Free Marketing Tip: Don't get chincy with the materials

[JoeGKushner]

Over at RPG.net, I noted that one of the edition free things that WotC can do to insure more 'smooth' is make sure that when they do things like boxed sets, that they are actual boxed sets.

The few ones they made were pretty bad. And others on that site noted that those weren't the only issues.

Listen, if you're going to try and build D&D into some multi-million dollar business, going cheap on the materials isn't the way you'll get my money. Those boxed sets weren't inexpensive and they don't hold up. Others had remaining problems but these things stay in people's minds for a long time.

Heck, TSR still got flack for years over Unearthed Arcana.

 

[foolish_mortals]

my god, one of the things I got from WOTC last year was Gamma World. I should have looked for an unboxing video of what I was going to get before I ordered it. I got this crudy little book and some stupid cards. Always look for an unboxing video before you buy a boxed game!

foolish_mortals

 

[GMforPowergamers]

And book of vile darkness was a folio at best not a box set as promissed

I remember when i bought my first box set "2e starter set" I still have it

 

[Stormonu]

I really liked the 2E era boxed sets, though they did have a problem surviving without getting flattened. I've really enjoyed seeing their return with things like the Dragon Age Boxed set and the Pathfinder Beginner's Box.

However, the red box really ticked me off. For as thick as the box was, it had crap in it. I don't know if the extra space was intended for you to also keep your hardcovers in it, but the angled cardboard insert to make the thing look less empty on opening was annoying as hell.

If they do make a boxed set, I want it full.

 

[Incenjucar]

The Gloomwrought boxed set was just insulting. Mind you, I absolutely LOVE the material, but the material took up like 1/8th of the space inside, and isn't sturdy enough to be of any real use.

 

[SlyDoubt]

Not only that but also printing quality. paper and ink quality. the ink quality in the 4e books is absolute trash. printing in some of my essentials books isnt even properly lined up.

not to mention the bindings are cheaper. my 3e phb is still completely tight and in great shape. some of my 4e books though already have some issues with their bindings.

that and the books need to actually feel like something cool. the 4e books are incredibly crappy from a design perspective. yes the idea of the 'power' and that format being used for monsters, powers, items, etc is a solid idea, but it's absolutely not interesting to read.

the 4e books are just boring beyond belief. compare the 4e books to basically anything from planescape or any of the dark matter books (specifically the campaign setting, alternity). they're just awesome to sit down and read and explore. i feel nothing about the 4e books in that way.

 

[foolish_mortals]

I think that's one reason the first 3 4th books turned my off. It was endless pages of powers with little descriptions that I didn't really want to read.

foolish_mortals

 

[Incenjucar]

4E books, prior to Essentials, were incredibly efficient. That is, when you were creating a character, you didn't have to wade through nearly as much text as you would for a similar power structure with 2E-amounts of fluff. This is, admittedly, terrible for immersing a reader who isn't already on-board, but makes it very very easy to use it for character generation.

Going through the Feywild book, which basically doubled the flavor text, I found myself ignoring ALL flavor text so I could get to what the powers actually did, because I come up with my own flavor anyways. Alas that it isn't possible to sell low-fluff and high-fluff versions of books.