. Don't bother me with the details, just be worth my funding."

 

[BryonD]

In a sense, you've got it backwards. In absolute terms, a larger company does have greater overhead, yes. But in relative terms, per product, a successful company can take advantage of economy of scale, and have less overhead per unit.

You'd be surprised.

 

[skippy_the_witch]

4th Edition cannot come soon enough for me!

The absolutely best thing that could happen to me and my homebrew campaign (and even my players) would be the introduction of 4th edition D&D, especially if it is mini-centric as expected. And why would I be doing a snoopy dance of glee when the official anouncement is made? Because I have no self control and really really like cool new options to add to my game. This means I have rarely found a supplement (especially such things as the race books, complete books, and the tomes) that I didn't like. And I am DROWNING in too much information.

4th edition would stop the flow of NEW stuff, which would give me time to actually finish the incorporation of all of the info I currently got and give my game some real stability. Especially if thrid party publishers continue to release pdfs here and at such sites as rpgnow. That is the only real downside to me, the loss of such great third party products that people such as Ari, Phil Reed, Monte Cook, etc produce. And, I will eventually be able to allow my subscription to Dragon to lapse. I have already sworn that if THREE issues in a row contain ANY APPRECIABLE miniatures articles, then I will NEVER subscribe again. I may still buy an issue or two, but that would be it.

Lastly, I do not see the fascination with D&D miniatures. I know some people like vanilla ice cream, but please, at least add hot fudge or something to it. And D&D miniatures is as vanilla a "war" game as you can get. If I was even vaguely interested in playing a miniatures based game, I sure wouldn't pick something as flavorless as DDM. I would choose Warmachine, Hordes, or even the old stand-by Warhammer 40k. But, then again, I only use miniatures on the battle mat when one of my players brings them in. I am just as happy using quarters with white duck tape on them with written letters and numbers to stand for everything.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

skippy
The GM of the Cursed Earth Campaign

 

[Animus]

The whole "smaller packages of rules" strike me as very reminiscent of the OD&D books-by-level.

So you'd play Basic D&D (levels 1-5), Expert D&D (levels 6-10), Master D&D (levels 11-15), Grand Master of Flowers D&D (levels 16-20) and Epic D&D (levels 21+).

That'd be a way to sell smaller packages of info. Plus, you gave a larger print-run on the Basic booklet, and decrease as you go up, adjusting by the demands of previous books.

And maybe the books also go paperback?

I love that idea!