Essentials opening door to 3rd Party Support?

[UHF]

I think yes. If anything Essentials is showing third party developers how to create simpler characters which can be built paper and pencil style. I think that's a good thing.

Also note that it is currently possible to get more support for 3rd party character classes and custom worlds in Character Generator. 4e Power Tools lets you edit your copy of the database and toss in your new zippy characters class, like say, a gun slinger.

Still other 3rd party character generators allow you to do it all.

Its slow coming since A) IMO WOTC did an abysmal job providing 3rd party digital support, and B) GSL forbids anyone but WOTC from providing WOTC generated IP. Most of these evolving Apps, must extract data from a DDI subscription, as well as allow for custom changes to the databases.

Its slow... but its coming.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Well, maybe a 3pp is best off making adventures, but it is still a bit of a fringe business. I mean I suspect if there was a huge demand for many adventures then WotC would be pumping them out, wouldn't they? I've always understood they are mostly pretty marginally worth doing.

3pps CAN do settings, but of course Essentials hasn't changed the equation there. Seems to me the best bet is to something like Amethyst where you present a niche setting along with a fairly extensive set of content to go along with it. Even then you're dealing with no DDI support, etc. It has to be pretty appealing to make any real sales.

Props are props. Few of them are 4e specific and there is a metric ton of stuff out there already to compete with. Again including the official 4e stuff. If you're Warhammer and have your own fan base it is one thing. Making tile sets and other game aides or figures etc is another pretty small revenue.

I mean there is room for a couple people out there like KQ and Wofgang Bauer's sponsored stuff and Blackdirge manages to sell a decent amount I assume, but how many more people can really make money? Unless you're 1 of 3-4 companies you really aren't going to make much.

HAVING a ton of adventures? That would be great. Having a ton of settings? Great. It is all great for the players, the more stuff the better. 2010 doesn't seem like a great year for getting into putting ink on paper though. PDF sales are cheap enough you might make a little, but really how many copies of WotBS or other online adventures and story arcs or settings really get sold?

I'm gonna be picking up Essentials soon and seeing how we can offer a solution to make Amethyst compatible with it. Since I don't know how it works with Essentials, I'll have to be careful with the wording and not specifically mention the product...

GROUNDER (AN ESSENTIAL BUILD)

Something like that.

 

[Shin Okada]

Are there any actual change in philosophy when Essentials started? It seems that the delay in the Character Builder has always been happening from the beginning. And the online D&D compendium are already starting to include Essentials materials right?

As for "dependency", well actually, since the beginning of D&D 4e, I have never used Character Builder (I am a Macintosh User). And only few months ago I started to use online D&D Compendium and found that while that is useful, it is often full of errors and contradicts to actual rulebooks. Thus I do need to check rule books and official updates anyway, both when making my own PC and preparing something as a DM.

 

[UHF]

Officially, WOTC hasn't changed its stance.

Unofficially, they've taken a real light hand with Gamma World. Posts of the complete card contents and pdfs of character powers are abound. I'm working on a fully automated character generation spread sheet myself.

So.. maybe?

 

[Ace32]

4e Power Tools lets you edit your copy of the database and toss in your new zippy characters class, like say, a gun slinger.

The what now? I haven't heard of 4e Power Tools and didn't see anything on a quick google search. Mind linking? I'm very intrigued.

 

[UHF]

The what now? I haven't heard of 4e Power Tools and didn't see anything on a quick google search. Mind linking? I'm very intrigued.

This looks different than the last time I was there... maybe its somewhere else..

But this seems to have it all...
Playwrite: 4th Edition Power Creator

Aaannd a Gunslinger.
Gunslinger « 4e Custom Classes
PHB Style...
Gunslinger

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Reading into these books, I think there is the possibility of inserting Essentials into Amethyst. We'll offer such possibilities in the next book, I am sure. Even without the GSL saying it specifically, we can work around that.

 

[UHF]

Reading into these books, I think there is the possibility of inserting Essentials into Amethyst. We'll offer such possibilities in the next book, I am sure. Even without the GSL saying it specifically, we can work around that.

I'm not sure that is a concern. Specifically, if you don't directly include the material, its AOK. That's how the 3rd party character tools are getting around the GSL.

You should email WOTC though, or post in the GSL forums.

Just using Essentials for eChan characters is fine. I don't even think you need to mention it.

Putting your Echan equipment in a character generator database is also probably OK. Races... Hmm... All yours are new, so I think you're fine there.

 

[Siberys]

In a somewhat related tangent, I've considered making Gamma World stuff. It would probably have the same sort of pitfalls other 4e 3PP stuff has (player-mechanics being a poor seller, GM stuff selling well, et cetera), so I've decided that if I do, making town atlases with new monsters is probably the way to go. Nothing I'd be doing with such a release would violate the GSL, as far as I can tell.

And, despite the market, I REALLY want to make a Tengu race book. Gotta get back to writing that...

I really wish they'd update the GSL and the SRD. They've really been untightening things in-house. It'd be nice to be able to do some of that out-of-house.

 

[Scribble]

I don't think you'd actually have much trouble selling player side stuff in GW actually. Since characters aren't made with a CB there isn't really a draw to forgo 3pp material in favor of ease of character generation/management.