trancejeremy
Adventurer
Okay, okay, you're probably thinking "Why would it be a bad idea to give away something for free?"
But the more I think about it, I think it might be. People like free stuff. However, at the same time, when they can't get free stuff that other people are getting, they get upset. (Heck, people get upset when they can't enter contests, because they live in a different country, and it's not like they would have won anyway in all likelyhood)
In this case, a lot of people don't have FLGSes. Or ones that aren't participating in this. (Disclaimer: My FLGS actually is, though they aren't exactly local, but 45 minutes away, but anything is 30 minutes away from where I live). So basically, they are left out. In most cases, no one would really care, since most free stuff isn't that great. But in this case, some of the free RPGs are actually pretty good. At least the Goodman Games stuff and maybe the Paizo stuff (I'm not actually sure who else is involved)
Indeed, I actually expect quite a few, if not the bulk, of the free DCCs to end up on eBay.
I really don't care either way, but I can see a lot of loyal Goodman fans, like the one who subscribe to DCCs, being a little miffed over missing one (since that's the point of them subscribing).
At the same time, what do they gain? In Goodman's case, they already have 2 different DCC's priced at $2 in order to get people to try them. If someone is too cheap to pay $2 for a module, is a free module going to sway them to buy $12 ones?
I can see companies giving away little booklets about their game system. Like quick start rules. But at the same time, I would think they would always want to give those away (if they could afford it), rather than one day of the year.
But just adventure modules, which you need basically the D&D books to play, don't seem to be worth the return. Or risk. Especially in Goodman's case, it's a prequel/tie-in to the big boxed set from Goodman, Whiterock. I can definitely see people who buy Whiterock being upset that there is a Whiterock adventure they don't have. (Though maybe it comes with a copy. That would make a lot more sense).
(Just using Goodman since they are the most obvious example to me, but I think it would apply to any other company with devoted fanbase)
But the more I think about it, I think it might be. People like free stuff. However, at the same time, when they can't get free stuff that other people are getting, they get upset. (Heck, people get upset when they can't enter contests, because they live in a different country, and it's not like they would have won anyway in all likelyhood)
In this case, a lot of people don't have FLGSes. Or ones that aren't participating in this. (Disclaimer: My FLGS actually is, though they aren't exactly local, but 45 minutes away, but anything is 30 minutes away from where I live). So basically, they are left out. In most cases, no one would really care, since most free stuff isn't that great. But in this case, some of the free RPGs are actually pretty good. At least the Goodman Games stuff and maybe the Paizo stuff (I'm not actually sure who else is involved)
Indeed, I actually expect quite a few, if not the bulk, of the free DCCs to end up on eBay.
I really don't care either way, but I can see a lot of loyal Goodman fans, like the one who subscribe to DCCs, being a little miffed over missing one (since that's the point of them subscribing).
At the same time, what do they gain? In Goodman's case, they already have 2 different DCC's priced at $2 in order to get people to try them. If someone is too cheap to pay $2 for a module, is a free module going to sway them to buy $12 ones?
I can see companies giving away little booklets about their game system. Like quick start rules. But at the same time, I would think they would always want to give those away (if they could afford it), rather than one day of the year.
But just adventure modules, which you need basically the D&D books to play, don't seem to be worth the return. Or risk. Especially in Goodman's case, it's a prequel/tie-in to the big boxed set from Goodman, Whiterock. I can definitely see people who buy Whiterock being upset that there is a Whiterock adventure they don't have. (Though maybe it comes with a copy. That would make a lot more sense).
(Just using Goodman since they are the most obvious example to me, but I think it would apply to any other company with devoted fanbase)