D&D 5E Initial D&D Next Releases Showing Up on Barnes & Noble Website

[Ichneumon]

My local gaming store really is friendly, so I'd be glad to purchase D&D books from them. Sure, $50US is a bit youchie, but I'm counting on a luscious appearance and lots of content to make it worthwhile.

 

[Campbell]

I retract. I'm under the weather and my indignation outpaced my logic. You're right, of course. The issue that threatens FLGSes is not that they are incapable of discounting, but rather that no matter how much they discount, they can't undercut online retailers.

This is not something that's in WotC's ability to fix. They are not in a position to set the price a book can be sold at - it is in fact illegal to do so under section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. the onus is on the game store to demonstrate value to their customers that cannot be realized from Amazon. If customers do not receive benefits from outreach programs to new gamers its not exactly fair to expect them to subsidize that cost. WotC can assist in those efforts through marketing, organized play programs etc., but they lack the ability to set prices or charge different prices to individual retailers no matter if they are brick and mortar or online.

 

[dracomilan]

Since we live in a strange world of asymmetrical monetary conversions, I will have to pay 50€ for n Italian translation of the PHB that will hopefully be printed before Xmas.
But I will do that gladly.
Since I already own 3 different DMG from different editions, I guess that no matter what I will pass on that this time (as I already did with 4E with no regrets).
Then I'll buy the MM with some afterthoughts, since any edition since AD&D MM as been a turn off.

 

[pemerton]

Did the combined 4E PhB + MM contain the basic mechanical rules for encounter balancing (CR and the like), constructing skill challenges (a major part of 4e GMing as far as I can tell), NPCs, magic items, and magic item construction?

No. The DMG has the action resolution rules for skill challenges, traps, damaging objects, non-standard combat (mounted, aerial, underwater), as well as the crucial p 42. It also has the key rules for encounter building, monster building, and awarding XP, action points and treasure. It also has parts of the default cosmology that aren't found in the other books (some gods, planes, etc).

In other words, you can't really play 4e without the DMG. (Though [MENTION=6704093]dracomilan[/MENTION] apparently did!) In that respect it's like 1st ed AD&D.

bard (2e, 3e)

The bard was also in the 1st ed AD&D PHB. (Appendix 2?)

Well, it's absolutely true, as I understand it, that our salaries are not, on average, keeping up with inflation and cost of living.

That might explain the different perspective from the Australian posters upthread. Australian salaries have grown significantly in real terms over the past 20-odd years, whereas I think they've been mostly stagnant in the US except for a brief period in the mid-90s.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Concerning the price in FLGS':

This is not something that's in WotC's ability to fix.

Just being curious here. Does US law prohibit the publisher to grant different customers different discounts? If not, WotC could make special offers to FLGS to enable them to compete with the big online players.

Something like 12 or 24 copies for 70% discount instead of 40%. (Numbers drwan from the air).

 

[Campbell]

Concerning the price in FLGS':



Just being curious here. Does US law prohibit the publisher to grant different customers different discounts? If not, WotC could make special offers to FLGS to enable them to compete with the big online players.

Something like 12 or 24 copies for 70% discount instead of 40%. (Numbers drwan from the air).

Generally only if they can prove a cost differential. It would have to be more expensive for them to deal with online retailers than local game stores. This is covered under the Robinson-Patman Act. At least that's my understanding as a business administration undergrad.

 

[dracomilan]

In other words, you can't really play 4e without the DMG.

Back in the days a big selling point was: all you really need is a PHB and an issue of Dungeon Magazine. I guess in 4e it could have been 'all you really need is a PHB and a 1 month subscriptuon to DDI'.

Of corse 20+ years of DMing other editions could be a factor.

 

[pemerton]

I guess in 4e it could have been 'all you really need is a PHB and a 1 month subscriptuon to DDI'.

Fair enough.

 

[MasterTrancer]

Since we live in a strange world of asymmetrical monetary conversions, I will have to pay 50€ for n Italian translation of the PHB that will hopefully be printed before Xmas.
But I will do that gladly.
Since I already own 3 different DMG from different editions, I guess that no matter what I will pass on that this time (as I already did with 4E with no regrets).
Then I'll buy the MM with some afterthoughts, since any edition since AD&D MM as been a turn off.

You'll probably be lucky if 50 euros yield an english PHB, the way things are going here

 

[Maggan]

FWIW: I'll buy it

Well, I'm not concerned about the price from a personal perspective. It's not cheap, and I don't need it really (I've got enough rpgs already), but I think it's fun to keep up with the development of D&D over the years.

If it's cheaper I won't protest but it'd have to creep up to 100 dollars for me to do a double take today. I bought the Iron Kingdoms RPG, and that's priced at 60 dollars. The WFRPv3 RPG is 100 dollars, and I got that. I haven't spent money on D&D in quite a long time, and 50 bucks for the PH is ok to me.

I'm reminded of what someone said at RPG.net a million years ago. "Playing RPGs is cheap. Collecting RPGs is expensive."

/Maggan