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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 5369129">People have been saying that revisions will kill the line since they came out with 2e.  Yes, revisions WILL cost them some players, but it will also garner them others.  Players who are unhappy with the current system may become entralled with the next, likewise, they may not.  Predicting market trends is a difficult thing to do. I honestly don't recall a time when WotC had good marketing, but that's a bit beside the point.  They are a niche market, their goal isn't like that of WoW and to get as many kids and their parents into the game as possible, but to continue to support and be supported by a steady line of fans. D&D is not a book.  D&D is a gaming system that is published in books.  LOTR is a book.  What's the difference you ask?  LOTR is done.  Bilbo had his adventure in The Hobbit, Frodo had his in LOTR.  Their adventures happened, their cast came and went, their deed is done. D&D however, is a system for having adventures, so long as one can have adventures, one can utilize D&D.  The particular format it comes in is largely irrelevent so long as it is readily accessible.  Before the age of computing, this was in the form of books, and though WotC is a little late on catching the boat, the digital age is now upon them and they are moving into that. Which again, illustrates the key difference between LOTR and D&D and why they are NOT the same.  Frodo will always be Frodo, his description in given all through the LOTR series.  Gandalf will always be Gandalf and Legolas will always be Legolas.  Everyon can generally agree that they have a fairly fixed look about them.   Which is NOT the case with D&D.  There are many intrepid halflings, and there are a multitude of wizards, and a variety of elven archers.  They come in all shapes, colors, genders and styles.  Each one embodies a particular player.  There is no agreed-upon look of how EXACTLY one must look as one of these things, and as such, we cannot simply produce "generic elven hero" toys because what about that guy who wanted to be the slightly tan elf?  Or the girl who, because most RPG players are male, gets no figure for herself at all.   Again, you are demostrating the exact difference between a book, and a thing that comes published in books.  D&D is a system, not a book.  As that system ages, flaws are discovered, improvements are made, errors are fixed.  And at some point, these "errata" become so great that they necessitate a whole new publishing.  At which point, cool new ideas that were not thought of previously are integrated, perhaps so far to the point as to make it worthy of a new edition. But again, Star Wars and D&D are different.  Star Wars is a story, within a universe in which many more stories can exist.  D&D is a style in which to create playable, interactive stories.   I always wonder how one should define "good choices".Are 'good choices' ones that cater to new fans, or old?Are 'good choices' ones that cater to what I, the person defining 'good choices' is?  Or are they what some other person is defining them as? The hardcore base is the minority.  They have been and always will be.  Look at any major MMO, the "hardcore PVPers" the "hardcore raiders", these guys make up less than 1% of the entire population.  And the "hardcore base" is never pleased, and the more you cater to them the less they will be pleased.  And games that cater to one, very exclusive sect of what is a very diverse population put people off MUCH faster than games that are open to everyone. NEVER cater to the "hardcore base".  You will paint yourself into a corner and you will never get out. You sound like those guys who predict the fall of the United States.  The economy is down, less money is being spent and less money is available to spend.  Should this trend change, people will show up with more free time, and more free cash, and hobby activies will grow. Star Trek Enterprise was pretty dumb I admit.  Kinda fun, but dumb, and yes, you had to kind of tune out all the rest of the Star Trek universe to enjoy it.  But I hardly think that killed interest in Star Trek.  That single series?  Sure.  Star Trek as a whole just kept on trucking.   Ah, what "WotC needs to do", what WotC needs to do is make money.  They need to make the most money, and if that means selling 3 books to a million people instead of selling 300 books to 10 people, that's what they'll do. I doubt they're so "mismanaged" as to require the input from either of us.</blockquote>

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