Romnipotent
First Post
when you walk out of the store with one book, $120 lighter, wondering why you're suddenly getting phonecalls from Monte... and the phones in the book, cut into the first 50 pages!
GC 2006 - Ptolus Hardback $120!?!
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JoeGKushner
Adventurer
mythusmage said:
Broo or Skurg? You know, those monsters from the Siege of Ebonring Keep?
One thing I'm a little worried about seeing that, is how much reprinted material will there be from AE/AU in there in terms of races and other bits. One of the reasons I originally rated the Complete Book of Eldritch Might lower than the individual books was that there was some cross over with AU and it didn't seem to take into account the changes in 3.5 in terms of available feats and spells.
Mystery Man
First Post
You just know its going to be on Amazon or Walmart for a 3rd of that price...
Morte
Explorer
Well, I'm not a D&D player. But if I were, I'd be interested in Ptolus because it sounds like a product which might take some work off the GM -- and if there's one thing I want from game companies, it's that.
If somebody did a 500-1000 page book covering all of the 50-100 star systems in one of the good corners of the Traveller universe, and they included setting material plus a seamless campaign, and it was written to be useful to GMs actually running games (not bedtime reading for grognard collectors), and they charged $120 for it, I'd be all over it. Because (a) most of the stuff coming out for Traveller is rather hopeless in terms of utility, and (b) buying whole campaigns neatly solves the usual "it is fundamentally impossible to stitch these six published adventures together" problem.
If somebody did a 500-1000 page book covering all of the 50-100 star systems in one of the good corners of the Traveller universe, and they included setting material plus a seamless campaign, and it was written to be useful to GMs actually running games (not bedtime reading for grognard collectors), and they charged $120 for it, I'd be all over it. Because (a) most of the stuff coming out for Traveller is rather hopeless in terms of utility, and (b) buying whole campaigns neatly solves the usual "it is fundamentally impossible to stitch these six published adventures together" problem.
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
DaveMage said:
I was thinking much the same thing.
Maggan
Writer for CY_BORG, Forbidden Lands and Dragonbane
One perspective
I find the experiment with Ptolus interesting, and important for the development of the industry and hobby.
I don't think this means that all products will be superexpensive in the future. It takes a lot of resources to create something like Shackled City (IMO a top tier product) or Ptolus (if the previews and info are to be believed). Not everyone has those resources, be they skill or money or distribution channels or what have you.
Therefore I think that we always will have low cost alternatives, like C&C, which caters to those who find the high cost items to expensive. If anything, the low cost items will have to really shine when rules and ideas are concerned, to pick up the fight with the flashier books.
Maybe the cheaper books can find an advantage in their format, with companies being able to respond faster to trends, and supply gamers with just the right content at the right time. I think this will become very important in the future, at least for the small publishers, who havn't got the clout to actually set the trends, as WotC and maybe even Malhavoc have.
So small and cheap books are already here, and will still be here tomorrow, and the format might even, if leveraged properly, be turned to an advantage when compared to the big books with high prices.
Now I want to see the huge and expensive books!
Cheers!
/M
I find the experiment with Ptolus interesting, and important for the development of the industry and hobby.
I don't think this means that all products will be superexpensive in the future. It takes a lot of resources to create something like Shackled City (IMO a top tier product) or Ptolus (if the previews and info are to be believed). Not everyone has those resources, be they skill or money or distribution channels or what have you.
Therefore I think that we always will have low cost alternatives, like C&C, which caters to those who find the high cost items to expensive. If anything, the low cost items will have to really shine when rules and ideas are concerned, to pick up the fight with the flashier books.
Maybe the cheaper books can find an advantage in their format, with companies being able to respond faster to trends, and supply gamers with just the right content at the right time. I think this will become very important in the future, at least for the small publishers, who havn't got the clout to actually set the trends, as WotC and maybe even Malhavoc have.
So small and cheap books are already here, and will still be here tomorrow, and the format might even, if leveraged properly, be turned to an advantage when compared to the big books with high prices.
Now I want to see the huge and expensive books!
Cheers!
/M
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Michael Morris
First Post
Wow. Why the fuss? Gamers have been paying these kind of prices in the CCG market for some time now - a full box of Magic boosters runs $129 and I've watched guys buy two to five boxes when a new set comes out.
Campaign settings are sufficiently hit and miss to demand a higher price for the investment. On the other hand, I do wish Malhavoc's lines were given extended hardcover support. I'd rather buy into something like Ptolus more gradually than plonk down a bunch of money for one big book, with some tiny booklets as support. Similarly, if I had a monster and GMing hardcovers for Aracana Unearthed, I'd be a happy guy. No idea how practical it is, though. Still, as it stands, Ptolus' buy in cost is too rich for me right now.
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