Orcus
First Post
Just a hope. There has been no official announcement or promise of any kind.
BUT you can tell from the blogs that the rules are in binders and are in a relatively stable format now. They are out to playtesters. They are clearly, in my view, in a state that - while not final - can be shared with third party publishers.
I am trying to encourage WotC to understand that there is some significant resistance to edition change. Its evident from these and other boards. I think they do understand that. And if there are 3rd party publishers who want to switch to 4E, like Necro, that they have a strong incentive to get that stuff to us so we can be there at launch for 4E.
I think there are a good chunk of gamers that are on the fence about 4E and they are waiting to see what some of their trusted publishers decide to do. I sure hope that to at least some gamers I am one of those publishers. I'm sure Paizo is and Green Ronin and others. So if I am sitting here saying we are switching to 4E I just see it as a big mistake for WotC to not get us rules just as fast as possible. It just strikes me that it is in their best interests to do this. And as a general matter, my life experience indicates that people tend to do what is in their best interest when given the choice.
I know they are busy. I know they want to support open gaming. I am willing to do whatever it takes to help facilitate them getting the rules out to, at a minimum, trusted publishers who have been good caretakers of content.
In the immortal words of Tom Cruise: "Help me help you."
Now dont get me wrong. I'm not trying to just be all "Mr. Altruism" here. I concede it is also in MY interests to get the rules early. But I see this as a win/win situation and I love win/win situations.
So short answer: no, there have been no promises or suggestions. Just my unceasing campaign to try to get WotC to get us the stuff early. And I'm not just saying for Necro, I am saying for all 3rd party publishers.
In particular I am concerned for print publishers because of the long turn around time for products. These arent the days of early 3E where a 32 page module is a viable product anymore (well, they can be, but I digress). Print publishers in particular are faced with the same long print lead times that WotC is facing with the production of their PHB, MM and DMG. Their "pencil down" date is pretty much our pencil down date for hard print products. We cant just slap stuff together at the last minute and have valid products that properly support 4E. The market wont bear it. The distributors wont bear it. We need the proper lead time to create good quality products for 4E. And January doesnt cut it. The rule changes here seem to be significant enough that design is hampered by development withuot the rules. Heck, we dont even know what core races and classes are going to be available at launch in the PHB.
I think 3rd party support has been a big part of the success of 3E and I see 3rd party support as very important to the success of 4E. I'm a gamer and a D&D fan first, business person second. And I want D&D to thrive and succeed. And I want to help that happen. I think it is a mistake to not help the 3rd party publishers help that happen. We've made some great stuff for D&D. Look at Paizo. And, I'm not ashamed to say, look at Necro. I cant tell you how many people started their 3E campaigns with Wizard's Amulet and Crucible of Freya, etc. I got so many emails saying "we werent going to go 3E but we loved Amulet (which was and still is free) and ran Crucible and now we love it!" I think 3rd party publishers can do the same for 4E. And as a fan of D&D I would hate to see a fractured market for D&D. That spells bad things for the game as a whole, and as the industry leader goes so goes the industry.
Clark
BUT you can tell from the blogs that the rules are in binders and are in a relatively stable format now. They are out to playtesters. They are clearly, in my view, in a state that - while not final - can be shared with third party publishers.
I am trying to encourage WotC to understand that there is some significant resistance to edition change. Its evident from these and other boards. I think they do understand that. And if there are 3rd party publishers who want to switch to 4E, like Necro, that they have a strong incentive to get that stuff to us so we can be there at launch for 4E.
I think there are a good chunk of gamers that are on the fence about 4E and they are waiting to see what some of their trusted publishers decide to do. I sure hope that to at least some gamers I am one of those publishers. I'm sure Paizo is and Green Ronin and others. So if I am sitting here saying we are switching to 4E I just see it as a big mistake for WotC to not get us rules just as fast as possible. It just strikes me that it is in their best interests to do this. And as a general matter, my life experience indicates that people tend to do what is in their best interest when given the choice.
I know they are busy. I know they want to support open gaming. I am willing to do whatever it takes to help facilitate them getting the rules out to, at a minimum, trusted publishers who have been good caretakers of content.
In the immortal words of Tom Cruise: "Help me help you."
Now dont get me wrong. I'm not trying to just be all "Mr. Altruism" here. I concede it is also in MY interests to get the rules early. But I see this as a win/win situation and I love win/win situations.
So short answer: no, there have been no promises or suggestions. Just my unceasing campaign to try to get WotC to get us the stuff early. And I'm not just saying for Necro, I am saying for all 3rd party publishers.
In particular I am concerned for print publishers because of the long turn around time for products. These arent the days of early 3E where a 32 page module is a viable product anymore (well, they can be, but I digress). Print publishers in particular are faced with the same long print lead times that WotC is facing with the production of their PHB, MM and DMG. Their "pencil down" date is pretty much our pencil down date for hard print products. We cant just slap stuff together at the last minute and have valid products that properly support 4E. The market wont bear it. The distributors wont bear it. We need the proper lead time to create good quality products for 4E. And January doesnt cut it. The rule changes here seem to be significant enough that design is hampered by development withuot the rules. Heck, we dont even know what core races and classes are going to be available at launch in the PHB.
I think 3rd party support has been a big part of the success of 3E and I see 3rd party support as very important to the success of 4E. I'm a gamer and a D&D fan first, business person second. And I want D&D to thrive and succeed. And I want to help that happen. I think it is a mistake to not help the 3rd party publishers help that happen. We've made some great stuff for D&D. Look at Paizo. And, I'm not ashamed to say, look at Necro. I cant tell you how many people started their 3E campaigns with Wizard's Amulet and Crucible of Freya, etc. I got so many emails saying "we werent going to go 3E but we loved Amulet (which was and still is free) and ran Crucible and now we love it!" I think 3rd party publishers can do the same for 4E. And as a fan of D&D I would hate to see a fractured market for D&D. That spells bad things for the game as a whole, and as the industry leader goes so goes the industry.
Clark
